The following contains spoilers from Captain America: Symbol of Truth #1, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Although it has played a crucial role in the origins of many of the Marvel Universe's most iconic heroes and villains, Vibranium has always shared a deep connection to Black Panther and Wakanda. As the only nation in the world with access to a near unlimited supply of Vibranium, the people of Wakanda have had centuries to hone their understanding of the metal's unique properties. This allows their king and protector to wield it as a spear and a shield against those who would threaten his people.
Unfortunately, while it is in many ways the country's most valuable resource, Vibranium has also been used against Wakanda by its many enemies. Captain America: Symbol of Truth #3 (by Tochi Onyebuchi, R.B. Silva, Ze Carlos, Jesus Aburtov, and VC's Joe Caramagna) has revealed that T'Challa's villainous step-brother White Wolf discovered a new and deadly way to weaponize Vibranium. And it could have disastrous consequences for both Wakanda and the greater Marvel Universe.
Ever since he was banished from Wakanda by his step-brother, White Wolf has done everything in his power to exact his revenge upon T'Challa and his former homeland. Throughout Captain America: Symbol of Truth, White Wolf has manipulated events from behind the scenes, smuggling Vibranium out of Wakanda and using it to experiment on kidnapped immigrants. When the Wakandan Prime Minister refused to allow Sam Wilson to investigate the matter, he infiltrated the country by joining "Wakanda Forever", a political movement that supplies Wakandan visas to African-Americans.
Almost immediately after stepping foot in Wakanda, Sam was confronted by the veteran Captain America villain, Crossbones, whom he quickly defeated thanks to his ability to speak to birds. During the subsequent interrogation, Crossbones revealed that White Wolf had been sponsoring the Wakanda Forever movement and had secretly infected its members with a deadly virus that would kill the hosts before going airborne. Just before a recently un-exiled Black Panther arrived to confront Sam for sneaking into Wakanda, Crossbones revealed that the virus was triggered by proximity to Vibranium.
While he's far from the first villain to find an unconventional way to utilize Vibranium for malicious purposes, White Wolf's unorthodox method of weaponizing it may be the deadliest yet. By creating a virus tailor-made to go off near Vibranium, Wakanda's former prince has effectively turned the country's greatest strength against it. From the tallest building to the lowest sewer pipe, almost everything in Wakanda is composed of Vibranium, meaning that no one in the nation will be safe if the virus spreads beyond its original hosts.
On its own, this "Vibranium Virus" has the potential to destroy Wakanda, and Black Panther's focus on Sam has given White Wolf the perfect opportunity to launch his attack and plunge the United States and Wakanda into war. However, the implications of this new form of metal-based biological warfare become even more terrifying when one realizes how dependent the heroes of Marvel are on metal. With some slight modifications, the Vibranium Virus could be activated by any of the many fantastical metals that permeate the Marvel Universe, making it a uniquely deadly threat to the many heroes who rely on them.
While White Wolf's machinations are centered on Wakanda at the moment, his creation could become a deadly threat to the heroes of the Marvel Universe. If other villains manage to replicate the methods that White Wolf used to create the Vibranium Virus, the deadly pathogen could become the deadliest weapon in the Marvel Universe.