Warning! This article contains spoilers for Fantastic Four #41
With the launch of the epic crossover event Reckoning War, Marvel Comics has unveiled its own version of Star Wars’ lightsabers, and this one can officially cut vibranium and adamantium. Vibranium and adamantium are two of the strongest metals in the known universe as Captain America’s vibranium shield can deflect and absorb a blow from even the Hulk while Wolverine’s adamantium claws can cut through just about anything without being nicked. However, now that a highly advanced race of ancient alien conquerors have risen once more to take control over the universe, they showed that these two metals previously believed to be unbreakable can be cut by their version of a lightsaber.
In Fantastic Four #41 by Dan Slott and Rachael Stott, the Reckoning have launched a full strike against those that are guarding the M’Kraan Crystal as they wish to obtain and utilize its vast amounts of cosmic power. The Fantastic Four launched a strike of their own and fought back against the Reckoning before they got their villainous clutches on the M’Kraan.
During that fight, the Thing went up against a Reckoning warrior named Rapture, a villain who is destined to kill him in battle. Rapture taints Ben Grimm as her power vastly outweighs his own, but when she tires of playing with the Fantastic Four hero, she unsheathes Marvel’s version of a Star Wars lightsaber and slices at the hero with murderous intent. The Thing throws his hands up to block the strike and is saved after the energy blade hits his vibranium wedding ring. While the vibranium ring saves his life, it is destroyed during the attack as the blade sliced through the metal and broke it in two. After she cuts the ring, Rapture asks the Thing, “What was that? Vibranium? Adamantium?” indicating that it didn’t matter which of those seemingly indestructible metals it was, her version of the lightsaber could cut through it with little effort.
This scene not only showed fans that the two metals believed to be unbreakable could be broken, but it calls into question what kind of other technology and artifacts exist that could achieve a similar feat as well as the very origin of those metals. Fans know that adamantium was created in a failed attempt to recreate vibranium after that metal was used to make Captain America’s shield. Vibranium, however, is a bit more mysterious as it originated from space with traces of it landing in Wakanda, but other than that almost nothing is known. The fact that Rapture said these metals by name means they have a reputation in the cosmos, though not one as epic as Marvel’s heroes might think.
On Earth, vibranium and adamantium are the end-all-be-all for unbreakable materials, but the existence of Marvel’s lightsaber means that these metals may be looked at as amateurish to most of the universe. With this event came the realization that nine-tenths of the universe was closed off due to the threat of the Reckoning, and they held extremely powerful technology that they spread across that stretch of the cosmos. While vibranium and adamantium may be a big deal to the Marvel Universe as fans have known it, the metals don’t seem very formidable to these beings that have taken over most of the universe. The universal strength scale of vibranium and adamantium is, at this time, unknown. What is known, however, is that Marvel Comics has its very own version of Star Wars’ lightsaber and it can cut through these two seemingly invincible metals like butter.