The Most Unworthy Marvel Character To Ever Hold Mjolnir

"Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."

Debuting during the halcyon days early on in the Marvel Age of comics, Thor's hammer Mjolnir first appeared in Journey Into Mystery #83 way back in August of 1962. Through almost 60 years worth of comic book history and numerous film and television appearances, the mighty mallet has become a pop culture staple. The hammer was even involved in one of the most satisfying movie moments of all time during Avengers: Endgame, when Captain America proved himself worthy of carrying the mystical Mjolnir. 

Going outside the main Marvel Comics canon, many different characters have wielded Mjolnir throughout the years — from Spider-Man to Deadpool to Magneto to even DC's Wonder Woman. Sticking to Marvel's main Earth-616 continuity, though, one character stands out as being the most unworthy person to ever have held the hammer: the God of Mischief himself, Loki.

The Trickster God has become a fan favorite in recent years, thanks to Tom Hiddleston's virtuoso performances as the character in numerous Marvel Cinematic Universe films. The character has been around in various comic incarnations for almost as long as Mjolnir has, and, unsurprisingly, it took some very peculiar circumstances for Loki to be able to lift it. 

In 2014, Marvel Comics released AXIS: Avengers vs. X-Men, one of its massive crossover events. The series sees the Red Skull augment himself with the brain of the recently deceased Professor Charles Xavier ,turning himself into the Red Onslaught as he begins broadcasting waves of telepathic hate across the globe. Through a complicated and extremely comic-booky series of events, Marvel's greatest heroes and villains have their moral axises flipped; the heroes are inverted to evil, while an army of supervillains become the good guys. It's during this event that Loki wields Thor's classic weapon of choice.

In the final issue of AXIS: Avengers vs. X-Men, during one of the few truly awesome moments of the event, the inverted Thor chases the newly 100-percent heroic Loki around the surface of the Moon. Marvel's resident trickster soon comes across Mjolnir, which had been left there since Thor became unworthy during the developments of another 2014 crossover event, Original Sin. Loki eventually picks up the hammer, and begins fighting Odinson with the power of Thor. By the end of the issue, the inversion invariably ends and Loki is returned to being unworthy of wielding Mjolnir, leaving the character struggling to come to terms with his moment in the sun. 

Obviously, Loki would not have been able to lift Mjolnir without the personality changes brought about by the event, making him the most unworthy character to ever hold the hammer. But the fact that Loki — the very first Avengers villain in both the comic books and movies — was able to wield the mighty mallet is something fans will be shocked by for years to come.