The Infinity Stones. Six almighty (and very colorful) cosmic entities that possess unique capabilities and powers that when combined could give the person wielding them the ability to control time, space, reality, life and death, knowledge, and power. Now, after 18 films, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is prepared to bring them together in Avengers: Infinity War.
These stones served as plot devices that have helped move certain MCU films forward. All of them have taken a different shape and form. But they all have something in common. Thanos wants to collect all of them in order to eliminate half of humanity so he can bring forth balance to the universe.
But what are these stones? What kind of powers do they have? Where are they? Well, this post has the answers to that, and more.
Space Stone
Also Known As Tesseract
Color: Blue:
Powers: Opening wormholes and portals that allow the user to escape or transport.
First Seen in Thor after credits scene.
Other appearances include: Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers
Last Seen In Thor: Ragnarok.
The Tesseract is the first Infinity Stone to appear in the MCU. Introduced in Thor during an after credits scene, the Tesseract was the MacGuffin in Captain America: First Avenger. Hidden away by a secret sect, the Red Skull sought to weaponize it so he could tip the balance of power in Hydra’s favor. However, Captain America was able to stop him from following through with his nefarious plot of world domination.
But that wouldn’t be the last time we would see the Tesseract. In fact, it would play a key part in The Avengers, as Loki was sent to Earth to retrieve the lost item for Thanos. However, those plans were thwarted by the superhero team, and it was sent back to Asgard where it would remain in safe keeping in one of their secure vaults.
The last time we would see the Tesseract is when Loki was seen taking it with him just before the apocalypse happened on Thor: Ragnarok.
Honestly, if I had it, I’d just use it to travel the world. No more 16-hour flights to visit overseas family or paying for overweight luggage. And traffic to cover press junkets, well, you can forget about that with the Space Stone.
The Reality Stone
Also Known As Aether
Powers: Turn anything into dark matter and suck out the life force out of any living being.
Color: Red
First seen in: Thor The Dark World
Other Appearances Include: Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age Of Ultron
Though it is known as an Infinity Stone, the Aether actually takes the form of a liquid substance. When bonded to a host, it gives him or her the powers to control reality itself. Of course, that sort of power wasn’t used, specifically, in Thor The Dark World, but audiences got a sense of what it was capable of when Malekith used it to bring destruction to Greenwich.
So instead of warping reality, the film used the Aether to turn matter into dark matter. But when it bonds to a host, the Aether could regenerate lost limbs and grant its host a tremendous amount of power. So much power that it could fend off a demi-god like Thor.
In its liquid form, the Aether has the ability to protect itself whenever it is attacked. In fact, the Aether presents so much of a danger that it cannot be in proximity with any of the other stones. After Malekith’s defeat, Volstagg and Sif were sent to give it to the Collector, where they believed it would be kept safe. However, The Collector was secretly intending to collect all of the stones for himself.
Of course, being able to warp reality can be dangerous. So it’s probably best left in the hands of someone who would use it responsibly. But it would make for a great party trick.
Mind Stone
Also Known As: The Scepter
Powers: Giving the user a vast wealth of information, as well as psionic abilities and access the thoughts and dreams of other beings.
Color: Yellow
First Seen In The Avengers (in the form of a spear/scepter)
Other appearances: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age Of Ultron (in the form of a stone), Captain America: Civil War.
Whether or not Thanos knew he had the Mind Stone in his grasp is unclear, but he knew that the scepter had great power and gave it to Loki to use as a tool to help him retrieve the Tesseract. However, Loki failed, and as a result, he lost both the Tesseract and the spear. Worse, the spear fell into the hands of Hydra.
We would see it reemerge in Avengers: Age Of Ultron, where the malevolent A.I. robot known as Ultron sought to build the perfect being by cracking open the gem shell that was encasing the Mind Stone, and use its power to create his Vision. However, those plans failed as well, as the Avengers were able to obtain Ultron’s partial creation and use the Mind Stone to turn Ultron’s Vision into their Vision.
As the spear, the Mind Stone granted the owner the power to control the minds of its victims. While that may seem unfortunate, it also helped the victims tap into a vast amount of wealth they did not originally have access to. It also gave Maximoff twins their powers. Pietro Maximoff could run at supersonic speed, while Wanda received telekinetic and telepathic abilities, and the powers to manipulate energy.
As the stone, the Vision can use its powers to project energy beams so powerful it can bring down towers and penetrate War Machine’s armor. But is unclear what would happen if the stone is taken from him. Trailers have shown the highly intelligent being writhing in agony. So maybe he could lose his form or maybe its just painful, we will just have to wait and see.
Who wouldn’t want to use the mind stone to unlock a wealth of knowledge? A person using it could be the smartest person in the room.
Power Stone
Also Known As: The Orb
Powers: Gives the owner an incredible amount of power.
Color: Purple
First Seen: Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 1
As it’s namesake suggests, the Power Stone grants whoever holds it an incredible amount of powers. However, there are only a few who could wield it, and those who are not strong enough are killed instantly.
It was one of the stones that The Collector was trying to obtain, and was willing to pay a large number of credits for. However, in an act of defiance, Carina, one of the Collector’s assistants, tried to take the power for herself. But she lacked the strength to overcome its power and died in the process.
Realizing that it was dangerous to let orb fall into the wrong hands, the Guardians decided that it was best to place it in the hands of the Nova core, who would be able to keep it in one of their vaults.
Well, the Power Stone doesn’t necessarily give anyone immense strength. However, The Collector said the Celestials used the stone to mow down entire civilizations like wheat in a field. So, it would be nice to clear a giant mess or a pile of raked leaves just as easily.
The Time Stone
Also Known As: The Eye of Agamotto
Powers: Manipulate time
Color: Green
First seen in Doctor Strange
One of the final stones to appear before Avengers: Infinity War, the Time Stone was placed inside Eye of Agamotto, a medallion that was created by Agamotto, the first sorcerer supreme. Just like its namesake, the power of the stone would allow the person holding it to manipulate time, but also risks. The stone would prove useful for Doctor Stephen Strange, who used its powers to help him learn sorcery without losing or wasting time. The stone also was the key to defeat the evil Kaecilius, his sect, and the all-powerful Dormammu.
Using the stone didn’t only help manipulate time on a small or large scale, it also could return matter into an earlier or decayed state. During one of his trial runs, Doctor Strange was able to return one of the apples he ate into its original form. Wong and Karl Mordo warned Doctor Strange that using the Eye was contrary to the natural order of things and extremely dangerous. However, it proved helpful to stopping Kaecilius when he was trying to bring Dormammu to the Earthly plane.
Again, it’s another stone that has to be used responsibly, for if not used properly, it could break the natural flow of time and create alternate timelines, thus killing the person using it.
A stone like this could have helped to study for tests a lot easier. As seen in the film, Doctor Strange used it to help him learn about the magic arts a lot faster than normal people. It also helps that Strange retains information faster than anybody else. So if I were to use the Time Stone, I would use it for the sole purpose of studying.
The Soul Stone
Powers: Unknown
Color: Orange
First Scene: Possibly Avengers: Infinity War
Considering little is known about the stone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we will take a look at what it did in the comics. The stone grants the user the power to steal, control, manipulate, and alter living and dead souls. The stone also serves as a gateway to an idyllic pocket universe.
It’s unclear how the stone will present itself in Avengers: Infinity War if it will do that at all. But since it is one of the last remaining stones, it only makes sense that it would make an appearance in one of the final Avengers films.
As for any possible locations, well, each of the stones had a distinguished form. The Space Stone took the form of a cube, the Reality Stone took the form of a liquid, the Power Stone was a just a regular stone, the Mind Stone started out as a spear then was embedded into Vision’s forehead, and the Time Stone is stored within The Eye of Agamotto. Now there are some theories as to where the Soul Stone could be. One theory says it is an entire planet, which we may have already seen. Some say it is the orange planet that we saw in the first teaser trailer for Avengers: Infinity War.
