Comparing 5 Famous Fictional Resources
Recently, I’ve written a post about under appreciated natural resources. And while the use of each of the resources mentioned will spice up a story, none of them will be as versatile as a resource made up by the author specifically for the story. Of course, not every fictional material will be good. There are many of these resources, but I’ll just go over 5 of the more notable ones.
I’ll cover five amazing fictional materials: Atium from Mistborn, Celestial Bronze from Percy Jackson, Mithril from Lord of the Rings, Unobtainium from the Avatar movie, and Vibranium from Marvel.
Atium
- Cool Factor
- Atium is an interesting material. If a person capable of using Atium ingests it, they can burn it, releasing Atium’s power. It gives the user the power to see into the immediate future. This lets the person anticipate an opponent’s actions and react accordingly. Of course, it also enhances the user’s mind, allowing them to take in and process all the incoming information.
- 5/5
- Atium is an interesting material. If a person capable of using Atium ingests it, they can burn it, releasing Atium’s power. It gives the user the power to see into the immediate future. This lets the person anticipate an opponent’s actions and react accordingly. Of course, it also enhances the user’s mind, allowing them to take in and process all the incoming information.
- Relevance to Plot
- (Big Spoilers ahead. Read the Mistborn trilogy before continuing)
- At first, Atium is relevant to the plot. It is extremely rare, and the people that have access to it can become powerful. Eventually, the Atium mines are destroyed to help further the plot.
- But it is later revealed that Atium is crucial to the plot as Atium is the body of a god called Ruin, something the trilogy was building up to. The foreshadowing and the plot threads were there, and Atium was the thing that brought everything together. It was instrumental to the plot.
- 5/5
- Power/Usefulness
- Atium is a powerful resource, letting the user see into other people’s futures. It is an extremely useful resource. Of course, its power is diminished somewhat by the fact that Atium can be counted. If an opponent is burning Atium at the same time, then no one gets its benefits. Still, it is quite powerful.
- 4/5
- Atium is a powerful resource, letting the user see into other people’s futures. It is an extremely useful resource. Of course, its power is diminished somewhat by the fact that Atium can be counted. If an opponent is burning Atium at the same time, then no one gets its benefits. Still, it is quite powerful.
Celestial Bronze
- Cool Factor
- In the Percy Jackson series, Celestial Bronze is a magical material, one of the only things capable of slaying monsters and demons. It is rare and can only be mined by cyclopses in mount Olympus. The flavor of Celestial Bronze is really cool! However, the uniqueness of celestial bronze is diminished because of other materials that also can slay monsters. These materials were added later and detract from the Celestial Bronze.
- 4/5
- In the Percy Jackson series, Celestial Bronze is a magical material, one of the only things capable of slaying monsters and demons. It is rare and can only be mined by cyclopses in mount Olympus. The flavor of Celestial Bronze is really cool! However, the uniqueness of celestial bronze is diminished because of other materials that also can slay monsters. These materials were added later and detract from the Celestial Bronze.
- Relevance to Plot
- It pains me to say this, but Celestial Bronze isn’t all that necessary or relevant to the plot. The material didn’t seem to be that rare. I only remember one time in which the heroes had to actively search for it. Really, Celestial Bronze is just a McGuffin. It doesn’t do anything special.
- 3/5
- It pains me to say this, but Celestial Bronze isn’t all that necessary or relevant to the plot. The material didn’t seem to be that rare. I only remember one time in which the heroes had to actively search for it. Really, Celestial Bronze is just a McGuffin. It doesn’t do anything special.
- Power/Usefulness
- Despite that, Celestial Bronze is still a powerful material. As I’ve said before, it’s one of the only things that can be used to slay the monsters in the Percy Jackson series. So it is quite useful and powerful. In fact, it is necessary for survival, something that can’t quite be said for other materials on this list.
- 5/5
- Despite that, Celestial Bronze is still a powerful material. As I’ve said before, it’s one of the only things that can be used to slay the monsters in the Percy Jackson series. So it is quite useful and powerful. In fact, it is necessary for survival, something that can’t quite be said for other materials on this list.
Mithril
- Cool Factor
- What is Mithril? In the Lord of the Rings (LOTR), it is a silvery metal that is both strong and light. In fact, Mithril comes from Tolkien’s words for both gray and glitter. It’s beautiful and strong and light- the one metal to rule them all. (To avoid confusion, I’m clarifying that it wasn’t the metal used to make the one ring.) In its descriptions, it sounds really cool
- 4/5
- What is Mithril? In the Lord of the Rings (LOTR), it is a silvery metal that is both strong and light. In fact, Mithril comes from Tolkien’s words for both gray and glitter. It’s beautiful and strong and light- the one metal to rule them all. (To avoid confusion, I’m clarifying that it wasn’t the metal used to make the one ring.) In its descriptions, it sounds really cool
- Relevance to World
- Sadly, Mithril has many of the same problems as Celestial Bronze. It could be theoretically any material and work just as well. There isn’t that much of a point to it in LOTR. Of course, it is very strong and light, more so than any other material that people on Middle Earth would be able to take advantage of. It helps provide just a bit of realism.
- Also, Mithril was meant to be a physical manifestation of the dwarves’ greed. Mithril was prized among the dwarves, but digging too deep could awaken the Balrog, like in the mines of Moria. It was always there, tempting the dwarves.
- 4/5
- Power/Usefullness
- As I have said before, Mithril is exceedingly strong and light. All real-world counterparts are either too weak or too heavy. Also, it’s far easier to craft things with Mithril than any of its counterparts. It is powerful, but not exceedingly so. Mostly, it’s just useful.
- 4/5
- As I have said before, Mithril is exceedingly strong and light. All real-world counterparts are either too weak or too heavy. Also, it’s far easier to craft things with Mithril than any of its counterparts. It is powerful, but not exceedingly so. Mostly, it’s just useful.
Unobtanium
- Cool Factor
- First, how many of you guys remember what Unobtanium is or even where it’s from? Sadly, not many people know/remembered that much about it, even though it’s from Avatar, one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. It actually is relatively interesting, but it has such little bearing on the plot that no one can remember anything about it. Also, there’s the name, it isn’t good. I had to doc a point just for the name.
- 2/5
- First, how many of you guys remember what Unobtanium is or even where it’s from? Sadly, not many people know/remembered that much about it, even though it’s from Avatar, one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. It actually is relatively interesting, but it has such little bearing on the plot that no one can remember anything about it. Also, there’s the name, it isn’t good. I had to doc a point just for the name.
- Relevance to Plot
- As I said above, Unubtaium has very little relevance to the story of Avatar. Though it is what jumpstarts the plot- with the evil mining company trying to tear down the tree to get to it- the instigator could be anything. Unobtanium hardly even makes an appearance, and its properties are never really showcased. Unobtanium could be replaced with any valuable material, and the story wouldn’t change.
- 2/5
- As I said above, Unubtaium has very little relevance to the story of Avatar. Though it is what jumpstarts the plot- with the evil mining company trying to tear down the tree to get to it- the instigator could be anything. Unobtanium hardly even makes an appearance, and its properties are never really showcased. Unobtanium could be replaced with any valuable material, and the story wouldn’t change.
- Power/Usefulness
- Despite that, Unobtanium is interesting and useful. It’s a room-temperature superconductor, something real scientists are trying to find/create. This property allows it to be extremely useful in energy production.
- Also, just from the wiki, it is easy to tell that a lot of thought was put into Unobtanium. Just listen to this ”a stable quasi-crystal with its atoms arranged in a never-repeating but the orderly pattern with fivefold symmetry.” The wiki continues on like that, continuing to flesh the material out.
- 5/5
Vibranium
(Note: I will be referring to the Marvel Movies for Vibranium, not the comics.)
- Cool Factor
- Vibranium is inherently cool. After all, Marvel movies are great at making things look cool. After seeing Captain America throw his shield or watching Black Panther repel people with his suit, you can’t help but be on team Vibranium. It only gets cooler from there. Vibranium is stronger the steel; it’s nearly indestructible; you can use it to make robots.
- 5/5
- Vibranium is inherently cool. After all, Marvel movies are great at making things look cool. After seeing Captain America throw his shield or watching Black Panther repel people with his suit, you can’t help but be on team Vibranium. It only gets cooler from there. Vibranium is stronger the steel; it’s nearly indestructible; you can use it to make robots.
- Relevance to Plot
- Here, it’s complicated. After all, Vibranium doesn’t play a part in every movie. However, for the ones it does play a part in, it does have a fair role. And, Vibranium isn’t just a replacement for other metals. It’s very strong and light, just like Mithril. But it also absorbs vibration. This is how Blackpanther is nigh-invincible while in his suit. Vibranium can also deflect Kinetic energy which explains all the weird stuff with Captain America’s shield. So, while it isn’t instrumental to the MCU, it still plays a large role
- 4/5
- Here, it’s complicated. After all, Vibranium doesn’t play a part in every movie. However, for the ones it does play a part in, it does have a fair role. And, Vibranium isn’t just a replacement for other metals. It’s very strong and light, just like Mithril. But it also absorbs vibration. This is how Blackpanther is nigh-invincible while in his suit. Vibranium can also deflect Kinetic energy which explains all the weird stuff with Captain America’s shield. So, while it isn’t instrumental to the MCU, it still plays a large role
- Power/Usefulness
- Vibranium is incredibly useful. It deflects kinetic energy, absorbs vibration, and can be used as a power source. I’m not smart enough/ don’t know enough to understand how it would be used in our world. Still, I’m sure scientists would have a field day if it was real.
- 4/5
- Vibranium is incredibly useful. It deflects kinetic energy, absorbs vibration, and can be used as a power source. I’m not smart enough/ don’t know enough to understand how it would be used in our world. Still, I’m sure scientists would have a field day if it was real.
So, five fictional resources with Atium by the top and Unobtanium near the bottom. There is a lot to learn from the successes and shortcomings of these resources. If you like this, let me know! I will then be sure to make another.
