Infinity Stones

A model of the Infinity Gauntlet at the 2018 Atlanta Comic-Con

The Infinity Gauntlet is a metal gauntlet used to house the six stones. A right-handed gauntlet appears in Thor (2011), where it's stored in Odin's vault;[1] though this one was later revealed to be a fake by Hela in Thor: Ragnarok.[2] The mid-credits scene of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) revealed Thanos had acquired a left-handed Infinity Gauntlet.[3][4] In Infinity War, it is revealed Thanos invaded Nidavellir and forced Eitri 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 of anything else.

In Endgame, after Thanos erases half of all life in the universe and destroys them, the gauntlet becomes permanently bound to his swollen arm, which is subsequently severed by Thor. Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Rocket subsequently use nanotechnology to create a 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 that 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, the 2014 Thanos tries to use the Nano Gauntlet to recreate the universe, but although he succeeds in acquiring it, Stark removes the Stones from the gauntlet and, having formed a makeshift gauntlet in his armor, uses them to erase Thanos and his forces. Alternate versions of the Infinity Gauntlet made brief appearances in the fifth, when a zombified Thanos shows up to Wakanda,[5]^{: 27:51–27:59} and eighth, when Thanos arrives on Earth but is swiftly killed by Ultron,[6]^{: 6:20–6:30} episodes of What If...? (2021–present) and in a flashback sequence in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) after Thanos is killed on Titan by the Illuminati.[7][8]

In 2014, the Collector explains that the Infinity Stones are the remnants of six singularities that existed before the Big Bang, which were compressed into Stones by cosmic entities after the universe began and which were dispersed throughout the cosmos.[9][10] Four years later, it is further explained by Wong and Stephen Strange that each Infinity Stone embodies and controls an essential aspect of existence.[11]

In 1942, the Red Skull steals the Tesseract, which contains the Space Stone, from a church and uses it to power Hydra's weaponry during World War II. Amidst Steve Rogers's final fight against Red Skull,[12] the Tesseract transports the latter to the planet Vormir,[11] before falling into the Arctic Ocean where it is later recovered by Howard Stark and taken to a secret base.[12]

Dr. Wendy Lawson tries to use the Tesseract in 1989 to unlock light-speed travel in order to help the Skrulls find a new home, but is unsuccessful, although her experiments result in Carol Danvers 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., although it was temporarily swallowed by a Flerken named Goose that looks like a cat, who later vomits it out on Nick Fury's desk.[13]

In 2012, Fury shows the Tesseract to Dr. Erik Selvig, not knowing that Loki is also there.[14] Loki steals the Tesseract and later opens a wormhole, using it to transport the Chitauri army to New York City in an attempt to conquer Earth. After the Avengers repel the invasion, Thor returns the Tesseract to Asgard for safekeeping in Odin's vault, and it is used to repair the Bifrost.[15][1] Years later, Loki takes the Tesseract from the vault before Asgard's destruction.[16][17] The Asgardians are intercepted by Thanos and his his children, and half of them are killed. Loki then gives Thanos the Tesseract in order to save Thor's life. Thanos crushes the Tesseract to acquire the Space Stone and uses it to teleport to Knowhere, Vormir, Titan, and Wakanda to collect the rest of the Stones. After Thanos initiates the Blip, he teleports to the Garden, where 23 days later, he uses the Stones in order to destroy them to prevent further use.[11][18][19]

Five years later, Rogers, Stark, Scott Lang, and Banner travel via the Quantum Realm to an alternate 2012, where Stark and Lang attempt to steal the alternate 2012 Tesseract, but the 2012 Hulk accidentally knocks Stark down and the 2012 Tesseract is taken by the 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 moment it was taken.[18]

The Stone is originally housed in a scepter given to Loki by Thanos and the Other to help locate the Tesseract and conquer Earth with its ability to control people's minds and project energy blasts.[15][20] After Loki's defeat, the scepter falls into the hands of Hydra leader Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, who uses it to experiment on people, including siblings Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, who are the only surviving subjects of Strucker's experiments.[21][3] As a result of the testing, superhuman abilities are unlocked in Pietro and amplified in Wanda.[3][22] Strucker's base is attacked by the Avengers, who take back the scepter. The Avengers discover that the scepter contains the Mind Stone, which itself contains an artificial intelligence that grants sentience to the computer program Ultron, who steals the scepter and removes the 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. into it, giving birth to the android Vision, as the Stone has the ability to enhance the user's intelligence and create new life.[1][20][3][23]

A surge of energy goes through Thanos' body after he adds the Mind Stone into the Infinity Gauntlet, which is the final Stone he needed before the Blip.

In 2018, Vision is injured by Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive in their attempts to get the Stone. After the pair are defeated, Vision is taken to Wakanda to have the Stone 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 Stone, only for Thanos 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.[11][18][19]

Five years later, Rogers, having time-traveled to an alternate 2012, retrieves the scepter. He then uses the scepter to render his alternate 2012 self unconscious after he mistook him for a disguised Loki. The 2012 Stone, after being removed from the scepter, is brought back to the main timeline and used to undo the Blip and defeat 2014 Thanos. Afterwards, Rogers returns the 2012 Mind Stone to its respective point in time.[18]

5,000 years ago, Malekith attempts to use the Reality Stone, appearing in its fluid-like weapon state called the Aether, to destroy the Nine Realms and return the universe to its pre-Big Bang state, only to be thwarted by Bor, who had it hidden. In 2011, Jane Foster 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, Sif and Volstagg, they seal the Aether in a lantern-like container and entrust it to the Collector in order to keep it separate from the Tesseract, as they consider it unwise to have multiple Infinity Stones close to each other.[1][24][25][26] 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.[23][24]

Seven years later, Thanos acquires the Aether from the Collector and turns it back into the Reality Stone, allowing for him to repel the Guardians of the Galaxy's attacks by turning Drax the Destroyer to rocks, Mantis into ribbon strips, and causing Star-Lord's gun to shoot bubbles. Thanos later uses the Stone to create a rock restraint around Natasha Romanoff. After Thanos wipes out half of all life in the universe, the Reality Stone is destroyed to prevent further use.[11][18][19]

In 2023, Thor and Rocket travel back in time to Asgard in an alternate 2013 to extract the alternate 2013 Aether from Jane Foster. The 2013 Reality Stone, having been converted back into its solid form, is brought back to 2023 and used to undo the Blip and to disintegrate 2014 Thanos. Rogers later returns the 2013 Reality Stone to the alternate 2013 Asgard.[18]

Housed in the Orb hidden on the planet Morag, the Power Stone is capable of increasing 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.[27][28] In 2014, Ronan the Accuser seeks the Orb for Thanos, but Peter Quill finds and steals the Orb from Morag's resting spot before Korath can. Ronan eventually steals it from the Guardians. After learning about the Power Stone, however, Ronan betrays Thanos and tries to use its destructive power to destroy the planet Xandar. 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 allows 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.[9][1]

Four years later, the Power Stone is the first Stone to be obtained by Thanos, who decimates Xandar in the process. Thanos uses the Stone to destroy the Statesman, as well as during the battle on Titan against Stark, Strange, Peter Parker, 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.[11][18][19] Five years after the destruction of the Stones, James Rhodes and Nebula travel back to Morag in an alternate 2014, subduing the alternate 2014 Peter Quill before taking the 2014 Power Stone in its Orb. The 2014 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 Danvers. 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.[18]

In 2016, Dr. Stephen Strange finds the Eye of Agamotto, which houses the time Stone, and learns how to use it to save the Earth from Dormammu by trapping him in a time loop 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 in Kathmandu, Nepal, but soon begins wearing it again.[16][29][30][31]

Two years later, Ebony Maw attempts to steal the Time Stone from Strange, but is foiled by Stark, Parker, and Wong. While on Titan, 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 to save Stark. Thanos then uses the Time Stone in Wakanda to reverse Maximoff’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.[11][18][19] Five years later, Banner travels to 2012 and speaks with the Ancient One 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 Thanos. Rogers then returns the Stone to the alternate 2012.[18]

An object that has the ability to manipulate the soul and essence of a person,[32] control life and death, and contains a pocket dimension called the Soul World.[33] At some time in the past, Thanos tasks Gamora to find the Soul Stone, as there is little record of its existence compared to the other Infinity Stones. Gamora finds a map leading to where it was hidden: in a shrine on the planet Vormir, but chooses to destroy the map and not tell Thanos, only telling Nebula of it and swearing her to secrecy. After Thanos captures and tortures Nebula, Gamora agrees to take him to Vormir, where they encounter the Stone keeper, Red Skull. 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.[34][35] After completing the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos is briefly transported into the Soul World and encounters a vision of a young Gamora.[36] The Soul Stone is later destroyed to prevent further use.[11][18][19]

Five years later, Romanoff and Clint Barton travel to Vormir in an alternate 2014, where each attempts to sacrifice themselves to allow the other to return with the Stone, ultimately ending with Romanoff sacrificing herself. The alternate 2014 Soul Stone is then brought back to the main timeline and used to undo the Blip and to defeat Thanos. Rogers later returns the Stone back to the alternate 2014.[18]

Three weeks after Thanos' snap is undone, a still grieving Wanda Maximoff uses her connection with the Mind Stone to reanimate a fake Vision. Later on, Agatha Harkness shows Maximoff various points in her past, including the moment of Hydra's experimentation with the Stone on her. Maximoff learns that the exposure to the Stone tapped into her innate magic and made her inordinately more powerful, as well as giving her a prophetic vision of her Scarlet Witch persona.[22]

An alternate 2012 Loki, who escaped during the Avengers attempt to collect all the Infinity Stones to undo Thanos' actions[18] has the alternate 2012 Tesseract confiscated by the Time Variance Authority (TVA). Later, Loki tries to retrieve the Tesseract only to find that it is powerless in the TVA’s dimension, along with all the other Stones, in which the TVA has captured dozens of each from other timelines.[37][38]

In an alternate version of World War II, Howard Stark uses the confiscated Tesseract as the power source for the Hydra Stomper.[39] In another universe, T'Challa, rather than Peter Quill, finds the Power Stone on Morag.[40] In an alternate version of 2016, Stephen Strange attempts to use the Time Stone to prevent the death of Christine Palmer, only to find her death is an absolute point in his universe, meaning no matter what he does, she's destined to die, despite his countless attempts to avert the scenario. It becomes the only Stone left in existence in his universe due to his subsequent actions.[41]

As one universe suffers from a quantum zombie outbreak, Vision discovers that his Mind Stone can be used to cure the infected. However, it is unable to cure the infected Maximoff, due to her powers coming from the Stone, prompting Vision to initially try and feed other survivors to Maximoff to keep her calm until he can properly cure her.[42] 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, sacrificing himself out of guilt. However, a zombified Thanos arrives in Wakanda, possessing the other five Infinity Stones in his Gauntlet.[5]

Ultron in What If...? stores the Stones in his armor as opposed to using the Infinity 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 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 the Watcher.[6] To stop Infinity Ultron expanding into other universes, the Watcher assembles the Guardians of the Multiverse, a team of heroes from various alternate realities, including Strange Supreme, and gifts them a weapon to destroy the Stones called the Infinity Crusher. When the Crusher fails due to it being designed to only work for the Stones in its respective universe, the heroes kill Ultron by uploading Arnim Zola's analog consciousness into his body. The Stones are nearly taken by 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 Stones from Ultron's universe can be a threat anymore.[43]