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In Thor (the movie), we see Thor (the character) pin Loki (the trickster) to the ground using Mjölnir (the hammer). (superfluous parenthetical comment here).

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In the Avengers, we see that the Hulk is unable to lift Mjölnir.

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In this instance, Hulk's hand should be trapped under the hammer, and yet he is able to let go. This could be similar to how Stark trapped the Hulk in a cage in Age of Ultron, and Hulk dug his way out from under it.

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If Thor placed Mjölnir on the Hulk's chest, would it incapacitate him to similar to what was done to Loki?

Note: In an alternate universe, we might say it was adhered to his chest using Toad's spit, and that a time traveling robot placed it there.

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    -1 Is there any indication at all that it would not? Sorry but this looks like a rep grab to me... Perhaps you could also write a series of posts asking the same question of each member of the Avengers.
    – Lightness Races in Orbit
    Oct 29, 2015 at 17:39
  • @LightnessRacesinOrbit I have changed the wording of the question to reflect my conversation with Mike Edenfield
    – Jack B Nimble
    Oct 29, 2015 at 17:59
  • For the record, Hulk's hand isn't trapped in that photo. He reaches out to catch it before it lands, and is trying to pull it up to use it when Thor knees him in the face. At that point, he lets go and his hand comes out from under Mjolnir without Mjolnir moving, so we know that his hand wasn't trapped.
    – Dr R Dizzle
    Oct 29, 2015 at 18:03
  • @DrRDizzle It looks to me like the handle angles up towards the end of it, implying Hulk's hand is so large, it underneath it.
    – Jack B Nimble
    Oct 29, 2015 at 18:04
  • @JackBNimble Watch the clip again. After being hit by Thor, Hulk lets go without Mjolnir having to move at all. His hand can't have been trapped.
    – Dr R Dizzle
    Oct 29, 2015 at 18:05

4 Answers 4

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There is an incredibly similar question with an excellent answer here on Quora, even describing how different forms of Hulk would react to Thor's hammer being placed on them. This answer would have been a comment, but I am lacking in reputation, so shall attach an overview of Thaddeus's answer on Quora here.

Savage Hulk: Would slam his fists against the ground until an earthquake occured which caused the hammer to move in relation to the Earth.

Mr Fixit: Would feign unconsciousness until Thor came to retrieve his hammer, then attack him using underhand fighting techniques.

The Professor: Persuade Thor to remove his hammer using sheer smooth talking, or if this failed he would let Mjolnir rip through him, then standing up and regenerating that area of his body, as he had been seen to do before with the entirety of his flesh.

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    Can the Professor decide to let Mjolnir go through him?
    – Taladris
    Oct 29, 2015 at 23:26
  • @Taladris I would assume this is, at least in part, Thor's decision, given the control he has been seen to exert over Mjolnir. Since we know Thor can control how Mjolnir returns to him, for example if it hits civilians, and can also choose for it to go through people on its return (see Infinity #4), it likely depends on if the Professor's strength is greater than Thor's willpower.
    – user44053
    Oct 30, 2015 at 9:26
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Um, yes. That's exactly what's happening in the second photo.

Even if we were to assume for a moment that the distance between handle and floor were large enough for Hulk to slide his hand out (of which there was no evidence in the scene), there's still no reason to assume that literally placing the hammer on top of Hulk wouldn't have precisely the same effect on him that it does on everyone else.

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    If that is true, why isn't that always the solution to an enraged Hulk?
    – Jack B Nimble
    Oct 29, 2015 at 17:40
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    He's going to calm down eventually....
    – Jack B Nimble
    Oct 29, 2015 at 17:41
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    For the record, Hulk's hand isn't trapped in that photo. He reaches out to catch it before it lands, and is trying to pull it up to use it when Thor knees him in the face. At that point, he lets go and his hand comes out from under Mjolnir, so his hand wasn't trapped. The rest of your answer is fine.
    – Dr R Dizzle
    Oct 29, 2015 at 17:49
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    @LightnessRacesinOrbit the question I raised in chat, and which there may just not be an answer to in the MCU yet, is there any reason that Hulk couldn't get out from under Mjolnir, say the way he got out from inside Tony's Hulk cage in Ultron ? Could he roll out from under it? could he move it if he wasn't trying to wield it?
    – KutuluMike
    Oct 29, 2015 at 17:52
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    @MikeEdenfield Presumably, Mjolnir would fall as quick as The Hulk can, so he will always be under it while digging down and as such always pinned.
    – Dr R Dizzle
    Oct 29, 2015 at 17:53
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Based on what we've seen so far in the MCU, there is only one version of Hulk and his strength was not enough to overcome the enchantment. So it is reasonable to assume that Hulk could be pinned down in the same manner as Loki. The two reasons why this hasn't been used as a solution to stop Hulk are:

  • Hulk has only opposed the avengers twice (first in the helicarrier and then in Johannesburg). On the first occasion Thor struggled to knock him down and on the second occasion Thor wasn't present because he was affected by Scarlet Witch's mind attack.
  • It would make the films a little less interesting. Hulk is portrayed as the avenger's secret weapon (although not so secret anymore). Having Thor stop him by simply placing the hammer on his chest would defeat the purpose.
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  • Also - Wouldn't you have to get the Hulk down to the ground and subdued enough for you to place the hammer on his chest without getting smashed? That doesn't sound like a particularly do-able set of tasks.
    – PoloHoleSet
    Aug 11, 2016 at 18:07
  • Yes, this is what happened to Thor on the helicarrier.
    – edgar
    Aug 15, 2016 at 23:48
  • yes, I'd find the "not getting smashed" part particularly worrisome.
    – PoloHoleSet
    Aug 17, 2016 at 13:39
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Source: I wrote several scenes in 2011's Thor, including the one where Thor immobilizes Loki by placing the hammer on Loki's chest.

Loki couldn't move it, and never would be able to, unless he was "worthy" (hero's journey, pure of heart, defender blah di blah) like Thor was/is. Could Loki redeem himself and become a good person (and be able to lift/wield Thor's hammer? Maybe. But that's a separate potential movie/story that hasn't even been written yet.

The Hulk's superpower is rage. Smashing. He's always angry. And therefore absolutely UNworthy to ever wield Mjolnir. So in a Marvel version of 'rock, scissors, paper', Mjolnir will always trump Hulk/Banner. Always. He's simply not worthy!

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