Wait, Why Didn’t Steve Rogers Become The Mighty Thor in Avengers: Endgame?

Steve Rogers’ Captain America finally claimed Mjolnir for himself in Avengers: Endgame, but he didn’t become the Mighty Thor like Jane Foster did in Thor: Love and Thunder. Throughout the Infinity Saga, the possibility of super-soldier Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) being able to wield Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) enchanted hammer, Mjolnir, was teased several times. Rogers lifting the hammer finally became one of the most memorable moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Endgame in 2019, but someone else has recently wielded Mjolnir with a very different effect.

We first caught a glimpse of Captain America’s future with Mjolnir in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where the hammer — which can only be wielded by those who are worthy — moved very slightly when Rogers tried to lift it. This wasn’t fully paid off until Avengers: Endgame, however, which saw Rogers use the version of the hammer from Asgard in 2013 during the Battle of Earth to fight Thanos (Josh Brolin) while Thor used his new ax, Stormbreaker. However, Thor: Love and Thunder saw Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) receive new power upgrades from Mjolnir, while Captain America did not.

Read Next

6 Marvel Characters That Could Definitely Lift Mjolnir in the MCU

Captain America Didn’t Become Mighty Thor When Wielding Mjolnir (Like Jane Foster)

After Jane Foster was diagnosed with cancer in Thor: Love and Thunder, she set to work finding a cure, and this search eventually brought her to New Asgard. Unexpectedly, Mjolnir — destroyed by Hela (Cate Blanchett) in Thor: Ragnarok — reformed itself when Foster came close, and transformed her into the Mighty Thor when she held it. While it temporarily held back her cancer, Mjolnir also imbued Foster with the powers of Thor, allowing her to join the fight against Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), but this raised questions as to why Steve Rogers did not gain Thor’s power in Endgame.

When Steve Rogers finally wielded Mjolnir in Avengers: Endgame, he did gain access to lightning powers that had become Thor’s signature since his debut in 2011. However, Rogers didn’t get an Asgardian makeover and was not enhanced in any other way, unlike Jane Foster. While some might be confused about why Foster gets these enhancements in Thor: Love and Thunder but Rogers doesn’t in Endgame, there is actually one clear explanation for why Mjolnir has a different effect on these two heroes.

Why Didn’t Steve Rogers’ Captain America Become Mighty Thor in Avengers: Endgame?

In Thor: Love and Thunder’s flashback sequences, Thor and Jane Foster’s past romance was detailed. While they were dating, Thor urged Mjolnir to always look after Foster, which unknowingly altered the enchantment on the hammer. This is why Mjolnir reformed and tied itself to Foster in Love and Thunder, even though Foster was not actually worthy enough to wield the hammer. This is where Foster and Rogers wielding Mjolnir is different, as Captain America using the hammer is not part of the enchantment, but actually because he is, indeed, worthy.

Read Next

7 MCU Characters That Could Definitely Wield Stormbreaker

It seems that Mjolnir made significant changes to Jane Foster’s physiology and power set in order to briefly offer her reprieve from her cancer and look after her, as Thor had wished. Captain America, however, was simply worthy enough to use Mjolnir, and therefore underwent no changes when lifting it. We’ve seen other worthy characters wield Mjolnir and undergo no changes in the MCU’s history, such as Vision (Paul Bettany), Hela, and Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Foster is presumably not worthy, but assumed the abilities of Thor to withstand Mjolnir’s power and avoid her cancer for a while.

Who Else Could Be Worthy to Wield Mjolnir in the MCU?

Currently, Mjolnir is once again being wielded by Thor in the MCU after the hammer was returned to him at the end of Thor: Love and Thunder. Chris Hemsworth has been confirmed to be returning in Avengers: Doomsday in 2026, but India Hemsworth’s Love has not been announced to be in the crossover’s cast, so it’s unclear whether Thor will be wielding Mjolnir or Stormbreaker. If the latter, other MCU characters could wield Mjolnir in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, and not just Vision, who is returning to the MCU in 2026, too.

It’s possible that Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers could be returning, so he could lift the hammer again, while Doomsday and Secret Wars could debut the perfect Thor replacement in the form of Beta Ray Bill, who was teased back in Thor: Ragnarok. Ian McKellen is reprising Magneto in Doomsday, and his mutation may allow him to move Mjolnir via magnetism, while both the Hulk and the Red Hulk have wielded the hammer in the zero-gravity vacuum of space. Loki has also surprising wielded Mjolnir in Marvel Comics, so Tom Hiddleston’s return in Doomsday can give him another power upgrade after he became supremely powerful in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!