14 Squeaky-Clean Action Heroes Who Would Be Worthy To Wield Mjolnir

Samwise Gamgee just might be the most underrated "best friend" character in the entire history of fictional storytelling. Thrust into action after overhearing a conversation between Gandalf and Frodo, this unassuming little gardener stands with "Mr. Frodo" for the whole adventure through Middle-earth in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic books benefits greatly from having Sean Astin in the role of Sam. In a trilogy filled with myths and monsters, Astin grounds the proceedings with his heartfelt turn. 

Sam literally carries Frodo on his back at times. That's just the kind of guy this little Hobbit is. Sam's steadfast demeanor in the face of the most demanding circumstances imaginable shoots him from the top of the "great sidekicks" list and onto the out-and-out "heroes" list. There is absolutely no way Frodo makes it to Mount Doom without Sam watching his back at every turn. Gollum probably would've claimed Frodo's life if not for Sam! Would their trek have been simpler with Mjolnir? Probably...

The Princess Bride is completely stacked with larger-than-life characters. Wallace Shawn's Vizzini talks a mile a minute. Cary Elwes's Westley oozes immense confidence at every turn. Mandy Patinkin's Inigo Montoya has the film's most iconic line. And though all of this is true, only one character is played by a man who was larger than life himself: André the Giant. André played Fezzik, the huge brute with a heart of gold. 

Fezzik comes off as a figure who would be better suited to a smaller body. Just because he can knock the stuffing out of anyone he comes into contact with doesn't mean he actually wants to. André plays the colossal gent with unrelenting warmth. When he smiles and waves, the audience can't help but give a little smirk themselves. If he did manage to get his hands on Mjolnir, he probably wouldn't use it!

Tom Hanks has made an astonishing, awards-laden career out of playing the good guy. Forrest Gump. The Terminal. Captain Phillips. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. The list goes on and on. Surely, at the top of the list of memorable protagonists Hanks has played sits Captain John Miller from Steven Spielberg's 1998 classic Saving Private Ryan. Miller leads his band of not-so-merry men on a thankless journey to find Matt Damon's Private First Class James Ryan and send him home to his family.

By the end of the film, Miller has given his life to save that of the young private, and he does so without cursing his lot in life. No, he merely asks Ryan to earn the sacrifice of the men who are tasked with getting him back to the US alive. Mjolnir probably would've come in handy in WWII, but let's just call that an educated guess.

Patrick Stewart has been portraying Jean-Luc Picard in various Star Trek films and television series for over several decades now. And while he may not have been the first Starfleet captain in the Star Trek franchise, he is arguably its greatest. With all he learned in his numerous years spent training in Shakespearean theater, Stewart has imbued Picard with an almost innate gravitas (something he would use to significant effect in the X-Men film franchise, as well).

Picard is a good man, a dedicated man, a righteous man. Violence is a last resort for him, meaning he certainly would be worthy of wielding the great Mjolnir. It's unclear what good Thor's hammer would do aboard the USS Enterprise, but Picard could definitely pick it up, at least.

It's pretty easy to find fault with Batman's tactics in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. He lets Ra's al Ghul ie at the end of Batman Begins. He is a brutal fighter who dangles men from rooftops and drops them multiple stories onto concrete to break their legs. So, uh, Batman isn't really the best guy around.

But how about that squeaky-clean Jim Gordon? Although Gotham City's police department is filled to the brim with suspect characters who are easily bought off, Gordon does his absolute best to keep Gotham safe. It's almost like he is the one-man army standing between the bombastic villains and innocent people. Does he let Batman illegally interrogate the Joker in The Dark Knight? Yes, but who isn't willing to look past Gordon's minor indiscretions... it's a comic book movie, after all. Let's not take it too seriously. And give that mustachioed man a Mjolnir!

Ah, the queen of science fiction herself. If there was ever a protagonist who could've used (and even deserved) Mjolnir to help fight off a powerful foe, it is Ellen Ripley. A beacon of hope in a tragic multimedia franchise, Ripley keeps finding herself in the midst of Xenomorphs no matter what she does. That is how movies work (you can't have an Alien film without, you know, an alien), but Ripley really never catches a break.

That being said, how great would the climax of Aliens be had Sigourney Weaver been able to wipe the floor with the Xenomorph queen thanks to Mjolnir? Ridley Scott should bring back Weaver as Ripley for the next Alien movie and give her a lightning hammer. That would sell some tickets.