Quote:
Originally Posted by VaultMan
Agreed. In fact, and someone please clarify this, but I don't think there's any adamantium in Cap's shield.
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Correct no adamantium but it's even better.
Destroying the indestructible
As of 2007, the shield has been damaged or destroyed four times within the confines of the Earth-616 continuity. On each of these occasions, the shield was subjected to a cosmically powerful force capable of reshaping matter on a massive scale. Specifically, the powers that affected the shield are:
* The Molecule Man's total control over matter;[3]
* The godlike power of the Beyonder;[4]
* The near-omnipotence conferred upon Thanos by the Infinity Gauntlet;[5]
* The Odinforce wielded by Thor;[6]
[edit] Molecule Man
On the first occasion, the Molecule Man disintegrates the shield, along with Thor's hammer, Iron Man's armor, and the Silver Surfer's board. After he does so, he comments that the board's molecules are "weird", and while there are "odd forces interweaving" among the hammer's molecules, the shield is "weirdest of all". He later reassembles these items, with the exception of the armor, as the electronic circuits are too complicated for him to understand.[3]
[edit] Beyonder
During the Secret Wars limited series, the shield is partially destroyed by Doctor Doom, who has stolen the power of the godlike being known as the Beyonder. Even broken, Rogers is able to wield what is left as an effective weapon, with the shield largely retaining its balance when thrown. When the Beyonder reclaims its power, a temporary side effect grants the desires of the heroes on a small scale (such as allowing the doors in the heroes' base to open to Curt Connors). Rogers uses this "wish effect" to reconstruct the shield.
Later, Rogers loses his shield in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean when he had to make a choice between helping a struggling, drowning Navy officer and rescuing the shield. He uses several replacement shields for some months. A recovery team working for Tony Stark manages to retrieve the shield from the ocean floor, but when it is dropped on the deck of the ship, it shatters into dozens of pieces.
Examining the pieces, Rogers and Stark discover that when Rogers put the shield back together with the Beyonder's energies, a small sub-molecular imperfection was introduced into the vibranium: one solitary molecule was left out of alignment. With each additional impact over the years, the misalignment had spread to neighboring molecules, steadily growing until the molecular bonds of the shield were completely broken down and it shattered. The consequences are far graver, as the shattering of the shield does not stop this chain reaction; the instability continues to grow, creating a vibranium "cancer", a shock wave that is propagating throughout the world, violently detonating any vibranium it finds, from mineral deposits to vibranium used in the construction of ships and equipment. The shock wave is traveling to the Great Vibranium Mound in Wakanda, where the resulting explosion could destroy the world.
To prevent this, Rogers travels to Wakanda with the pieces of the shield taped together, prepared to sacrifice what remains of it in an attempt to absorb the shock wave. The villain Klaw, who is made up of living sound waves, has reached Wakanda ahead of him. Klaw stands in the path of the shock wave, absorbing it himself and increasing his own powers considerably. When Klaw next attacks Rogers, the latter instinctively raises the taped-together shield in defense. When Klaw strikes the shield, his shock wave–augmented power realigns its vibranium molecules and restores the shield, allowing Rogers to defeat Klaw.
[edit] Infinity Gauntlet
During the "Infinity Gauntlet" storyline, Thanos, who possesses relative omnipotence via the Infinity Gauntlet, shatters the shield with a blow of his fist while in combat with Captain America. The shield is soon restored by Thanos' alleged granddaughter, Nebula, when she obtains the Gauntlet and uses it to undo the events of Thanos's temporary godhood, resulting in her erasing the death and destruction that Thanos had caused over the previous 24 hours.
[edit] Thor
During the Standoff crossover between Thor, Iron Man and The Avengers, the shield was dented as a result of an enraged Thor striking it with an Odinforce-empowered blow. After the battle was ended Thor repaired it before ending his membership with the Avengers.
