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| {{short description|Fictional, indestructible metal alloy}} | |||
| {{pp-pc1}} | |||
| {{For|other uses of "adamant" and similar terms|Adamant (disambiguation)}} | |||
| {{Distinguish|Adamantane}} | |||
| {{Missing information|more ]|date=August 2022}} | |||
| {{Multiple issues| | |||
| {{In-universe|date=December 2014}} | |||
| {{Refimprove|date=November 2009}} | |||
| }} | |||
| {{Infobox comics elements <!-- Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Comics --> | {{Infobox comics elements <!-- Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Comics --> | ||
| <!-- | name = Adamantium (not in minecraft) -->| image = | <!-- | name = Adamantium (not in minecraft) -->| image = | ||
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| | caption = | | caption = | ||
| | publisher = ] | | publisher = ] | ||
| | debut = '']'' #66 (July ]) | | debut = '']'' #66 (July ]) | ||
| | creators = ]<br>]<br>] | | creators = ]<br>]<br>] | ||
| | type = Metal | | type = Metal | ||
| | material = y | | material = y | ||
| | supports = ], ], ], ], ] | | supports = ], ], ], ], ], ], ] | ||
| | subcat = Marvel Comics | | subcat = Marvel Comics | ||
| | sortkey = Adamantium | | sortkey = Adamantium | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| '''Adamantium''' is a fictional metal ], most famously appearing in ] published by ]. It is best known as the substance bonded to the character ]'s skeleton and claws. | |||
| ==First mention in Marvel comics== | |||
| It was first mentioned in ] in a story scripted by writer ] and drawn by ] and ] in '']'' #66 (July 1969). Here, it is part of ] ]'s outer shell.<ref name="Back38">{{cite journal|last= Walker|first= Karen|date= February 2010|title= Ultron: The Black Sheep of the Avengers Family|journal= ]|issue= #38|pages= 23–30|publisher = ]}}</ref> In the stories where it appears, the defining quality of adamantium is its indestructibility.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brevoort |first1=Tom |last2=DeFalco |first2=Tom |last3=Manning |first3=Matthew K. |last4=Sanderson |first4=Peter |last5=Wiacek |first5=Win |title=Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History |date=2017 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1465455505 |page=136}}</ref> | |||
| ==Etymology== | ==Etymology== | ||
| ⚫ | The word is a pseudo-Latin ] (real Latin: ''adamans'', from original Greek ''ἀδάμας'' ; ''adamantem'' ) based on the English noun and adjective '']'' (and the derived adjective ''adamantine'') added to the neo-Latin suffix "]". The adjective ''adamant'' has long been used to refer to the property of impregnable, diamond-like hardness, or to describe a very firm/resolute position (e.g. ''He adamantly refused to leave''). The noun ''adamant'' describes any impenetrably or unyieldingly hard substance and, formerly, a legendary stone/rock or mineral of impenetrable hardness and with many other properties, often identified with ] or ].<ref>. Oxforddictionaries.com.</ref><ref name=Kundu>{{cite journal |last=Kundu |first=Suze |date=2019 |title=Elements of science and fiction |journal=] |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=13–16 |doi=10.1038/s41557-018-0194-5|pmid=30552432 |bibcode=2019NatCh..11...13K |s2cid=54626181 }}</ref> | ||
| In 1912, The Metallurgo Syndicate, Ltd., of Balfour House, used "Adamantium" (with a capital 'A') as a product brand when they exhibited ''"two of their specialities in the shape of '''Adamantium''' bronze - a high-class non-corrosive, anti-friction metal..."''<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fowler|first=William|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015084517963&view=1up&seq=9&skin=2021|title=The Mechanical Engineer, Vol. XXX|publisher=The Scientific Publishing Company|year=1912|pages=520|language=English}}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | The word is a pseudo-Latin ] (real Latin: ''adamans'', ''adamantem'' ) based on the English noun and adjective '']'' (and the derived adjective ''adamantine'') |
||
| The term "adamantium" occurred in the 1941 short story "Devil's Powder" by ], appearing in '']'':<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_astounding-science-fiction_1941-06_27_4|title=Astounding Stories 1941-06: vol. 27 Iss #4|date=June 1941|publisher=Penny Publications|language=English}}</ref> ''"It was a bullet. It was a small slug of ''adamantium'', the toughest and hardest of all metals..."'' | |||
| ⚫ | == |
||
| {{In-universe|section|date=December 2014}} | |||
| In the Marvel Universe, Adamantium is a group of man-made metal alloys of varying durability, but all are nearly indestructible. Adamantium is inadvertently invented by the American metallurgist ] in an attempt to recreate his prior discovery, a unique alloy of Iron, ], and an unknown catalyst. | |||
| ''Adamant'' and the literary form ''adamantine'' occur in works such as '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'',<ref name=Kundu/> and the film '']'' (as "adamantine steel"). | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| All these uses predate the use of ''adamantium'' in Marvel's comics.<ref name=Kundu/> | |||
| Despite its utility in armament and armature, Adamantium is rarely used due to its high cost, lack of source materials and inability to be manipulated easily. | |||
| ⚫ | ==Fictional history and properties== | ||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | According to Marvel's comics the components of the alloy are kept in separate batches—typically in blocks of resin—before molding. Adamantium is prepared by melting the blocks together, mixing the components while the resin evaporates. The alloy must then be cast within eight minutes. Marvel Comics' adamantium has an extremely stable molecular structure that prevents it from being further molded even if the temperature is high enough to keep it in its liquefied form. In its solid form, It is near-impossible to destroy or fracture in this state, and when molded to a sharp edge, can penetrate most lesser materials with minimal force.<ref>''The Classic X-Men'' #16 (Sept. 1987)</ref> | ||
| ⚫ | The Marvel Comics character Wolverine discovers an adamantium-laced skull in the villain ]'s laboratory and says it seems to have been there for "]".<ref>''Wolverine: The Jungle Adventure'' (1990)</ref> | ||
| ==Types of Adamantium== | |||
| {{In-universe|section|date=December 2014}} | |||
| === |
===As a key component=== | ||
| ⚫ | * ]'s outer shell<ref name="Back38"/> | ||
| As true Adamantium is extremely difficult and expensive to create or manipulate, some parties find a way to duplicate it on a larger and more cost-effective scale at the expense of quality and durability. For most practical purposes, this Secondary Adamantium is also largely indestructible. Conventional weapons, such as ]s, have no effect on it and it is far stronger than even the most durable of titanium or steel compounds. However, extraordinary force, such as a punch from a being with superhuman strength, can warp or break it. Unconventional forms of energy discharges have also been known to warp or damage Secondary Adamantium, such as ]'s lightning attacks using ].<ref>''Thor'' (vol. 1) #271</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | * ]'s skeleton and claws<ref>''X-Men'' #98 (April 1976) (w)]</ref> | ||
| * ]'s skeleton and claws were laced with adamantium in a 1998 storyline.<ref>] (w); ] (a), "Blood Wedding", ''Wolverine'' )(Vol. 2) #126 (July 1998). ].</ref> | |||
| * Most of ]'s skeleton.<ref name="DD197">''Daredevil'' #197</ref> | |||
| * ]'s skeleton and talons<ref>] (w) ] (a), "Wounded Wolf", ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #205 (May 1986). ].</ref> | |||
| * ]'s skin, except for his face, and claws | |||
| * ]'s claws<ref name="X-23: Target X">'']''</ref> | |||
| * ]'s body, following his resurrection by General Kreigkopf<ref>{{Cite comic|writer = ]|penciller = ]|inker = ]|colorist =]|letterer = RS and Comicraft's Wes Abbott|editor = Stuart Moore|story = Dirty Work|title = The Punisher|volume = 6|issue = 4|date = October 2001|publisher =]|location = New York City}}</ref> | |||
| == |
==Other versions== | ||
| ===Secondary adamantium=== | |||
| Adamantium beta is a metal created as a side-effect of the process of bonding true Adamantium to Wolverine's bones. His ] not only allowed him to survive the process, but also induced a molecular change in the metal. Adamantium beta functions identically to true Adamantium, but it does not inhibit the biological processes of bone.<ref>''Wolverine'' (vol. 2) #80 (April 1994)</ref> | |||
| Marvel's comic books introduced a variant of "true" adamantium, "secondary adamantium", to explain why in certain stories adamantium was shown to be damaged by sufficiently powerful conventional forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/marvel-adamantium-types-explained/ |author=Martin, Michael|title=Marvel: Every Type Of Adamantium, Explained|publisher=] |url-status=live|date=February 27, 2020|accessdate=May 18, 2022|archivedate=May 28, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528030649/https://www.cbr.com/marvel-adamantium-types-explained/}}</ref><ref>. Marvel.com. Retrieved June 3, 2020.</ref> Its resilience is described as far below that of "true" adamantium.<ref>. Marvel Directory.com. Retrieved June 3, 2020.</ref><ref>"Adamantium". ''The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition'' #1 p. 5 (Marvel, August 1985)</ref> | |||
| Appearances of secondary adamantium in Marvel comic books include the casing of the supercomputer F.A.U.S.T.,<ref>''Marvel Team-Up'' #18 (February 1974)</ref> a suit constructed by F.A.U.S.T. and ] for ],<ref>''Thor'' #269 (March 1978)</ref> a retractable protective dome around Exile Island,<ref>''Super-Villain Team-Up'' #17 (June 1980)</ref> and an army of Ultron duplicates.<ref>"This Evil Triumphant!". ''The Avengers'' vol.3 #22 (Nov. 1999)</ref> | |||
| ===Carbonadium=== | |||
| Carbonadium is a resilient, unstable metal that is vastly stronger than steel, but more malleable and cheaper than Adamantium.<ref>''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #7 (April 1992)</ref> Due to its malleability, carbonadium is less durable than true Adamantium, but still nearly indestructible. ] has Carbonadium coils through which he can transmit his ability to drain life energies. Carbonadium is highly radioactive and objects composed of it have proven to disable the accelerated healing factors of Wolverine<ref>''Wolverine: Origins'' #7-8 (October – November 2006)</ref> and his son, ],<ref>''Wolverine: Origins'' #25-26 (July – August 2008)</ref> if implanted within the body. ] used a Carbonadium katana to kill Wolverine in the miniseries ''Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe''. It is currently unknown if Carbonadium affects other beings with superhuman healing powers in a similar manner. The only device that can produce Carbonadium, known as the Carbonadium Synthesizer, was initially believed thrown into a river in ] by Wolverine. It has since been revealed that the Carbonadium Synthesizer has been hidden on the deceased body of a double-agent who dies escaping Omega Red along with Wolverine, ], and ]. The synthesizer is retrieved and handed back to Maverick, whose mission is to retrieve the item for unknown parties.{{issue|date=October 2014}} | |||
| ⚫ | ===Ultimate Marvel=== | ||
| ==Adamantium as key component== | |||
| ⚫ | In stories published under the Marvel Comics ], adamantium is highly durable and can shield a person's mind from ]ic probing or attacks. It is a component of the claws and skeleton of ] and of the ] character. This version of adamantium is not unbreakable. In ''Ultimates'' #5, the Hulk breaks a needle made of adamantium. In ''Ultimate X-Men'' #11 (December 2001), an adamantium cage is damaged by a bomb. In ''Ultimate X-Men'' #12 (January 2002), one of ]'s four adamantium claws is broken.<ref>''Ultimate X-Men'' #12 (January 2002)</ref> | ||
| Adamantium is used as the key component in several instances in the Marvel Universe, including: | |||
| ⚫ | * ]'s outer shell |
||
| ⚫ | * ]'s skeleton and claws |
||
| * ]'s combat knife and bullets. | |||
| * The outer skin of some of ]'s robotic bodies. | |||
| * ]'s shield. | |||
| * ]'s spinal column and some strips coating several of his bones. | |||
| * Certain iterations of ]'s shield. | |||
| * ]'s original wrist-mounted, prehensile metal coils. | |||
| * ]'s claws and skin. | |||
| * One particular set of ]' arms. | |||
| * The outer layer of ]'s rapier. | |||
| * ]'s skeleton and talons. | |||
| * One of ]'s labs for extremely dangerous experiments. | |||
| * ]'s crescent blades. | |||
| * A unique suit of armor once used by the villain ]. | |||
| * The outer skin of ]. | |||
| * One of several layers of containment at the superhuman incarceration facility known as the ]. | |||
| * An outer coating on the ]'s blades. | |||
| * A special brand of bullet in the ] suit's ballistic weapons. | |||
| * Bullets used by ]. | |||
| * ]'s claws. | |||
| * ] suit. | |||
| * Bucky Barnes' Captain America suit is laced with Adamantium. | |||
| * A statue of the ], sculpted by ]. | |||
| * ]'s head is made of Adamantium. | |||
| * ] has used arrowheads made of Adamantium. | |||
| ==Comparison with real materials== | |||
| ⚫ | == |
||
| Scientist David Evans argued that as adamantium "is considered to be a very dense and indestructible metal" the most suitable real material to model it would be ], "the densest known metallic element".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Evans |first=David |date=2015 |title=Wolverine: The Force Behind His Train Lunge |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/267014096.pdf |journal=Journal of Interdisciplinary Science Topics |volume=4 |pages=90–92 |access-date=August 12, 2022}}</ref> | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ==In other media== | |||
| * The first novel of the Halo Forerunner series, "Cryptum", ships are referenced to move though the air like a ribbon of steel and Adamantium.<ref>Halo:Cryptum. Chapter 9</ref> | |||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | * ] | ||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | * ] | ||
| * ] | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| {{reflist}} | {{reflist|2}} | ||
| {{Marvel Characters}} | |||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | |||
Latest revision as of 10:52, 9 January 2025
Fictional, indestructible metal alloy For other uses of "adamant" and similar terms, see Adamant (disambiguation). | This article is missing information about more real-world context. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page. (August 2022) |
| Adamantium | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Avengers #66 (July 1969) |
| Created by | Roy Thomas Barry Windsor-Smith Syd Shores |
| In story information | |
| Type | Metal |
| Element of stories featuring | Wolverine, Ultron, Bullseye, Lady Deathstrike, X-23, Daken, Omega Red |
Adamantium is a fictional metal alloy, most famously appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is best known as the substance bonded to the character Wolverine's skeleton and claws.
First mention in Marvel comics
It was first mentioned in Marvel Comics in a story scripted by writer Roy Thomas and drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith and Syd Shores in The Avengers #66 (July 1969). Here, it is part of supervillain Ultron's outer shell. In the stories where it appears, the defining quality of adamantium is its indestructibility.
Etymology
The word is a pseudo-Latin neologism (real Latin: adamans, from original Greek ἀδάμας ; adamantem ) based on the English noun and adjective adamant (and the derived adjective adamantine) added to the neo-Latin suffix "-ium". The adjective adamant has long been used to refer to the property of impregnable, diamond-like hardness, or to describe a very firm/resolute position (e.g. He adamantly refused to leave). The noun adamant describes any impenetrably or unyieldingly hard substance and, formerly, a legendary stone/rock or mineral of impenetrable hardness and with many other properties, often identified with diamond or lodestone.
In 1912, The Metallurgo Syndicate, Ltd., of Balfour House, used "Adamantium" (with a capital 'A') as a product brand when they exhibited "two of their specialities in the shape of Adamantium bronze - a high-class non-corrosive, anti-friction metal..."
The term "adamantium" occurred in the 1941 short story "Devil's Powder" by Malcolm Jameson, appearing in Astounding Stories: "It was a bullet. It was a small slug of adamantium, the toughest and hardest of all metals..."
Adamant and the literary form adamantine occur in works such as The Faerie Queene, Paradise Lost, Gulliver's Travels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Lord of the Rings, and the film Forbidden Planet (as "adamantine steel").
All these uses predate the use of adamantium in Marvel's comics.
Fictional history and properties
According to Marvel's comics the components of the alloy are kept in separate batches—typically in blocks of resin—before molding. Adamantium is prepared by melting the blocks together, mixing the components while the resin evaporates. The alloy must then be cast within eight minutes. Marvel Comics' adamantium has an extremely stable molecular structure that prevents it from being further molded even if the temperature is high enough to keep it in its liquefied form. In its solid form, It is near-impossible to destroy or fracture in this state, and when molded to a sharp edge, can penetrate most lesser materials with minimal force.
The Marvel Comics character Wolverine discovers an adamantium-laced skull in the villain Apocalypse's laboratory and says it seems to have been there for "eons".
As a key component
- Ultron's outer shell
- Wolverine's skeleton and claws
- Sabretooth's skeleton and claws were laced with adamantium in a 1998 storyline.
- Most of Bullseye's skeleton.
- Lady Deathstrike's skeleton and talons
- Cyber's skin, except for his face, and claws
- X-23's claws
- The Russian's body, following his resurrection by General Kreigkopf
Other versions
Secondary adamantium
Marvel's comic books introduced a variant of "true" adamantium, "secondary adamantium", to explain why in certain stories adamantium was shown to be damaged by sufficiently powerful conventional forces. Its resilience is described as far below that of "true" adamantium.
Appearances of secondary adamantium in Marvel comic books include the casing of the supercomputer F.A.U.S.T., a suit constructed by F.A.U.S.T. and Blastaar for Stilt-Man, a retractable protective dome around Exile Island, and an army of Ultron duplicates.
Ultimate Marvel
In stories published under the Marvel Comics Ultimate Marvel imprint, adamantium is highly durable and can shield a person's mind from telepathic probing or attacks. It is a component of the claws and skeleton of Ultimate Wolverine and of the Ultimate Lady Deathstrike character. This version of adamantium is not unbreakable. In Ultimates #5, the Hulk breaks a needle made of adamantium. In Ultimate X-Men #11 (December 2001), an adamantium cage is damaged by a bomb. In Ultimate X-Men #12 (January 2002), one of Sabretooth's four adamantium claws is broken.
Comparison with real materials
Scientist David Evans argued that as adamantium "is considered to be a very dense and indestructible metal" the most suitable real material to model it would be osmium, "the densest known metallic element".
See also
References
- ^ Walker, Karen (February 2010). "Ultron: The Black Sheep of the Avengers Family". Back Issue! (#38). TwoMorrows Publishing: 23–30.
- Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History. DK Publishing. p. 136. ISBN 978-1465455505.
- "adamant - definition of adamant". Oxforddictionaries.com.
- ^ Kundu, Suze (2019). "Elements of science and fiction". Nature Chemistry. 11 (1): 13–16. Bibcode:2019NatCh..11...13K. doi:10.1038/s41557-018-0194-5. PMID 30552432. S2CID 54626181.
- Fowler, William (1912). The Mechanical Engineer, Vol. XXX. The Scientific Publishing Company. p. 520.
- Astounding Stories 1941-06: vol. 27 Iss #4. Penny Publications. June 1941.
- The Classic X-Men #16 (Sept. 1987)
- Wolverine: The Jungle Adventure (1990)
- X-Men #98 (April 1976) (w)Chris Claremont
- Claremont, Chris (w); Yu, Leinil Franics (a), "Blood Wedding", Wolverine )(Vol. 2) #126 (July 1998). Marvel Comics.
- Daredevil #197
- Claremont, Chris (w) Windsor-Smith, Barry (a), "Wounded Wolf", The Uncanny X-Men #205 (May 1986). Marvel Comics.
- X-23: Target X
- Ennis, Garth (w), Dillon, Steve (p), Palmiotti, Jimmy (i), Sotomayor, Chris (col), RS and Comicraft's Wes Abbott (let), Stuart Moore (ed). "Dirty Work" The Punisher, vol. 6, no. 4 (October 2001). New York City: Marvel Comics.
- Martin, Michael (February 27, 2020). "Marvel: Every Type Of Adamantium, Explained". CBR.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- "Adamantium". Marvel.com. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
- "Adamantium". Marvel Directory.com. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
- "Adamantium". The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #1 p. 5 (Marvel, August 1985)
- Marvel Team-Up #18 (February 1974)
- Thor #269 (March 1978)
- Super-Villain Team-Up #17 (June 1980)
- "This Evil Triumphant!". The Avengers vol.3 #22 (Nov. 1999)
- Ultimate X-Men #12 (January 2002)
- Evans, David (2015). "Wolverine: The Force Behind His Train Lunge" (PDF). Journal of Interdisciplinary Science Topics. 4: 90–92. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
