Adamantium

Adamantium is a fictional metal alloy in the. It appears most notably as the substance bonded to the character Wolverine's skeleton and bone claws.

Etymology
The first use of the term "adamantium" in Marvel Comics was made in Avengers #66 (July 1969) as part of Ultron's outer shell.

However, the noun "adamant" has long been used in standard English to refer to the embodiment of impregnable, diamondlike hardness. It, along with its rhetorical form "adamantine", occurs in works such as the Aeneid, Paradise Lost, Gulliver's Travels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Lord of the Rings and even the movie Forbidden Planet, all of which predate the use of "Adamantium" in Marvel Comics.

History and properties of adamantium in the Marvel universe
In the Marvel universe, Adamantium is a group of man-made metal alloys that possess varying durability but are all almost indestructible. Adamantium was invented by the American metallurgist Dr. Myron MacLain in an attempt to recreate his prior discovery, the properties of Captain America's shield (a unique alloy of steel and vibranium, which required an unknown catalyst for its manufacture); said attempt instead yielded adamantium.

Adamantium's extremely stable molecular structure prevents it from being further molded after its eight-minute initial time period even if the temperature is high enough to keep it in its liquified form. In its solid form, it is colorless, shiny, and resembles high-grade steel or titanium. . It is almost impossible to destroy or fracture in this state and when crafted to a razor edge it can penetrate most lesser materials with minimal application of strength. It is at least somewhat magnetic, since Magneto has manipulated it on multiple occasions.

Despite its utility in the creation of armament and/or armature, adamantium is rarely used due to extreme cost, poor reliability and inability to be reshaped. Due to this and the secrecy around the formula few attempts are made to synthesise it.

Walter Simonson planned for Apocalypse to be the mastermind behind the Weapon X project that gave Wolverine his adamantium skeleton. Wolverine discovers an adamantium-laced skull in Apocalypse's laboratory and comments how it seemed to have been there for eons.

Secondary adamantium
As true adamantium is extremely difficult and expensive to create or manipulate, some parties found 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 ballistic missiles, have no effect on it; it is far stronger than even the most durable of titanium or steel compounds. However, extraordinary blunt 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 Thor's lightning attacks using Mjolnir. Writers created secondary adamantium to deal with supposedly indestructible adamantium having been damaged or destroyed in the past; all such instances were retconned as appearances of secondary adamantium.

Adamantium beta
Adamantium beta is a new metal created as a side-effect of the process of bonding true adamantium to Wolverine's bones. His healing factor 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.

Carbonadium
Carbonadium is a resilient, unstable metal that is vastly stronger than steel but more malleable and cheaper than adamantium. Due to its malleability, carbonadium is less durable than true adamantium, but still nearly indestructible. Omega Red has carbonadium coils through which he can transmit his ability to drain life energies. Carbonadium is highly radioactive and objects composed of carbonadium have proven to slow the accelerated healing factors of Wolverine and his son Daken, if implanted within the body. While slowed considerably, their healing powers aren't completely suppressed. 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 Brussels by Wolverine; it has since been revealed that the Carbonadium Synthesizer had been hidden on the deceased body of a double-agent who died escaping Omega Red along with Wolverine, Sabretooth and Maverick. The synthesizer was retrieved and handed back to Maverick, whose mission was to retrieve the item for parties unknown.

Allotropes
In X-Men #191, when confronting Wolverine, one of the Children of the Vault named Serafina claims that adamantium has thirteen allotropes, all of which are "unstable, and short-lived, but virulently poisonous". She throws a small device that clamps onto Wolverine's claws and makes them glow green, claiming that it is adamantium nine. This apparently raises adamantium's toxicity dramatically, overloading Wolverine's healing factor.

Adamantium as key component
Adamantium is used as the key component in several instances in the Marvel Universe, including:
 * Wolverine's skeleton and claws
 * Agent Zero's combat knife
 * The outer skin of some of Alkhema's robotic bodies
 * Battlestar's shield
 * Bullseye's spinal column and some strips coating several of his bones.
 * Constrictor's original wrist-mounted, prehensile metal coils
 * Cyber's claws and skin
 * A unique set of Doctor Octopus' arms
 * The outer layer of Citizen V's rapier
 * Lady Deathstrike's skeleton and talons
 * One of Mister Fantastic's labs for extremely dangerous experiments
 * Moon Knight's crescent blades
 * A unique suit of armor once used by the villain Stilt-Man
 * The outer skin of TESS-One
 * The outer skin of some of Ultron's robotic bodies
 * One of several layers of containment at the superhuman incarceration facility known as the Vault
 * An outer coating on the Swordsman's blades.
 * A special brand of bullet in the Iron Man suit's ballistic weapons.
 * Underworld uses adamantium bullets
 * X-23's claws
 * Doom 2099 Suit

Durability of adamantium
As mentioned above, all forms of adamantium possess extreme durability; however, individuals of sufficient strength can damage it, while unusual energies and forces can destroy it altogether.

Within the Earth-1610 reality, otherwise known as the Ultimate Marvel Universe, adamantium also exists, but there is evidence that brings into question the status of adamantium as "unbreakable" or "indestructible" in comparison with the Earth-616 version. There is an instance of the Hulk breaking a needle made of adamantium. During the initial appearances of the Ultimate Marvel Universe's version of Sabretooth, it is revealed that he has four retractable adamantium claws implanted within each of his forearms. Through circumstances that have yet to be explained, one of the claws implanted within Sabretooth's left forearm is broken. There is also at least one known incident of adamantium within the Earth-1610 reality being damaged by conventional weaponry. In a memory flashback, the Ultimate Marvel version of Nick Fury recalls an adamantium cage containing Wolverine is shelled and destroyed during Operation: Desert Storm.

Properties of adamantium in the Ultimate Marvel universe
Little is known about the UMU version of adamantium. Among the most notable information yet to be revealed includes when adamantium is first created, the person or persons responsible for first creating it, and any of the properties and processes used in creating it.

Only one form of adamantium has been seen in the Ultimate Universe thus far. It is currently unknown whether or not any other versions of adamantium exist, as they do in the Earth-616 reality.

Adamantium in the UMU is highly durable and is able to effectively protect a person's mind from telepathic probing or attacks, a property that the Earth-616 version lacks completely. It has been shown as a component of the claws and skeleton of the Ultimate Wolverine and Ultimate Lady Deathstrike. The UMU's version of Sabretooth's natural claws are bonded with adamantium and he possesses four retractable claws similar to those of Wolverine implanted in his forearms. The shield of Ultimate Captain America is composed entirely of adamantium.

Though the UMU version of the Hulk was able to rip Wolverine in half, this was only damage to connective tissue. There was no evidence of damage to any of Wolverine's bones or the adamantium. Although Wolverine himself remarked "unbreakable... so much for that" after being ripped in half.

In other media
The name adamantium has been used by other writers, game designers and publishing companies to describe similar substances, since adamantium isn't a trademarked property. The degree of resilience and creation of adamantium can sometimes vary between different media forms.

Games

 * In the Master of Orion games, adamantium is one of the strongest types of armor.
 * In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, adamantium is a super-hard alloy used by the Imperium of Man in the construction of weapons and armor.
 * It is also found in Blizzard's World of Warcraft as the Ornate Adamantium Breastplate, as well as being what the insane dragon Deathwing's armor is made of. There was a mineable variation of adamantium known as adamantite added in the Burning Crusade expansion pack.
 * Adamantium armor and weapons can be found in Bethesda Softworks' The Elder Scrolls Series.
 * Adamantium armor is a form of armor in the PlayStation 2 game Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal.
 * In Two Worlds there are two available Earth Magic spells with adamantium references. These spells are Summon Adamantium Golem (the strongest summon in the game), and Adamantium Shield.
 * In the MMORPG RuneScape, it is possible to mine Adamantite ore and smith it into Adamant weaponry and armor.
 * In the MMORPG MapleStory, Adamantium is a mineral ore that can be processed to Adamantium plates in use to forge some equipment.
 * In the MMORPG Mabinogi, the missing skeleton of the Generation One boss monster Glas Ghaibhleannwas said to be substitutable adamantium.
 * In the RPG game Rage of Mages, the second strongest and most powerful set of weapons and armor is made of adamantium.
 * In Age Of Mythology, the gates of Tartarus, fashioned by Zeus to seal Kronos, are made of adamantium.
 * In Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, Adamantium is the Ultra Rare element for tier 5 blacksmith recipes.
 * In the MMORPG Star Sonata, many high end items are built using Adamantium Sheets, these are refined from Adamantium Ore.
 * In nearly all the Final Fantasy games, adamantium appears as unrefined metal or a piece of shell from a giant turtle called an Adamantoise.
 * In Ricochet Infinity three of the top 4 ranks are described as having Adamantium artifacts (sword, crown and throne).
 * In Fallout 3, the character may take a perk titled 'Adamantium Skeleton', which reduces the damage taken to limbs.
 * In NCSoft's Lineage 2, 'Adamantite Nuggets' are raw materials used to craft various weapons and armors.
 * In ROSE online there is a usable item called Adamantium Drill for slotting equipments and inserting gems.
 * In Lost Odyssey, there is a sword called Adamantis, forged from Adamantium.
 * In the MMORPG Aion: The Tower of Eternity, 'Adamentium Ores' are obtainable and used to craft various weapons and armor pieces.
 * In the game Zoo World on Facebook, Adamantium Mastery can be achieved by breeding a certain amount of each animal species or completing various in game achievements. Adamantium is the fifth level of mastery, following bronze, silver, gold, and platinum.
 * In Dwarf Fortress, Adamantium is the strongest and lightest material in the game, and can be mined.

Films

 * As with his comics counterpart, the X-Men film series version of Wolverine also possesses adamantium in his skeleton and claws. In X2: X-Men United, liquid adamantium was seen boiling in a tub. (William Stryker mentioned that the "tricky thing with adamantium is, you gotta keep it hot.") The X2 version of Deathstrike is also shown to have adamantium claws that are extruded from the tips of her fingers.
 * In X-Men Origins: Wolverine, adamantium is discovered in the form of a meteorite that fell to Earth somewhere in Nigeria. When Wolverine is shot in the head with bullets made of this material, he is left with no memory of his life up to that point.
 * In the Marvel Comics animated feature Ultimate Avengers, Captain America's shield is composed of an adamantium/vibranium alloy.
 * In the 1998 film Lost in Space, the spider-like organisms are described as having an "Adamantium shell". The organisms were destroyed by exposure to a nuclear fusion explosion.
 * In the Toy Story Series, Buzz Lightyear's suit has an adamantium-nitrogen layer.

TV Shows

 * In the Iron Man animated series Tony Stark has armor made of Adamantium, though it's stolen by the Mandarin.
 * In the Samurai Jack episode "Jack and the Ultra-robots", the assassin robots are said to be made of Adamantium.
 * In the Spider-Man (1994 TV Series) episode "Neogenic Nightmare, Chapter XI: Tablet of Time", the criminal Hammerhead tells Spider-Man that his head is made from Adamantium.
 * In the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon (1987), Shredder refers to his Chrome Dome robot being made entirely out of Adamantium in "Planet of the Turtleoids."

Music

 * The UK Grime record label owned by Kiss FM DJ Logan Sama is called Adamantium Music.
 * Adamantium was also the name of an American hardcore band.