Captain America's Shield...Vibranium???

[jtd]

Cap's shield...is vibranium? I always thought it was adamantium.

So, I'm looking for some specific issue #s from you long term Cap fans. What is the history of the shield's composition? Was vibranium mentioned first? When did adamantium come into play with his shield? Was any of it retconned?

Wikipedia say this about is (Yeah...it's a wiki, so take it with a grain of salt)

"Captain America uses several shields throughout his history, the most recognizable of which is an indestructible discus-shaped shield made from a fusion of vibranium with an experimental steel alloy (not adamantium-vibranium as sometimes erroneously stated).[44] This alloy was created by accident and never duplicated, although efforts to reverse engineer it resulted in the creation of adamantium"

So what's the story?

[Kevinroc]

The story is that Adamantium was created in an unsuccessful attempt to duplicate Cap's shield.

It really is made of vibranium and an experimental steel alloy.

[mattbib]

Here's what Marvel.com has to say:

"Captain America's only weapon was his shield, a concave disk 2.5 feet in diameter, weighing 12 pounds. It is made of a unique Vibranium-metal alloy that has never been duplicated. The shield was cast by American metallurgist Dr. Myron MacLain, who was contracted by the U.S. government to create an impenetrable substance to use for tanks during World War II. MacLain was never able to duplicate the process due to his inability to identify a still unknown factor that played a role in it. The shield was awarded to Captain America by the government several months after the beginning of his career.

The shield has great aerodynamic properties: it is able to slice through the air with minimal wind resistance and deflection of path. Its great overall resilience, combined with its natural concentric stiffness, enables it to rebound from objects with minimal loss of angular momentum. It is virtually indestructible: it is resistant to penetration, temperature extremes, and the entire electromagnetic spectrum of radiation. The only way it can be damaged in any way is by tampering with its molecular bonding."

I just checked the "Cap's Shield" entry in the original OHOTMU and it does have the Vibranium-metal alloy description. The OHOTMU Deluxe Edition lists the Vibranium-Adamantium alloy description. The OHOTMU Master Edition just says "special alloy." And OHOTMU Avengers 2004 lists "Vibranium alloy".

[van_line]

i had never heard vibranium either until this came up. I always thought it was adamantium. Remember the mick zeck cover with wovlerine vs. CA, I may have to dig that up and take a look.

I also remember when CA became the Captain (or maybe Johnny Walker) got a vibranium shield from Stark.

[StoneGold]

i had never heard vibranium either until this came up. I always thought it was adamantium. Remember the mick zeck cover with wovlerine vs. CA, I may have to dig that up and take a look.

I also remember when CA became the Captain (or maybe Johnny Walker) got a vibranium shield from Stark.
Walker got the actual shield. Rogers got a vibranium shield from Stark, which he quickly ditched for one supplied by Black Panther after Armor Wars got out of hand.

[Cthulhudrew]

Walker got the actual shield. Rogers got a vibranium shield from Stark, which he quickly ditched for one supplied by Black Panther after Armor Wars got out of hand.

Actually, Rogers got an adamantium shield from Stark, then got a vibranium one from Black Panther. The vibranium shield later was given to Walker (now USAgent), and it was largely destroyed in West Coast Avengers, and Walker threw the rest of it out to sea. Then Walker got the photonic shield (a version of which was later utilized by Rogers), then he got a shield that had mechanical devices that allowed it to fly (had an eagle shape; he used it when he was working with the Jury- a team that I thought was pretty cool). He also had a different shield that he used with STARS and STRIPE, and two different versions with the New Invaders; at some point he seems to have gotten a replacement vibranium shield as well (or at least one painted like the black, red and white shield).

The Stark adamantium shield is still unaccounted for since Rogers returned it (with emphasis- he threw it at Tony, hitting him in the gut.)

[Syzygy]

I always thought it was an as-yet unduplicated alloy of adamantium-vibranium.

This would make perfect sense, as you'd get the indestructibility from the adamantium part, and the shock-absorption from the vibranium part.

Peace,
Syzygy

[RonnieThunderbolts]

I always thought it was an as-yet unduplicated alloy of adamantium-vibranium.

This would make perfect sense, as you'd get the indestructibility from the adamantium part, and the shock-absorption from the vibranium part.

Peace,
Syzygy

Close, its more indestructible than adamantium. As others have quoted from all official sources, its creation, involving steel, vibranium and a mystery factor that occurred while MacLain was asleep was never duplicated successfully, but attempts at the process led to the creation of Adamantium.

[garin]

I have thought it's weird that it's made largely of vibranium, yet Cap is always bouncing it off things. Surely vibranium should never ricochet.

[Shellhead]

Going off on a slight tangent here, we're talking about Wakandan vibranium, right? Because the Antarctic vibranium destroys nearby metal. Hmm, I'm surprised that nobody has ever attacked Iron Man with Antarctic vibranium. Or Wolverine.

[garin]

During Priest's run, the Black Panther had claws made of antarctic vibranium, which were used on Iron Man at one point.

[Mariah]

Cap's shield has been destroyed once, though. During Waid's return to the title after Heroes Reborn. I don't remember exactly how they fixed it, I just remember it involved Klaw.

[kal_el21]

I always thought it was an admantium-vibranium hybrid.

[chilled monkey]

I always thought it was an admantium-vibranium hybrid.

So did a lot of people but that's a falsehood. Adamantium was created AFTER Cap's shield.

[chilled monkey]

Cap's shield has been destroyed once, though. During Waid's return to the title after Heroes Reborn. I don't remember exactly how they fixed it, I just remember it involved Klaw.

The shield was destroyed by Doom when he had the Beyonder's powers. When Beyonder got them back he fixed the shield but one vibranium molecule was out of alignment. Then Cap lost the shield in the Atlantic. Months later when they found it, it shattered as they were recovering it.

This was because the molecules weren't properly aligned. A side-effect was that a shockwave was heading towards the main vibranium deposit in Africa. Cap went there to try and intercept the wave (which would destroy what was left of the shield). Klaw beat him to it and absorbed the wave. He then fired a shockwave at Cap who raised the taped-together shield instinctively. The wave realigned the vibranium molecules precisely and restored the shield. Cap then defeated Klaw.

[Thorlief]

Cap's shield has been destroyed once, though. During Waid's return to the title after Heroes Reborn. I don't remember exactly how they fixed it, I just remember it involved Klaw.

I'd add the Molecule Man to that list, and I'm pretty sure it was destroyed during the Infinity Gauntlet saga as well.

[Syzygy]

So did a lot of people but that's a falsehood. Adamantium was created AFTER Cap's shield.

The adamantium part could have been created accidentally.

Peace,
Syzygy

[oneasian]

I think the term vibranium has been used on occasion just to enforce the fact that the shield is truly indestructable

(unless you drop it to the bottom of the ocean and the water pressure from the depths cause the shield to eventually disintegrate, only capable of being reassembled by taking the Klaw's energy beam at point blank range vibrating the pieces of the shield solid again - events from Cap vol. 3)

[StoneGold]

I think the term vibranium has been used on occasion just to enforce the fact that the shield is truly indestructable

(unless you drop it to the bottom of the ocean and the water pressure from the depths cause the shield to eventually disintegrate, only capable of being reassembled by taking the Klaw's energy beam at point blank range vibrating the pieces of the shield solid again - events from Cap vol. 3)

That had nothing to do with water pressure. It was from Cap getting a molecule out of alignment when he recreated the shield at the end of Secret Wars.

[oneasian]

That had nothing to do with water pressure. It was from Cap getting a molecule out of alignment when he recreated the shield at the end of Secret Wars.


ah yes. i just double checked the issue. thanks for that.

[mgs]

i had thought the 'original' (the non-circular one) was destroyed as well, and the more well known circular one was created by Ultron in some way.

[StoneGold]

i had thought the 'original' (the non-circular one) was destroyed as well, and the more well known circular one was created by Ultron in some way.

Ultron wasn't created until some 20+ years after Cap had the indestructible shield.

[mgs]

Ultron wasn't created until some 20+ years after Cap had the indestructible shield.

really?? but didn't they create a pre-history for him before he was in the books or something like that? or am I just totally thinking of something else? :confused:

[StoneGold]

really?? but didn't they create a pre-history for him before he was in the books or something like that? or am I just totally thinking of something else? :confused:

I don't know what you are thinking of, but Hank Pym created Ultron. Hank was not an active super-scientist during WWII.

[mgs]

I don't know what you are thinking of, but Hank Pym created Ultron. Hank was not an active super-scientist during WWII.

yeah, okay, but that's what I was trying to say at first. I don't think his shield from that time was the indestructible one. that's when he had that one that was more shield shaped yes?

[mattbib]

yeah, okay, but that's what I was trying to say at first. I don't think his shield from that time was the indestructible one. that's when he had that one that was more shield shaped yes?From Wikipedia:

The circular shield most associated with Captain America made its debut in Captain America Comics #2. A concave metal disc, it is virtually indestructible and has remained his most constant shield over the decades.
Again through retroactive continuity, it was established that the shield was presented to Rogers by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt).[1] (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/#_note-stern_origin) The shield was created by an American metallurgist (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/wiki/Metallurgist) named Dr. Myron MacLain (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/wiki/Dr._Myron_MacLain), who had been commissioned by the US government to create an indestructible armor material to aid the war effort. MacLain experimented with vibranium (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/wiki/Vibranium), an alien metal found only in Wakanda (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/wiki/Wakanda) that had unique vibration absorption properties.

[StoneGold]

What Bib said. The triangular shield was just steel. It got busted up when the Masters of Evil invaded Avengers Mansion. Cap eventually got... I can't remember if it was just a replica or an alternate shield, from a museum when he lost his round one during Waid's second run. Which is what Patriot is using now.

[mgs]

oooh, okay. thanks for the help, stone and bib.

[Cthulhudrew]

What Bib said. The triangular shield was just steel. It got busted up when the Masters of Evil invaded Avengers Mansion. Cap eventually got... I can't remember if it was just a replica or an alternate shield, from a museum when he lost his round one during Waid's second run. Which is what Patriot is using now.

The replica was actually destroyed during an encounter with the Kree Lunatic Legion, leading Sharon Carter to give Cap a duplicate of USAgent's photonic shield (with some modifications that allowed it to "shoot" the shield and shape its energy field into different forms, such as weaponry). The photonic shield was, in turn, destroyed a couple of times- melted by Antarctic Vibranium during the Ultron Unlimited storyline in Avengers, and crushed at some point in Cap's own title, IIRC. (In other words, there was some confusing continuity there).

As to the shield that Patriot is currently using, dunno. Presumably either Cap had the original Hyde-crushed shield restored after the siege on Avengers mansion (it had sentimental value after all), or got a replacement for the shield that was crushed by the Kree. Maybe it hadn't been finished before Sharon gave him the photonic one, and afterwards he didn't need it anymore, so just left it at the mansion?)

[megatonjustice]

This may well be a ridiculously nit-picky question. But has it ever been explained how the straps fro Cap's shield are attatched to his shield? They're always drawn as riveted into place, but I'd have to assume the only thing that could be done is to possibly tack weld them into place.