Buckle up, it’s about to get real nerdy in here.

Also, spoiler warning too. But why are you here if you haven’t seen the movie? And why haven’t you seen the movie? What’s wrong with you?

During the movie, there’s a scene right after Bucky escapes from his cell where he fights through some enhanced people. After dealing with Tony, Agent 13, and the impressive moves and pummeling from Black Widow, the still-mysterious T’Challa enters the fray. During this brawl, we see T’Challa transition his hand toward Winter Soldier’s metallic arm. The camera seems to freeze a little bit. Bucky appears to want to hit T’Challa with his metal arm but it stays motionless.

Why did that happen? Just by the scene locking for even a few seconds and focusing on the puzzling look on Bucky’s face, we have to conclude it’s important, right? Well, I may have dug up the solution. Origins start at the MCU but dive into the comics quite a bit.

Okay, so follow along with me. We all know about the mystical properties of vibranium, right? Well, we know from Captain America: The First Avenger that Captain America’s shield is made from vibranium, and it’s super rare. That movie also explains very quickly by Mr. Stark that vibranium is vibration absorbent. We were also introduced during Avengers: Age of Ultron to Wakanda, and how there’s vibranium deposits there. It was subtle and not really all that important to the plot, but it was there. Finally, we all know from Captain America: Civil War that Black Panther is from Wakanda.

What you may not know is there are actually two different types of vibranium: Wakandan and Antarctic. Wakandan vibranium is the “normal” vibranium; if somebody says vibranium out of the blue, they mean Wakandan vibranium. Antarctic vibranium is a different isotope, and has different properties. Instead of absorbing vibrations, it does the complete opposite. It will emit a very specific wavelength of vibrations that will tear down the molecular bonds of other metals, giving it the moniker “Anti-Metal”.

You might be able to see where this all ties together.

Now, as far as I know, T’Challa doesn’t actually have a ring in the comics. Therefore, this is all speculation. However, Black Panther has Wakandan vibranium interwoven in his suit, and in the comics his retractable claws are made of Anti-Metal. Therefore, we know he has had access to Anti-Metal. Seeing how the ring looked to be a royal artifact, we can deduce that it has rarity. I do indeed believe that T’Challa’s ring is made of Anti-Metal, and therefore when Winter Soldier’s arm confronts the ring, it was repelled by the Anti-Metal properties.

Maybe we’ll see a definitive answer in Black Panther’s movie, coming in 2018. I hope the Savage Land will be there.

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