The Infinity Stones have been a major focus of the Marvel movies over the last decade. But just where are they all prior to Infinity War?
Thanos has been attempting to collect all six of the elusive Infinity Stones since his introduction — though, admittedly, this was mostly via lackeys doing his bidding. With failure upon failure, Thanos decided to take things into his own, uh, gauntlet, and gather the stones himself.
We’re breaking down the location of all the stones prior to Infinity War as a reminder. (This is not a check list for you, Thanos. Back off.)
“Before creation itself, there were six singularities. Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots. Infinity Stones.” — The Collector, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 1.
The Mind Stone
The Mind Stone was the first Infinity Stone we were introduced to, all the way back in Avengers Assemble — though we wouldn’t be privy to that detail until much later, when Age of Ultron hit our screens.
It was originally encased within Loki’s sceptre — which, in turn, was given to Loki by Thanos. In Age of Ultron, the stone was used to give life to Vision. Prior to Infinity War, the Mind Stone remains embedded in Vision’s forehead.
The stone has been shown to control others’ minds — notably, both Clint Barton (Hawkeye) and Erik Selvig fell under its sway — as well as create energy blasts.
The Space Stone
Introduced to audiences as the Tesseract, the Space Stone has been the most prolific of all the Infinity Stones, appearing across Avengers Assemble, The First Avenger, and Ragnarok.
The Space Stone was used by Loki in Avengers Assemble to open a portal for the Chitauri to travel through. In The First Avenger, the Red Skull and Hydra used its power to create weaponry. At the close of Avengers Assemble, Thor took the stone back to Asgard, where it was placed within Odin’s vault.
While Asgard was falling during Ragnarok, Loki found the Tesseract within Odin’s vault, and took it with him as he escaped the destruction of the planet. The Tesseract, and thus the Space Stone, remains with Loki on the Asgardian refugee ship en-route to Earth.
As evidenced throughout the movies, the Space Stone has the ability to create portals across the universe, as well as being a source of incredible power.
The Reality Stone
The Reality Stone, also known as Aether, was a major focus of Thor: The Dark World. It bonded with Jane Foster, and was described by Odin as “an ancient force of infinite destruction.”
Once the Aether was extracted from Jane Foster, Lady Sif delivered it to The Collector, who was tasked with keeping its location a secret. The Reality Stone is still held within The Collector’s museum.
As for its power, all that has been confirmed thus far is that it has the ability to turn matter into dark matter. But, as its name suggests, the Reality Stone could also have reality-warping powers.
The Power Stone
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 1 was centered around the Power Stone, with several interested parties vying to possess it. Ronan the Accuser wanted the Orb, which contained the stone, for its ability to destroy planets.
The Guardians, ultimately, thwarted Ronan’s plans, and the stone ended up in the vaults of Xandar, home to the Nova Corp.
As previously mentioned, the Power Stone has the ability to destroy entire planets, with just a touch to its surface. The wielder also gains enhanced strength, though it can — and nearly does, in Star Lord’s case — consume the user.
The Time Stone
Encased within the Eye of Agamotto, the Time Stone was used by Doctor Strange during his titular movie to manipulate time, and ultimately defeat Dormammu. The pendant, which houses the stone, was created by the first Sorcerer Supreme.
The Eye of Agamotto is still in the possession of Doctor Strange, and will likely be one of two reasons for Thanos coming to Earth — the other being Vision’s Mind Stone.
With the ability to reverse or accelerate time, the Time Stone will undoubtedly play a significant part in Infinity War and beyond — particularly if things don’t go the Avengers’ way.
The Soul Stone
The location of the Soul Stone is currently unknown, as is its unique abilities. There are, of course, several theories, most notable of which being that it provided the Heart-Shaped Herb of Black Panther with it unique powers, as well as being what allowed T’Challa to communicate with his ancestors.
Avengers: Infinity War Prelude, the tie-in comic to Infinity War, suggested that the Soul Stone could, in fact, be the biggest threat of them all. Taking its name as a clue, it could hold the power to both wipe and return beings to existence — which would certainly accelerate Thanos’ plan to wipe out half of the population of the universe.
It, however, remains to be seen both where the Soul Stone is, and what it can do.
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