Vibranium

Vibranium
Name	Vibranium
Aliases	Anti-Metal, Plunderstone, Vibranium-B (Savage Land isotope)
Origin
Origin	Vibranium, a rare naturally occurring meteoric ore found in two distinct varieties and one artificial variant.
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Creation	Extraterrestrial
Creators and Appearances
First	Daredevil #13 (December, 1965) (Anti-Metal) Fantastic Four #53 (May, 1966) (Wakandan Vibranium)
First	Daredevil #13 (December, 1965) (Anti-Metal) Fantastic Four #53 (May, 1966) (Wakandan Vibranium)

 The most versatile metal in the world, and they used it to make a frisbee. 

—Ultron

History

Origin

Vibranium is a rare, extraterrestrial metallic ore with energy-manipulating qualities, theorized to have been first deposited on Earth by a meteorite 10,000 years ago, which exists in two forms which are Wakandan Vibranium and Antarctic Vibranium. It had long been hypothesized to be alien in origin by many a scientist who had ample chance to study it. Captain Marvel inadvertently proved said theory to be true during a scuffle between survivors of the Builders attack and the Spartax empire who relocated them, where the latter had been poisoning the planet and its nomadic inhabitants through the improper mining of said metal to rebuild their fleets.

Variations

Map and flag of Wakanda

Wakandan Vibranium

Wakandan Vibranium also known as Vibranium A, is found almost exclusively in the tiny African nation of Wakanda.

In the distant past, a massive meteorite comprised of the sound-absorbing mineral Vibranium crashed in Wakanda, and was unearthed a generation before the events of the present-day. One of the tribes, lead by Bashenga, it's mightiest warrior, decided to investigate, believing this to be a gift from the gods. When they reached the crater they found that the material vibrated and decided it would be useful to forge into weapons. However the radiation the meteorite gave off also had a side effect, turning some of the tribesman into "Demon Spirits". Bashenga prayed to the Panther God to give him the strength to defeat these demons becoming the first "Black Panther" and united the tribes to form the nation of Wakanda. His lineage would later rule the country for centuries.

Vibranium radiation has permeated much of Wakanda's flora and fauna, including the Heart-Shaped Herb eaten by members of the Black Panther Cult, and the flesh of the White Apes's eaten by the members of the White Gorilla Cult.

Wakandan Vibranium absorbs vibratory or kinetic energy in its vicinity within itself. The apparent observable vibratory rate of the molecules of the Vibranium itself does not noticeably increase when the Vibranium absorbs mechanical energy. The outside vibratory energy is stored within the bonds between the molecules making up the Vibranium. As a result, a chunk of Vibranium which had absorbed a considerable amount of vibratory energy would be exceedingly hard to demolish. If enough force were applied to this chunk to smash it, the Vibranium would explode, releasing much of the absorbed energy. There are limits to the capacity of Vibranium to absorb vibratory energy, although the exact extent of these limits has not been determined.

For example, in recent years the oil conglomerate Roxxon discovered that a certain small island in the South Atlantic had a foundation composed of Wakandan Vibranium. Roxxon found it necessary to destroy the island and blew it up with bombs. Unable to absorb the force of the explosion, the Vibranium was destroyed, but it did succeed in entirely absorbing the sound made by the explosion, which prevented damage to the surrounding area.

It is only in recent years that the outside world has learned of the existence of Wakandan Vibranium, although its existence has been rumored for decades. In the early 1940's a small amount of Wakandan Vibranium came into the possession of the young, brilliant scientist Dr. Myron MacLain. Dr. MacLain began to develop super-strong metals for the US Government at the beginning of World War II. While experimenting with various alloys for use as tank armor, he accidentally created the ultra-resilient Vibranium-Steel alloy shield used by Captain America. Although he was never able to duplicate the alloy, after several decades of continued experiments, MacLain finally produced the formula for True Adamantium for the US Government.

Sometime later the renegade scientist Ulysses Klaw, who believed the rumors of Vibranium to be true, found the great "sacred mound" of Vibranium in Wakanda. The king of Wakanda had guarded the mound for generations as a sacred trust. Klaw failed in his attempt to steal Vibranium from the mound but killed the king T'Chaka. T'Chaka's son, T'Challa, became the new king of the Wakandans and adopted the sacred guise of the Black Panther. T'Challa strove to end Wakanda's isolation from the rest of the world. He made the existence of Vibranium known to the greater world and sold small quantities of it to foreigners whom he believed would not turn it to harmful ends. T'Challa used the profits to enrich and modernize his nation.

Vibranium can amplify mystical energies. It is unstable when used this way and it taps into an energy flow on the quantum level that is virtually infinite. If someone was able to master the secret of using magically charged vibranium they would become immensely powerful.

Vibranium is sold at $10,000 per gram, and Wakanda's sacred mound is estimated to have about 10,000 tons of the material. Doom would utilize this mystical material in his latest scheme for ultimate power, nearly crippling King T'chala as a preemptive measure while seeding the citizens of Wakanda with nanites turning the secret cities people into his ultimate spy network/hostage cache. At the same time, secretly aiding the xenophobic dissident Desturi sect with their uprising and overthrow of the royal family while he stole the mother load of Vibranium right from beneath the city.

When the meteor fell to earth over Africa thousands of years ago, it was largely thought that the majority of which had fallen squarely into Wakandan territory. In reality however it was found that unprocessed Vibranium exists in microscopic form across the entire world as the meteorite had seeded the earth in trace particles of it.

Through which Doctor Doom could temporarily assume total control over the planet's very biosphere via the transplant of said ambient alien metal scattered across the environment in most every piece of building material in every civilized corner of the globe. In order to fashion makeshift doombots out of Vibranium particulate matter with a thought. After the war, all the processed Vibranium on Earth had been rendered inert by a Shadow Physics designed pulse bomb, using Doom's new mystically charged Vibranium armor as a focal point to broadcast it across the world. With the continuum wide reset resulting in the aftermath of Secret Wars: Battleworld event, Vibranium has also been restored to the planet. As the mutant criminal Vanisher attempted to make off with stolen Vibranium to sell on the black market in New York City.

Anti-Metal

Antarctic Vibranium , also known as Vibranium B, has thus far been found only in the isolated region of Antarctica known as the Savage Land. It is also known as Anti-Metal due to its opposite effects to Wakandan Vibranium. Antarctic Vibranium, through a means that is not understood, emanates vibrations which cause the atomic and molecular bonds in nearby metals of other kinds to weaken, which results in the liquefaction of nearby solid metals.

A particularly influential noble partook of this mystery element, fashioning it into a family crest which served as a key their most sacred treasure, The Plunder Stone. with this rock the family patriarch hoped to do some good with it, even fashioning a Medallion out of the metal and imparting it onto his two sons. His more duplicitous heir chose to abuse it's power for criminal endeavors, fashioning a weapon out of it which melts all forms of munitions used against him.

A fraction of the sacred mound of Wakandan Vibranium was converted to Antarctic Vibranium by particle bombardment, specifically through Gigawatt Baryon Beams produced by a massive Cyclotron apparatus. Alternating the differentiating isotope that separates Wakandan Vibranium from Antarctic Vibranium.

Turning one of it's Vibranium deposits into a massive Anti-Metal mound which threatened the mega-structure of the eastern hemisphere and the entire world at large. During the Vibranium Vendetta story-line, a unstable form of Vibranium called Nuform was created by Roxxon that would quickly degenerate into Anti-Metal if not regularly bombarded with Microwave Radiation.

Reverbium

Reverbium is an artificial variant of Vibranium that was created by Sajani Jaffrey after most of the world's Vibranium was rendered inert. This variant is imperfect, so rather than absorbing vibrational and kinetic energy, it does the opposite and pushes it away, making it a powerful weapon even in small amounts. All of the existing reverbium has been seemingly destroyed to avoid its use as a dangerous weapon, after the Hobgoblin stole some of it for the Kingpin. It was revealed later that Sajani had kept some bits of said faux material for further study at Horizon Labs until its abrupt destruction and dissolution. It is later revealed that some A.I.M scientists were working on recreating more of the substance for their own purposes under the influence of Klaw when he returned.

Captain America's Shield

Known Uses

• Plunderer was given a medallion fashioned from Anti-Metal, created a vibro-gun using his fathers Plunder Stone which was also Antarctic Vibranium.
• Captain America's Shield is made of a Vibranium-Steel alloy created by Dr. Myron MacLain.
• Harlan Silverbird wore a suit and designed the Vibranium Projector using Antarctic Vibranium which weaponized its metal melting sonic waves to take down other satellites and defend from metallic weapons, even Adamantium blades.
• The Panther Habit is micro weave mesh Wakandan Vibranium, while the claws in his gloves are Anti-Metal.
• Hawkeye's Trick Arrows utilize Wakandan and Antarctic varieties.
• Warpath wields a pair of Vibranium daggers given to him by Storm.
• Avengers Tower is reinforced with Vibranium-laced concrete.
• Gentle has Vibranium tattoos all over his body keeping his powers that increase his strength and muscle mass in check. His powers also cause seizures and are slowly killing him. The Vibranium tattoos keep him alive for a time, but must occasionally be reapplied.
• A small cache of Antarctic Vibranium that was discovered by Namor and then sold off through Oracle Incorporated to unknown buyers.
• Agent Zero uses a Vibranium weave suit that muffles the sound of his movements and a rifle with Anti-Metal bullets.
• Echo's staff contains a Vibranium sliver.
• Misty Knight's bionic arm is made of the Antarctic variety of Vibranium, allowing her to break, morph, and melt most metals including Adamantium.
• Exterminatrix's boots are made of Vibranium. She uses them to easily scale walls.
• Panther's Teeth are used by Wakandan warriors in combat.
• Some of The Constrictor's coils were made of Vibranium, while others were made of an Adamantium alloy.
• The storage tanks within the revamped Weapon X Program are composed of Vibranium Glass Casings to contain their tougher subjects.
• Stryker and his Purifiers wield all manner of Vibranium Munitions, from bullets to knives made of it.
• Klaw further expanding his powers through use of Reverbium, the artificial Vibranium isotope created by Horizon Labs.
• A.I.M had held onto some extra stores of Reverbium to experiment with under Klaw's supervision.

Alternate Realities

Marvel Cinematic Universe (Earth-199999)

• The walls of the interrogation room on "The Bus" (used by S.H.I.E.L.D.) are made of a silicon carbide-Vibranium alloy meant to contain prisoners as strong as an Asgardian.
• The Toolbox that Nick Fury gives Phil Coulson to help rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. is made of Vibranium.
• The Vision's body, which was originally commissioned by Ultron, was created by Dr. Helen Cho from synthetic tissue and Vibranium stolen by Klaw from Wakanda.

Ultimate Avengers: The Movie (Earth-3488)

On Earth-3488, Vibranium is a metal used by the alien race called the Chitauri. A portion of it was recovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. after an attempted nuclear attack on Washington, D.C.. From what their researchers could determine, it absorbed energy like a sponge and could take multiple hits. The only means to pierce the metal were weapons composed of Vibranium. S.H.I.E.L.D. had enough Vibranium to create the shield later used by Captain America. S.H.I.E.L.D. constructed a satellite that could detect Vibranium, but it was destroyed by the Chitauri soon after deployment.

Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther (Earth-60808)

On Earth-60808, large amounts of Vibranium were found in Wakanda. Dr. Bruce Banner discovered that during a previous Chitauri attack, the Hulk had been able to smash through the Vibranium plated Chitauri ships without any effort. Because of this, he discovered that Vibranium turns brittle when exposed to gamma radiation.

Notes

• Vibranium is not as hard or dense as Adamantium, but it is still very durable.

Trivia

• The Inhumans have their own word for Vibranium.
• In the novelization of Iron Man 2, the New Element created by Tony Stark to replace Palladium in the arc reactor is called Vibranium. This information would later be invalidated by Captain America: The First Avenger, where Vibranium is shown as a rare metal already existing in the 1940s.
• Captain America's Vibranium shield was once imperfectly reassembled on a molecular level - a molecular imperfection that led to the development of a unique form of elemental cancer. This "Vibranium Cancer", so named by Tony Stark, thus led to the shattering of Captain America's shield. His shield's atomic composition would be "healed" and restored via a sonic blast from Ulysses Klaw.

See Also

• 544 appearance(s) of Vibranium
• 6 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Vibranium
• 35 minor appearance(s) of Vibranium
• 160 mention(s) of Vibranium
• 14 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Vibranium
• 18 image(s) of Vibranium

Links and References

• Vibranium at Wikipedia