Originally posted by ODG
^ Fraction wrote that, yes, but it has little to do with him. Ben Grimm couldn't lift it either. Noble souls have tried and failed miserably.
Which means there is no one formula but rather what the writer at the time thinks.
I'm pretty sure most Thor writers disagree on all who should be worthy. So this thread is really a fail if you ask me. Those who are worthy are those who the writer deems (not Odin) are worthy. Simple as that.
Originally posted by Zack Fair
Anyone > Odin should be able to lift it.
Maybe not, or at least maybe not anyone who isn't >>>>>>>> Odin, e.g. Living Tribunal.
Take the view of magic as being like the "cheat codes for reality". Then say Odin has obscure knowledge of some arcane magic "code" that he was able to incorporate into Mjolnir. This causes reality to behave a certain way or stay in a certain state around Mjolnir. Only those few with the same obscure knowledge of that particular aspect of reality, like Odin, or those who are imbued with that power, like Thor, have power over it. Even if you are more powerful than Odin, you may not have the power to overcome it by brute force, or the knowledge to undo it using the code.
It's like some weak caveman who discovers how to block off his cave with a large rock by inventing the first lever, then hiding the lever. None of the other cavemen, even the strongest, can move the rock or figure it out. Or a really strong person trying to open a solid steel door that some regular guy put a complex lock on. Or someone devises quantum encryption on a computer, and even with a more powerful computer brute force methods still don't crack it. Or scientists develop nuclear technology, but many stronger or more powerful people can't tap atomic energy even though in a street fight they can beat up the nerdy scientists who command it.
For unliving objects, like machines, the "cheat code" may not make reality behave in the same way, allowing them to pick the hammer up. This might be the equivalent of air, sound, radiation, or water still passing through the locked steel door.
But a living being who is > Odin or >> Odin may still not have the sheer power to overcome the effects of the code.
Then there might be guys >>> Odin, who have the brute power to do the equivalent of smashing that rock or door, or breaking that code by brute force methods. Maybe a FP Galactus.
Then of course there are guys like Living Tribunal or Eternity. They too have the power to brute force it, but also the "cheat codes" are child's play to them because they know all the secrets. They can simply negate the code, unlock that door, and pick up the hammer.