Vibranium

[Blitzgott]

I was tweaking some of my hero files the other day and just came across my U.S.Agent hero file. Althought it seemed fine to me, I was still bothered by his passive defense, which represents his shield.

His passive defense is, in every aspect, exactly like Captain America's: occasionally deflects all kinds of projectiles and melee attacks, except mystical and mental ones. Althought I think it's fine for Cap (his shield is supposed to be indestructible; so, I suppose it should be resistant to everything), I don't know about U.S.Agent. After all, their shields are different. Cap's shield is made of a vibranium-steel alloy, while U.S.Agent's is only vibranium-composed.

I've been researching a bit and, apparently, vibranium does not deflect attacks; instead, it absorbs the impact. So, when a, say, bullet hits something made outta vibranium, it should just fall down to the ground, right? Then, I assume that U.S.Agent's passive defense should be normal instead of deflect. I'm not so sure, though. I've seem U.S.Agent protect himself with his shield only a couple of times AT BEST, in comic books, and I couldn't tell if the attacks were being absorbed or deflected by the way the panels were drawn. So, basically, what I want to know is: U.S.Agent's shield deflects attacks or not?

Also, there's the issue about what his shield is resistant against. U.S.Agent's shield, although very resistant, since it is made outta vibranium and everything, is supposed to be weaker than Cap's vibranium-steel alloy shield. So, is there something that Cap's shield can withstand that U.S.Agent's shield cannot, in Freedom Force terms?

By the way, although the main subject of this thread is vibranium, I'd like to know how some of you set up your Cap's hero file shield. I'm just assuming here that it can withstand everything, given it is supposed to be indestructible, but is it really resistant against everything? I've read some books of the Marvel Universe role-playing game, Cap's entry on marvel.com and some other sources and they all merely say that Cap's shield is resistant against "penetration, the entire electromagnetic spetrum of radiation and temperature extremes". In Freedom Force terms, the shield would be resistant against radiation, piering, heat and cold, and maybe electricity. In those sources, it also mentions how Cap can use the shield to deflect the Hulk's blows because of the vibranium impact-absorbtion properties; therefore, it is also resistant against crushing attacks. Anyway, what about the other attacks? Is it resistant to energy, acid or electricity? Since it is a metal, I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't offer any protection against electricity, since metal is an electric conduit, but Colossus is also made outta metal and electricity doesn't seem to bother him a whole lot.

[wickerman]

I have never really analyzed Cap's shield to this extent, but it just occurred to me that if Vibraium sucks up impacts to the point where it can block a  shot from the Hulk, shouldn't it do absolutely no damage if Cap hits  someone with it as well?  It should simply absorb the impact of that as well...

[detourne_me]

there was a discussion about this sometime ago, and somebody had posted an old handbook image of cap's shield,  apparently the outer rim of the shield is adamantium,  so he can still cut and hurt people with it.

[Talavar]

Yeah, there was a pretty technical discussion of Cap's shield some time ago, and the conclusion - at least my conclusion - is that thinking too much about superhero science makes your brain give up and cry "No More!"

[Panther_Gunn]

*reposts the image to continue brain-gooifying discussion  :lol:*

[Blitzgott]

Actually, the thing about Cap's shield having adamantium in its composition is an error that was later correct by Marvel. By the time Cap's shield was forged, adamantium did not exist. It only came to exist when people tried to recreate the material of which Cap's shield is made. The experiments failed to accomplish their objective, and instead resulted in the creation of adamantium.

Cap's shield is made outta vibranium and steel.

About the thing of how a weapon made out of vibranium can hurt something, think of it like this: it's the weapon who absorbs impacts, not the target it hits.

Vibranium is still a metal, and being hit by chunk of metal hurts.

Anyway, back on talking about Freedom Force, I figured out a way of making Cap's shield different from U.S.Agent's. I'm not enterely happy with the solution I came up with, but I couldn't think of a better way. Oh, well...