History Main / Unobtainium

* When Kowalski of ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' builds a time machine, he needs five grams of "Macguffium 239" to power it.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', the thief Red X used a suit that was powered by Xenothium, which was only described as being unstable and crazy dangerous, but was capable of insane things, such as creating explosive projectiles, shields, metallic bands and all kinds of crazy shizz. (Apparently, the stuff is so dangerous that even respectable superheroes like Robin aren't allowed to buy it; he had to get it from the black market.)

* ''VideoGame/TheWonderful101'': At least two of the Wonderful Ones have weapons made out of some kind of powerful, fictional material. Wonder-Blue's Valiantium Blade is made out of, as the name suggests, Valiantium, while Wonder-Pink's Beautiful Whip is made with [[Franchise/{{Castlevania}} Belmont]] Alloy. Both of them form the basis of Unite Morphs capable of fighting giant aliens with advanced technology.

* Australium in the backstory of ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', a material so powerful and versatile that it has granted the rather dim-witted [[AcceptableTargets Australians]] global technological supremacy. Shipped in bars marked with a picture of a man fighting a kangaroo. It also has the side effect of causing TestosteronePoisoning to those who handle it, turning anyone using into ridiculously manly {{Boisterous Bruiser}}s with {{Badass Mustache}}s and [[CarpetOfVirility Carpets Of Virility]]. ''Even the women.'' It's also usable as rocket fuel. [[spoiler:Disclaimer: we didn't say it was ''good'' rocket fuel.]] The Life Extenders used by certain characters also run on the stuff.

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' has [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-148 SCP-148]], also known as Telekill. In the initial write-up stuff is incredibly useful, allowing blocking of effects of many psychic-type anomalies. It was supposed to still be a mystery and very limited in quantity (and Foundation unable to make more of it), but ended up being used in far too many SCP writeups resulting in a mass rewrite/retcon. After it, it still blocks psychic influences, but with a catch - it ''absorbs'' them, while gaining mass, and eventually releases everything it accumulated in one big amplified burst. Needless to say, this is ''very very bad''. Even when used in smaller quantities in personal protection equipment it now slowly drains intelligence and willpower of the wearer. It is still used sometimes, but in very careful and limited ways.

* Valyrian steel in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', which is possibly an {{Expy}} of Damascus steel. It is a magical alloy created in old Valyria, and Valyrian steel weapons are far superior to weapons made of ordinary steel. The secret of creating Valyrian steel was [[LostTechnology lost]] when Valyria fell, but especially skilled blacksmiths can reforge swords from existing Valyrian steel.

* ''Literature/{{Deepsix}}''. A human expedition is surprised to find a very long BigDumbObject orbiting a planet with an abandoned civilization. They eventually work out it's the remains of a SpaceElevator that SufficientlyAdvancedAliens built for a planetary evacuation of the world's less advanced inhabitants. They jokingly refer to the material used to build it as ''unobtanium'' in homage to this trope.

** The first version of the ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' used "inertron" for this purpose, an invulnerable metal.

* Central to the plot of ''Black Lighting'' (Chernaya Molniya) is a mystery space element that powers the flying car. The CorruptCorporateExecutive spends the entire movie trying to get his hands on it.

* ''VideoGame/MegaMan'':
** A recurring element in the series is a metal called "Ceratanium" (in the original Japanese, simply "Ceramic Titanium"). Its exact properties are unknown, but it seems to be involved in making all the Mega Mans' armor, and in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 4'', where you can collect parts and get the engineer to make body armor out of them, the Ceratanium is found once in a fixed spot each stage and goes exactly once into each piece of body armor you can make.

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' has [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-148 SCP-148]], also known as Telekill. This stuff is incredibly useful, but the Foundation hasn't been able to fully analyse it, let alone make more of the stuff. Well, it ''was'' incredibly useful, [[ReimaginingTheArtifact until the site's members decided that they didn't like [=SCPs=] which were incredibly useful without having any downsides]]. It still blocks psychic energies, but with such huge downsides that no-one wants to use it.

The term "Unobtainium" originates from aerospace engineers in the late 1950s, where it was used as a HandWave for a material sufficiently strong, light, and/or durable to meet the needs of a particular situation under discussion, even if no known material could possibly do so. It has occasionally been used in official discussions to avoid directly identifying a material whose use is still considered top secret (such as the titanium skin in the project that eventually produced the SR-71 Blackbird). Most people, however, first heard the term as the mineral sought by the mining company in ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', and mistakenly think that is the TropeNamer.It was also infamously noted in The Core.

* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' as a whole has the Chrome Digizoid metal ([[SpellMyNameWithAnS also spelled]] [=ChronDigizoid=]). It's characterized as a highly sought after super-metal (with a silly name) of any colour which is very strong and cannot be damaged, except by other samples of it; in addition to being mined in some Digimon canons, a small number of Digimon species are either made of/plated in it (e.g. [=MetalEtemon=]) or wield weapons made of it (e.g. Zudomon, who weakened the aforementioned [=MetalEtemon=] in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' with his hammer, giving the mortally-wounded [=SaberLeomon=] the opportunity to kill [=MetalEtemon=]). One time it's been referenced in the anime itself was briefly in the aforementioned ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' incident between Zudomon and [=MetalEtemon=], and then only mentioned offhand to give Zudomon, a lower-level Digimon, a way to defeat [=MetalEtemon=]; as such, most mentions of the substance [[AllThereInTheManual occur in the broader source material]]. According to said source material, there exist several varieties with different properties denoted by specific colours: Blue, which provides high speed (as seen on [[Manga/DigimonVTamer01 UlforceV-dramon]]); Red, which provides even higher defence (e.g. [[Anime/DigimonSavers Sleipmon]]); Gold, which increases a Digimon's offensive power (e.g. [[Anime/DigimonXrosWars Shoutmon DX]]); and the vaguely described Black (e.g. [[Anime/DigimonSavers Craniummon]]) and Obsidian (e.g. [[Anime/DigimonFrontier KaiserLeomon]]).
* The entire Franchise/{{Gundam}} franchise uses unobtanium to various degrees.

* [=GEMs=] in ''Anime/MaiOtome'' give Otome their robes (and thus, most of their powers). The Coral and Pearl [=GEMs=] used by students are artificially created, but the knowledge of how to create Meister [=GEMs=] was lost, making them extremely valuable.

** Promethium is the DCU's equivalent of adamantium, a super hard metal that superstrong superheroes have a tough time damaging (it was used to create Comicbook/{{Cyborg}}'s body), and Nth Metal, or "transuranic iron ore," was the key to Thanagarian technology (as seen frequently in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''). [[ElementsDoNotWorkThatWay Irritatingly]], promethium is a real metal (element 61), one with no stable isotopes and no special structural properties. DC's promethium comes in two flavors. "Raw" promethium can be used as an energy source or a [[SuperSerum mutagen]]. When alloyed with titanium and vanadium, it forms a near-invulnerable metal.

** Stellarium is a very rare and special mineral that has the incredible ability to stabilize planets, prolonging their inevitable destruction. Green Lantern Tomar-Re tried to use a bit of stellarium to save Krypton, but was delayed. In ''Comicbook/OmegaMen'', the conflict over the Vega system is due to Vega being one of the only places where stellarium can be mined.
** The ''Comicbook/DarkNightsMetal" [[CrisisCrossover event]] is caused by Batman being exposed to several forms of unobtanium which opens a gateway to the dark multiverse. Several of those mentioned above are among them along with a new one, batmanium.

* In ''Film/{{District 9}}'', the unnamed nanofluid is found in prawn technology in extremely small amounts, and is apparently quite precious. It has the power to [[spoiler:activate the aliens' ship as well as transform a human into a prawn]].

* In Music/{{Cat Hairballs}}, [[WesternAnimation/{{RenAndStimpy}} Stimpy's]] ''hairballs'' become this, what with apparently being so versatile that they can be made into everything from high heel shoes to ''Italian sports cars''. Because of this, Stimpy is forced to hwarf hairballs up for Ren until Stimpy passes out from exhaustion and gets [[PainToTheAss stamped on the butt cheeks.]]

* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}''

* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'':

* The ''{{VideoGame/Fallout}}'' series features several.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WebComic/DevilsDust'': The characters here need sugar to fuel their ship and, from the looks of it, they have to try hard to obtain it.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' featured two such elements which, combined, formed an explosive capable of wiping out entire solar systems. Only one known sample of Element X exists while the other, Bicenthium alloy, is only found in appreciable quantities on Earth. [[spoiler:Except it's ''iron'', [[CriticalResearchFailure the sixth most common element in the galaxy]]]].

* ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' has borfomite, a rare substance that becomes an unstoppable weapon when chemically combined with ''caramel.''

** Magmatter, made from magnetic monopoles is perhaps one of the cleverest, and has a reasonable amount of vaguely plausible science behind it. Magmatter facilitates megastructures like {{Ringworld|planet}}s thanks to its incredible tensile strength, CoolStarship engines that perfectly convert matter to energy without all that nasty mucking around with antimatter due to magmatters ability to catalyse baryon decay, dense enough magnetic current to make PlasmaCannon useful and {{RailGuns}} easy and stranger things like gamma ray lenses and mirrors that couldn't be built out of normal matter.

* In the ''Franchise/StarWars'' universe we have: [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Bacta bacta]], [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Tibanna tibanna]] gas, [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Transparisteel transparisteel]] and [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Durasteel durasteel]] (which itself is an alloy of carvanium, lommite, carbon, meleenium, neutronium, and zersium)... Well, let's say there are lots of interesting materials and substances in the Star Wars EU. Special mention goes to [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Cortosis cortosis]], which is lightsaber-resistant. Or in its purest form actually causes lightsabers to short out. Cortosis doesn't have a monopoly on the lightsaber-resisting properties: phrik, beskar(Mandalorian Iron), ultrachrome, and songsteel also boast that property, Mandalorian Iron and phrik are said to be even stronger to near Adamantium-like degrees, with a container made of phrik actually managing to stay intact after being on Alderaan when the planet was destroyed. Cortosis's ability to short out a lightsaber blade on contact, however, is unique to it alone. It's also ''literally'' unobtanium for most of the series - it was introduced for ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', where the question of how regular swords don't get chopped into two halves of a sword the instant a lightsaber hits them is that all of the melee weapons in the game have a "cortosis weave" to them to make them resistant to lightsabers. And, in turn, the question of [[ForgottenPhlebotinum why cortosis isn't around]] four-thousand years after when ''[=KotOR=]'' takes place is answered: they ran out of the stuff putting it into everything. By the time of the Darth Bane trilogy (about a thousand years before the movies) it's used even more (for instance in starship hulls), but the latest ongoing war with the Sith has started to dry up the supply. It is still around in the movie era, bit it's vanishingly rare and mostly forgotten.

* Chaos Emeralds in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog'' went from KryptoniteIsEverywhere to Unobtainium during the "Order From Chaos" storyline. Prior to the story, Mobius had hundreds of Chaos Emeralds and if the story needed one, poof, there ya go. However, when A.D.A.M. drew every Chaos Emerald in the solar system to Mobius, Turbo Tails and Super Shadow (the ones who were forced to bring them there) realize how dangerous that was and shove them all into the Zone of Silence. Feist, the being remaining there, became a god when he harnessed their power to remake the Zone and condensed all of those emeralds into only seven. Like their video game counterparts, they're used for either Super Mode activation or powering up super weapons. [[CosmicRetcon Like rewriting your reality.]]