Of all the powerful items in the Marvel Universe, the most dangerous has always been theInfinity Stones. While they are now iconic for being gathered byThanosto end all life in the universe, the stones are well known in the Marvel Universe, their actual history isn’t as well known among comic readers.
The stones have been around for a long time in Marvel history, and have enjoyed quite a journey in that time.Originally called the Infinity Gems or the Soul Gems, Marvel would gradually change their name, their powers, and their purpose, even adding more Stones to the original six. So fans can be forgiven for missing out on their full story. We’re here toexplain the biggest events that defined the history and legacy of the Infinity Stones.
10Thanos Was First To Gather The Infinity Stones
Avengers Annual#7 by Jim Starlin, Josef Rubinstein, Petra Golderb, and Tom Orzechowski
The first time anyone gathered the Infinity Stonestogether was way back inAvengers Annual#7, and it was, unsurprisingly, Thanos who did the deed. This was yet another attempt by Thanos to bring about the end of all life in the universe. But his attempt to do so was a bit crude: instead of using unyielding power to kill everyone in the universe, Thanos simply tried to focus the gems (through a weapon) to destroy all the stars in the universe. He then figured that without light or heat, people would eventually die naturally.
It was a fine, if convoluted, plan. But thankfully, Thanos was defeated. This would be the very first time that the Infinity Stones are used for evil purposes, but it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Thanos would soon learn the Stones' true purpose and return even stronger.
Thanos Leads the Avengers, Transforming the Infinity Stones' Lore Forever
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9Thanos Collected The Stones Into His Infinity Gauntlet
Infinity Gauntlet#1 by Jim Starlin, George Perez, Josef Rubinstein, Tom Christopher, Max Scheele, Ian Laughlin, and Jack Morelli
Arguably the greatest achievement in his life, Thanos would next assemble and combine the Infinity Stones into his glove, aiming to end half the life in the universe, and telling one of the most famous comic book stories of all time. After Thanos was killed and resurrected by Death, he realized the true purpose and nature of the Infinity Stones. With the new goal of wanting to impress Death, he gathered the Infinity Stones once more.
This moment would become nearly synonymous with Thanos and most interpretations of the character call back to thisInfinity Gauntletstoryline, with the most recent being twoAvengersmovies in the MCU. But surprisingly, Thanos wouldn’t be the most dangerous person to acquire the gems.
8Adam Warlock & The Living Tribunal Assemble Infinity Watch
Warlock and the Infinity Watch#1 by Jim Starlin, Angel Medina, Terry Austin, Ian Laughlin, and Jack Morelli
After the disaster of Thanos trying to end the universe with the Infinity Stones (twice) Adam Warlock was summoned by the Living Tribunal and told that the Infinity Gauntlet was simply too powerful to be used. Adam Warlock then surrendered the Infinity Gauntlet and formed the Infinity Watch, a group dedicated to keeping an eye on the Infinity Stones.
Unfortunately, this didn’t work out perfectly, as Adam Warlock’s evil persona, Magus, took over and manipulated Galactus into reactivating the Infinity Gauntlet. This almost led to another universal disaster before Adam was able to defeat his evil persona. This battle left Adam in a comatose state, and opened the door for Rune to try and steal the gems next.
7Galactus Was The Next User of The Infinity Stones
Thanos#4 by Jim Starlin, Al Milgrom, Christie Scheele, Heroic Age, and Dave Sharpe
A handful of characters would try to gather the Stones, like the vampire Rune and Adam Warlock’s evil alter ego Magus. DuringInfinity War, Magus tricked Galactus into reactivating the Infinity Gauntlet. This event would cause Galactus to turn his attention to the Infinity Stones, as he tried to figure out a way to use them to end his permanent hunger.
Galactus tried to use the Infinity Stones, but he accidentally unleashed a monster known as Hunger, a universal-scale parasite that feeds on universes. Hunger had been manipulating Galactus all along and very nearly destroyed the 616 Universe, but Thanos managed to intervene and prevent Hunger from entering the Universe.
6Marvel Reveals The Existence Of The Secret Ego Stone
Silver Surfer#45 by Jim Starlin, Ron Lim, Tom Christopher, Ken Bruzenak, and Tom Vincent
While everyone thought there were only six Infinity Stones, there was actually a hidden seventh stone, which Thanos would learn from the demon Mephisto. He also learned the origin of the Stones, beginning as the first being in the universe, named Nemesis. Trying to create something else to live with, Nemesis created demons, but since Nemesis had no concept of good or evil, neither did the demons, who chose evil.
Disappointed in her creations, Nemesis split her own being into the Infinity Stones, with the seventh stone lost to the Ultraverseknown as the Ego Stone, which contained Nemesis’s own consciousness. The Avengers eventually destroy the Ego Stone, and Thanos never got to make use of this hidden gem.
5Captain America Used The Stones To Move A Universe
New Avengers #3by Jonathan Hickman, Steve Epting, Frank D’Armata, and Joe Caramagna
When the Multiverse began to collapse, incursions began to occur when two universes began to physically collide with one another )either destroying both universes or having one universe replace the other). When the 616 universe was in danger of one of these incursions, unwilling to destroy the other universe, Captain America took the Infinity Gauntlet and the Infinity Stones.
He was able to use them then to physically push the approaching universe back. This was nearly an ideal solution, as it saved both universes, at least temporarily. Unfortunately, it had the major drawback of completely obliterating most of the Infinity Stones, with every stone except the Time Stone shattering. This was the first time in the Marvel Universe that the stones would be physically destroyed. But they wouldn’t stay gone forever.
Captain America Destroyed The Infinity Stones in Comics (And Forgot It)
In this New Avengers story, Captain America gathered all the Infinity Stones - and then completely forgot that he actually destroyed them. Oh well?
4Thanos Returns To Gather The Stones Once Again
Infinity Wars Prime#1 by Gerry Duggan, Mike Deodato Jr, Frank Martin Jr, and Cory Petit
Infinity Warswas a major event in 2018, made to coincide with the release of theAvengersmovie of the same name. The most shocking twist of the event arrives in the very first issue, whereThanos is immediately killed off. Gamora manages to steal the Infinity Stones from the rest of the Avengers and seals them away inside Warp-World, a bizarre pocket dimension inside the Soul Gem.
Unbeknownst to Gamora though, was the fact that Warp-World also contained its own versions of the Infinity Stones, and Loki was able to assemble them and escape Warp-World with them. This would lead to a conflict between the two, which Loki ultimately wins.
3Marvel Reveals The Origin Of The Infinity Stones
Infinity Wars #5by Gerry Duggan, Mike Deodato Jr, Frank Martin Jr, and Cory Petit
After the Infinity stones were recreated from their prior origin as the Infinity Gems, they needed a new explanation. After all, if the Infinity Gems came about because Nemesis split herself into several different aspects, what are these new Infinity Stones, and where did they come from? Marvel had the answer as they revealed these new stones were placed by the Celestials. There are two groups of Celestials: those who create, and those who destroy. But the ones who destroy can not do so directly, they can only supply the means to do so.
This results in the Celestials “tossing stones” into the universes with the hope that certain beings, like Thanos, will eventually discover said stones and use them to destroy the universe. It’s a remarkably dark explanation, but it also perfectly shows why the Infinity Stones are so often used to obliterate instead of create because, at the end of the day, they’re being used exactly as they were created for.
One of the biggest changes to Infinity Stones lore was the fact that they were granted sentience by Adam Warlock. They were no longer just objects of pure destruction that could be used by anyone, but would actively choose their own hosts. This meant there wouldn’t be any point in fighting brutal wars over gathering and using them anymore, as they had to actively choose to bond with someone. It was a brilliant choice that permanently ended the threat of the Infinity Stones.
After they were granted sentience, they left Earth and searched for people to bond with. The Time Stone went to Hector Bautista, the Reality Stone merged with Riley Ryan, the Power Stone ended up with Otherone, the Space Stone merged with Quantum, and the Soul Stone was bonded to the synthetic man known as Multitude.
1Marvel Introduced a Final Shocking Stone
Thanos#4 by Christopher Cantwell, Luca Pizzari, German Peralta, Ruth Redmond, and Cory Petit
The Death Stoneis the latest and most dangerous of the Infinity Stones. This stone was created after Thanos was once again rejected by Death, and he managed to subdue and trap her inside an Infinity Stone in response. While Thanos was able to trap Death and create the Death Stone, he was unable to wield it. Which is great news for every living being in the universe.
The Death Stone would, presumably, allow the user control over life and death. The stone hasn’t really been seen in action so far though, with the only major thing of note that it did was reviving the dead Phil Coulsin after it landed in a cemetery. While the full power of the Death Stone has yet to be shown off, readers can be sure that it will likely pop up again. WhileThanoshasn’t managed to unlock it’s power just yet, he definitely created it for a reason.
