Dr. Strange and Thor's Hammer

Hello all,

So here's the question? In a recent campaign Thor had been mind-controlled by a mystic spell by Loki to attack Manhattan. A number of heroes converge to stop the thunder god. The battle is fierce yet Thor is essentially unstoppable. The Fantastic Four arrive with Dr.Strange in tow. The thing happens to subdue Thor for a moment and sepearate him from Mjonlnir. Now the question is can Dr.Strange pick up Mjolnir and uterlize it. I say yes but my friend contended that he could not. What say you?

In the comic book world of story and Literature Yes it is possible.

In the game(rpg) world it would be up to the Game Master ( Judge ) - with magic being a kind of wildcard explanation.

Dr. Strange has been influenced by the so called "dark side" of magic. In my book this makes him unworthy to wield Mjolnir. Odin's magic is definitely more powerful than Strange's. He may be able to affect the hammer with magic (like use it as a talisman or draw energy from it) but it is my position that he could not wield it.

In my game it is a no. But if you can pull it off, great.

The Last Duskblade
Q-Class Forever!!!

There isn't any reason why Dr. Strange would be able to use Thor's hammer, the kind of person with the mindset to call upon the power of Mjolnir is very limited and to date all those we've seen gain its powers even briefly were men of action and selfless in the extreme and given the chance to be warriors as the Asgardians are. Captain America, Eric Masterson, Dargo, Rogue (Alternate Timeline), Beta Ray Bill, all were selfless warriors when the time came and the hammer responded.

The only one to ever use the hammer who was unworthy was Red Norvell and that required his acquiring a template of Thor's power Odin kept around along with Thor's Belt of Power and Iron Gloves, the only things that will let one unworthy carry (but not use) Mjolnir. While he later got full Thor status and his own copy of Mjolnir I don't believe he'd be worthy of lifting the original even now although it's always possible he's grown into that kind of worthiness.

I can't think of many Marvel characters that might end up worthy, perhaps the Illuminator (short-lived teen character with light-based powers and an attempt at a Christian hero that failed), Spider-man if he weren't weighed down by his guilt over his Uncle, and maybe Daredevil (who's certainly a brave warrior who managed to survive in Mephisto's hell and all its torments, to even light a clean spiritual fire in the place later used by another hero to escape).

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I could see Strange imprisoning the hammer, or portaling it away somewhere. However actually holding and lifting it, no, he's nowhere near worthy.

Most everyone else has mentioned the nebulous condition of being "worthy" enough to wield Mjolnir. While I personally don't think Strange is noble/pure/"good" enough to use it, the argument for his being able to use it coul dbe convincingly made. Were it a comic, this would be left to the writer's fiat.

The condition that makes Strange unable to use Mjolnir is a bit simpler. It requires superhuman strength to use. This falls in line with the mythological Thor being a patron of strength and to warriors. A handful of people in the MU-616 have proven capable of using Mjolnir, and I can't think of any of them without superhuman strength.

Yes, even Cap, who had a smidge of super-strength at the time. Even then, he wasn't able to do much aside from blindly swing Mjolnir and then throw it to Thor's hand.

That said, Strange doesn't *need* Mjolnir, unless he wants to use it as some devious focus to temporarily strip Thor of his Odinson nature.

Well the reason Cap didn't Thor-out as it were is because the actual Thor was handy so Mjolnir didn't bump-up Cap with Thor's powers when he lifted it. Now if Thor were missing or reverted to Donald Blake and Cap attempted to use Mjolnir he'd have acquired the full range of Thor power. Also Eric Masterson hadn't the slightest amount of Super-human Strength, he was just an architect before his transformation. Superhuman strength isn't a requirement to lift Mjolnir (if it were Thor would have never been able to move it enough to turn into Thor-Frog during the period he was turned into a frog by his step-brother), its more a requirement for non-living objects to lift and/or move the hammer. There's also no such requirement to lifting the walking stick that the hammer can be transformed into (which is how Beta Ray Bill was shown gaining Thor's powers, he lifted up the walking stick and hit the side of his ship in frustration with it).

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Well, if we look at the matter purely from a writer's standpoint then, yeah, maybe Strange can lift it 'cause the writer wants him too.

According to the mechanics of the game the matter is almost as simple. If Strange has 1000+ karma and at least Rm Strength (easily achieved via a magic spell) he can. If not, he can't.

I personally go for a writer's perspective, and so the question becomes one of how Strange lifting the hammer will fit in your campaign? Does it add to it? Is it necessary? I think that the most important consideration is whether Strange is one of your player's character's or not? To my thinking a pc should get to play the pivotal role. Maybe Strange could use some "karma" applicfication spell to make one of the pc's worthy enough to lift it?

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There is also something about having a positive Popularity I think. Unless you are playing in a campaign set in an alternate reality where Dr. Strange is somehow worthy of using Mjolnir, or he does something to become worthy in mainstream, I'd say it is a no go.

As I said before, his magic allows him to tamper with the hammer. Perhaps even tap it as an Extra Dimensional energy source.

Wielding it and gaining the Power of Thor....ummm......no. At least no in my game. It would be pretty sad to me if they allowed him to do that in 616, without one heck of an explanation.

Also, let us not forget that the good doctor is a major player in the Marvel Universe and doesn't even need the thunder God's Power. Dr. Strange is a guy who can pretty much do anything already. Wouldn't be surprised if he could make a magical hammer of his very own, with a set of enchantments of original design.

The Last Duskblade
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