The Marvel Cinematic Universe has done a surprisingly impressive job of taking the lore from the comics and adapting it for the screen. From the origins of its most iconic characters to the stories that helped make them famous, no stone has gone unturned to give faithful adaptations of its world. One of the most impressive aspects came from the world of Wakanda and the metal that gave it its status: vibranium. But even though the history and origins of Wakanda and vibranium are explored, the metal has a weakness that’s only been exploited once.
Vibranium is a powerful metal in the Marvel Universe with the ability to absorb vibrations from an object, rendering them inert. In doing so, it allowed the metal to get stronger and be considered the strongest metal on Earth. But like all rocks and minerals, there are certain properties that it has that make it strong and also make it weak. In the case of vibranium, while it has few weaknesses, its biggest one could give an edge to anyone having to contend with it. In Captain America: Civil War, T’Challa learned this firsthand, thanks to Black Widow.
How Did Black Widow Stop the Black Panther?
In Captain America: Civil War, the Avengers were divided over the Sokovia Accords, a government document that, once signed, allowed the Avengers to continue being heroes. However, Steve Rogers was also fighting a more personal battle as he was trying to absolve his friend, Bucky Barnes, of the assassination of King T’Chaka of Wakanda. Meanwhile, T’Challa was on a quest for vengeance to kill Bucky, believing him to be the killer. As a result, he sided with Tony Stark to get closer to Barnes.
During a battle against Steve and his allies, Black Widow gave Steve a chance to tell the truth, and she allows them to escape. But as the two took off in a Quinjet, T’Challa tried to catch up. Ultimately he was incapacitated by Natasha’s Widow’s Bite gauntlet, revealing that vibranium is a conductor of electricity. Because of this, he could easily be incapacitated by the assassin. Nevertheless, if electricity is supposed to have such an incapacitating effect on vibranium, why hasn’t it been capitalized on, and could it hinder another Panther in the future?
Could Vibranium’s Weakness Be Exploited Again in the MCU?
While electricity is a huge weakness for vibranium, it has yet to be exploited because its properties are still largely unknown. Of all the Wakandans that could be affected by this, the Black Panther is the only one who would have to worry. Considering that there’s only one Panther, the odds of electricity being an enemy are dwindled even lower than before. That said, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it couldn’t be exploited by other parties as well.
A great example of someone who could have an edge against the Black Panther would be Yelena Belova. Since Natasha spent time with Yelena following Civil War, she likely imparted that information to her fellow spy and sister. If so, now that Yelena is a government agent, she could tell her superiors of this, and if her Thunderbolts team has to go to Wakanda, they could be more prepared. Since Wakanda has now become an enemy of the United Nations, many parties are vying for its downfall and, as a result, may give way to the return of electricity being a huge enemy of the Black Panther and vibranium.
