WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Mandalorian "Chapter 13: The Jedi," now streaming on Disney+.
The cherished beskar metal of The Mandalorian holds quite a reputation in the Galaxy. Vaunted as the strongest and most valuable metal in any star system, it continues to rack up ever greater feats in the show's latest season. It can withstand the likes of blaster shots and even lightsaber hits, proving its superiority.
Another Disney property — The Marvel Cinematic Universe — has its own extremely powerful metal. Captain America's shield, forged from vibranium, is a comparable foe to The Mandalorian's beskar. When it comes to comparing these two fictional metals, which weapon is greater?
With a job as dangerous as bounty hunting, the precious beskar steel is priceless to Din Djarin as he undergoes important missions. Otherwise known as Mandalorian steel, the metal requires a special forging process to be shaped. It shrugs off blaster bolts left and right, allowing Din to storm down a whole team of shooters at once. Even that pales in comparison to its latest feat, performed in the episode, "Chapter 13: The Jedi," when the Mandalorian faced off with Ahsoka Tano.
The Jedi brought both her white lightsabers against the armor only to find that they simply bounced off. Despite cutting straight through a thick security bell later in the episode, they proved far less effective against beskar. Even in a duel against Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth, Ahsoka's lightsabers cannot slice through a spear crafted of pure beskar.
Although the Mandalorian's metal is a valuable resource, it's hard to compare it to Captain America's shield in the MCU. His shield is forged of vibranium, and much like beskar, it's a rare metal known for its resilient properties. However, it works a bit differently.
Vibranium absorbs energy, allowing it to take intense slams from the likes of Thor's Mjolnir and showing zero signs of damage from grenades or Iron Man's weapons. While Mandalorian armor can resist vibro-knife hits and an entire array of blasters and lightsabers, its feat against sheer concussive force a far more limited. Memorably, in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Jango Fett was trampled by the rhinoceros-like Reek while wearing Mandalorian armor and bounced right back from it. He was also decapitated shortly after by Mace Windu, proving the armor has weaknesses.
These weaknesses may be exactly what makes it less valuable as a weapon. While armor may seem more protective than a shield, the joints and areas between plating leave vulnerabilities sprinkled throughout the Mandalorian's figure. Captain America often ducks behind his shield and surrounds himself with it as much as possible, and this flexibility means he can use it as a weapon as well as a defense. Even the materials of the different worlds aside, the shield may just be the more practical weapon.
The shield is also the more resilient of the two. While the Mandalorian's armor is likely stronger than Captain America's shield — given how Thanos' sword managed to wreck it in Avengers: Endgame's final battle — the mainstream 616 version has withstood almost any threat outside of godlike energy manipulation and magic.
The Mandalorian's armor just isn't meant to be a super weapon. It's one more tool in a gritty world where the hero struggles to overcome his obstacles. Captain America's vibranium shield proves much more powerful.