The Marvel comic book universe is awash with rare, fictional metals. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) expands to introduce more characters (notably Wolverine), more metals will be introduced on-screen. Wolverine’s claws and skeleton are laced with a coating of adamantium. Magneto’s helmet, which prevents telepaths from reading and controlling his mind, is made of the same. Mjolnir (Thor’s hammer) is made of enchanted uru. Spider-Man supervillain Doctor Octopus has used carbonadium to create his tentacles, and Deadpool’s katanas are made of the same.
However, the rarest and most valuable metal in Marvel comics lore is vibranium. In the MCU, the rare commodity was introduced in Captain America: The First Avenger, as The Star-Spangled Man’s shield is made of vibranium. The MCU expanded on vibranium in Avengers: Age of Ultron when Ulton used the metal to reinforce his physical form. Most famously, it was widely featured in Black Panther, since the metal comes from an ancient meteorite that landed in Wakanda some one million years ago. But why is vibranium such a valuable and sought-after resource? Some reasons are tangible while others are symbolic.
Vibranium's Combat Applications
Vibranium was introduced in the MCU because it is the material that makes up Captain America’s famous shield. The glorified frisbee seems to defy all of the laws of physics, because, well… comic-book-logic. It is capable of many great feats. In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, The Falcon, a mere mortal man without any otherworldly physical abilities, embeds the shield in a thick tree trunk by merely tossing it.
Furthermore, supervillain Ultron displayed the rare metal’s combat capabilities in Avengers: Age of Ultron. He became much harder for the Avengers to defeat in combat once he donned his vibranium-enhanced armor. It took Scarlet Witch using enraged magic to dispatch Ultron in that particular form.
Most notably, The Black Panther’s suit is made of enriched vibranium. The suit is bulletproof, yet extremely flexible. It can protect The Black Panther from a variety of physical stresses, harness the energy, and unleash it back onto his opponent. The Black Panther’s claws are made of the metal as well, which left heavy scratches in Captain America’s shield in the events of Captain America: Civil War. Captain America is a formidable super-soldier because of his tactical genius, enhanced strength and stamina, and his vibranium shield. But, The Black Panther is arguably an even more formidable super-soldier because he shares the same qualities, plus an entire suit made of the rare metal.
Imagine if the armies of conquering empires were to get their hands on vibranium. Wartime engagements would become decisive, quick affairs in no time. Advancements in society often spur from military technology, and that is no different in vibranium’s case.
Civilian Applications
Vibranium is not merely a weapon of war. To suggest so would be an insult to the amazing achievements of the Kingdom of Wakanda. It offers a vast array of civilian applications, as well. In Black Panther, a vibranium-enriched shielding physically obscures much of the country from the peering eyes of the rest of the world. It helps run Wakanda’s entire infrastructure, from defenses to transportation. It can even be used to perform enhanced medical techniques that would not be possible without the application of vibranium.
Simply put, vibranium allowed Wakanda to become the most technologically superior nation on Earth. Furthermore, it was able to achieve this surreptitiously. While most of the African continent was being violently colonized and plundered by Western empires, Wakanda quietly but decisively surpassed the wildest dreams of these same empires.
Vibranium's Scarcity
Vibranium is virtually only found in Wakanda. The rare metal comes from a meteor that struck Sub-Saharan Africa eons ago. Given the fact that Wakanda is an isolationist nation that hides its technological advancements, no other nation knew about the metal’s existence until the United States obtained enough of it to create Captain America’s shield.
Unless another vibranium-laced meteor strikes Earth again, or someone discovers the source of vibranium in space, Wakanda is the sole proprietor of the naturally-occurring metal. In the comics, artificially-created vibranium does exist, but it is absurdly expensive and difficult to produce.
Symbolism
Ethiopia is the only African country in the world that was never successfully colonized by Western powers. In Marvel comics, Wakanda shares that rarified distinction. This is precisely because of the vibranium cache in Wakanda. The ability to hide the nation’s wealth from prying eyes must have been invaluable during the era of mass colonization.
To plunder vibranium from the fictional kingdom would be to take the very thing that made it the envy of the industrialized world. No other country is in the same stratosphere as Wakanda when it comes to technology. It would also be an affront to the nation’s pride, and a symbolic blow to the African state that was spared from the horrors of the slave trade and colonization. Marvel is sure to introduce its other rare metals in due time. But, none of them have the symbolic power or physical utility that vibranium has to its name.