Some fans have had a long-standing issue with director Joss Whedon’s decision back in 2015 to present Vision as more “worthy” to wield Mjolnir than the likes of Captain America and Iron Man. And now that Steve Rogers finally proved himself capable of using Thor’s mighty hammer in Avengers: Endgame, the discussion about what defines “worthiness” has popped up again.
And one fan theory that’s gaining a lot of traction on Reddit suggests that Vision was never actually worthy to begin with, saying that the filmmakers viewed him not as a human character, but as a machine.
After the android wields Mjolnir in Age of Ultron, Steve and Tony try to rationalize the phenomenon with a practical hypothesis. If you were to put the hammer in an elevator, they debated, and the elevator still went up, that wouldn’t make the elevator worthy.
So, with that logic, user RabidFlamingo, who puts Vision “up there” among his favorite Avengers, suggests that Endgame proved “the elevator thing was right.”
During the Russo Brothers’ climatic battle, Rogers is able to call and swing the hammer around like Vision. But Captain America proves capable of displaying one more ability that Paul Bettany’s character never could: Cap could summon lightning.
If we remember the inscription on the hammer – “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor” – and also that the God of Thunder’s power is, well, thunder and lightning, the pieces fall into place. Vision could hold Mjolnir and use it, but all he was really doing, in the long run, was transporting it from point A to point B, like an elevator.
What do you think about RabidFlamingo’s theory, though? Is there any substance in it? If you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out Avengers: Endgame in theaters now, and let us know your thoughts on Vision’s worthiness in the comments section below.
