Vibranium plays a vital role in Marvel Studios’ new animated series, Eyes of Wakanda, which gave the coveted resource some huge power upgrades. Vibranium has been a huge part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since Steve Rogers received his shield during 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. The metal has received the most development, however, in the Black Panther franchise – which revealed that it originates from extraterrestrial meteors – as vibranium has been used to give the nations of Wakanda and Talokan huge technological advancements. Eyes of Wakanda just made this even more prominent.
Eyes of Wakanda is the first Marvel Studios Animation series to take place in the MCU’s main continuity of Earth 616, meaning everything vibranium was used for in the animated series occurred officially in the MCU’s main timeline. By focusing on War Dogs – Wakanda’s secret police – traversing the globe throughout history to retrieve stolen vibranium artifacts, Eyes of Wakanda showcased some of vibranium’s capabilities that we’ve never seen before in the MCU, including for explosive, communicative, and even time travel purposes, advancing Wakanda’s capabilities more than we ever thought possible in live-action.
In Eyes of Wakanda’s premiere, Nkati, the Lion (Cress Williams), ends his battle against Noni (Winnie Harlow) by setting off a vibranium bomb. Vibranium has never before been shown to have explosive capabilities in the MCU, so this is a huge revelation that could prove crucial during Wakanda’s upcoming battles. Eyes of Wakanda’s second episode saw B’Kai (Larry Herron) use a vibranium communication device to contact Wakanda while on a mission in Ancient Troy, which was seriously impressive. Eyes of Wakanda’s finale contained the biggest reveal, however, as a future Black Panther used vibranium to travel through time.
Episode 4, “The Last Panther,” saw the future Queen of Wakanda and the Black Panther (Anika Noni Rose) travel back to 1896 to meet experienced War Dog Kuda (Steve Toussaint) and Wakandan Prince Tafari (Zeke Alton). She does this by using vibranium-powered quantum technology, which replicates the time travel from 2019’s Avengers: Endgame – the Avengers used the Quantum Realm to travel back through the MCU’s history – while also making vibranium a key part of this process. This could be game-changing for the MCU.
Now that all of these new upgrades have been made in the animated Eyes of Wakanda series, it’s possible vibranium could be used for more widespread purposes in live-action. 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World introduced adamantium to the MCU, which could be more resilient and versatile than vibranium. Even so, when we revisit Wakanda in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday, vibranium will surely prove essential in battling Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom. Whether for explosive, communicative, time travel, telescopic, protective, or strength-enhancing purposes, vibranium will continue to be important to the MCU for years to come.
What did you make of Eyes of Wakanda’s use of vibranium? Let us know in the comments!
