In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Super Soldier Serum is nearly impossible to recreate. But this could be because Vibranium played a crucial role.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has built a massive world of heroes and villains from various walks of life. Whether from space or Earth, there’s always a story to be told and a unique way to connect one story to another. For example, Hawkeye’s selflessness in the Battle of New York directly inspired a young Kate Bishop to work on being an archer herself. Similarly, the Tesseract that transported the Red Skull to Vormir was the same one that gave Carol Danvers her unique cosmic abilities. Each example proves just how connected these stories could be.
While it’s easy to find how one story affects another, other mysteries still require some theorizing to understand. A big example of this is tied to the Super Soldier Serum and how no one has ever been able to recreate precisely what Dr. Erskine had done in the 1940s. But according to one theory, the reason that Erskine’s serum worked so well was that it used a secret ingredient tied to the Heart-Shaped Herb — Vibranium.
The Super Soldier Serum Is Nearly Impossible To Recreate
In Captain America: The First Avenger, the nature of the Super Soldier Serum is never explored. All that was known was that there was only one dose of it left, and it had been worked on for years before Steve Rogers was tested with it. Before Steve, Johann Schmidt used an experimental version that turned him into the Red Skull. But aside from these examples, it wouldn’t be until the Flag-Smashers and John Walker that the serum would be perfected enough to sustain a human and not change them as it did Emil Blonsky. That said, after almost 100 years, it proved just how hard it was to make the Super Soldier Serum.
Granted, one of the few examples of a working serum before the millennium came with Bucky Barnes, who was experimented on and given an equally potent serum to Steve’s. That said, he wasn’t as strong as Steve as it enhanced him but didn’t change him in the same sense as his best friend. Nevertheless, Bucky may serve as an example of why the serum worked where others had not and how Dr. Erskine used Vibranium to create and perfect his serum.
The Super Soldier Serum Has a Connection To Vibranium
According to the theory surrounding the serum, it’s possible that the meteorite that hit Wakanda wasn’t the only one. As Black Panther: Wakanda Forever showed, the meteorite that hit the Earth likely broke up on reentry, and a part of it hit the Gulf of Mexico. This altered the plant life around it, mutating it and allowing the indigenous people to consume it and become reliant on seawater to survive. But if Vibranium could be found in other parts of the world, it’s possible that another fragment landed in Europe, perhaps where Erskine was working on his serum. After the failure that changed Schmidt, he likely found a plant enhanced by the meteorite and infused it into his experiment to finally create the serum that made Captain America.
Since plant mutations from Vibranium are as rare as the changes it creates in the user, it would explain why so few had perfected the formula. This could also explain why Bucky’s formula worked, as Arnim Zola likely retraced Erskine’s steps and found one of the remaining plants to use on his own serum. In the end, there’s no doubt that the Super Soldier Serum is still one of the MCU’s greatest mysteries. But a connection to Vibranium could shine more light on it than ever.
