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The Infinity Stones are fictional items in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Infinity Gems of the Marvel Comics. As expounded across several interwoven MCU multimedia titles, the six Infinity Stones are reputed to embody and control essential aspects of existence—Space, Mind, Reality, Power, Time and Soul—thereby making them critical artifacts in the MCU and, together, the MacGuffin of the dedicated Infinity Saga.

Infinity StonesMarvel Cinematic Universe elementThe six Infinity Stones. From left to right: Time, Power, Space, Mind, Reality, and SoulFirst appearanceThor(2011)Based onInfinity Gems

by Marvel ComicsAdapted byChristopher MarkusStephen McFeelyGenreSuperhero fictionIn-universe informationOwnersThanosBruce BannerTony StarkStephen StrangeThe Stones, with the exception of the Soul Stone, made their debuts in films leading up to Avengers: Infinity War (2018). The Space Stone, the first Stone to appear, was featured in a post-credit scene for Thor (2011), housed within the Tesseract. The Stone / Tesseract established its significance in the MCU through the antecedent films, Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and The Avengers (2012). In The First Avenger, the Red Skull used the power of the Stone to power Hydra's weaponry during World War II. In The Avengers, Loki was sent to Earth by Thanos to get the Stone from S.H.I.E.L.D. The Space Stone did not make another appearance until Phase Three, when it made a minor appearance in Thor: Ragnarok(2017) and played a major role in Captain Marvel (2019) when it was revealed that the Stone gave Carol Danvers her powers. The Mind Stone first showed up in The Avengers, housed in a scepter given to Loki in his efforts to get the Space Stone from Earth. The Stone returned within the scepter in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) where it was being used on human test subjects. The Mind Stone was eventually used to give Vision life.

Thor: The Dark World (2013) introduced the Reality Stone in its liquid form known as the Aether. It temporarily infected Jane Fosterbefore it was given to The Collector to keep it separate from the Space Stone. The Power and Time Stones made their debuts in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Doctor Strange (2016) respectively. Ronan the Accuser seeks out the Power Stone for Thanos, but he is defeated by the Guardians of the Galaxy, who entrust the Stone with the Nova Corps. Stephen Strangefinds the Eye of Agamotto, which houses the Time Stone, and uses it to save Earth from the demon, Dormammu. The Soul Stone was the last Stone to make an appearance, first showing up in Infinity War when Thanos collects the Stone on Vormir after sacrificing Gamora.

Thanos sets out to collect all six Stones to use them to wipe out half of all life in the universe, believing that his plan will save it from extinction. In 2018, Thanos accomplishes his goal and snaps his fingers while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet containing the Stones, causing the Blip. Thanos eventually uses the Stones again to destroy them and five years later, the surviving Avengers form a plan to go back in time to collect the Stones from other time periods to undo Thanos' snap. After defeating Thanos and undoing his actions from 2018, Steve Rogers / Captain America returns the Stones to the exact moments in time that the Avengers collected them from.

Despite being destroyed, the Stones make appearances in the Multiverse Saga, including in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness(2022) in an alternate universe where Thanos was defeated on his home planet of Titan by the Illuminati before he can collect all of the Stones. They also make appearances in several of the MCU television series on Disney+, between flashbacks in WandaVision (2021) and alternate universes in the first seasons of Loki(2021–2023) and What If...? (2021–present). Scientific studies relating to the Stones have been conducted, mostly since the release of Infinity War, including one focusing on the control of matter.

Fictional historyeditThe stories of the Stones in the MCU take place in the Earth-616 universe.[a] The fictional information below includes events that happened with the Stones from more than one Earth-616 timeline, as well as events that happened with them in multiple other universes.

List of Infinity StonesNameAbilityColorGauntlet locationContainerFirst appearanceSpace StoneCreate portals to teleport[1]BlueMiddle fingerTesseractThorMind StoneControl minds, enhance the user's intelligence, and create new life[1]YellowBack of handLoki's scepter(initially)

Vision's foreheadThe AvengersReality StoneAlter reality[1]RedRing fingerAetherThor: The Dark WorldPower StoneManipulate energy; increased strength[1]PurpleIndex fingerOrbGuardians of the GalaxyTime StoneControl and manipulate time[1]GreenThumbEye of AgamottoDoctor StrangeSoul StoneManipulate the soul of a person[2]OrangeLittle finger—Avengers: Infinity WarCreationeditIn 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.[3][4] Four years later, it is further explained by Wong and Stephen Strange that each Infinity Stone embodies and controls an essential aspect of existence.[5]

Events before Infinity WareditSpace StoneeditIn 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. During Steve Rogers's final fight against Red Skull,[6] the Tesseract transports the latter to the planet Vormir.[5] Afterwards, the Tesseract falls into the Arctic Ocean, where it is later recovered by Howard Stark and taken to a secret base.[6]

Dr. Wendy Lawson unsuccessfully tries to use the Tesseract in 1989 to unlock light-speed travel to help the Skrulls find a new home. However, 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., but it is temporarily swallowed by a Flerken named Goose, who later vomits it out on Nick Fury's desk.[7]

In 2012, Fury shows the Tesseract to Dr. Erik Selvig, when the Tesseract suddenly opens a portal allowing for Loki to come through.[8][9]Loki steals the Tesseract and later opens a wormhole, using it to transport the Chitauriarmy 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.[9][10] Years later, the Asgardian prophecy of its destruction by the fire demon Surtur comes true. Loki takes the Tesseract from the vault before escaping.[11][12]

Mind StoneeditThe Stone is originally housed in a sceptergiven 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.[9][13] After Loki's defeat, it 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.[14][15] Von Strucker's experiments cause Pietro to gain superhuman abilities and amplify Wanda's powers.[15][16] Strucker's base is attacked by the Avengers, who take back the scepter. The Avengers discover that it 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.[10][13][15]

Reality StoneeditEons ago, Malekith attempts to use the Reality Stone, appearing in its fluid-like weapon state called the Aether, to destroy the Nine Realms. His plan was to return the universe to its pre-Big Bang state, only to be thwarted by Bor, who had it hidden. In 2013, 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, Sifand Volstagg, they seal the Aether in a lantern-like container and entrust it to the Collector to keep it separate from the Tesseract, as the three of them consider it unwise to have multiple Infinity Stones close to each other.[10][17][18][19] 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.[1][17]

Power StoneeditHoused 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.[20][21] In 2014, Ronan the Accuserseeks 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 is later 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.[3][10]The Infinity Stones are fictional items in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Infinity Gems of the Marvel Comics. As expounded across several interwoven MCU multimedia titles, the six Infinity Stones are reputed to embody and control essential aspects of existence—Space, Mind, Reality, Power, Time and Soul—thereby making them critical artifacts in the MCU and, together, the MacGuffin of the dedicated Infinity Saga.

Infinity StonesMarvel Cinematic Universe elementThe six Infinity Stones. From left to right: Time, Power, Space, Mind, Reality, and SoulFirst appearanceThor(2011)Based onInfinity Gems

by Marvel ComicsAdapted byChristopher MarkusStephen McFeelyGenreSuperhero fictionIn-universe informationOwnersThanosBruce BannerTony StarkStephen StrangeThe Stones, with the exception of the Soul Stone, made their debuts in films leading up to Avengers: Infinity War (2018). The Space Stone, the first Stone to appear, was featured in a post-credit scene for Thor (2011), housed within the Tesseract. The Stone / Tesseract established its significance in the MCU through the antecedent films, Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and The Avengers (2012). In The First Avenger, the Red Skull used the power of the Stone to power Hydra's weaponry during World War II. In The Avengers, Loki was sent to Earth by Thanos to get the Stone from S.H.I.E.L.D. The Space Stone did not make another appearance until Phase Three, when it made a minor appearance in Thor: Ragnarok(2017) and played a major role in Captain Marvel (2019) when it was revealed that the Stone gave Carol Danvers her powers. The Mind Stone first showed up in The Avengers, housed in a scepter given to Loki in his efforts to get the Space Stone from Earth. The Stone returned within the scepter in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) where it was being used on human test subjects. The Mind Stone was eventually used to give Vision life.

Thor: The Dark World (2013) introduced the Reality Stone in its liquid form known as the Aether. It temporarily infected Jane Fosterbefore it was given to The Collector to keep it separate from the Space Stone. The Power and Time Stones made their debuts in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Doctor Strange (2016) respectively. Ronan the Accuser seeks out the Power Stone for Thanos, but he is defeated by the Guardians of the Galaxy, who entrust the Stone with the Nova Corps. Stephen Strangefinds the Eye of Agamotto, which houses the Time Stone, and uses it to save Earth from the demon, Dormammu. The Soul Stone was the last Stone to make an appearance, first showing up in Infinity War when Thanos collects the Stone on Vormir after sacrificing Gamora.

Thanos sets out to collect all six Stones to use them to wipe out half of all life in the universe, believing that his plan will save it from extinction. In 2018, Thanos accomplishes his goal and snaps his fingers while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet containing the Stones, causing the Blip. Thanos eventually uses the Stones again to destroy them and five years later, the surviving Avengers form a plan to go back in time to collect the Stones from other time periods to undo Thanos' snap. After defeating Thanos and undoing his actions from 2018, Steve Rogers / Captain America returns the Stones to the exact moments in time that the Avengers collected them from.

Despite being destroyed, the Stones make appearances in the Multiverse Saga, including in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness(2022) in an alternate universe where Thanos was defeated on his home planet of Titan by the Illuminati before he can collect all of the Stones. They also make appearances in several of the MCU television series on Disney+, between flashbacks in WandaVision (2021) and alternate universes in the first seasons of Loki(2021–2023) and What If...? (2021–present). Scientific studies relating to the Stones have been conducted, mostly since the release of Infinity War, including one focusing on the control of matter.

Fictional historyeditThe stories of the Stones in the MCU take place in the Earth-616 universe.[a] The fictional information below includes events that happened with the Stones from more than one Earth-616 timeline, as well as events that happened with them in multiple other universes.

List of Infinity StonesNameAbilityColorGauntlet locationContainerFirst appearanceSpace StoneCreate portals to teleport[1]BlueMiddle fingerTesseractThorMind StoneControl minds, enhance the user's intelligence, and create new life[1]YellowBack of handLoki's scepter(initially)

Vision's foreheadThe AvengersReality StoneAlter reality[1]RedRing fingerAetherThor: The Dark WorldPower StoneManipulate energy; increased strength[1]PurpleIndex fingerOrbGuardians of the GalaxyTime StoneControl and manipulate time[1]GreenThumbEye of AgamottoDoctor StrangeSoul StoneManipulate the soul of a person[2]OrangeLittle finger—Avengers: Infinity WarCreationeditIn 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.[3][4] Four years later, it is further explained by Wong and Stephen Strange that each Infinity Stone embodies and controls an essential aspect of existence.[5]

Events before Infinity WareditSpace StoneeditIn 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. During Steve Rogers's final fight against Red Skull,[6] the Tesseract transports the latter to the planet Vormir.[5] Afterwards, the Tesseract falls into the Arctic Ocean, where it is later recovered by Howard Stark and taken to a secret base.[6]

Dr. Wendy Lawson unsuccessfully tries to use the Tesseract in 1989 to unlock light-speed travel to help the Skrulls find a new home. However, 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., but it is temporarily swallowed by a Flerken named Goose, who later vomits it out on Nick Fury's desk.[7]

In 2012, Fury shows the Tesseract to Dr. Erik Selvig, when the Tesseract suddenly opens a portal allowing for Loki to come through.[8][9]Loki steals the Tesseract and later opens a wormhole, using it to transport the Chitauriarmy 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.[9][10] Years later, the Asgardian prophecy of its destruction by the fire demon Surtur comes true. Loki takes the Tesseract from the vault before escaping.[11][12]

Mind StoneeditThe Stone is originally housed in a sceptergiven 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.[9][13] After Loki's defeat, it 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.[14][15] Von Strucker's experiments cause Pietro to gain superhuman abilities and amplify Wanda's powers.[15][16] Strucker's base is attacked by the Avengers, who take back the scepter. The Avengers discover that it 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.[10][13][15]

Reality StoneeditEons ago, Malekith attempts to use the Reality Stone, appearing in its fluid-like weapon state called the Aether, to destroy the Nine Realms. His plan was to return the universe to its pre-Big Bang state, only to be thwarted by Bor, who had it hidden. In 2013, 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, Sifand Volstagg, they seal the Aether in a lantern-like container and entrust it to the Collector to keep it separate from the Tesseract, as the three of them consider it unwise to have multiple Infinity Stones close to each other.[10][17][18][19] 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.[1][17]

Power StoneeditHoused 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.[20][21] In 2014, Ronan the Accuserseeks 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 is later 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.[3][10]

Time StoneeditIn 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.[11][22][23]

Soul StoneeditAn object that has the ability to manipulate the soul and essence of a person,[2] control life and death, and contains a pocket dimension called the Soul World.[24] 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, unaware that Thanos wasn't fooled by their lies.[5]

The BlipeditMain article: The BlipThanos begins his quest to collect all six Stones by decimating Xandar to obtain the Power Stone. He then tracks down the Space Stone and intercepts the Asgardian ship on its way to Earth after the destruction of Asgard.[11][25] Thanos kills half of the occupants and threatens to kill Thor as well, but Loki gives up the Tesseract to save his brother's life. Thanos proceeds to crush the Tesseract to acquire the Space Stone. He tells his children to acquire the two Stones on Earth. He then uses the Power Stone to destroy the ship as he teleports his children and himself away with the Space Stone.[5]

Thanos' four children split up, with two looking to collect the Time Stone from Strange and the other two going after Vision for the Mind Stone. In New York, Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidianattempt to steal the Time Stone from Strange, but are foiled by Stark, Parker, and Wong. Strange is teleported up to Maw's ship with Stark and Parker sneaking on board. In Edinburgh, Vision is injured by Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive in their attempts to get the Stone from his head. 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.[5]

While his children are on Earth, Thanos acquires the Aether from the Collector on Knowhere and turns it back into the Reality Stone, allowing for him to repel the Guardians of the Galaxy's attacks by turning Drax to rocks, Mantis into ribbon strips, and causing Peter Quill's gun to shoot bubbles. Thanos then teleports Gamora and himself back to his ship, where he is keeping a captured Nebula. He uses the Power Stone to torture her in front of Gamora, forcing Gamora to agree to take him to Vormir to find the Soul Stone. On Vormir, they encounter the Stone keeper, Red Skull. Thanos reluctantly sacrifices Gamora 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.[26][27]

Maw gets sucked out of an airlock and his ship takes Stark, Strange, and Parker to Titan, Thanos' home planet, where they run into Quill, Drax, and Mantis. Before Thanos arrives, Strange uses the Time Stone to look into future timelines and viewing millions of possible outcomes of their conflict, learning of only one future in which they win. Thanos arrives expecting Maw, and fights the Avengers and Guardians using the Stones. He defeats them all, leading Strange to surrender the Time Stone to prevent Thanos from killing Stark to ensure the winning future comes to pass.[5]

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.Thanos' remaining children arrive in Wakanda where Shuri is unable to complete the removal of the Mind Stone from Vision's head before she is attacked by Glaive. Thanos arrives looking to get the Stone himself, using some of the Stones against the Avengers and Wakandans trying to fight him off. As a result of the Stone still being in Vision's head, Wanda is forced to destroy Vision and the Stone to try to prevent Thanos from getting it, only for Thanos to use the Time Stone to repair them both and collect the latter. Thanos uses all of the Stones to initiate the Blip, where he is briefly transported into the Soul World and encounters a vision of a young Gamora.[28] He then teleports away with the Space Stone to the Garden. Thanos uses the Stones to destroy them to prevent further use in the future.[5][29][30]

Time heisteditAfter Scott Lang is freed from the Quantum Realm five years after the Blip,[31] he goes to the Avengers Compound and brings up the idea of a time heist using the Quantum Realm to collect each Stone from different points in time. The surviving Avengers split up into teams to each focus on one Stone.[29]

Rogers, Stark, Lang, and Banner travel to an alternate 2012, where the Space, Mind, and Time Stones are all located. 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. Rogers retrieves the scepter containing the Mind Stone, using it to render his alternate 2012 self unconscious after he mistook him for a disguised Loki. Banner 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. After failing to retrieve the 2012 Space Stone, Stark and Rogers travel to an alternate 1970 and take the Tesseract from Camp Lehigh, New Jersey.[29]

Thor and Rocket travel back to Asgard in an alternate 2013 to extract the Aether from Jane Foster. 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. 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.[29]

All of the Stones are brought back to the present day where Stark creates a Nano Gauntlet to house the Stones, which Banner uses to undo the Blip. An alternate 2014 Thanos brings his army to the future, destroying the compound, but is ultimately defeated when Stark sacrifices himself to disintegrate Thanos and his army with the Stones in the Nano Gauntlet. After Stark's funeral, Rogers returns all of the past Stones to the points in time that they were collected from.[29]

AftermatheditThree 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 and amplifyed her innate magic, as well as giving her a prophetic vision of her as the Scarlet Witch.[16][32]

Alternate versionseditOther versions of the Stones are depicted in the alternate realities of the MCU multiverse.

LokieditAn alternate 2012 Loki, who escaped during the Avengers attempt to collect all the Infinity Stones to undo Thanos' actions[29] 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, along with all the other Stones, in which the TVA has captured dozens of each from other timelines.[33][34] The Stones are used as paperweights in the TVA, as such the founder of the TVA and his several Kang the Conqueror variants are more powerful than the Stones.[35]

The Infinity Stones are fictional items in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Infinity Gems of the Marvel Comics. As expounded across several interwoven MCU multimedia titles, the six Infinity Stones are reputed to embody and control essential aspects of existence—Space, Mind, Reality, Power, Time and Soul—thereby making them critical artifacts in the MCU and, together, the MacGuffin of the dedicated Infinity Saga.

Infinity StonesMarvel Cinematic Universe elementThe six Infinity Stones. From left to right: Time, Power, Space, Mind, Reality, and SoulFirst appearanceThor(2011)Based onInfinity Gems

by Marvel ComicsAdapted byChristopher MarkusStephen McFeelyGenreSuperhero fictionIn-universe informationOwnersThanosBruce BannerTony StarkStephen StrangeThe Stones, with the exception of the Soul Stone, made their debuts in films leading up to Avengers: Infinity War (2018). The Space Stone, the first Stone to appear, was featured in a post-credit scene for Thor (2011), housed within the Tesseract. The Stone / Tesseract established its significance in the MCU through the antecedent films, Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and The Avengers (2012). In The First Avenger, the Red Skull used the power of the Stone to power Hydra's weaponry during World War II. In The Avengers, Loki was sent to Earth by Thanos to get the Stone from S.H.I.E.L.D. The Space Stone did not make another appearance until Phase Three, when it made a minor appearance in Thor: Ragnarok(2017) and played a major role in Captain Marvel (2019) when it was revealed that the Stone gave Carol Danvers her powers. The Mind Stone first showed up in The Avengers, housed in a scepter given to Loki in his efforts to get the Space Stone from Earth. The Stone returned within the scepter in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) where it was being used on human test subjects. The Mind Stone was eventually used to give Vision life.

Thor: The Dark World (2013) introduced the Reality Stone in its liquid form known as the Aether. It temporarily infected Jane Fosterbefore it was given to The Collector to keep it separate from the Space Stone. The Power and Time Stones made their debuts in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Doctor Strange (2016) respectively. Ronan the Accuser seeks out the Power Stone for Thanos, but he is defeated by the Guardians of the Galaxy, who entrust the Stone with the Nova Corps. Stephen Strangefinds the Eye of Agamotto, which houses the Time Stone, and uses it to save Earth from the demon, Dormammu. The Soul Stone was the last Stone to make an appearance, first showing up in Infinity War when Thanos collects the Stone on Vormir after sacrificing Gamora.

Thanos sets out to collect all six Stones to use them to wipe out half of all life in the universe, believing that his plan will save it from extinction. In 2018, Thanos accomplishes his goal and snaps his fingers while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet containing the Stones, causing the Blip. Thanos eventually uses the Stones again to destroy them and five years later, the surviving Avengers form a plan to go back in time to collect the Stones from other time periods to undo Thanos' snap. After defeating Thanos and undoing his actions from 2018, Steve Rogers / Captain America returns the Stones to the exact moments in time that the Avengers collected them from.

Despite being destroyed, the Stones make appearances in the Multiverse Saga, including in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness(2022) in an alternate universe where Thanos was defeated on his home planet of Titan by the Illuminati before he can collect all of the Stones. They also make appearances in several of the MCU television series on Disney+, between flashbacks in WandaVision (2021) and alternate universes in the first seasons of Loki(2021–2023) and What If...? (2021–present). Scientific studies relating to the Stones have been conducted, mostly since the release of Infinity War, including one focusing on the control of matter.

Fictional historyeditThe stories of the Stones in the MCU take place in the Earth-616 universe.[a] The fictional information below includes events that happened with the Stones from more than one Earth-616 timeline, as well as events that happened with them in multiple other universes.

List of Infinity StonesNameAbilityColorGauntlet locationContainerFirst appearanceSpace StoneCreate portals to teleport[1]BlueMiddle fingerTesseractThorMind StoneControl minds, enhance the user's intelligence, and create new life[1]YellowBack of handLoki's scepter(initially)

Vision's foreheadThe AvengersReality StoneAlter reality[1]RedRing fingerAetherThor: The Dark WorldPower StoneManipulate energy; increased strength[1]PurpleIndex fingerOrbGuardians of the GalaxyTime StoneControl and manipulate time[1]GreenThumbEye of AgamottoDoctor StrangeSoul StoneManipulate the soul of a person[2]OrangeLittle finger—Avengers: Infinity WarCreationeditIn 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.[3][4] Four years later, it is further explained by Wong and Stephen Strange that each Infinity Stone embodies and controls an essential aspect of existence.[5]

Events before Infinity WareditSpace StoneeditIn 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. During Steve Rogers's final fight against Red Skull,[6] the Tesseract transports the latter to the planet Vormir.[5] Afterwards, the Tesseract falls into the Arctic Ocean, where it is later recovered by Howard Stark and taken to a secret base.[6]

Dr. Wendy Lawson unsuccessfully tries to use the Tesseract in 1989 to unlock light-speed travel to help the Skrulls find a new home. However, 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., but it is temporarily swallowed by a Flerken named Goose, who later vomits it out on Nick Fury's desk.[7]

In 2012, Fury shows the Tesseract to Dr. Erik Selvig, when the Tesseract suddenly opens a portal allowing for Loki to come through.[8][9]Loki steals the Tesseract and later opens a wormhole, using it to transport the Chitauriarmy 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.[9][10] Years later, the Asgardian prophecy of its destruction by the fire demon Surtur comes true. Loki takes the Tesseract from the vault before escaping.[11][12]

Mind StoneeditThe Stone is originally housed in a sceptergiven 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.[9][13] After Loki's defeat, it 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.[14][15] Von Strucker's experiments cause Pietro to gain superhuman abilities and amplify Wanda's powers.[15][16] Strucker's base is attacked by the Avengers, who take back the scepter. The Avengers discover that it 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.[10][13][15]

Reality StoneeditEons ago, Malekith attempts to use the Reality Stone, appearing in its fluid-like weapon state called the Aether, to destroy the Nine Realms. His plan was to return the universe to its pre-Big Bang state, only to be thwarted by Bor, who had it hidden. In 2013, 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, Sifand Volstagg, they seal the Aether in a lantern-like container and entrust it to the Collector to keep it separate from the Tesseract, as the three of them consider it unwise to have multiple Infinity Stones close to each other.[10][17][18][19] 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.[1][17]

Power StoneeditHoused 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.[20][21] In 2014, Ronan the Accuserseeks 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 is later 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.[3][10]

Time StoneeditIn 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.[11][22][23]

Soul StoneeditAn object that has the ability to manipulate the soul and essence of a person,[2] control life and death, and contains a pocket dimension called the Soul World.[24] 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, unaware that Thanos wasn't fooled by their lies.[5]

The BlipeditMain article: The BlipThanos begins his quest to collect all six Stones by decimating Xandar to obtain the Power Stone. He then tracks down the Space Stone and intercepts the Asgardian ship on its way to Earth after the destruction of Asgard.[11][25] Thanos kills half of the occupants and threatens to kill Thor as well, but Loki gives up the Tesseract to save his brother's life. Thanos proceeds to crush the Tesseract to acquire the Space Stone. He tells his children to acquire the two Stones on Earth. He then uses the Power Stone to destroy the ship as he teleports his children and himself away with the Space Stone.[5]

Thanos' four children split up, with two looking to collect the Time Stone from Strange and the other two going after Vision for the Mind Stone. In New York, Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidianattempt to steal the Time Stone from Strange, but are foiled by Stark, Parker, and Wong. Strange is teleported up to Maw's ship with Stark and Parker sneaking on board. In Edinburgh, Vision is injured by Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive in their attempts to get the Stone from his head. 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.[5]

While his children are on Earth, Thanos acquires the Aether from the Collector on Knowhere and turns it back into the Reality Stone, allowing for him to repel the Guardians of the Galaxy's attacks by turning Drax to rocks, Mantis into ribbon strips, and causing Peter Quill's gun to shoot bubbles. Thanos then teleports Gamora and himself back to his ship, where he is keeping a captured Nebula. He uses the Power Stone to torture her in front of Gamora, forcing Gamora to agree to take him to Vormir to find the Soul Stone. On Vormir, they encounter the Stone keeper, Red Skull. Thanos reluctantly sacrifices Gamora 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.[26][27]

Maw gets sucked out of an airlock and his ship takes Stark, Strange, and Parker to Titan, Thanos' home planet, where they run into Quill, Drax, and Mantis. Before Thanos arrives, Strange uses the Time Stone to look into future timelines and viewing millions of possible outcomes of their conflict, learning of only one future in which they win. Thanos arrives expecting Maw, and fights the Avengers and Guardians using the Stones. He defeats them all, leading Strange to surrender the Time Stone to prevent Thanos from killing Stark to ensure the winning future comes to pass.[5]

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.Thanos' remaining children arrive in Wakanda where Shuri is unable to complete the removal of the Mind Stone from Vision's head before she is attacked by Glaive. Thanos arrives looking to get the Stone himself, using some of the Stones against the Avengers and Wakandans trying to fight him off. As a result of the Stone still being in Vision's head, Wanda is forced to destroy Vision and the Stone to try to prevent Thanos from getting it, only for Thanos to use the Time Stone to repair them both and collect the latter. Thanos uses all of the Stones to initiate the Blip, where he is briefly transported into the Soul World and encounters a vision of a young Gamora.[28] He then teleports away with the Space Stone to the Garden. Thanos uses the Stones to destroy them to prevent further use in the future.[5][29][30]

Time heisteditAfter Scott Lang is freed from the Quantum Realm five years after the Blip,[31] he goes to the Avengers Compound and brings up the idea of a time heist using the Quantum Realm to collect each Stone from different points in time. The surviving Avengers split up into teams to each focus on one Stone.[29]

Rogers, Stark, Lang, and Banner travel to an alternate 2012, where the Space, Mind, and Time Stones are all located. 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. Rogers retrieves the scepter containing the Mind Stone, using it to render his alternate 2012 self unconscious after he mistook him for a disguised Loki. Banner 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. After failing to retrieve the 2012 Space Stone, Stark and Rogers travel to an alternate 1970 and take the Tesseract from Camp Lehigh, New Jersey.[29]

Thor and Rocket travel back to Asgard in an alternate 2013 to extract the Aether from Jane Foster. 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. 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.[29]

All of the Stones are brought back to the present day where Stark creates a Nano Gauntlet to house the Stones, which Banner uses to undo the Blip. An alternate 2014 Thanos brings his army to the future, destroying the compound, but is ultimately defeated when Stark sacrifices himself to disintegrate Thanos and his army with the Stones in the Nano Gauntlet. After Stark's funeral, Rogers returns all of the past Stones to the points in time that they were collected from.[29]

AftermatheditThree 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 and amplifyed her innate magic, as well as giving her a prophetic vision of her as the Scarlet Witch.[16][32]

Alternate versionseditOther versions of the Stones are depicted in the alternate realities of the MCU multiverse.

LokieditAn alternate 2012 Loki, who escaped during the Avengers attempt to collect all the Infinity Stones to undo Thanos' actions[29] 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, along with all the other Stones, in which the TVA has captured dozens of each from other timelines.[33][34] The Stones are used as paperweights in the TVA, as such the founder of the TVA and his several Kang the Conqueror variants are more powerful than the Stones.[35]

What If...?editUltron in What If...? stores the Stones in his armor as opposed to using the Infinity Gauntlet.In an alternate version of World War II, Howard Stark uses the confiscated Tesseract as the power source for the Hydra Stomper.[36] In another universe, T'Challa, rather than Peter Quill, finds the Power Stone on Morag.[37] 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.[38]

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.[39] 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.[40]

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.[41]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.[42]

In Kahhori's universe, the Tesseract crashes into a lake in pre-colonial America after surviving Ragnorok and breaks, releasing unmitigated Space Stone energy into the lake's waters. As a result, a portal opens to another dimension called the Sky World, granting the inhabitants of that world incredible powers.[43]After getting transported into a dying universe in the year 1602, Captain Carter, with the help of Tony Stark, discovers a device powered by the Time Stone that had been caused when Steve Rogers, while fighting Thanos during the Battle of Wakanda, accidentally hit the Time Stone with one of his shields. Using Stark's device and the Time Stone, Carter and Rogers are able to set things right, returning Rogers to his own time and ending the temporal anomaly that was tearing apart the world.[44] Among Doctor Strange Supreme's prisoners that are released by Captain Carter is a Thanos with a completed Infinity Gauntlet. However, having been freed by Carter, Killmonger disintegrates Thanos with his own set of Infinity Stones. Kahhori is able to use her Tesseract-granted powers to separate Killmonger from his Infinity Armor and teleport him away, allowing Carter to take the Infinity Stones for herself. Carter is able to wield the Infinity Stones against Strange alongside Hela's crown and the weapons of some of the freed prisoners. By punching Strange with the Infinity Stones, Carter manages to bring him back to his senses temporarily.[45]

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The Infinity Stones are fictional items in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Infinity Gems of the Marvel Comics. As expounded across several interwoven MCU multimedia titles, the six Infinity Stones are reputed to embody and control essential aspects of existence—Space, Mind, Reality, Power, Time and Soul—thereby making them critical artifacts in the MCU and, together, the MacGuffin of the dedicated Infinity Saga.

Infinity StonesMarvel Cinematic Universe elementThe six Infinity Stones. From left to right: Time, Power, Space, Mind, Reality, and SoulFirst appearanceThor(2011)Based onInfinity Gems

by Marvel ComicsAdapted byChristopher MarkusStephen McFeelyGenreSuperhero fictionIn-universe informationOwnersThanosBruce BannerTony StarkStephen StrangeThe Stones, with the exception of the Soul Stone, made their debuts in films leading up to Avengers: Infinity War (2018). The Space Stone, the first Stone to appear, was featured in a post-credit scene for Thor (2011), housed within the Tesseract. The Stone / Tesseract established its significance in the MCU through the antecedent films, Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and The Avengers (2012). In The First Avenger, the Red Skull used the power of the Stone to power Hydra's weaponry during World War II. In The Avengers, Loki was sent to Earth by Thanos to get the Stone from S.H.I.E.L.D. The Space Stone did not make another appearance until Phase Three, when it made a minor appearance in Thor: Ragnarok(2017) and played a major role in Captain Marvel (2019) when it was revealed that the Stone gave Carol Danvers her powers. The Mind Stone first showed up in The Avengers, housed in a scepter given to Loki in his efforts to get the Space Stone from Earth. The Stone returned within the scepter in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) where it was being used on human test subjects. The Mind Stone was eventually used to give Vision life.

Thor: The Dark World (2013) introduced the Reality Stone in its liquid form known as the Aether. It temporarily infected Jane Fosterbefore it was given to The Collector to keep it separate from the Space Stone. The Power and Time Stones made their debuts in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Doctor Strange (2016) respectively. Ronan the Accuser seeks out the Power Stone for Thanos, but he is defeated by the Guardians of the Galaxy, who entrust the Stone with the Nova Corps. Stephen Strangefinds the Eye of Agamotto, which houses the Time Stone, and uses it to save Earth from the demon, Dormammu. The Soul Stone was the last Stone to make an appearance, first showing up in Infinity War when Thanos collects the Stone on Vormir after sacrificing Gamora.

Thanos sets out to collect all six Stones to use them to wipe out half of all life in the universe, believing that his plan will save it from extinction. In 2018, Thanos accomplishes his goal and snaps his fingers while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet containing the Stones, causing the Blip. Thanos eventually uses the Stones again to destroy them and five years later, the surviving Avengers form a plan to go back in time to collect the Stones from other time periods to undo Thanos' snap. After defeating Thanos and undoing his actions from 2018, Steve Rogers / Captain America returns the Stones to the exact moments in time that the Avengers collected them from.

Despite being destroyed, the Stones make appearances in the Multiverse Saga, including in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness(2022) in an alternate universe where Thanos was defeated on his home planet of Titan by the Illuminati before he can collect all of the Stones. They also make appearances in several of the MCU television series on Disney+, between flashbacks in WandaVision (2021) and alternate universes in the first seasons of Loki(2021–2023) and What If...? (2021–present). Scientific studies relating to the Stones have been conducted, mostly since the release of Infinity War, including one focusing on the control of matter.

Fictional historyeditThe stories of the Stones in the MCU take place in the Earth-616 universe.[a] The fictional information below includes events that happened with the Stones from more than one Earth-616 timeline, as well as events that happened with them in multiple other universes.

List of Infinity StonesNameAbilityColorGauntlet locationContainerFirst appearanceSpace StoneCreate portals to teleport[1]BlueMiddle fingerTesseractThorMind StoneControl minds, enhance the user's intelligence, and create new life[1]YellowBack of handLoki's scepter(initially)

Vision's foreheadThe AvengersReality StoneAlter reality[1]RedRing fingerAetherThor: The Dark WorldPower StoneManipulate energy; increased strength[1]PurpleIndex fingerOrbGuardians of the GalaxyTime StoneControl and manipulate time[1]GreenThumbEye of AgamottoDoctor StrangeSoul StoneManipulate the soul of a person[2]OrangeLittle finger—Avengers: Infinity WarCreationeditIn 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.[3][4] Four years later, it is further explained by Wong and Stephen Strange that each Infinity Stone embodies and controls an essential aspect of existence.[5]

Events before Infinity WareditSpace StoneeditIn 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. During Steve Rogers's final fight against Red Skull,[6] the Tesseract transports the latter to the planet Vormir.[5] Afterwards, the Tesseract falls into the Arctic Ocean, where it is later recovered by Howard Stark and taken to a secret base.[6]

Dr. Wendy Lawson unsuccessfully tries to use the Tesseract in 1989 to unlock light-speed travel to help the Skrulls find a new home. However, 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., but it is temporarily swallowed by a Flerken named Goose, who later vomits it out on Nick Fury's desk.[7]

In 2012, Fury shows the Tesseract to Dr. Erik Selvig, when the Tesseract suddenly opens a portal allowing for Loki to come through.[8][9]Loki steals the Tesseract and later opens a wormhole, using it to transport the Chitauriarmy 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.[9][10] Years later, the Asgardian prophecy of its destruction by the fire demon Surtur comes true. Loki takes the Tesseract from the vault before escaping.[11][12]

Mind StoneeditThe Stone is originally housed in a sceptergiven 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.[9][13] After Loki's defeat, it 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.[14][15] Von Strucker's experiments cause Pietro to gain superhuman abilities and amplify Wanda's powers.[15][16] Strucker's base is attacked by the Avengers, who take back the scepter. The Avengers discover that it 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.[10][13][15]

Reality StoneeditEons ago, Malekith attempts to use the Reality Stone, appearing in its fluid-like weapon state called the Aether, to destroy the Nine Realms. His plan was to return the universe to its pre-Big Bang state, only to be thwarted by Bor, who had it hidden. In 2013, 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, Sifand Volstagg, they seal the Aether in a lantern-like container and entrust it to the Collector to keep it separate from the Tesseract, as the three of them consider it unwise to have multiple Infinity Stones close to each other.[10][17][18][19] 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.[1][17]

Power StoneeditHoused 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.[20][21] In 2014, Ronan the Accuserseeks 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 is later 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.[3][10]The Infinity Stones are fictional items in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Infinity Gems of the Marvel Comics. As expounded across several interwoven MCU multimedia titles, the six Infinity Stones are reputed to embody and control essential aspects of existence—Space, Mind, Reality, Power, Time and Soul—thereby making them critical artifacts in the MCU and, together, the MacGuffin of the dedicated Infinity Saga.

Infinity StonesMarvel Cinematic Universe elementThe six Infinity Stones. From left to right: Time, Power, Space, Mind, Reality, and SoulFirst appearanceThor(2011)Based onInfinity Gems

by Marvel ComicsAdapted byChristopher MarkusStephen McFeelyGenreSuperhero fictionIn-universe informationOwnersThanosBruce BannerTony StarkStephen StrangeThe Stones, with the exception of the Soul Stone, made their debuts in films leading up to Avengers: Infinity War (2018). The Space Stone, the first Stone to appear, was featured in a post-credit scene for Thor (2011), housed within the Tesseract. The Stone / Tesseract established its significance in the MCU through the antecedent films, Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and The Avengers (2012). In The First Avenger, the Red Skull used the power of the Stone to power Hydra's weaponry during World War II. In The Avengers, Loki was sent to Earth by Thanos to get the Stone from S.H.I.E.L.D. The Space Stone did not make another appearance until Phase Three, when it made a minor appearance in Thor: Ragnarok(2017) and played a major role in Captain Marvel (2019) when it was revealed that the Stone gave Carol Danvers her powers. The Mind Stone first showed up in The Avengers, housed in a scepter given to Loki in his efforts to get the Space Stone from Earth. The Stone returned within the scepter in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) where it was being used on human test subjects. The Mind Stone was eventually used to give Vision life.

Thor: The Dark World (2013) introduced the Reality Stone in its liquid form known as the Aether. It temporarily infected Jane Fosterbefore it was given to The Collector to keep it separate from the Space Stone. The Power and Time Stones made their debuts in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Doctor Strange (2016) respectively. Ronan the Accuser seeks out the Power Stone for Thanos, but he is defeated by the Guardians of the Galaxy, who entrust the Stone with the Nova Corps. Stephen Strangefinds the Eye of Agamotto, which houses the Time Stone, and uses it to save Earth from the demon, Dormammu. The Soul Stone was the last Stone to make an appearance, first showing up in Infinity War when Thanos collects the Stone on Vormir after sacrificing Gamora.

Thanos sets out to collect all six Stones to use them to wipe out half of all life in the universe, believing that his plan will save it from extinction. In 2018, Thanos accomplishes his goal and snaps his fingers while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet containing the Stones, causing the Blip. Thanos eventually uses the Stones again to destroy them and five years later, the surviving Avengers form a plan to go back in time to collect the Stones from other time periods to undo Thanos' snap. After defeating Thanos and undoing his actions from 2018, Steve Rogers / Captain America returns the Stones to the exact moments in time that the Avengers collected them from.

Despite being destroyed, the Stones make appearances in the Multiverse Saga, including in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness(2022) in an alternate universe where Thanos was defeated on his home planet of Titan by the Illuminati before he can collect all of the Stones. They also make appearances in several of the MCU television series on Disney+, between flashbacks in WandaVision (2021) and alternate universes in the first seasons of Loki(2021–2023) and What If...? (2021–present). Scientific studies relating to the Stones have been conducted, mostly since the release of Infinity War, including one focusing on the control of matter.

Fictional historyeditThe stories of the Stones in the MCU take place in the Earth-616 universe.[a] The fictional information below includes events that happened with the Stones from more than one Earth-616 timeline, as well as events that happened with them in multiple other universes.

List of Infinity StonesNameAbilityColorGauntlet locationContainerFirst appearanceSpace StoneCreate portals to teleport[1]BlueMiddle fingerTesseractThorMind StoneControl minds, enhance the user's intelligence, and create new life[1]YellowBack of handLoki's scepter(initially)

Vision's foreheadThe AvengersReality StoneAlter reality[1]RedRing fingerAetherThor: The Dark WorldPower StoneManipulate energy; increased strength[1]PurpleIndex fingerOrbGuardians of the GalaxyTime StoneControl and manipulate time[1]GreenThumbEye of AgamottoDoctor StrangeSoul StoneManipulate the soul of a person[2]OrangeLittle finger—Avengers: Infinity WarCreationeditIn 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.[3][4] Four years later, it is further explained by Wong and Stephen Strange that each Infinity Stone embodies and controls an essential aspect of existence.[5]

Events before Infinity WareditSpace StoneeditIn 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. During Steve Rogers's final fight against Red Skull,[6] the Tesseract transports the latter to the planet Vormir.[5] Afterwards, the Tesseract falls into the Arctic Ocean, where it is later recovered by Howard Stark and taken to a secret base.[6]

Dr. Wendy Lawson unsuccessfully tries to use the Tesseract in 1989 to unlock light-speed travel to help the Skrulls find a new home. However, 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., but it is temporarily swallowed by a Flerken named Goose, who later vomits it out on Nick Fury's desk.[7]

In 2012, Fury shows the Tesseract to Dr. Erik Selvig, when the Tesseract suddenly opens a portal allowing for Loki to come through.[8][9]Loki steals the Tesseract and later opens a wormhole, using it to transport the Chitauriarmy 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.[9][10] Years later, the Asgardian prophecy of its destruction by the fire demon Surtur comes true. Loki takes the Tesseract from the vault before escaping.[11][12]

Mind StoneeditThe Stone is originally housed in a sceptergiven 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.[9][13] After Loki's defeat, it 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.[14][15] Von Strucker's experiments cause Pietro to gain superhuman abilities and amplify Wanda's powers.[15][16] Strucker's base is attacked by the Avengers, who take back the scepter. The Avengers discover that it 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.[10][13][15]

Reality StoneeditEons ago, Malekith attempts to use the Reality Stone, appearing in its fluid-like weapon state called the Aether, to destroy the Nine Realms. His plan was to return the universe to its pre-Big Bang state, only to be thwarted by Bor, who had it hidden. In 2013, 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, Sifand Volstagg, they seal the Aether in a lantern-like container and entrust it to the Collector to keep it separate from the Tesseract, as the three of them consider it unwise to have multiple Infinity Stones close to each other.[10][17][18][19] 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.[1][17]

Power StoneeditHoused 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.[20][21] In 2014, Ronan the Accuserseeks 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 is later 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.[3][10]

Time StoneeditIn 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.[11][22][23]

Soul StoneeditAn object that has the ability to manipulate the soul and essence of a person,[2] control life and death, and contains a pocket dimension called the Soul World.[24] 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, unaware that Thanos wasn't fooled by their lies.[5]

The BlipeditMain article: The BlipThanos begins his quest to collect all six Stones by decimating Xandar to obtain the Power Stone. He then tracks down the Space Stone and intercepts the Asgardian ship on its way to Earth after the destruction of Asgard.[11][25] Thanos kills half of the occupants and threatens to kill Thor as well, but Loki gives up the Tesseract to save his brother's life. Thanos proceeds to crush the Tesseract to acquire the Space Stone. He tells his children to acquire the two Stones on Earth. He then uses the Power Stone to destroy the ship as he teleports his children and himself away with the Space Stone.[5]

Thanos' four children split up, with two looking to collect the Time Stone from Strange and the other two going after Vision for the Mind Stone. In New York, Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidianattempt to steal the Time Stone from Strange, but are foiled by Stark, Parker, and Wong. Strange is teleported up to Maw's ship with Stark and Parker sneaking on board. In Edinburgh, Vision is injured by Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive in their attempts to get the Stone from his head. 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.[5]

While his children are on Earth, Thanos acquires the Aether from the Collector on Knowhere and turns it back into the Reality Stone, allowing for him to repel the Guardians of the Galaxy's attacks by turning Drax to rocks, Mantis into ribbon strips, and causing Peter Quill's gun to shoot bubbles. Thanos then teleports Gamora and himself back to his ship, where he is keeping a captured Nebula. He uses the Power Stone to torture her in front of Gamora, forcing Gamora to agree to take him to Vormir to find the Soul Stone. On Vormir, they encounter the Stone keeper, Red Skull. Thanos reluctantly sacrifices Gamora 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.[26][27]

Maw gets sucked out of an airlock and his ship takes Stark, Strange, and Parker to Titan, Thanos' home planet, where they run into Quill, Drax, and Mantis. Before Thanos arrives, Strange uses the Time Stone to look into future timelines and viewing millions of possible outcomes of their conflict, learning of only one future in which they win. Thanos arrives expecting Maw, and fights the Avengers and Guardians using the Stones. He defeats them all, leading Strange to surrender the Time Stone to prevent Thanos from killing Stark to ensure the winning future comes to pass.[5]

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.Thanos' remaining children arrive in Wakanda where Shuri is unable to complete the removal of the Mind Stone from Vision's head before she is attacked by Glaive. Thanos arrives looking to get the Stone himself, using some of the Stones against the Avengers and Wakandans trying to fight him off. As a result of the Stone still being in Vision's head, Wanda is forced to destroy Vision and the Stone to try to prevent Thanos from getting it, only for Thanos to use the Time Stone to repair them both and collect the latter. Thanos uses all of the Stones to initiate the Blip, where he is briefly transported into the Soul World and encounters a vision of a young Gamora.[28] He then teleports away with the Space Stone to the Garden. Thanos uses the Stones to destroy them to prevent further use in the future.[5][29][30]

Time heisteditAfter Scott Lang is freed from the Quantum Realm five years after the Blip,[31] he goes to the Avengers Compound and brings up the idea of a time heist using the Quantum Realm to collect each Stone from different points in time. The surviving Avengers split up into teams to each focus on one Stone.[29]

Rogers, Stark, Lang, and Banner travel to an alternate 2012, where the Space, Mind, and Time Stones are all located. 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. Rogers retrieves the scepter containing the Mind Stone, using it to render his alternate 2012 self unconscious after he mistook him for a disguised Loki. Banner 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. After failing to retrieve the 2012 Space Stone, Stark and Rogers travel to an alternate 1970 and take the Tesseract from Camp Lehigh, New Jersey.[29]

Thor and Rocket travel back to Asgard in an alternate 2013 to extract the Aether from Jane Foster. 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. 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.[29]

All of the Stones are brought back to the present day where Stark creates a Nano Gauntlet to house the Stones, which Banner uses to undo the Blip. An alternate 2014 Thanos brings his army to the future, destroying the compound, but is ultimately defeated when Stark sacrifices himself to disintegrate Thanos and his army with the Stones in the Nano Gauntlet. After Stark's funeral, Rogers returns all of the past Stones to the points in time that they were collected from.[29]

AftermatheditThree 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 and amplifyed her innate magic, as well as giving her a prophetic vision of her as the Scarlet Witch.[16][32]

Alternate versionseditOther versions of the Stones are depicted in the alternate realities of the MCU multiverse.

LokieditAn alternate 2012 Loki, who escaped during the Avengers attempt to collect all the Infinity Stones to undo Thanos' actions[29] 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, along with all the other Stones, in which the TVA has captured dozens of each from other timelines.[33][34] The Stones are used as paperweights in the TVA, as such the founder of the TVA and his several Kang the Conqueror variants are more powerful than the Stones.[35]

The Infinity Stones are fictional items in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Infinity Gems of the Marvel Comics. As expounded across several interwoven MCU multimedia titles, the six Infinity Stones are reputed to embody and control essential aspects of existence—Space, Mind, Reality, Power, Time and Soul—thereby making them critical artifacts in the MCU and, together, the MacGuffin of the dedicated Infinity Saga.

Infinity StonesMarvel Cinematic Universe elementThe six Infinity Stones. From left to right: Time, Power, Space, Mind, Reality, and SoulFirst appearanceThor(2011)Based onInfinity Gems

by Marvel ComicsAdapted byChristopher MarkusStephen McFeelyGenreSuperhero fictionIn-universe informationOwnersThanosBruce BannerTony StarkStephen StrangeThe Stones, with the exception of the Soul Stone, made their debuts in films leading up to Avengers: Infinity War (2018). The Space Stone, the first Stone to appear, was featured in a post-credit scene for Thor (2011), housed within the Tesseract. The Stone / Tesseract established its significance in the MCU through the antecedent films, Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and The Avengers (2012). In The First Avenger, the Red Skull used the power of the Stone to power Hydra's weaponry during World War II. In The Avengers, Loki was sent to Earth by Thanos to get the Stone from S.H.I.E.L.D. The Space Stone did not make another appearance until Phase Three, when it made a minor appearance in Thor: Ragnarok(2017) and played a major role in Captain Marvel (2019) when it was revealed that the Stone gave Carol Danvers her powers. The Mind Stone first showed up in The Avengers, housed in a scepter given to Loki in his efforts to get the Space Stone from Earth. The Stone returned within the scepter in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) where it was being used on human test subjects. The Mind Stone was eventually used to give Vision life.

Thor: The Dark World (2013) introduced the Reality Stone in its liquid form known as the Aether. It temporarily infected Jane Fosterbefore it was given to The Collector to keep it separate from the Space Stone. The Power and Time Stones made their debuts in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Doctor Strange (2016) respectively. Ronan the Accuser seeks out the Power Stone for Thanos, but he is defeated by the Guardians of the Galaxy, who entrust the Stone with the Nova Corps. Stephen Strangefinds the Eye of Agamotto, which houses the Time Stone, and uses it to save Earth from the demon, Dormammu. The Soul Stone was the last Stone to make an appearance, first showing up in Infinity War when Thanos collects the Stone on Vormir after sacrificing Gamora.

Thanos sets out to collect all six Stones to use them to wipe out half of all life in the universe, believing that his plan will save it from extinction. In 2018, Thanos accomplishes his goal and snaps his fingers while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet containing the Stones, causing the Blip. Thanos eventually uses the Stones again to destroy them and five years later, the surviving Avengers form a plan to go back in time to collect the Stones from other time periods to undo Thanos' snap. After defeating Thanos and undoing his actions from 2018, Steve Rogers / Captain America returns the Stones to the exact moments in time that the Avengers collected them from.

Despite being destroyed, the Stones make appearances in the Multiverse Saga, including in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness(2022) in an alternate universe where Thanos was defeated on his home planet of Titan by the Illuminati before he can collect all of the Stones. They also make appearances in several of the MCU television series on Disney+, between flashbacks in WandaVision (2021) and alternate universes in the first seasons of Loki(2021–2023) and What If...? (2021–present). Scientific studies relating to the Stones have been conducted, mostly since the release of Infinity War, including one focusing on the control of matter.

Fictional historyeditThe stories of the Stones in the MCU take place in the Earth-616 universe.[a] The fictional information below includes events that happened with the Stones from more than one Earth-616 timeline, as well as events that happened with them in multiple other universes.

List of Infinity StonesNameAbilityColorGauntlet locationContainerFirst appearanceSpace StoneCreate portals to teleport[1]BlueMiddle fingerTesseractThorMind StoneControl minds, enhance the user's intelligence, and create new life[1]YellowBack of handLoki's scepter(initially)

Vision's foreheadThe AvengersReality StoneAlter reality[1]RedRing fingerAetherThor: The Dark WorldPower StoneManipulate energy; increased strength[1]PurpleIndex fingerOrbGuardians of the GalaxyTime StoneControl and manipulate time[1]GreenThumbEye of AgamottoDoctor StrangeSoul StoneManipulate the soul of a person[2]OrangeLittle finger—Avengers: Infinity WarCreationeditIn 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.[3][4] Four years later, it is further explained by Wong and Stephen Strange that each Infinity Stone embodies and controls an essential aspect of existence.[5]

Events before Infinity WareditSpace StoneeditIn 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. During Steve Rogers's final fight against Red Skull,[6] the Tesseract transports the latter to the planet Vormir.[5] Afterwards, the Tesseract falls into the Arctic Ocean, where it is later recovered by Howard Stark and taken to a secret base.[6]

Dr. Wendy Lawson unsuccessfully tries to use the Tesseract in 1989 to unlock light-speed travel to help the Skrulls find a new home. However, 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., but it is temporarily swallowed by a Flerken named Goose, who later vomits it out on Nick Fury's desk.[7]

In 2012, Fury shows the Tesseract to Dr. Erik Selvig, when the Tesseract suddenly opens a portal allowing for Loki to come through.[8][9]Loki steals the Tesseract and later opens a wormhole, using it to transport the Chitauriarmy 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.[9][10] Years later, the Asgardian prophecy of its destruction by the fire demon Surtur comes true. Loki takes the Tesseract from the vault before escaping.[11][12]

Mind StoneeditThe Stone is originally housed in a sceptergiven 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.[9][13] After Loki's defeat, it 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.[14][15] Von Strucker's experiments cause Pietro to gain superhuman abilities and amplify Wanda's powers.[15][16] Strucker's base is attacked by the Avengers, who take back the scepter. The Avengers discover that it 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.[10][13][15]

Reality StoneeditEons ago, Malekith attempts to use the Reality Stone, appearing in its fluid-like weapon state called the Aether, to destroy the Nine Realms. His plan was to return the universe to its pre-Big Bang state, only to be thwarted by Bor, who had it hidden. In 2013, 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, Sifand Volstagg, they seal the Aether in a lantern-like container and entrust it to the Collector to keep it separate from the Tesseract, as the three of them consider it unwise to have multiple Infinity Stones close to each other.[10][17][18][19] 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.[1][17]

Power StoneeditHoused 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.[20][21] In 2014, Ronan the Accuserseeks 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 is later 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.[3][10]

Time StoneeditIn 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.[11][22][23]

Soul StoneeditAn object that has the ability to manipulate the soul and essence of a person,[2] control life and death, and contains a pocket dimension called the Soul World.[24] 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, unaware that Thanos wasn't fooled by their lies.[5]

The BlipeditMain article: The BlipThanos begins his quest to collect all six Stones by decimating Xandar to obtain the Power Stone. He then tracks down the Space Stone and intercepts the Asgardian ship on its way to Earth after the destruction of Asgard.[11][25] Thanos kills half of the occupants and threatens to kill Thor as well, but Loki gives up the Tesseract to save his brother's life. Thanos proceeds to crush the Tesseract to acquire the Space Stone. He tells his children to acquire the two Stones on Earth. He then uses the Power Stone to destroy the ship as he teleports his children and himself away with the Space Stone.[5]

Thanos' four children split up, with two looking to collect the Time Stone from Strange and the other two going after Vision for the Mind Stone. In New York, Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidianattempt to steal the Time Stone from Strange, but are foiled by Stark, Parker, and Wong. Strange is teleported up to Maw's ship with Stark and Parker sneaking on board. In Edinburgh, Vision is injured by Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive in their attempts to get the Stone from his head. 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.[5]

While his children are on Earth, Thanos acquires the Aether from the Collector on Knowhere and turns it back into the Reality Stone, allowing for him to repel the Guardians of the Galaxy's attacks by turning Drax to rocks, Mantis into ribbon strips, and causing Peter Quill's gun to shoot bubbles. Thanos then teleports Gamora and himself back to his ship, where he is keeping a captured Nebula. He uses the Power Stone to torture her in front of Gamora, forcing Gamora to agree to take him to Vormir to find the Soul Stone. On Vormir, they encounter the Stone keeper, Red Skull. Thanos reluctantly sacrifices Gamora 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.[26][27]

Maw gets sucked out of an airlock and his ship takes Stark, Strange, and Parker to Titan, Thanos' home planet, where they run into Quill, Drax, and Mantis. Before Thanos arrives, Strange uses the Time Stone to look into future timelines and viewing millions of possible outcomes of their conflict, learning of only one future in which they win. Thanos arrives expecting Maw, and fights the Avengers and Guardians using the Stones. He defeats them all, leading Strange to surrender the Time Stone to prevent Thanos from killing Stark to ensure the winning future comes to pass.[5]

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.Thanos' remaining children arrive in Wakanda where Shuri is unable to complete the removal of the Mind Stone from Vision's head before she is attacked by Glaive. Thanos arrives looking to get the Stone himself, using some of the Stones against the Avengers and Wakandans trying to fight him off. As a result of the Stone still being in Vision's head, Wanda is forced to destroy Vision and the Stone to try to prevent Thanos from getting it, only for Thanos to use the Time Stone to repair them both and collect the latter. Thanos uses all of the Stones to initiate the Blip, where he is briefly transported into the Soul World and encounters a vision of a young Gamora.[28] He then teleports away with the Space Stone to the Garden. Thanos uses the Stones to destroy them to prevent further use in the future.[5][29][30]

Time heisteditAfter Scott Lang is freed from the Quantum Realm five years after the Blip,[31] he goes to the Avengers Compound and brings up the idea of a time heist using the Quantum Realm to collect each Stone from different points in time. The surviving Avengers split up into teams to each focus on one Stone.[29]

Rogers, Stark, Lang, and Banner travel to an alternate 2012, where the Space, Mind, and Time Stones are all located. 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. Rogers retrieves the scepter containing the Mind Stone, using it to render his alternate 2012 self unconscious after he mistook him for a disguised Loki. Banner 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. After failing to retrieve the 2012 Space Stone, Stark and Rogers travel to an alternate 1970 and take the Tesseract from Camp Lehigh, New Jersey.[29]

Thor and Rocket travel back to Asgard in an alternate 2013 to extract the Aether from Jane Foster. 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. 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.[29]

All of the Stones are brought back to the present day where Stark creates a Nano Gauntlet to house the Stones, which Banner uses to undo the Blip. An alternate 2014 Thanos brings his army to the future, destroying the compound, but is ultimately defeated when Stark sacrifices himself to disintegrate Thanos and his army with the Stones in the Nano Gauntlet. After Stark's funeral, Rogers returns all of the past Stones to the points in time that they were collected from.[29]

AftermatheditThree 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 and amplifyed her innate magic, as well as giving her a prophetic vision of her as the Scarlet Witch.[16][32]

Alternate versionseditOther versions of the Stones are depicted in the alternate realities of the MCU multiverse.

LokieditAn alternate 2012 Loki, who escaped during the Avengers attempt to collect all the Infinity Stones to undo Thanos' actions[29] 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, along with all the other Stones, in which the TVA has captured dozens of each from other timelines.[33][34] The Stones are used as paperweights in the TVA, as such the founder of the TVA and his several Kang the Conqueror variants are more powerful than the Stones.[35]

What If...?editUltron in What If...? stores the Stones in his armor as opposed to using the Infinity Gauntlet.In an alternate version of World War II, Howard Stark uses the confiscated Tesseract as the power source for the Hydra Stomper.[36] In another universe, T'Challa, rather than Peter Quill, finds the Power Stone on Morag.[37] 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.[38]

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.[39] 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.[40]

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.[41]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.[42]

In Kahhori's universe, the Tesseract crashes into a lake in pre-colonial America after surviving Ragnorok and breaks, releasing unmitigated Space Stone energy into the lake's waters. As a result, a portal opens to another dimension called the Sky World, granting the inhabitants of that world incredible powers.[43]After getting transported into a dying universe in the year 1602, Captain Carter, with the help of Tony Stark, discovers a device powered by the Time Stone that had been caused when Steve Rogers, while fighting Thanos during the Battle of Wakanda, accidentally hit the Time Stone with one of his shields. Using Stark's device and the Time Stone, Carter and Rogers are able to set things right, returning Rogers to his own time and ending the temporal anomaly that was tearing apart the world.[44] Among Doctor Strange Supreme's prisoners that are released by Captain Carter is a Thanos with a completed Infinity Gauntlet. However, having been freed by Carter, Killmonger disintegrates Thanos with his own set of Infinity Stones. Kahhori is able to use her Tesseract-granted powers to separate Killmonger from his Infinity Armor and teleport him away, allowing Carter to take the Infinity Stones for herself. Carter is able to wield the Infinity Stones against Strange alongside Hela's crown and the weapons of some of the freed prisoners. By punching Strange with the Infinity Stones, Carter manages to bring him back to his senses temporarily.[45]