Thor is one of the most powerful Marvel characters. He is an Asgardian god, so his strength is superhuman.
Thor has held up buildings and cars and even universes. His strength is as legendary as his hammer, Mjolnir. Although there are many powerful Avengers, Thor may be the strongest. That is up for debate, but his weightlifting power is not in dispute.
How much can Thor lift? He is at least a Class-100 lifter and capable of lifting immeasurable amounts.
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How Much Can Thor Lift at a Minimum?
As a starting point for how much Thor can lift, one commentary states that Thor can lift up to 320 lbs or 140 kg.
However, most sites and commentaries estimate that Thor can lift over 100 tons, which places him in the Class-100 strength category. This is the same category that the Hulk is in.
In Marvel’s strength scale database, Thor is listed in the “able to lift over 100 tons” category. This confirms this minimum lift. Yet, it also says that those in this category can lift a “potentially incalculable” weight.
That means that Thor, the Hulk, Iron Man (in his suits), She-Hulk, and others can lift a base weight of 100 tons, but it could go to beyond-measurement levels.
At a minimum, we could say that Thor lifts beyond Class-100, much beyond.
How Much Can Thor Lift at the Top Level?
Thor is even stronger than the baseline Class-100 standing. In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor threw Hulk across a room, for example–one indication of his greater strength.
Other examples of Thor’s strength include lifting a skyscraper, pulling apart a section of the Earth, and smashing a planet to pieces (in super-Hulk-like fashion).
In the comic Thor: Man of War #1, Thor shook the Ten Realms, or ten universes, which provides even more evidence of his beyond 100-ton lifting ability.
Fans seem to agree, pointing out that Thor can lift billions of tons with the example from Avengers: Infinity War of swinging and pulling back a rocket ship.
Another article indicates how Thor has super-Asgardian strength, meaning he is stronger than other Asgardians. Because of lineage with his natural mother, the Earth Goddess Gaea, Thor is linked to other Greek and Egyptian gods.
In addition, it appears that Thor’s strength even increases when he is on Earth and when he taps into the Odin-Force, or the energy of his father, Odin.
The Marvel comics site states that Thor has unlimited strength and can charge himself up with lightning to become more powerful. Bending and rebending Captain America’s shield is one example that goes with this god-like or beyond-god-like strength depiction.
Just lifting Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, would amount to a superhuman feat. One real-life science article shows that Mjolnir would weigh as much as 300 billion elephants or twelve thousand trillion pounds.
That’s because the hammer is made from neutron star matter, recognized as the densest matter outside of a black hole.
At the top level then, Thor’s lifting reaches beyond the extraordinary, even for gods, and could be limitless.
Based on the last movie, Thor: Love and Thunder, Thor may have reached Odin’s level of power, and his strength is a big part of it.
How Much Can Jane Foster Lift as Thor?
We know from Thor: Love and Thunder that Jane Foster can lift Mjolnir. As noted above, this hammer could be as heavy as thousands of trillions of pounds.
This shows great lifting ability in itself. Yet, the comics had already depicted Jane Foster as a character with superhuman strength. For example, she can lift and hold a car over her head.
So, Foster may fall into the same range as Thor. At the minimum, she is lifting cars and, at the maximum, much more than that, given her Asgardian connection.
However, to lift Mjolnir requires a quality that does not equate with physical strength. To wield this enchanted hammer, someone needs to be “worthy” to do so.
Thor had to prove himself worthy, including by being with Jane Foster. In turn, Foster proved herself worthy by being compassionate and helping the world.
Those are admired strengths, but not physical ones. Nonetheless, Jane Foster does evince incredible, beyond-human strength on screen and in the comics.
Which Marvel Characters are Stronger Than Thor?
Usually, Spider-Man would be on the lower end of the strength spectrum. But on occasion, he may be able to lift more than Thor.
Spider-Man can lift about 10 tons at a base level. Yet, when faced with threatening situations where his adrenaline kicks in, he can lift an unlimited weight.
In terms of overall power, Captain Marvel and Scarlet Witch may beat out Thor. Captain Marvel has a power scale of 25 and Scarlet Witch of 50, compared with Thor’s 20.
On Thor or beyond-Thor levels, Captain Marvel punched through a spaceship, while Scarlet Witch held back Thanos. Yet, these characters’ strengths do tend to lie with their photon energy blasts and energy manipulation powers.
Hercules and Zeus rank above Thor in strength. Many consider Hercules to be the strongest Marvel character, with Zeus close behind him.
The character Sentry may also outlift Thor. Like Thor, Sentry has above Class-100 strength but has been credited with defeating She-Hulk, Thor, and Captain Marvel simultaneously.
Thor’s Lifting Power
Thor may not be the strongest Marvel character, but he does rank at the top in terms of lifting. The Hulk is on the same level as him, but Thor has demonstrated he can surpass the Hulk.
Thor goes from a base Class-100 lifting ability to superhuman and then beyond calculation. His god-like strength allows him to lift universes and anything else that gets in his way.
Todd Wahlstrom is a creative and analytical freelance writer and life-long Star Wars fan who has expanded into writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has written about recent shows such as The Mandalorian and Andor and classic topics like Darth Vader, the Jedi, and Boba Fett. His recent articles include the MCU’s Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Todd is the author of a non-fiction book, holds a Ph.D. in history, and enjoys hiking, running, and reading about science.