The Infinity Stones are fictional items in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
(MCU). They play a significant role in the first three phases (also called the "
Infinity Saga
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films are a series of American superhero films produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The MCU is the shared universe in which all of the films are set. ...
") of the MCU, including being the
MacGuffin
In fiction, a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin) is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself. The term was originated by Angus MacPhail for ...
s of the films ''
Avengers: Infinity War'' and ''
Avengers: Endgame''. They also play a major role in
the Blip
The Blip (also known as the Decimation and the Snap) is a major fictional event depicted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise in which half of all living things in the universe, chosen at random, were exterminated by Thanos snappin ...
. The Infinity Stones are based on the
Infinity Gems
The Infinity Gems (originally referred to as Soul Gems and later as Infinity Stones) are six fictional gems appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, named after and embodying various aspects of existence. The gems (Mind, Pow ...
from
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
.
Fictional history
Background
The existence of the Infinity Stones has been described as the "one driving force that unifies all the robot-alien-hero fighting".
In ''
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
It may more specifically refer to:
Comic book teams
* Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...
'' (2014), the
Collector explains that the Infinity Stones are the remnants of six singularities that existed before the
Big Bang
The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...
, which were compressed into Stones by cosmic entities after the universe began and which were dispersed throughout the cosmos. In ''
Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), it is further explained by
Wong
Wong may refer to:
Name
* Wong (surname), a Chinese surname
Places
* Wong Chuk Hang, an area to the east of Aberdeen on Hong Kong Island
* Wong Chuk Hang Estate, a public housing estate in Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong
* Wong Chuk Hang Road, a ...
and
Stephen Strange that each Infinity Stone embodies and controls an essential aspect of existence.
Infinity Saga
Thanos
Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...
seeks to collect all of the Infinity Stones and use them to kill half of all life in the universe, believing that his plan will save it from extinction. At one point, he managed to find the Mind Stone.
In 1942, the Space Stone, encased in a cube-like object called the Tesseract, is discovered to have been brought to Earth by Asgardians years ago and left behind. Hydra later obtained the Tesseract and used it to power their weaponry. After Red Skull was defeated by Steve Rogers, the Tesseract transported Red Skull to the planet Vormir (cursing him to serve as the Soul Stone's keeper) as punishment for abusing its powers and falls into the ocean, but it was later recovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. In 1989, Dr. Wendy Lawson tried to use the Tesseract to unlock light-speed travel, but fails; her actions accidentally gave Carol Danvers superpowers.
In 2012, Thanos enlists the help of
Loki
Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
to get the Space Stone and gives him a scepter containing the Mind Stone to aid him. He was eventually defeated by the Avengers and the Tesseract was taken back to Asgard while the scepter ended up in Hydra's hands, who used it to give Petro and Wanda Maximoff superpowers. The Avengers eventually took the scepter back, but Tony Stark's experiment on the Mind Stone creates the rogue A.I. Ultron, who tried to use the Stone to create a new body. The body was later stolen from him and used to create the android Vision, with the Mind Stone stored in his forehead.
In 2013, the Reality Stone, converted into a liquid-like substance called the Aether, is found by Jane Foster and it infects her. Malekith later extracts it from her and attempts to use it to plunge the universe into darkness, but was stopped by Thor. The Aether was then given to the Collector by the Asgardians as it was too dangerous to keep it near the Tesseract, but they did not know that the Collector also planned to get the other five.
In 2014, Thanos enlists the help of
Ronan the Accuser
Ronan the Accuser is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Ronan was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby and he first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #65 (August 1967). He is the Supreme A ...
to collect the Power Stone, which is stored in an orb located on the planet Morag, and has Gamora and Nebula help him, but Star Lord obtains it first. Following a war between Ronan and the Guardians of the Galaxy for the orb, Ronan is defeated and the orb was given to the Nova Corps, who had it sealed in a vault.
In 2015, Thanos decides to collect the Stones himself and obtains the Infinity Gauntlet.
In 2018, Thanos starts by stealing the Power Stone from Xander and then obtains the Space Stone (which Loki stole after Asgard's destruction) after destroying Thor's ship and crushing the Tesseract to extract the Stone. The third Stone that Thanos acquires is the Reality Stone (having been converted back into its solid state) and uses its powers to trick the Guardians of the Galaxy and kidnap Gamora. He later reluctantly sacrifices Gamora to get the Soul Stone at Vormir's shrine. After fighting some of the heroes on his homeworld Titan, Dr. Strange surrenders the Time Stone to him to save Tony Stark; he intentionally did this to ensure that the timeline will lead into the future where Thanos is defeated. The Mind Stone is the last Stone to be obtained by Thanos, who kills Vision in the process. After initiating
the Blip
The Blip (also known as the Decimation and the Snap) is a major fictional event depicted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise in which half of all living things in the universe, chosen at random, were exterminated by Thanos snappin ...
, Thanos lives in exile and destroys the Stones so that his actions cannot be undone. Thor kills Thanos in retaliation.
Five years later, the surviving
Avengers
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...
use the
Quantum Realm
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, qua ...
to travel back in time to 1970, 2012, 2013, and 2014 to retrieve Stones that were present in those alternate time periods (their actions in the past don't affect the current timeline; they instead create alternate timelines, though the alternate 2012 is deleted by the Time Variance Authority due to that timeline's Loki making his escape with the Space Stone when the Avengers' attempt to obtain it goes wrong, which the TVA believes wasn't supposed to happen), allowing them to undo Thanos' actions. However,
Thanos
Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...
from the alternate 2014 (having been alerted by their actions thanks to
Nebula
A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...
's cybernetic implants linking with her past self) is able to follow them to the present and, believing that his plan only failed because the survivors were unable to "move on" from the losses, he attempts to use the time-displaced Infinity Stones to destroy the entire universe and create a new one out of revenge for the Blip being undone. During the resulting full-scale battle between the Avengers and the alternate 2014
Thanos
Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...
,
Tony Stark
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charac ...
claims the past Infinity Stones and uses them to defeat 2014 Thanos and his forces at the cost of his life. Afterwards,
Steve Rogers subsequently returns the alternate past Infinity Stones and an alternate version of
Mjolnir that Thor took from the alternate 2013 to their respective time periods (without their containers and with the 2013 Reality Stone in its solid form) to ensure the survival of the alternate timelines.
Post–''Endgame''
* In a flashback in the penultimate episode of ''
WandaVision
''WandaVision'' is an American television miniseries created by Jac Schaeffer for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision. It is the first television series in ...
'', the moment of Hydra's experimentation with the Mind Stone on
Wanda Maximoff
Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in '' The X-Men'' #4 (March 1964) ...
is shown; her exposure to it had tapped into her innate magic and made her inordinately more powerful, as well as giving her a prophetic vision of her Scarlet Witch persona.
* In the first episode of
''Loki'', as alternate 2012 Loki tries to retrieve the alternate 2012
Tesseract
In geometry, a tesseract is the four-dimensional analogue of the cube; the tesseract is to the cube as the cube is to the square. Just as the surface of the cube consists of six square faces, the hypersurface of the tesseract consists of eig ...
, he discovers the
Time Variance Authority
The Time Variance Authority (TVA) is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is depicted as a group of timeline monitors.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Chronicoms, based on the lower-ran ...
owns confiscated variants of the Infinity Stones from deleted timelines (which presumably includes the timelines from ''Avengers: Endgame''); these variants of the Stones are simply used as paperweights by some of the TVA's workers due to the Stones being ineffective as the entire facility exists outside of the Multiverse.
* The Stones make numerous appearances in
''What If...?'' as events stray from the Sacred Timeline.
** In an
alternate version of World War II,
Howard Stark
Howard Stark is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as a background character in stories featuring Iron Man and stories featuring Captain America. He is the fou ...
uses the confiscated Tesseract (Space Stone) as the power source for the Hydra Stomper.
** In
one universe,
T'Challa
Black Panther is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist-coplotter Jack Kirby. The character first appeared in '' Fantastic Four'' #52 ...
, rather than Peter Quill, finds the Power Stone on Morag.
** An
alternate version of Stephen Strange attempts to use the Time Stone to revive
Christine Palmer, only to find her death is an absolute point in his universe, despite his countless attempts to avert the scenario. It becomes the only Stone left in existence in his universe due to his subsequent actions.
** As
one universe suffers from a quantum zombie outbreak,
Vision
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...
discovers that his Mind Stone can be used to cure the infected. However, it is unable to cure the infected Wanda Maximoff, speculated to be due to her powers coming from the Stone, prompting Vision to initially try and feed other survivors to Wanda to keep her calm until he can properly cure her. When other heroes find him, Vision accepts that his actions are wrong and he gives the stone to the surviving heroes to take to
Wakanda
Wakanda () is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Wakanda has been depicted as being in East Africa. It is located in sub-Saharan Africa, and is home to the superhero Black Panther. Wakanda first app ...
, sacrificing himself out of guilt. However, a zombified
Thanos
Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...
arrives in Wakanda, possessing the other five Infinity Stones in his Gauntlet.
** In another scenario, Thanos once again arrives on Earth with five Stones, only to discover that
the Avengers lost to Ultron, who is in possession of Vision's vibranium body and the Mind Stone.
Ultron
Ultron () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, and initially made his debut as an unnamed character in '' The Avengers'' #54 (July ...
kills Thanos and takes the Stones for himself, using them to conquer and destroy his universe. When this task is complete, Ultron attains a higher level of consciousness and uses the Stones to travel into other dimensions and duel
Uatu, the Watcher. To stop Infinity Ultron expanding into other universes, the Watcher assembles the
Guardians of the Multiverse, a team of heroes from various alternate realities and gifts them a weapon to destroy the Stones called the Infinity Crusher. When the Crusher fails (due to it begin designed to only work for the Stones in its respective universe), the heroes kill Ultron by uploading
Arnim Zola
Arnim Zola is a supervillain appearing in American comic books by Marvel Comics. He is a master of biochemistry and a recurring enemy of Captain America and the Avengers (comics), Avengers. The character first appeared in ''Captain America (comic ...
's analog consciousness into his body. The Stones are nearly taken by
Black Panther/Erik Killmonger, but he is stopped by Zola, who tries to take the Stones for himself. Strange Supreme and the Watcher imprison them along with the Stones in a pocket dimension, frozen outside of time so that neither they nor the "Ultron Stones" can be a threat any more.
List of Infinity Stones
Space Stone
Originally housed in the Tesseract, the Space Stone (blue) first appears in the
mid-credits scene
A post-credits scene (commonly referred to as a stinger or credit cookie) or mid-credits scene is a short clip that appears after all or some of the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV series, or video g ...
of ''
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
'', with
Nick Fury
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos ...
showing the object to
Erik Selvig
Erik Selvig is a fictional character portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård in Marvel Cinematic Universe films ''Thor'' (2011), '' The Avengers'' (2012), '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013), '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015), and '' Thor: Love and Thunde ...
, not knowing that
Loki
Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
was also there. In ''
Captain America: The First Avenger'', the
Red Skull
The Red Skull is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and its predecessor Timely Comics. The first version, George Maxon, appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 and #4. The main ...
steals the Tesseract from a church and uses it to power
Hydra
Hydra generally refers to:
* Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology
* ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria
Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to:
Astronomy
* Hydra (constel ...
's weaponry during World War II. Amidst
Steve Rogers's final fight against Red Skull, the Tesseract transported the latter to another location (later revealed to be the planet Vormir in ''Avengers: Infinity War'') before falling into the Arctic Ocean where it was later recovered by
Howard Stark
Howard Stark is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as a background character in stories featuring Iron Man and stories featuring Captain America. He is the fou ...
and taken to a secret base.
In ''
Captain Marvel'', it is revealed that Dr.
Wendy Lawson tried to use the Tesseract in 1989 to unlock light-speed travel in order to help the
Skrulls
The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Skrulls first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They originated from ...
find a new home, but was unsuccessful, although her experiments resulted in
Carol Danvers
Carol Susan Jane Danvers is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gene Colan, Danvers first appeared as an officer in the United States Air Force and a colleague of the ...
being granted superhuman strength, flight, and the ability to generate energy blasts. Danvers eventually recovers the Tesseract and hands the object over to
S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often deals ...
, although it was temporarily swallowed by
Goose
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...
(a
Flerken
This is a list of alien races that appear in Marvel Comics.
Overview
There are countless different extraterrestrial races in Marvel Comics universe. The vast majority are humanoid in structure.
Galactic Council
The Galactic Council is the assem ...
disguised as a cat), who later vomits it out on Fury's desk.
In ''
The Avengers'', the Tesseract is shown to be capable of generating
wormhole
A wormhole (Einstein-Rosen bridge) is a hypothetical structure connecting disparate points in spacetime, and is based on a special Solutions of the Einstein field equations, solution of the Einstein field equations.
A wormhole can be visualize ...
s after Loki steals it from S.H.I.E.L.D. and uses it to transport the
Chitauri
The Chitauri () are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, specifically in Ultimate Marvel. They were created by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch for the Ultimate universe franc ...
army to New York City in an attempt to conquer Earth. After the
Avengers
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...
repel the invasion, Thor returns it to
Asgard
In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr'' ; "enclosure of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir ...
for safekeeping in
Odin
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
's Vault, and it is used to repair the
Bifrost.
In ''
Thor: Ragnarok'', Loki takes the Tesseract before Asgard's destruction.
In ''
Avengers: Infinity War'', Loki gives
Thanos
Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...
the Tesseract in order to save Thor's life. Thanos then crushes the Tesseract to acquire the Space Stone and uses it to teleport to
Knowhere
Knowhere (pronounced "no where") is a fictional location appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, and related media. It is depicted as the enormous severed head of an ancient celestial being, which serves as an interdimension ...
,
Vormir
The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features.
Places
Certain places fe ...
,
Titan,
Wakanda
Wakanda () is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Wakanda has been depicted as being in East Africa. It is located in sub-Saharan Africa, and is home to the superhero Black Panther. Wakanda first app ...
, and the
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...
. After Thanos initiates the Blip, the Space Stone is destroyed to prevent further use.
In ''
Avengers: Endgame'', Rogers,
Tony Stark
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charac ...
,
Scott Lang
Ant-Man (Scott Lang) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Byrne, Scott Lang first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #181 (March 1979) and in ''Mar ...
, and
Bruce Banner
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...
travel via
Quantum Realm
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, qua ...
to an alternate 2012, where Stark and Lang attempt to steal the alternate 2012 Tesseract, but the alternate 2012 Hulk accidentally knocks Stark down and the 2012 Tesseract is taken by the alternate 2012 Loki, who uses it to open a wormhole and escape. Stark and Rogers then travel to an alternate 1970 and take the alternate 1970 Tesseract from Camp Lehigh, New Jersey. The 1970 Space Stone (having been removed from the Tesseract) is brought back to the main timeline, used to undo the Blip, and defeat a past version of Thanos from an alternate 2014. Later, Rogers returns the 1970 Space Stone to the alternate 1970.
In ''
Loki
Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
'', the 2012 Tesseract is confiscated by the
Time Variance Authority
The Time Variance Authority (TVA) is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is depicted as a group of timeline monitors.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Chronicoms, based on the lower-ran ...
. Later, Loki tries to retrieve the Tesseract only to find that it is powerless in the Time Variance Authority’s dimension. Loki presumably abandons the Tesseract after he discovers that the Time Variance Authority has captured dozens of powerless Infinity Stones from other timelines.
In the first episode of ''
What If...?'', the Space Stone, still housed in the Tesseract, appears in an alternate timeline that copies the events of ''Captain America: The First Avenger'', with major differences including Peggy Carter recovering the Tesseract from Hydra over a year after Project Rebirth, Howard Stark using the Tesseract to power an armor called the Hydra Stomper for Rogers to use, Red Skull using the Tesseract to summon an alien creature that subsequently kills him, and the Tesseract opening a portal in modern day that Carter emerges from. In the fifth episode, another alternate version of the Space Stone appears in the possession of a zombified Thanos. In the eighth episode, a third alternate version of the Space Stone appears in another alternate timeline in Thanos' possession before being taken by
Ultron
Ultron () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, and initially made his debut as an unnamed character in '' The Avengers'' #54 (July ...
(who also briefly appears at the end of the seventh episode). Ultron proceeds to use the Stones to conquer the universe, and eventually the Multiverse, for peace. In the ninth episode, the Space Stone is taken from Ultron by
Erik Killmonger
Erik Killmonger ( né N'Jadaka) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Don McGregor and Rich Buckler, he first appeared in ''Jungle Action'' #6 (September 1973). The character is commonly depi ...
after the former was killed by
Arnim Zola
Arnim Zola is a supervillain appearing in American comic books by Marvel Comics. He is a master of biochemistry and a recurring enemy of Captain America and the Avengers (comics), Avengers. The character first appeared in ''Captain America (comic ...
's analog consciousness. When Zola attempts to take the Stones from Killmonger, they both end up trapped in a pocket dimension along with the Stones.
A 2018 article in ''Extreme Mechanics Letters'' proposed that Thanos would have needed "a minimum grip strength of over 40,000 tons, which is approximately 750,000 times that of a typical man", to break the Tesseract depicted in the film, presuming that the object was an "all-carbon nano-tesseract or hypercube projected into 3D space".
Mind Stone
Originally housed in
Loki's scepter
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise features many fictional elements including locations, weapons, and artifacts. While many of these features are based on elements that originally appeared in the American comic books publishe ...
, the Mind Stone (yellow) was first seen in ''
The Avengers'' when
Loki
Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
is given a scepter by
Thanos
Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...
and the Other to help locate the Tesseract and conquer Earth with its ability to control people's minds and project energy blasts.
After Loki's defeat, the scepter falls into the hands of Hydra leader Baron
Wolfgang von Strucker, who is shown in the mid-credits scene of ''
Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' to have been using it to experiment on humans.
In ''
Avengers: Age of Ultron'', it is revealed that the only surviving subjects of Strucker's experiments are the siblings
Pietro Maximoff
Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff) is a fictional character, fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in the comic book ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #4 (March 1964) and was created by St ...
and
Wanda Maximoff
Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in '' The X-Men'' #4 (March 1964) ...
, in whom superhuman abilities were unlocked (in the latter's case, amplifying her innate magic) before Strucker's base is attacked by the Avengers, who take back the scepter. The scepter is later revealed to contain the Mind Stone, which itself contains an artificial intelligence that grants sentience to the computer program
Ultron
Ultron () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, and initially made his debut as an unnamed character in '' The Avengers'' #54 (July ...
, who steals the scepter and removes the Mind Stone to create a newly upgraded body. The Avengers steal the Mind Stone–infused body from Ultron and upload the A.I.
J.A.R.V.I.S.
J.A.R.V.I.S. (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System) is a fictional character voiced by Paul Bettany in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise, based on the Marvel Comics characters Edwin Jarvis and H.O.M.E.R., respectively the house ...
into it, giving birth to the android
Vision
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...
.
The Mind Stone can also enhance the user's intelligence,
grant them immense knowledge, and create new life.
In ''
Avengers: Infinity War'', Vision is injured by the
Children of Thanos in their attempts to get the Mind Stone and is taken to
Wakanda
Wakanda () is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Wakanda has been depicted as being in East Africa. It is located in sub-Saharan Africa, and is home to the superhero Black Panther. Wakanda first app ...
to have it removed by
Shuri, in the hope that Vision would be able to live without it. When the removal operation is interrupted, Wanda is forced to destroy Vision and the Mind Stone, only for
Thanos
Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...
to use the Time Stone to repair them both and collect the latter. After Thanos wipes out half of all life in the universe, the Mind Stone is destroyed to prevent further use.
In ''
Avengers: Endgame'', Rogers, having time-traveled to an alternate 2012, retrieves the alternate 2012 scepter. Rogers then uses the scepter to render his alternate 2012 self unconscious after he mistook him for a disguised Loki. The alternate 2012 Mind Stone, after being removed from the scepter, is brought back to the main timeline and used to undo the Blip and defeat a past version of Thanos from an alternate 2014. Afterwards, Rogers returns the 2012 Mind Stone to its respective point in time.
The Mind Stone appears in two series released on the
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
streaming service: In the live-action series ''
WandaVision
''WandaVision'' is an American television miniseries created by Jac Schaeffer for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision. It is the first television series in ...
'', Wanda Maximoff uses her connection with the Mind Stone to reanimate a fake Vision, while in the
fifth episode of the animated ''
What If...?'' series, set in an alternate universe, Peter Parker, T’Challa, and Scott Lang, who are the survivors of a
zombie apocalypse
Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack hum ...
, attempt to use the Mind Stone as a cure for the plague. Another alternate version of the Mind Stone appears at the end of the seventh episode in Ultron's possession. In the eighth episode (which explains the previous episode's ending), Ultron successfully uploads himself to the Mind Stone-infused body, and proceeds to use the Mind Stone to defeat the Avengers, sends Earth into a nuclear winter, kills Thanos by using his beam, and with the rest of the stones conquer the universe and the greater multiverse. In the ninth episode, the Mind Stone is sealed in a pocket dimension with the other Stones, Killmonger, and Arnim Zola following Ultron's defeat. A third alternate version of the Mind Stone appears at the end of the episode, still housed within Loki's scepter, which Romanoff uses to defeat Loki.
Reality Stone
The Reality Stone (red) first appears in ''
Thor: The Dark World'' as a fluid-like weapon called the Aether when
Malekith the Accursed
Malekith the Accursed () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the ruler of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim, and has come into conflict with Thor. He once wielded the Casket of Ancient Winte ...
attempts to use it to destroy the
Nine Realms
Norse cosmology is the study of the cosmos (cosmology) as perceived by the ancient North Germanic peoples. The topic encompasses concepts from Norse mythology, such as notions of time and space, cosmogony, personifications, anthropogeny, and escha ...
and return the universe to its pre-Big Bang state; only to be thwarted by
Bor, who had it hidden.
Jane Foster
Jane Foster is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was introduced as a love interest of the superhero Thor Odinson until becoming a superhero in her own right. Created by writers Stan Lee an ...
becomes infected by the Aether after coming across its resting place, though Malekith later draws it out of her. After Malekith is defeated by
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
,
Sif
In Norse mythology, Sif (Old Norse: ) is a golden-haired goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century ...
and
Volstagg
Volstagg is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a charter member of the Warriors Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers and supporting cast of Thor. He is known for having multiple children. ...
seal the Aether in a lantern-like container and entrust it to the
Collector to keep it separate from the Tesseract; as they consider it unwise to have multiple Infinity Stones close to each other.
The Aether, once bonded to a host, can turn anything into dark matter as well as suck the life force out of humans and other mortals. The Aether can also disrupt the laws of physics and repel threats if it senses any.
In ''
Avengers: Infinity War'', Thanos acquires the Aether from the Collector and turns it back into the Reality Stone off-screen; allowing him to repel the
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
It may more specifically refer to:
Comic book teams
* Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...
's attacks by turning
Drax the Destroyer
Drax the Destroyer (Arthur Douglas) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in ''Iron Man (comic book), The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 (February 19 ...
to rocks,
Mantis
Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They ha ...
into ribbon strips, and causing
Star-Lord
Star-Lord (Peter Jason Quill) is a fictional character and superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, first appeared in ''Marvel Preview'' #4 (January 1976) ...
's gun to shoot bubbles. Thanos later uses the Stone to create a rock restraint around
Natasha Romanoff
Black Widow (Natalia Alianovna "Natasha" Romanova; Russian: Наталья Альяновна "Наташа" Романова) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by editor and plotte ...
. After Thanos wipes out half of all life in the universe, the Reality Stone is destroyed to prevent further use.
In ''
Avengers: Endgame'', Thor and
Rocket
A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
travel back in time to Asgard in an alternate 2013 to extract the alternate 2013 Aether from the alternate 2013 Jane Foster. The 2013 Reality Stone (having been converted back into its solid form) is then brought back to 2023 and used to undo the Blip and to disintegrate a past version of Thanos from an alternate 2014. Rogers later returns the 2013 Reality Stone to the alternate 2013 Asgard.
In the fifth episode of ''
What If...?'', an alternate version of the Reality Stone appears in the possession of a zombified Thanos. In the eighth episode, another alternate version of the Reality Stone appears in the possession of Ultron (who also appears at the end of the seventh episode), taking the Reality Stone away from Thanos after killing him in order to conquer the universe and the multiverse. Ultron also uses the Stone to recreate his Ultron Sentries. In the ninth episode, the Reality Stone is taken from Ultron by Killmonger after the former was killed by Arnim Zola. When Zola attempts to take the Stones from Killmonger, they end up trapped in a pocket dimension along with the Stones.
Power Stone
Housed in the Orb hidden on the planet Morag, the Power Stone (purple) can increase the user's strength and destroy entire civilizations with a single blast. However, the stone is too much for most mortal beings to physically handle because its power will destroy them on contact.
In ''
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
It may more specifically refer to:
Comic book teams
* Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...
'',
Ronan the Accuser
Ronan the Accuser is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Ronan was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby and he first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #65 (August 1967). He is the Supreme A ...
seeks the orb for Thanos, but
Star-Lord
Star-Lord (Peter Jason Quill) is a fictional character and superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, first appeared in ''Marvel Preview'' #4 (January 1976) ...
finds and steals the orb from Morag's resting spot before
Korath
Korath the Pursuer () (real name Korath-Thak) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Korath was a geneticist, who founded and led the Pursuer Project. He also was a member of the Starforce.
Djimon ...
could. Ronan eventually steals it from the Guardians of the Galaxy. After learning about the Power Stone; however, Ronan betrays Thanos and tries to use its destructive power to destroy the planet
Xandar
Xandar () is a fictional planet appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The planet is depicted as being in the Tranta system in the Andromeda Galaxy. It is best known as the home world of the Nova Corps, an intergalactic poli ...
. During the battle to protect Xandar, by sharing the burden of the Power Stone's energy, the Guardians are able to use it to kill Ronan. It's revealed that Peter Quill's half-Celestial physiology was what allowed him to withstand the Stone's power on his own for a brief time before the other Guardians joined with him. They seal the Power Stone in a new orb and entrust it to the Nova Corps for safekeeping.
In ''
Avengers: Infinity War'', it is revealed that the Power Stone was the first to be obtained by
Thanos
Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...
, who "decimates" Xandar in the process. Thanos uses the Stone to destroy the ''Statesman'' and during the battle on
Titan against
Tony Stark
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charac ...
and members of the Guardians. After Thanos uses the Stone, along with the other Stones, to wipe out half of all life in the universe, he destroys it to prevent further use.
In ''
Avengers: Endgame'',
James Rhodes and
Nebula
A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...
quantum
In physics, a quantum (plural quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity (physical property) involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a physical property can be "quantized" is referred to as "the hypothesis of quantizati ...
time travel to Morag in an alternate 2014, subduing the alternate 2014 Peter Quill before taking the alternate 2014 Power Stone in its Orb. The 2014 Power Stone (having been removed from the Orb) is then brought back to the main timeline and used to undo the Blip. During the battle, the alternate 2014 Thanos removes the Stone from the Nano Gauntlet and uses it to overpower
Carol Danvers
Carol Susan Jane Danvers is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gene Colan, Danvers first appeared as an officer in the United States Air Force and a colleague of the ...
. The Stone, along with the other past Stones, is then used by Stark to erase the 2014 Thanos and his army. Later, Rogers returns the Stone to the alternate 2014.
In the second episode of ''
What If...?'', the Power Stone, still sealed within the orb, appears in an alternate timeline that copies the events of ''Guardians of the Galaxy'', but is discovered by T'Challa, which the Ravagers later offer to the Collector. In the fifth episode, another alternate Power Stone appears in the possession of Thanos, who is zombified. In the eighth episode, a third alternate version of the Power Stone appears in the possession of Ultron (who also briefly appears at the end of the seventh episode), who steals the Stone from Thanos and uses it in order to conquer his universe and the Multiverse. In the ninth episode, after Ultron is killed by Arnim Zola, the Power Stone is taken by Erik Killmonger. When Zola attempts to take the Stones from Killmonger, they end up trapped in a pocket dimension along with the Stones.
Time Stone
Housed in the Eye of Agamotto by Earth's first sorcerer Agamotto, a
Master of the Mystic Arts can use the Time Stone (green) to alter and manipulate time. In ''
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...
'', Dr.
Stephen Strange finds the Eye of Agamotto and learns how to use it to save the Earth from
Dormammu
Dormammu () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #126 (Nov. 1964), and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
Debuting in the Silver Age of Comi ...
by trapping him in a
time loop
The time loop or temporal loop is a plot device in fiction whereby characters re-experience a span of time which is repeated, sometimes more than once, with some hope of breaking out of the cycle of repetition. The term "time loop" is sometimes us ...
until the demon abandons his plans for Earth. Strange returns the Eye of Agamotto to the Masters of the Mystic Arts' secret compound
Kamar-Taj
Kamar-Taj is a fictional location appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (July 1963) and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The name "Kamar-Taj" does not appear in earl ...
in
Kathmandu
, pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
, though he is seen wearing it again in the mid-credits scene, which takes place during ''
Thor: Ragnarok''.
In ''
Avengers: Infinity War'',
Ebony Maw
Ebony Maw is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a prominent member of the Black Order, a team of aliens who work for Thanos.
The character has made several appearances in media, such as a ...
attempts to steal the Time Stone from Strange, but is foiled by
Tony Stark
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charac ...
,
Peter Parker
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August ...
, and Wong. While on the planet
Titan (Thanos' homeworld), Strange uses the Time Stone to look into future timelines; viewing millions of possible outcomes of their conflict and learning of only one future in which they win. To ensure that future comes to pass, Strange surrenders the Stone to
Thanos
Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...
to save Stark. Thanos then uses the Time Stone in
Wakanda
Wakanda () is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Wakanda has been depicted as being in East Africa. It is located in sub-Saharan Africa, and is home to the superhero Black Panther. Wakanda first app ...
to reverse
Wanda Maximoff
Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in '' The X-Men'' #4 (March 1964) ...
’s destruction of the Mind Stone, allowing him to rip that stone from Vision's forehead. After Thanos uses the Stones to erase half the universe, he destroys the Stones.
In ''
Avengers: Endgame'', Banner quantum time-travels to 2012 and speaks with the
Ancient One
The Ancient One is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was the mentor of Doctor Strange and was his predecessor as Sorcerer Supreme.
The character was voiced by Michael Ansara in the 1978 telev ...
to relinquish that timeline’s Time Stone, promising to return it after they are done using it to ensure that the alternate timelines will survive. The alternate 2012 Time Stone is then brought back to the main timeline, used to undo the Blip, and to defeat a past version of Thanos from an alternate 2014. Rogers later returns the Stone to the alternate 2012.
In the ''
''What If...?'''' episode "
What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?", the Time Stone is shown to have additional abilities beyond those seen previously; an alternate version of Doctor Stephen Strange uses the Eye of Agamotto to travel through time, and try to avert his lover Christine Palmer's death, only to fail again and again due to it being an absolute point. During Strange's centuries-long ordeal of absorbing mystical creatures, he also uses the stone to keep himself from aging, and later offers to use it to de-age an elderly O'Bengh, who declines. After he absorbs his good counterpart, he overrides the stone to break the absolute point, and it subsequently becomes the sole remaining stone in his universe having brought its end on himself. In the fifth episode, another alternate version of the Time Stone appears in the possession of a zombified Thanos. In the eighth episode, a third alternate version of the Time Stone appears in the possession of Ultron (who also briefly appears at the end of the seventh episode), who takes it from Thanos in order to conquer the Multiverse. In the ninth episode, the Time Stone is used by Ultron to freeze time so he can reclaim the Soul Stone from Gamora. Strange then used his universe’s Time Stone to undo Ultron’s actions. After Ultron is killed by Arnim Zola, Erik Killmonger takes the Stones, but Zola tries to take them for himself, leading the two to fight over them. Strange and the Watcher trap them in a pocket dimension to keep the Stones separated.
Soul Stone
An object that has the ability to manipulate the soul and essence of a person, control life and death, and contains a pocket dimension called the Soul World. The Soul Stone (orange) is first seen in ''
Avengers: Infinity War''. It is revealed that at some time in the past,
Thanos
Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...
tasked
Gamora
Gamora is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #180 (June 1975). Gamora is the adopted daughter of Thanos, and ...
to find the Soul Stone, as there is little record of its existence compared to the other Infinity Stones. Gamora found a map leading to where it was hidden: in a shrine on the planet Vormir, but chose to destroy the map and not to tell Thanos; only telling Nebula of it and swearing her to secrecy (later realizing that Thanos wasn't fooled by their lies). After Thanos captures and tortures Nebula, Gamora agrees to take him to Vormir, where they encounter the
Red Skull
The Red Skull is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and its predecessor Timely Comics. The first version, George Maxon, appeared in ''Captain America Comics'' #1 and #4. The main ...
(having been transported to the planet by the Tesseract and cursed to serve as the Stonekeeper). Thanos reluctantly sacrifices Gamora in order to fulfill the requirements to obtain the Soul Stone once the Red Skull explains to them that the Stone requires the sacrifice of a loved one to earn it. After completing the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos is briefly transported into the
Soul World Soul World is a fictional place appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, and created by writer/illustrator, Jim Starlin. Soul World was first alluded to in-story in ''Strange Tales'' #179 (1975), and first depicted on-the-page i ...
and encounters a vision of a young Gamora.
The Soul Stone is later destroyed to prevent further use.
In ''
Avengers: Endgame'',
Natasha Romanoff
Black Widow (Natalia Alianovna "Natasha" Romanova; Russian: Наталья Альяновна "Наташа" Романова) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by editor and plotte ...
and
Clint Barton
Hawkeye (Clinton Francis "Clint" Barton) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck, the character first appeared as a supervillain in ''Tales of Suspense ...
quantum time-travel to Vormir in an alternate 2014, where each attempts to sacrifice themselves to allow the other to return with the Stone, with Romanoff sacrificing herself so that Barton can receive the Stone. The alternate 2014 Soul Stone is then brought back to the main timeline and used to undo the Blip and to defeat a past version of Thanos from the alternate 2014. According to the film's
directors
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''Di ...
, after completing the Nano Gauntlet to defeat 2014 Thanos and his army, Stark is briefly transported to the Soul World where he meets an older version of his daughter, Morgan. Rogers later returns the 2014 Soul Stone to the alternate 2014.
In the fifth episode of ''
What If...?'', an alternate version of the Soul Stone appears in the possession of a zombified Thanos. In the eighth episode, another alternate version of the Soul Stone appears in the possession of Ultron (who also briefly appears at the end of the seventh episode), who takes it from Thanos. Ultron proceeds to use the Stone along with the others in his conquest of the Multiverse. In the ninth episode, the Soul Stone is temporarily removed from Ultron by T’Challa. Shortly, Romanoff takes the Stone, but it gets knocked away. This leads the Guardians of the Multiverse to pursue it in a chase against Ultron. Eventually, Gamora is able to grab the Stone, but Ultron reclaims the Stone after freezing time with the Time Stone. However, after Arnim Zola kills Ultron, the Stone is taken by Killmonger, which Zola then tries to take from him. In order to keep the Stones separated, Zola, Killmonger, and the Stones are trapped by Strange and the Watcher in a pocket dimension.
Infinity Gauntlet
![Infinity Gauntlet - 2018 Atlanta Comic Con](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Infinity_Gauntlet_-_2018_Atlanta_Comic_Con.jpg)
The Infinity Gauntlet is a metal
gauntlet used to house the six stones. A right-handed gauntlet appears in ''Thor'', where it's stored in Odin's vault;
though this one was later revealed to be a fake by
Hela
HeLa (; also Hela or hela) is an immortalized cell line used in scientific research. It is the oldest and most commonly used human cell line. The line is derived from cervical cancer cells taken on February 8, 1951, named after Henrietta La ...
in ''Thor: Ragnarok''. The mid-credits scene of ''Avengers: Age of Ultron'' revealed
Thanos
Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant w ...
had acquired a left-handed Infinity Gauntlet (the real one).
''
Avengers: Infinity War'' reveals Thanos invaded
Nidavellir where he forced
Eitri
In Norse mythology, Eitri (Old Norse: ; or Sindri) is a dwarf and the brother of Brokkr.
According to ''Skáldskaparmál'', when Loki had Sif's hair, Freyr's ship Skidbladnir and Odin's spear Gungnir fashioned by the Sons of Ivaldi, he bet ...
to create the Infinity Gauntlet by threatening to kill his people, though he did so anyway once it was completed, as well as removing Eitri's hands to prevent his making anything else.
In ''Avengers: Endgame'', after Thanos erases half of all life in the universe from existence with the Infinity Stones and destroys them to prevent his work from being undone, the gauntlet becomes permanently bound to his swollen arm, which is subsequently severed by Thor. However, the Avengers are able to travel through the Quantum Realm to retrieve versions of the Stones from the past and bring them into the present.
Tony Stark
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charac ...
,
Bruce Banner
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...
, and
Rocket Raccoon
Rocket Raccoon is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Keith Giffen, the character first appeared in ''Marvel Preview'' #7 (Summer 1976). He is an intelligent ...
subsequently use nanotechnology to create a third, right-handed Nano Gauntlet in order to use the time-displaced Infinity Stones. Banner in his "Smart Hulk" form, due to being the most immune to the gamma radiation the Infinity Stones' combined powers emit, uses the gauntlet to reverse the Blip, although the strain of channeling the combined powers causes him considerable pain and leaves him with a crippled right arm. Later, a time-displaced Thanos tries to use the Nano Gauntlet to recreate the universe, but although he succeeds in acquiring it, Stark removes the time-displaced Infinity Stones from it and, having formed a makeshift gauntlet in his armor, uses them to erase Thanos and his forces, taking the empty Nano Gauntlet with them.
The Infinity Gauntlet made brief appearances in the fifth and eighth episodes of
What If...?
Differences from comics
In the comics, Thanos is motivated to retrieve and use the Infinity Gems to impress
Lady Death
Lady Death is a fictional goddess appearing in American comic books published by Coffin Comics. Created by Brian Pulido, Lady Death first appeared in ''Evil Ernie'' #1 in December 1991.
Lady Death then reappeared in the ''Evil Ernie: The Resur ...
as she believed that the universe was overpopulated and headed for mass extinction. In the films, there is no mention of Lady Death, and Thanos wishes to reduce the population to avoid a repeat of his experience on Titan. Thanos retrieved each gem from a being who held it at the time. The
In-Betweener
The In-Betweener is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
The character first appeared in ''Warlock'' #10 (Dec. 1975) and was created by Jim Starlin.
Fictional character biograph ...
had the Soul Gem, the
Champion of the Universe
The Champion of the Universe (Tryco Slatterus) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is not necessarily a villain but has played the role in the past through his impetuous and arrogant actions.
...
had the Power Gem, the
Gardener
A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby.
Description
A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...
had the Time Gem, the
Collector had the Reality Gem, the
Runner
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
had the Space Gem, and the
Grandmaster had the Mind Gem. Furthermore, nobody else was even aware of Thanos, therefore no one attempted to stop him.
The colors of the stones were originally different in the comics. They were purple for Space, yellow for Reality, red for Power, blue for Mind, orange for Time, and green for Soul.
The stone colors were updated in the ''
Marvel Legacy
Marvel Legacy is a 2017–18 relaunch of a line of American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is concurrent with All-New, All-Different Marvel and Marvel NOW! 2.0.
Publication history
On April 22, 2017, Marvel Comics announced Marvel ...
'' series to match the film versions.
In the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
, the Time Stone is housed in the
Eye of Agamotto
The Eye of Agamotto () is a fictional, mystical item appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and other media, particularly in their Marvel Cinematic Universe films, with its first appearance in ''Doctor Strange''. The item ap ...
and the Space Stone is housed in the Tesseract (
Cosmic Cube
The Cosmic Cube is a fictional object appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. There are multiple Cubes in the Marvel Universe, all of which are depicted as containment devices that can empower whoever wields them. Although th ...
). However, the Marvel Comics versions of these two stones have no connections to these relics.
Reception
The use of the Infinity Stones as a plot device led to fan speculation as to the location of as-yet undiscovered stones, and the possible appearance of additional stones. One theory popular with fans was that words describing the nature or location of the stones spelled out the name "THANOS", and that the as-yet undiscovered Soul Stone was somehow associated with the character
Heimdall
In Norse mythology, Heimdall (from Old Norse Heimdallr) is a god who keeps watch for invaders and the onset of Ragnarök from his dwelling Himinbjörg, where the burning rainbow bridge Bifröst meets the sky. He is attested as possessing for ...
.
Another theory proposed prior to the release of ''Avengers: Endgame'' was that it would involve a seventh Infinity Stone corresponding to an additional Infinity Gem from the comics, the Ego Stone.
Notes
References
External links
Infinity Stonesat the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki
*
{{Marvel Cinematic Universe , Features
Avengers (film series)
Fictional elements introduced in the 2010s
Fictional gemstones and jewelry
Marvel Cinematic Universe features