This ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Scene Still Gives Marvel Fans Goosebumps
Fans cheered throughout Avengers: Endgame, particularly on the opening night screenings of its record-shattering first weekend. However, if you were to take a decibel meter to measure the loudness of those cheers, one scene would be the clear winner.
The scene came towards the end of the movie, during the epic battle scene. It was the moment when Captain America picked up Thor’s hammer Mjolnir. The hammer is enchanted so anyone worthy of it can harness the power of Thor. The scene is pivotal because it spotlights that Captain America is worthy but also because Steve Rogers not only summoned it to himself but also sent Thanos reeling after attacking him with it.
Why the hammer scene in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ was such a big deal
Much had been made of the fact that, apparently, only Thor could pick up the hammer. Even the Hulk at his angriest couldn’t do it, and he whipped both Loki and Thor around like rag dolls. The Hulk could beat up gods, but picking up a hammer was like pulling incredibly strong teeth.
Unless you’re Steve Rogers.
Fans sometimes question just how much strength Captain America has. In the original comics, he was basically as strong as a man could possibly be without being superhuman like Superman or even Spider-Man. Sure, he could punch a pack of Nazis without breaking a sweat, but could he really keep an aircraft from taking off? The MCU movies seemed to blur the line a bit.
However, Rogers’ strength isn’t only in his muscles. He also has the strength of character, and it’s that kind of intangible power that enables him to pick up hammers that can summon lightning. The scene attempted to fake out the audience by showing the hammer moving without showing who was moving up, but some fans on Reddit were wise to what was going on.
One said: “I think a lot of people including myself knew Cap was picking it up I couldn’t contain my excitement and just let out a loud cheer and I wasn’t alone. I can’t imagine another theater experience living up to Endgame first night.”
‘Age of Ultron’ had teased the iconic moment
Age of Ultron is generally considered to be the weakest of the Avengers movies, but it laid a lot of important groundwork. Part of that was a scene where the Avengers take turns trying to lift Mjolnir. Eagle-eyed fans noticed that Steve was able to move it ever so slightly — a quick shot goes to Thor who notices this — and that was better luck than anyone else had.
Joe and Anthony Russo, the directors of Avengers: Endgame, did not direct Age of Ultron, which was directed by Joss Whedon, who also made the first movie. But they said the scene was a hint of what the Russos would later show.
We Got This Covered reported that Anthony Russo shared on a podcast:
“He didn’t know that until that moment in Ultron when he tried to pick it up, but Cap’s sense of character and his sort of humility and sort of out of deference to Thor’s ego, Cap in that moment realizing he can move the hammer, decides not to.”
Where does Thor’s hammer go from here?
One of the most moving moments of Avengers: Endgame was when Rogers returned from his time travel mission and handed his trademark shield over to Sam/Falcon. He found his happiness with Peggy Carter and his work was done.
In a couple of years, it will be Thor’s turn to transfer his key weapon to a successor, and that successor will be Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who will return to the MCU in Thor: Love and Thunder. To rapturous cheers at San Diego Comic-Con, Portman picked up the weapon, quipping: “I always had hammer envy.”
Thor: Love and Thunder is a ways off, being scheduled for November 2021. But, until then, fans can relive Captain America’s big moment and console themselves over Spider-Man departing the MCU.
