How did Captain America raise Thor's hammer in Avengers: Endgame?

By Joshua Yehl

Warning: This story contains full information about Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame! To learn more about Avengers 4, be sure to read our end-explained breakdown, if there is a scene after credits and a recap of people who live and die in Avengers: Endgame.

Captain America managed to move the mighty Mjolnir into Avengers: Age of Ultron, but in Endgame he was able to lift Thor's hammer and use it to bring the fight and thunder to Thanos. So, what has changed so that Cap finally raises the hammer?

Mjolnir's Rule

As we saw in Thor's first film, Odin enchanted the hammer so that it could only be used by the worthy ones. In comics, this rule was essentially the same, and a small selection of Marvel characters, apart from Thor, was able to raise it on rare occasions, including Steve Rogers, who had done it twice.

Once upon a time while Steve was playing the role of The Captain and he just picked up the hammer to flay bad guys and return it to Thor.

The other time was more like what we see in the film and took place during the finale of the Fear Itself event. After Thor's exit, Cape raised the hammer high and shouted his rallying cry, "Avengers bademble!" before using it to sow chaos on the battlefield.

In Age of Ultron, Cape was a hint of value, but something prevented him from lifting it completely.

Cape's Dirty Little Secret

19659007] The fan theory that explains all this is based on what we discovered in The Winter Soldier and Civil War. In TWS, Cap learned through Zola's Hydra slideshow that Bucky was the one who killed Tony Stark's parents. Then, when this information was revealed at the end of CW, Cape confessed to Tony that he knew it but did not tell him. Keeping this toxic information secret is what makes Cape Unworthy to lift the hammer in Age of Ultron, at least according to theory. But Cap having recognized his mistake in CW, it allowed him to regain his moral purity and make him worthy to raise Mjolnir in Endgame.

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Joshua is senior editor of IGN reports. If Pokemon, Green Lantern or Game of Thrones are common words in your vocabulary, you will want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.