The hammer is effectively immovable by sentient beings. IIRC, if Thor left it on a elevator it’d still go up and down, unless it was a magic talking one. Edit: Note sentient and living. Vision could lift it in the movie. He’s not alive so no powers though.
Magneto can move the hammer with his omega level mutant magnetism powers. He isn’t worthy though, so no Thor powers. Hulk has also moved it, with raw strength. He similarly wasn’t worthy.
Since vision is clearly sentient, couldn’t one argue that his sort of absolute sense of morality just made him worthy?
Might not be a biological life form, but defining life is hard and he clearly is sentient.
Like imagine Commander Data. I think he could be worthy to lift the hammer, if it’s about the lifter being “good”. And TNG had a lot of arguing if he’s alive or no.
We know from the movies that Stan Lee driving a truck couldn’t budge it, nor could Stark’s Iron Man glove when he was wearing it. To me that signals that inanimate objects being wielded by others can’t move it. However it was also on the floor of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier at one point so that could be indicative that intent is important too. Hence I’d posit that Thor could leave it on a truck without the owner knowing, and it could be driven around, or leave it on a elevator and the guy calling the elevator from the ground floor isn’t going to end out staring at wreckage.
Vision isn’t being wielded by others. One can also argue that the absence of darkness in Vision made him worthy, however, he didn’t get powers, so I feel like that rules that theory out. I think the hammer seeing Vision as both not alive along with not acting upon it as a vessel of something/someone else attempting to move it is the more logical take. Basically Vision is the aforementioned elevator in this scenario. Ground Floor, Hammers.
Or the writers could be implying something in the hammer handover scene, and poorly writing elsewhere. Take your pick really.
I think the easiest thing “plot-wise” is to endow the magical object itself with a sort of sentience. Like not as much as the Sorting Hat in HP, but to the tune of that.
I strongly feel Vision definitely is sentient, as anyone who’s seen TNG would know the arguments made for Data, and they very much apply here. If we assume the first, and there is something in the hammer that judges people, then yeah, it’s hard to explain how some can move the hammer a bit, but not gain the power, despite the wording of the spell. Cap almost moves the hammer, even making tor raise an eyebrow slightly. So perhaps there’s “degrees of worthiness”. And Vision is pretty high up there, but not “have all the power” high. Or perhaps the power just didn’t manifest at all because Vision didn’t even try to “tap into” it. Who knows, comics can explain it however they feel like.
But I would not agree that Vision is “an elevator”.
“Prove to the court I am sentient.” - Captain Picard (from “ST:TNG The Measure of a Man”)
These are fun to talk about but yeah, it does boil down to “take your pick.” Still, doesn’t mean we can’t have fun theorising.
He similarly wasn’t worthy.
Or was he?
It would help explain Thor-Hulk vs Hulk-Thor:
What’s with handsome Thor-hair Hulk?
Good comment here. Were the immovability limitation not restricted to sentient beings, the hammer would just zoom off into space the second Thor put it down.
The obvious question there is what happens when you leave the hammer on Ego the living planet
Yes, but it would be an effort that does not come down to any strength, machinery, physics or logic, because in his universe the Narrative Force is infintitely stronger than any natural laws.
And the hammer is ruled by a strong narrative: Thor’s storyline.
So he would have to create a compellig narrative where he moves the hammer in a way that makes an interesting Thor story.
He can’t just move it with a planet-size magnet powered by the sun itself, but he could move it with a planet-size magnet powered by the sun itself if it could be explained in a cool way and gives Thor a great struggle to overcome, causes tension to test his relationship to Odin, or moves his character arc.
According to the comics, Thor’s hammer only weighs 42.3 lbs. (19.1 kg). Odin’s enchantment prevents anyone who is not worthy from lifting it. It’s a question of Magneto’s purity of heart, not strength of power.
Edit: I think I found a good answer below. Even if natural forces could lift Mjølnir, the enchantment would not be in effect - getting beaned by a 40-something pound chunk of metal would still hurt, but it wouldn’t hit as hard as it does when Thor uses it.
Ah, but Magneto’s not the one lifting the hammer - he’s directing magnetic fields that are doing the lifting!So, could the wind pick up Thor’s hammer, if it were strong enough? How about changes in gravity - is Mjølnir as hard to pick up on the moon as at the surface of the Arctic ocean (Earth’s highest-gravity location, I couldn’t find coordinates)?If so, then I ask: is the magic of the hammer smart enough to know the difference between a primal force and a primal force that’s doing someone a favour?Well, it’s magic vs science. The enchantment makes it unliftable by purity of heart. If I remember right, technically Ultron and Vision could lift it.
Edit: found the comics did answer it - yes he can manipulate it using E&M fields but he wouldn’t get any of the power from it.
Odin’s enchantment isn’t infallible. What if Magneto’s mutant powers were stronger than the enchantment?
Yes, and IIRC he’s done it. But he has to use his powers to do it; he can’t just lift it with his hands.
It’s Sunday morning. Plenty of time to debate this important matter.
EDIT: The answer is yes.
What’s the mythical-scientific reason for Thors hammer being immovable? Very high mass/density or protected by some invisible godlike force?
In the movies, it’s a worthiness/ pure heart thing. In the comics it’s just really heavy. I guess the question is, is magic space metal ferrous enough to be magnetic?
Protected by a literal god but I have no idea why it wasn’t movable after oden died.
Magneto would be able to lift the hammer, not because his powers give him control over magnetism, but because he is worthy to!
could not be me in the second frame
Iirc he could but he couldn’t wield the power of Thor
That actually gets around my questions above nicely. Moving Mjølnir ≠ using Mjølnir. If the hammer can be moved by natural forces, it’s just a chunk of metal - it won’t have the devastating impact it does when Thor throws it.
And I guess if Thor woke up and called the hammer back, it’d go regardless of natural forces acting on it.
How do we know Thor’s hammer is made out of metal?
Uru is a metal ore from the first moon in existence, and has existed since the beginning of the universe, being said to be rubble from the rock of creation and the strongest substance in all the realms. It is purportedly unique to Nidavellir, one of the Ten Worlds. It resembles stone, but it also appears to have metallic properties.