The Infinity Stones of the Marvel Cinematic Universe explained

So what are these fancy stones then?

The Infinity Stones! Or more accurately, the Infinity Gems. Introduced way back in the swingin’ seventies, the Infinity Gems/Stones can manipulate and control a facet of existence itself and are massively powerful jewels that when combined in an Infinity Gauntlet, can bestow unlimited omnipotence and omniscience on their bearer.

So what “facets” do the gems control?

The core six Infinity Gems are: Mind, Space, Time, Soul, Reality and Power. Here’s a quick breakdown of their powers:

Mind – The manifestation of the subconscious of the universe, the Mind Gem can grant incredible psionic powers to the user and others.

Space – User gains omnipresence and exists in any and all locations at any time, can also move objects through space and warp space

Time – Complete chronal control over the timestream, access to visions of potential futures, time travel, time loop control that can affect the universe and the ability to alter the age of beings and objects. Also grants the user omniscience.

Soul – Manipulate, alter and steal souls. User can also access a pocket universe to heaven, steal powers and abilities of others and corrupt life. The gem is sentient and usually corrupts the user to feed on souls.

Reality – The user can warp reality at a whim, breaking the laws of science and altering reality to suit their needs. The most powerful gem, it also allows the user to access alternate realities.

Power – Complete access to any and all energy in the universe, granting the user omnipotence. When combined with another Infinity Gem, the effects of those stones can be powered up even further.

So how powerful are they when combined?

Dude, Thanos wielded an Infinity Gauntlet and used it to wipe out half of all life in the universe with a wave of his hand. He was so powerful that even physical embodiments of the universe and Galactus himself feared Thanos.

Dude!

INORITE!?

Do these gauntlets have any weaknesses?

It all comes down to the user, and their ego. The Gauntlet itself requires massive amounts of discipline and willpower to properly wield, something most ordinary beings aren’t capable of as they have been consumed by the power of the gems. The Infinity Gauntlet is also only capable of working in its home dimension, and while it is one of the ultimate powers in our universe it has also been eclipsed by the sheer might of the Beyonders and God-Emperor Doom.

So what’s the Marvel Cinematic Universe connection then?

In the MCU, the gems are known as the Infinity Stones. Originally six singularities that existed before our universe was born, the Big Bang compressed them into their current form. So far, we’ve seen four of them in action:

Space – The blue stone housed in the Tesseract that was seen in Captain America: The First Avenger and Avengers. Capable of generating wormholes in time and space.

Mind – The yellow stone housed in Loki’s sceptre, and capable of mind control. Baron Strucker used the stone to create a pair of superhumans, while Ultron used it to give life to his synthetic creation, Vision.

Reality – Known as the Aether, this red substance was sort by the Dark Elf Malekith as a weapon that was capable of destroying all nine realms.

Power – The key plot point of Guardians of the Galaxy, the purple Power Stone is hunted down by the minions of Thanos and eventually wielded by Ronan the Accuser before he lost control and it was used to destroy him by the Guardians.

Where are the other two Infinity Stones?

You’ll have to pay Marvel and Disney to find out in Avengers: Infinity War. Out in 2018 kids!

Last Updated: September 6, 2016