In Marvel comics as well as movies, Thor’s enchanted hammer is not only a powerful weapon but a litmus test to prove a character’s worthiness. Only the purest and noblest of souls are able to wield the hammer, a rule that was used to spectacular effect in Avengers: Endgame when Captain America lifted Mjolnir and used it to battle Thanos. And now a new comic, Thor: The Worthy #1, has recalled a couple of other unexpected wielders of the hammer, in the shape of Superman and Wonder Woman.
The comic panels are part of a story where Thor encounters a mystic mirror capable of showing the alternate realities of existing worlds. The mirror’s eventually destroyed with the hammer and as the shards of glass split apart, they briefly show Mjolnir being wielded by other warriors through space and time. Five of them are Marvel characters who have lifted the hammer at various points, and at the end of the panel, shrouded in shadows but unmistakably there, are Superman and Wonder Woman.
These images are shoutouts to crossover comics published by DC and Marvel. In the 1990’s crossover DC Versus Marvel, Wonder Woman wielded the hammer briefly before willingly relinquishing her claim over it. Meanwhile, in the JLA/Avengers comic, Superman was allowed by Thor to wield his hammer for a brief period when Thor himself was incapacitated.
While these images don’t mean that Superman or Wonder Woman are going to be making full-fledged appearances in Thor comics any time soon, they do serve to confirm that the DC and Marvel crossovers are canon and part of the legacy of Mjolnir. They also serve to bolster the impression that the rivalry between the two companies is more a product of the fans quarreling among themselves rather than any ill-feeling between Marvel and DC.
