WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Eternals, in theaters now.
Much like any movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Eternals comes with its share of gags and jokes to keep the proceedings light-hearted even as the fate of the entire solar system sits in the balance. However, sometimes even gags in Marvel movies can have major consequences, and Eternals is no different. One small moment in the Chicago home of Phastos makes for an easy laugh as his teammate Ikaris snaps a dining room table in half. But the throwaway line that precedes the moment could have major implications for the past of the MCU and set up a major boon to Earth's heroes in its future.
Arriving on Earth thousands of years ago in order to protect human civilization from the threat of the Deviants, the Eternals are powerful immortal beings who each have a unique ability unparalleled on the planets they inhabit. While some abilities may seem flashier, like Ikaris' super strength and heat vision or Sersi's transmutational ability to turn any material into any other material, perhaps one of the most valuable assets the immortal team has is Phastos and his genius intellect that can invent anything. And it would even seem that he can create one of the most valuable materials on the planet: Vibranium.
Phastos never uses Vibranium throughout the movie, but there's a moment that subtly implies he could. Arriving atPhastos' Chicago home, Ikaris and Sersi try to convince their old friend to return to their team to use his abilities for the good of humanity. Swearing to retire following the tragic invention of the atom bomb, Ikaris calls out Phastos on the hypocrisy of his oath by demonstrating that Phastos was not above using his abilities to protect his human family. Ikaris uses his heat vision and does nothing to Phastos' house when he fires it off, and he remarks that even the dining room table is probably made of Vibranium. Ikaris tests the theory by slamming his fist down and snapping it in half to comically demonstrate it was just a normal table, but the moment has deeper implications for fans.
Vibranium is like a magic unbreakable metal that absorbs and redirects energy. Arriving by a meteor in Wakanda eons ago, it proves such an amazing material that it boosts the scientific endeavors of Wakanda to years beyond the rest of humanity. The hero Black Panther utilizes it in his costume to fight right alongside some of the most powerful Avengers, and in vying after Vibranium, the plot of multiple MCU films revolved around the rarity of the material. And yet, it seems that Ikaris thought Phastos had such ready access to it that he would use it in a common kitchen table.
This could mean that Phastos has a means of synthesizing Vibranium, utilizing his special talents to forge one of the most powerful materials known to humankind. It would be far more reasonable to assume he can create the material and use it in commonplace items than for Ikaris to believe Phastos went to Wakanda to discreetly procure their most precious resource just for the sake of making sturdy furniture. Indeed, if beings as old as the Eternals could make Vibranium then that could explain where the material came from in the first place. But if Phastos specifically can make it, then it has even deeper implications about the future of the MCU.
The film ends with the Eternals altering the focus of their mission after dire revelations about their origins change their outlook on protecting humanity. Previously, they seldom interfered in the affairs of humankind, but by the end, they occupy a position far more akin to the Avengers or other super-powered protectors. If Phastos was looking out for the protection of humanity against threats beyond the Deviants, then that could well mean that Marvel heroes have ready access to all the Vibranium they could ever need.
In Black Panther, the resource is coveted highly and jealously guarded, and that's understandable when there is a finite amount of it on the planet. But if Phastos truly can create Vibranium, then there would be enough to stock anyone who needed it against future Thanos-level threats. Phastos' reservations about boosting humanity's technology likely remain out of fear for what the consequences of such weaponry could do, but the thought of a whole army of Black Panthers charging down an interdimensional army may be too tempting for the MCU to turn down. It just goes to show that no moment is too small for expansion in the MCU, and this simple joke could end up leading to an indispensable resource in the battle between good and evil.
To hear Ikaris' throwaway line, Eternals is in theaters now.
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