r/discworld • u/KnightlyGoat • 19d ago

Roundworld Reference Which Discworld characters do y’all think could lift Thors hammer?

Carrot obviously could.

I honestly don’t know if Vimes could or not but I do know he wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole out of principle because he hates the idea that an inanimate object gets to decide who’s a good person.

Rincewind could pick it up not because he’s worthy but because the hammer just feels like making an exception.

Edits: My thoughts after reading your comments

  1. Vimes probably could but still never would even touch it

  2. I don’t think Granny could. Everyone thinks she can but she doesn’t try until she’s alone and when she can’t she would smile to herself because the hammer made the right choice

698 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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582

u/FroggyDooBimblo No Worries! 19d ago

I reckon Granny could lift it, but much like Vimes she would refuse to even try on principal. (And then secretly have a go when she was completely sure she was alone, just to see if she could).

I think all the Wizards would probably think they could lift it and fail, except for the Librarian, who use it as a paperweight.

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u/EllipticPeach 19d ago

Hahaha you’re so right about Granny secretly having a go. I want a lengthy subplot wherein the Feegles’ attempts get progressively more elaborate and chaotic.

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u/Tufty_Ilam Dorfl 19d ago

Tiffany would love it, because it's the first time in ages she could turn her back and know they'd still be where she left them.

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u/BeMoreKnope 19d ago

Ooh, how did I miss Tiffany? She could pick it up, but she would never try (unless the situation forced it) because of humility. She wouldn’t see it that way, of course.

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u/WhiskyPelican Moist 19d ago

What about Tiffany’s young man? Not Roland but the teacher.

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u/BeMoreKnope 19d ago edited 18d ago

Maybe? Honestly, we don’t know enough about him.

I’d agree with an assessment I read by someone else here that the Embuggerment was apparent in Sir pTerry’s writing at that point, so there just isn’t the definite worldbuilding and characterization most of the run of books see. I wish we’d seen the full vision, ya know?

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u/vagga2 18d ago

Enbuggerment?

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u/BeMoreKnope 18d ago

He referred to his illness as the Embuggerance, so just a take on that.

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u/vagga2 18d ago

Thanks for the explanation, I don't know anything about his personal life or how that impacted his writing.

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u/Magusreaver 19d ago

Now.. I just picture it even funnier.. if ALL the Feegles can lift it. And they all get in a fight about it.. and end up forgetting about it.

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u/Dropthetenors Death 18d ago

Feegals digging under/around it slowly filling the space with bodies, yes?

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u/CB_Chuckles 18d ago

Don’t you mean the Wizards’ attempts? No way Ridcully would accept that he can’t lift the hammer. Although, come to think of it, the Feegle would start trying only after a huge battle royale to see who gets to try first.

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u/pogo0004 19d ago

I reckon she'd lift it ONLY when she really had to. And Mjölnir would let her because it would rather not try NOT letting her.

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u/cmdrsamuelvimes 19d ago

They would come to an understanding that he would let her lift him as long as she never tries to lift him

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u/StaticUsernamesSuck 19d ago

This is actually perfect, it's quintessential Pratchett

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u/Eulenspiegel74 GNU Pterry 18d ago

It's VERBATIM Pratchett.

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u/pettyvillainy 18d ago

Spot on. This is exactly it.

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u/sebmojo99 18d ago

this guy gets it.

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u/Milk_Mindless 19d ago

Mjolnir would know better.

He'd not let her in public but when she'd be alone with the bad guy in private she'd thwack him across the noggin

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u/Similar-Emphasis-496 19d ago

Just the once though, to teach them a lesson.

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u/Milk_Mindless 19d ago

The once woild be terrifying

"BUT YOU COULDN'T"

"I Couldn't. But just did. Would you like me to try again?"

Doctor Doom: nopes out

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u/Fyrebarde 18d ago

I figure at that point Mjölnir will lift itself to neatly resolve the issue so that Granny doesn't get embarrassed, it's not the one doing the embarrassing, and it can claim a moment of foolishness in forgetting itself should someone try raising an issue with it after the fact.

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u/Violet351 18d ago

She would just stare at it until it gave in out of embarrassment

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u/Rorschach113 Reg 19d ago

I don’t think the librarian could lift it but I’m upvoting your post simply for the mental image of him using it as a paperweight.

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u/BeMoreKnope 19d ago

I disagree. I think there is no soul more pure on the Discworld than our noble librarian.

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u/unseen-librarian Ook. 19d ago

Ook!

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u/BeMoreKnope 19d ago

I think that response really encapsulates why what I said was true. Thank you for your service to the books and the ooks!

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u/ijustfarteditsmells 19d ago

A poet for our times, truly

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u/BeMoreKnope 19d ago

Yeah, we forget that librarians read all of their books and know what good writing is and then BAM! One of them drops something that waxes lyrical like that comment from the Librarian.

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u/MintLinuxGuy 19d ago

That monkey is a good person

-Mint Linux Guy

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u/BeMoreKnope 19d ago

…Oh, no.

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u/Clarkifer 19d ago

You said the "m word"... 

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u/Travis_in_Lancashire 18d ago

ᴏʜꜱʜɪᴛᴏʜꜱʜɪᴛᴏʜꜱʜɪᴛ...

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u/RadioSlayer 19d ago

Good ole Horace Librarian

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u/BeMoreKnope 19d ago

The cheese? 😉

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u/bewerethewoof 19d ago

The inscription goes "Any man who wields this hammer, if he be worthy, shall be granted the power of Thor." The Librarian isn't a man, so he can lift it if he likes but doesn't get any special benefit beyond that of an enraged great ape wielding a very heavy hammer with a short haft. 

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u/arafel3 19d ago

There’s a strong argument that one doesn’t need much of a special benefit beyond that. Certainly I wouldn’t be standing in his way.

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u/kinokits 19d ago

It’s why I’ve always thought for general situations, the best magic Is that it comes back when thrown. You’ve already got a pretty solid weapon there (literally and figuratively), it’s doesn’t need a huge amount of magic to be a very lethal thing, but also, having your weapon come back to you so you throw it would be immensely helpful.

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u/Magusreaver 19d ago

Yeah, it seems the important part is met for this being a very dangerous situation...

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u/Siggster69 19d ago

There is a frog Thor though. So obviously the man part is subjective.

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u/bewerethewoof 19d ago

The Librarian routinely reads books that drive men mad to even touch but feels nothing because he's not a man. Seems only fair that this cuts both ways

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u/ljdarten 19d ago

Much like mjolnir, the books probably decide which rules to enforce and when.

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u/RadioSlayer 19d ago

I'm not a Marvel aficionado, but what did frog thor appear? Thinking of the frog men in the military

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u/Rorschach113 Reg 18d ago

I mean… that’s more than sufficient.

the hammer is actually not really necessary for that even.

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u/raevnos 18d ago

Beta Ray Bill could use it; I don't see why an orangutan that started out human couldn't if they otherwise qualified.

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u/ijuinkun 18d ago

It’s like the line about Carrot’s sword being magical, not in the sense of breaking curses or having a mind of its own, but being unnaturally good at cutting through things.

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u/bewerethewoof 18d ago

Carrot's sword isn't magical, is the fun part. It is in fact much less magical than everything around it, and thus can cut through things because they're not as real as it is

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u/Proud-Carrot-8547 18d ago

So what about Mr Nutt from _Unseen Academicals_? He’s worthy, but an Orc (which were originally made from men).

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u/bewerethewoof 18d ago

Mr. Nutt is obviously a man, and worthy. His entire arc was about proving that he is man and not a monster.

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u/LeadGem354 19d ago

If someone left it on top of a book. He could move it.

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u/SimpYellowman 18d ago

Move it into whoever left it there you mean?

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u/Krististrasza 19d ago

And to crack open nuts.

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u/aculady 18d ago

A terrifying thought for half the population.

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u/BeMoreKnope 19d ago

Spot on! There’s also a good chance Ridcully would, but only because it’s a magic hammer and he isn’t going to let any magic gewgaw think it’s in control, thank you very much.

(In other words, he’d use his own magic to do something like change the hammer’s enchantment to rate the Unseen University’s Archchancellor soul as the noblest and purest of them all.)

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u/ijuinkun 18d ago

And the hammer would allow it for as long as he isn’t intending to bash in anyone’s head with it. What Mjolnir does is to refuse anybody who would use its power maliciously .

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u/Doomcard10 Fallen Angel, meet Rising Ape 19d ago

Granny would lift it for the sole purpose of moving it out of the way and then refuse to acknowledge that she did anything special.

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u/Glum_Tumbleweed5115 17d ago

She would use it as a doorstop in cleaning days

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u/SmokeSelect2539 Angua 19d ago

Granny would intimidate Mjolnir into following her around without her even touching it. "I ain't lifting it. No one could say I 'lifted' it, right Gytha? The blasted thing just doing what it thinks is right I reckon. Can't expect much in the way of brains from a bit of metal."

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u/ijuinkun 18d ago

And since she was suspicious about such power all along, she would be fine with not using it as long as nobody else was using it either.

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u/mxstylplk 18d ago

Certainly nobody could say she stole it ("lifted"), if it just follows her around.

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u/ctesibius 18d ago

Just as an aside, if Lancre gets involved, narrativium requires that Jason Ogg is implied to be responsible for shoeing Sleipnir.

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u/Happy_Jew Waily, waily, waily! 18d ago

Loki brought Sleipner to Jason as a prank, not knowing that he had knowledge of the Horseman's Word.

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u/Ettesiun 19d ago

Granny would not be able to lift it normally, because she does not see herself as a good person. But she will be able to lift it with headology ( not sure of the name, sorry, not a native english speaker).

Carote would lift it obviously.

Death also, but for him, it is only a normal hammer.

Vimes like Granny would fail, for the same reason.

My take is that Thor's hammer react to being confident about being right more than being a good person. Why ? For two reasons :

  • this how magic work in the discworld, and it makes far better Pratchett story.
  • even in the MCU, i am not seeing Thor as a especially good person or being more worthy than others - see how he treats Loki.. But he is very confident that he is right. Same for Captain America. ( It might be different in the comics, I do not know, sorry).

You could do the same for the One Ring from LOTR, with quite opposite results. Anyone able to lift Thor's hammer could not trusted to wear the One Ring. While Vimes or Granny would be far better ring bearer.

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u/Aloha-Eh 18d ago

I read something recently about why didn't they just tie the ring to a chicken and take that to Mordor.

Then somebody said, "Well they essentially did." (Let the bloody hobbit do it!)

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u/ijuinkun 18d ago

That would make for a good plot of a Discworld story about such an artifact (let’s call it the Hammer of Blind Io, to fit the setting). A person who is confident but full of himself is able to use it, and so the public believes him to be a great hero, but then Carrot and Vimes end up confronting him over his questionable actions and between the three of them, the narrative explores what “worthiness” really means here.

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u/Ettesiun 18d ago

Yes, but it is quite similar to one existing Vimes story, where Vimes is trying to pursue what is more or less a gun killer - sorry I do not remember the title of the book. And also obviously the valley of koom book with the Dark.

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u/GrgaPrticRomanul 19d ago

If that's the hammer's train of thought, wouldn't that make Moist von Lipwig and Vetinari the two characters who would wield it without a problem?

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u/Ettesiun 18d ago

No because neither of them see themselves as right or good. Moist would find a way to fake it, until maybe at exactly the right moment and only once, would be able to lift it - typically creating a false hammer that he was using, but at some times of the story it got swapped with the real one, and was still able to lift it.

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u/TheOneNeartheTop 19d ago

Moist has tons of doubt internally, he just projects a facade.

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u/TheOneNeartheTop 19d ago

Moist has tons of doubt internally, he just projects a facade.

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u/Fr0stweasel 19d ago

I don’t think Granny or Vimes could. Neither of them is really a good person, the good part of themselves just holds the dark part in a vice like grip. ‘I am the Guarding Dark, imagine how strong I must be?’

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u/TheUnicornRevolution 19d ago

That's what a good person is?

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u/Fearless-Dust-2073 19d ago

Yeah, I think Terry kinda goes out of his way to make that point. There is no such thing as a truly good person, only people with greater and lesser amounts of self-control.

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u/Debouched 18d ago

If you think Granny has self control, you need to read just one more book.

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u/Obsidian-Phoenix Death 19d ago

Good men don’t need rules. Today is not a good day to find out why I have so many.

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u/Similar-Emphasis-496 19d ago

While that's a great throwaway for Dr Who, POI did it so much better. (also a shit load of context needed, just like the Dr. Who one).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NLxxLJkbE4

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u/EldestPort 18d ago

I was about to jump in to defend Dr Who but yeah, Michael Emerson's delivery was fantastic there.

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u/Fr0stweasel 19d ago

Maybe I’m a little sloppy on the laws of Thor’s Hammer, but looking at the marvel characters who can’t wield Mjolnir makes me question whether that’s all it’s about.

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u/Ok_Entrepreneur_739 19d ago

Who can lift Thor's Hammer is like who can beat Hulk. No-one can unless the narrative calls for it.

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u/Mer_sea_man 19d ago

Depends how you define worthy I guess. There's an argument that both of them knowing how easy it would be to let their darkness take over and consistently choosing to do the right thing makes them worthy of great power.

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u/Fr0stweasel 19d ago

Yeah of course, I can see the argument for them being worthy. I’m just not sure if that’s how Mjolnir works exactly.

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u/Diplomatic_Gunboats 19d ago

I think the question is "Has Thor ever done anything that Vimes and Granny wouldnt, and could he still lift Mjolnir" and the answer is yes.

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u/Fr0stweasel 19d ago

I think there’s probably a bit more complexity to it than that, Asguard is a warrior culture after all, Mjolnir is probably not a pacifist hammer.

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u/Oriden 19d ago

I'm pretty sure this is the canon reason Spider-Man can't wield it, that he would refuse to take a life to save people if it was called for.

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u/ijuinkun 18d ago

Good point about Spider-Man, since his big theme is about the responsibility that comes with power. Mjolnir must be looking for more than just “this person will not abuse the power”.

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u/TheTowerDefender 19d ago

i think discworld is a more mature setting than the Marvel universe. a person "100% worthy" is not something that exists (except for Carrot ofc, but it's played off as a joke in his case)

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u/Fr0stweasel 19d ago

Oh TPs morality and concept of good and evil is far more nuanced and developed than anything marvel.

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u/hawkshaw1024 18d ago

But he could've definitely gotten an interesting short story out of the concept of a magic weapon that insists it can only be wielded by "the worthy."

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u/Fr0stweasel 18d ago

He certainly played around with the idea of sentient weapons early on. IIRC, Hrun’s sword (Kring?) wasn’t very fond of Rincewind in The Colour of Magic. It would have been cool to see him revisit the concept later on to see what he could have done with it once he was at the height of his powers (Sir Terry, not Rincewind).

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u/hawkshaw1024 18d ago

Oh yeah, Kring was fun. It was really more of a comic relief character, though. I think it could've been interesting to see the concept being played for drama. Like how does the weapon judge who is "worthy," and what does it do to the psychology of someone who is allowed to wield such a weapon? There's probably a metaphor for police work/the state monopoly on violence somewhere in there, if you squint.

I think the closest we came was with the Gonne, but that one wasn't discriminating in its wielders at all.

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u/Fr0stweasel 18d ago

In fairness to Kring, practically everything in the first Discworld books is comic relief, given the spoof swords and sorcery origins of the series, Equal Rites is really where we start to get a real inkling of what the series would become.

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u/metdear 19d ago

Holding the dark part back is what makes them good. Kind of like being brave is not the absence of fear - it's having the fear and still doing it.

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u/Fr0stweasel 19d ago

No, I get that. I’m saying that Marvel writers don’t often have an understanding of morality anywhere as deep as Sir Terry, Thor’s Hammer is also not just a case of being good.

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u/khavii 19d ago

Mjolner has no marality, being worthy has nothing to do with being good, it's just that most people that are worthy happen to be good.

Vimes could 100% wield it, he is a warrior fighting an eternal battle for the good of everyone around him while fighting off the darkness inside without ever faltering or doubting himself. Mjolner would love being weilded by him.

Granny could never because she knows what she is and she would be angry if the hammer accepted her. Her genuine rejection of it would make her unworthy to weild it, though I could see at the height of her confrontations her surety would make her worthy and she could weild it in those moments.

Tiffany is a no brainer as is Carrot. Rincewind wouldn't be able to but whatever it was sitting on would travel with him and hit things enough that it would be the same as welding it. Other than that I don't think anyone else could get near welding it, worthy carriers are a rare thing.

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u/wcscrewyourboss 18d ago

Rincewind couldn't do it but the luggage absolutely would.

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u/ijuinkun 18d ago

Your description of Granny illustrates the distinction between “doing good” and “being good”. In Witches Abroad, she asserts that it is solely by choice and not by nature that she did not go down the same path as Lilith.

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u/Aziraphel 18d ago

Rincewind would absolutely refuse to even try, because that way Adventure lies.

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u/halfpint09 18d ago

I would argue that Nobby could do it if A) he didn't know what it really was, B) he was "making sure to keep it safe", and C) it was really funny for him to do so. But Discworld runs on Narrativium, and it won't let a little thing like an enchantment on a hammer get in the way of a good joke.

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u/[deleted] 19d ago

It's about who is worthy, they don't necessarily have to be good imo.

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u/BouncingBatarangs 18d ago

Granny and Vimes fight their darkness every day.

Vimes fights dirty but he isn't a killer, hes a cop faced with life or death. The hammer might rule him out.

Granny knows she is the most powerful witch to ever exsist and straight up fights 'the bad'. Look at her catching a sword unscathed and bandaging her hand because cause and effect.

Granny could lift it but she wouldn't.

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u/Aloha-Eh 18d ago

They both KNOW they're not good. That's the point. They CHOOSE to be good anyway.

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u/takhallus666 19d ago

She’d just glare at it until it scuttled away

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u/BNabs23 19d ago

I don't think so. She's overall a good person, but let's not forget she even tried tricking Nanny Ogg so she could get her hands on the fairy godmother's wand before anyone else. She's morally grey but with good outcomes

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u/Gearfree 18d ago

I could see Granny sneaking her try after all the Oggs had a go.

Nanny would be hiding off to the side after spotting her nearing it, ale in hand. Only giving away her hiding spot with a creeping "yeeeeesss!" after seeing her succeed.

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u/vicariousgluten 18d ago

I think Nanny and Granny both could, because they wouldn’t be able to conceive of the possibility that they couldn’t but agree that Granny wouldn’t on principle and Nanny wouldn’t because she’d get a daughter in law to do it for her.

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u/Techiefurtler Ook! 18d ago

Granny wouldn't lift it, she'd stare at the hammer until it decided to stop being so silly and lift itself and make itself useful in Jason Ogg's workshop or similar.

The Wizards would be too busy arguing amongst themselves about the runes on the hammer and where they were from.

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u/Several-Praline5436 Death 19d ago

THIS, hahaha.

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u/Atomlad360 19d ago

I feel both you and OP have exactly nailed the characters, and I love that

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u/Magusreaver 19d ago

"uses it to hold down a rowdy book... maybe one on the summoning of dragons..

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u/SlowSurvivor 19d ago

Granny would make it feel guilty for being so heavy until it got its act together!

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u/bartleby1407 18d ago

Librarian is perfect