Dr. Doom can carry Thor’s hammer (but that doesn’t make him worthy)

Marvel’s Doctor Doom is now able to execute Thor hammer Mjolnir – and the concept of who is and is not worthy to lift the enchanted weapon just got very complicated. Victor Von Doom is one of Marvel’s most famous villains, and perhaps the most diabolical; Doom is a dictator of Latveria who has no qualms about murdering anyone who gets in his way and seeks to rule Earth (and space beyond). Now, All-Out Avengers #1 challenges that idea as Doom has a weapon normally only used by heroes.

Doctor Doom began his Marvel history as a Silver Age Fantastic Four villain, but quickly escaped the book of Marvel’s First Family to wreak havoc on the Marvel Universe as a whole. Doctor Doom has worked with several villains (but only out of necessity and never with the desire to make friends), and was the main villain in both Secret Wars crossover events (both in the exact same way: in the 1984 original he took over the Beyonder’s power, and in the 2015 sequel he took over Kang the Conqueror as the main villain). Doom is often on his own side and rarely discusses his plans with anyone until they are almost complete.

Related: Marvel Tells Too Many Stories About Thor’s Hammer

IN All-Out Avengers #1, written by Derek Landy with art by Greg Land, the Avengers successfully fend off an alien invasion thanks to the Dark Tide, a malevolent force that forces Captain Marvel to turn on her teammates. The team is forced to send her through a portal far away from Earth; she will eventually transform into Carol Danvers on the trip home. But the trial is not over, because the preview image for All Out Avengers #2 reveals that the team will be fighting Doctor Doom… and their only hope for salvation is, paradoxically, Doctor Doom. Doom has the two most heroic weapons/symbols in the Marvel Universe: Captain America’s shield and Thor’s hammer.

Few characters have ever wielded the hammer in Marvel Comics—and fewer still have wielded both hammer and shield—so the fact that a ruthless dictator can lift Mjolnir is quite shocking. The 2022s Hulk vs Thor: Banner of War revealed that Odin can change the enchantment to allow Hulk and everyone else to swing the hammer – but in what situation would Thor’s father allow a man like Doom to hold his ancestral weapon? Perhaps Doom himself could change the enchantment, but that would give him greater magical abilities than Odin, a highly unlikely prospect.

Thus, either Doom’s hammer is an illusion, or one of the most hateful villains is actually worthy of lifting Mjolnir. To be considered worthy of the hammer, it is not enough to be a decent, morally upright person – you must also be a brave warrior. If the hammer considers Doctor Doom worthy of the latter, it may overlook his lack of the former – importance Thor hammer has a mind of its own, and exactly who is and isn’t “worthy” of Mjolnir changes over time.