Theaters all across the world roared into thunderous applause when Captain America lifted Mjolnir in the fight against Thanos at the end of Avengers: Endgame, but does that mean he wasn’t worthy prior to that moment?
Diehard Marvel fans knew that Cap finally being able to lift Mjolnir and possess the power of Thor was inevitable since it had already happened in the comics. Add that to the fact that Avengers: Age of Ultron actually teased this in the movie’s first act by having Steve slightly tilt the hammer, followed by Thor cautiously panicking for a moment, and some people believed that Cap was able to lift the godly weapon even then – but refused to embarrass his fellow Avenger.
This all changed when the Big Three decided to take on Thanos in Endgame. Due to his obvious and eye-catching indisposition, the God of Thunder failed to meet the Mad Titan’s strength and almost got killed before Steve picked up Mjolnir, and combined with his shield, gave Thanos a taste of the good stuff. But how did Rogers suddenly become worthy at that exact moment? Well, MCU writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely recently revealed why he couldn’t pick up the hammer before that specific instance.
When asked if Cap could lift the hammer since Age of Ultron, Markus revealed that he wasn’t entirely worthy back then, saying:
“I’d say he’s not completely worthy yet. He still has the secret of Tony’s parents’ death to resolve.”
As we saw in Civil War, the all-around virtuous Steve Rogers knew about the deaths of Howard Stark and his wife but refused to share that with Tony until he found out for himself. It would appear that this was the only thing which exacted a heavy toll on his conscience, thus making him unworthy of lifting Mjolnir before resolving the issue with Tony and making up by Avengers: Endgame.
This is certainly an interesting revelation, given that fans have debated it for a long time. Now, we can sleep more easily tonight knowing what was actually keeping Cap from unlocking his full potential.
