Adamantine, Wolverine’s Mysterious Metal of the Gods, Explained

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Wolverine is one of the most popular and well-known characters in Marvel Comics, and his metal claws have made Adamantium the most well-known substance in comics and one of the strongest. However, another obscure metal has recently resurfaced in Wolverine‘s From The Ashes relaunch (by Saladin Ahmed, Martín Cóccolo, Bryan Valenza, and Cory Petit) that can not only rival Adamantium but may have been what created it.

First introduced in 1965’s Journey Into Mystery Annual #1 (by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Vince Colletta, Stan Goldberg, and Sam Rosen), the mysterious Adamantine has a long history in Marvel Comics as well as the real world.The From the Ashes relaunch brought Adamintine back to the forefront to explore its history and connection to the most famous metal in Marvel.

The History of Adamantine

Adamantine Actually Comes From the Real World

Adamantine, or Adamant, is a metal that originates from Greek mythology and is a term used to describe any material whose composition consists of a very hard metal as opposed to a specific type of metal. Adamantine was often referred to as “The Metal of the Gods.”According to myth, Adamantine was the metal used in the sword Perseus used to decapitate Medusa and to create the chains that bound Prometheus. Adamantine is also the name of a mineral “Adamantine Spar”, which is a silky brown form of Corundum and is also used to refer to non-metallic light reflecting and transmitting elements called “Adamantine Luster”.

The metal came from the Greek Gods and was the metal that created Hercules’ Golden Mace. Adamantium creator Dr. Myron Maclain based his original plans on the mythological metal and named it Adamantium in homage to its inspiration.

Adamantine would then be used sparingly over the years, subtly being thrown into an issue as armor or a weapon such as Warhawk’s armor in 1977’s Ms. Marvel #12 (by Chris Claremont, Sal Buscema, Joe Sinnott, George Roussous, and Annette Kawecki). Adamantine’s biggest outing in the comics was during 2011’s Astonishing X-Men (by Greg Pak, Mike Mckonw, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Joe Caramagna), in which the Logan of Earth-12245’s skeleton was coated in the golden metal instead of Adamantium.

Adamantine’s Role In Wolverine: From the Ashes

The God Metal Comes For Vengeance

In 2024’s Wolverine #1 (by Saladin Ahmed, Martín Cóccolo, Bryan Valenza, and Cory Petit), Logan encounters a villain from his past, Cyber, who has Adamantium bonded to his skin. Wolverine and Cyber engage in a brutal, which ends in Logan stabbing him in the eye but allowing him to live and escape. Cyber wanders into a cave and seemingly awakens a mysterious voice that attacks him, turning his Adamantium skin gold.

In Wolverine #3 (by Saladin Ahmed, Martín Cóccolo, Bryan Valenza, and Cory Petit), Logan fights another Adamantium villain, Constrictor, before the fight is interrupted by Lady Deathstroke. Being infected by the gold metal, Lady Deathstroke also infects Constrictor. The metal is revealed to be Adamantine, which has awoken to purify all Adamantium and expose it as a false pretender.

Adamantine’s Powers and Differences From Adamantium

Adamantine’s full powers are still a mystery

While Adamantine has been in the Marvel Universe for a while, this is the first time a writer has introduced the idea of it being sentient. Being very similar to Adamantium, Adamantine is equally indestructible if not more so, being able to deflect and rival other powerful weapons such as Thor’s hammer in Journey Into Mystery Annual #1 (by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Vince Colletta, Stan Goldberg, and Sam Rosen), and Captain America’s shield, which is made from Proto- Adamantium, a stronger version of Wolverine’s True Adamantium.

In the 2012 X-Treme X-Men #1 (by Greg Pak, Stephen Segovia, Dennis Crisostomo, Jessica Kholinne, and Joe Sabino), Earth-12025 Wolverine’s Adamantine skeleton is shown also to make him immune to psychic attacks when the team encounters an alternate universe Charles Xavier who is a giant psychic squid monster.

After being infected by the God metal in Wolverine #4, it’s shown to not only be able to transform Adamantium into Adamantine, but also speak to its host through the metal bonded to them and posses them completely.

Wolverine #5 concludes with Adamantine’s presence fully taking over Logan, claiming him to be the purest wielder of the false metal and choosing him to be its champion. The extent of this title and Adamantine’s full powers are currently unknown. Still, it’s clear writer Saladin Ahmed aims to reinvent the ancient metal and uncover its unexplored lost history as the series moves forward.

Adamantium Is Everywhere

With Adamantine waging war against Adamantium, many characters in Marvel could fall under its influence, as Cyber and Lady Deathstroke have. Being one of the most powerful materials on Earth, heroes and villains alike have sought to acquire the precious metal to enhance their powers.

Captain America’s shield is made of Proto-Adamantium, a composition of Vibranium, steel, and an unknown catalyst. Since Proto-Adamantium could not be replicated, it led to the creation of True Adamantium, the version Wolverine received in the Weapon X program. While True Adamantium is not as strong as its predecessor, it is still nearly indestructible and can be replicated.

However, due to the difficulty and cost of producing the high-quality metal, others began to create more cost-effective versions, such as Secondary Adamantium and Carbonadium, which are used in Omega-Red’s Coils and Doctor Octopus’s teneticals. The metal’s durability weakens with each iteration, but its inferiority is somewhat compensated by being easier to manipulate.

What Other Characters Could Adamantine Target

No One is Safe

Since Adamantine can take over True Adamantium, it’s reasonable to assume it can also possess these other forms. Putting many in the Marvel Universe at risk, such as Captain America, X-23, Sabertooth, Bullseye, and more. As the strongest metal on Earth, multiple characters use Adamantium in their equipment, including Moon Knight, Deadpool, Hawkeye, Iron Man, and even Shuri, who uses Adamantium tips for her Panther claws.

Besides the heroes of Earth, Adamantine could affect things on a much larger scale, with the most at risk of becoming part of Adamantine’s army being the Olympians. The Greek Pantheon was seemingly the first to acquire and use the metal in most of their armor and weapons, including Hercules’ Golden Mace, the Gauntlets of Ares, the Helm of Hades, and the Horn of Zeus.

Another factor to consider is that this first form of Adamantium used Vibranium in its composition, which could also make it susceptible to Adamantine. This would not only put the Black Panther at risk, but the entire nation of Wakanda, with much of the architecture being built from the precious resource. Similarly, Adamantium is used in constructing many high-security buildings and resources, making Adamantine’s war against the false metal something that could reshape the entire Marvel Universe.

“}]] Adamantine was introduced as Marvel’s ancient Metal of the Gods, though Wolverine’s From the Ashes Relaunch has re-imagined the golden substance.  Read More