The number of people in the Marvel Universe who are worthy of wielding Mjolnir is already fairly exclusive, with only a few folks currently able to lift Thor's hammer (Thor himself, Jane Foster, and Beta Ray Bill are the top three, as Odin is currently dead with his personality actually living on inside Mjolnir).
But who's the… how shall we put this… most worthy of Mjolnir? If Mjolnir had to choose who would wield it from among those who are worthy of its power, who would it pick?
Avengers Assemble Alpha #1 from writer Jason Aaron, artists Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, and Alex Sinclair, and letterer Cory Petit reveals the answer - and it may actually surprise you.
Spoilers ahead for Avengers Assemble Alpha #1
The story opens on Avenger Prime, who is heavily hinted to be a Multiversal version of Loki in the story, though his identity isn't confirmed.
As he leaves his citadel for the first time in ages, he confronts Mephisto, who recognizes (but never names) him, and the two prepare for a battle between Avenger Prime's Multiversal Avengers Forever team, and the combined forces of Mephisto's 'Council of Red,' comprised of countless Variants of Mephisto from throughout Marvel's Multiverse, and the Masters of Evil of the Multiverse, who are exactly what their name implies.
But first, the core Avengers team has a confrontation with the Prehistoric Avengers which erupts in violence as the two teams each assume the other is a threat (classic Avengers stuff).
Among the fracas, Thor recognizes his father Odin, who wields a freshly forged version of Mjolnir which has been shown to have something of a mind of its own when it comes to obeying Odin's command and flying where he tries to throw it, and who is part of the Prehistoric Avengers in an era right around the time Thor was born.
At the same time, Odin himself recognizes Jane Foster as a human-turned-Valkyrie - though he doesn't recognize who she is because this is the Prehistoric Odin. As he chastises Mjolnir for not trying harder to hit Jane, she calls out to the hammer, "Mjolnir, old friend."
And wouldn't you know it…
The prehistoric Mjolnir comes right to Jane, to Odin's astonishment.
Nonetheless, Odin's hold on Mjolnir allows him to attempt to call it back, leaving Odin and Jane locked in a struggle to bring the hammer to their hands - which ends when Jane becomes distracted, sending the hammer flying.
But at the same moment, Thor's modern Mjolnir comes crashing in, colliding with the original Mjolnir and causing a massive shockwave, pausing the battle for a moment and allowing the Avengers of both eras to come together against the real threat.
Check out the best heroes to be worthy of Mjolnir.
