*pulls out 24 karat vibranium gem*

In the heart of Africa likes a small nation named Wakanda. And in the heart of Wakanda lies Vibranium. For Vibranium is power, and Wakanda has maintained its borders for so long because of the power of vibranium. But power turned inward leaves its neighbors exposed, vulnerable to opportunists, cults and colonial powers. Even now, the Moon Knight scours Africa under supposed command of Ra and Khonshu, and their zealots have killed the previous king, T'Chaka. The new king, T'Challa, must rise to the occasion amidst political intrigue, hidden enemies, the enemy who seems all too familiar, and the mysterious Killmonger and Wild-Storm.

This book borrows a lot of themes from Black Panther (2018), in that the core struggle is over how to use an abundance of resources. But this feels expanded from that; lots of folks that are side characters in the movie are here as fully-realized players in the political game. This book also does some interesting things with Erik Killmonger, who, with the way the Ultimate Universe works, is alike and unlike his 616 or 199999 counterpart in some ways that make you wonder if he'll break bad this time. But Shuri and Okoye also get a lot more focus here, and the political environment for Wakanda feels like a more fleshed-out version of the comics.

It's a book that says a lot of things about power, sway and charisma, how all of these are used to gain power and lord over others. It's also a book that goes clear off the rails for what exactly vibranium is in this universe, and from there to many other places. Ra and Khonshu both working together to unite Africa under their iron fists is an intriguing change to start with, but they pile up from there.

I hesitate to say this book is great, but I also hesitate to call it merely very good. The story is a solid superhero/political thriller about the dangers of isolation and wealth, but I'm not certain if there's any themes here that haven't been explored more thoroughly in other books, nothing that'll really blow your tits clean off.

If there's one thing I can say for this book, it's that it's got an edge. The Black Panther movie opens with T'Challa saving women from slavers, but the rest of the movie is not really about that. This book is always reminding you of the dark things people do to and in Africa, and pointedly keeps pointing to Wakanda's wealth and going "Hm..." The heroes are not totally faultless, nice or even good people, and while a fair few of them are quite noble some of them are just on the correct side.

It's also a book that feels cut short. The final issue especially rather clumsily wraps up the main conflict, but leaves the right kind of dangling threads that are perfect for an ending. I was honestly astounded that, with all the plot threads and events running through this book, everything is competently-handled until the first half of the last bit. Like watching a gymnast pull off some unflashy but technical tricks, flubbing the last one and landing perfectly. The finale, especially, feels like it adds to the ending of Black Panther (2018) and the beginning of Wakanda Forever in some key ways, not outright denying the idea of outreach but wrinkling it, just a little. If you've read Sixth of the Dusk by Brandon Sanderson, this book has a similar conclusion.

Daredevil #13

How do they make it threadlike to put it into clothes?

Can you use a vibranium machine to make something out of vibranium???