The Black Panther and Captain America Connection

Black Panther takes place in the fictional African nation of Wakanda, which is the most technologically advanced country in the world, and home to the rarest, most precious metal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: vibranium.

While Black Panther does an excellent job of explaining what the virtually indestructible and rare metal is and where it came from, vibranium has already appeared in several Marvel movies, Notably Avengers: Age of Ultron, where the evil android solicited some vibranium stolen from Wakanda…which ended up becoming the body of the synthetic Avenger, the Vision.

But vibranium’s history in the MCU goes back even further. Howard Stark created Captain America’s shield from a vibranium/steel alloy. And vibranium’s unique properties not only defend Cap from attacks but allows his shield to do such great offensive work, too.

In the comics, though, there’s one small difference. Captain America’s shield is made from an alloy of vibranium and adamantium. That makes the the shield so tough that not even Wolverine’s claws can cut through it.

And it’s all because of the secret metal from Wakanda.

So when T’Challa says “Get this man a shield” in that awesome trailer for Avengers: Infinity War, he knows exactly what he’s talking about. Because without Wakanda and the world of Black Panther, Captain America never would have had his shield in the first place!