Infinity Stones (Earth-199999)

The Infinity Stones are a set of six small gems created by a series of singularities at the formation of the universe, each representing an integral facet of existence: the Space Stone, Time Stone, Mind Stone, Soul Stone, Reality Stone, and Power Stone. They each possess an incredible amount of power individually, and when used together make their holder nigh omnipotent, though the amount of energy exerted in their use is extremely dangerous. Thanos is obsessed with assembling all of the Stones in his specially designed Infinity Gauntlet and using their power to wipe out half of all life in the universe.

Timeline

For detailed histories of each stone, see their individual pages.

• —: The stones are formed at the beginning of the universe in the Big Bang.
  • The Soul Stone settles on Vormir through unknown means.
  • An ancient civilization builds a temple on Morag to house the Orb that protects the Power Stone.
  • Asgardian forces led by Bor and dark elves led by Malekith do battle over the Reality Stone. Bor is victorious and conceals the nebulous Stone, known as the Aether, on a far-off, unoccupied world for thousands of years.
  • Worshipers of the Asgardians on Midgard attain the Tesseract containing the Space Stone and store it in a temple in Tønsberg, Norway.
  • The Time Stone arrives on Earth, where it is claimed by the Sorcerer Supreme, who becomes responsible for protecting it within an artifact known as the Eye of Agamotto.
• 1942: Red Skull claims the Tesseract and begins using it to power new Hydra weaponry.
• 1945: Captain America defeats Red Skull. In the process, the Tesseract falls into the ocean and is recovered by Howard Stark. Stark goes on to found S.H.I.E.L.D., who establish Project Pegasus to study the Tesseract's potential.
• 1945: The Tesseract sucks Red Skull into a space portal. He arrives on Vormir, and through mysterious circumstances becomes the guardian of the Soul Stone.
• (Captain Marvel)
• by 2012: Thanos acquires the Mind Stone through unknown means and installs it in the tip of a scepter.
• 2012: Thanos and the Other grant Loki the scepter in order to allow Loki to conquer Earth and deliver the Tesseract to Thanos. Loki manipulates the Tesseract from afar, opening a portal to it and stealing it from S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. He later uses the Tesseract, along with an exceptional power source, to open a portal for the Chitauri to invade in the Battle of New York. The Avengers defeat Loki and stop the Chitauri invasion force.
• 2012: Thor takes Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard and stores the latter in the royal treasure hall.
• 2012: S.H.I.E.L.D., by this time utterly corrupted by Hydra, seizes the scepter following the Battle of New York.
• 2014: Star-Lord takes the Orb from Morag as part of a job for the Ravagers, but decides to try to sell it himself instead. Thanos recruits Ronan the Accuser to bring him the Orb in exchange for his army's assistance in assaulting Xandar, and gives the assistance of his "daughters" Gamora and Nebula. Star-Lord, Gamora, and others form a makeshift team known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. Ronan takes the Orb from them and exposes the Power Stone within, betraying Thanos and seeking to use it to destroy Xandar himself. The Guardians, along with the Ravagers and Nova Corps, defeat Ronan, and the Nova Corps takes control of the Power Stone for safe keeping.
• by 2015: Baron Strucker and Doctor List take the scepter to a secret Hydra base in Sokovia and conduct various human experiments to assess its power. As a result, Pietro Maximoff gains remarkable abilities, and his sister Wanda's latent magical powers are partially uncovered.
• 2015: The Avengers assault Strucker's base and reclaim the scepter. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner examine the Mind Stone and inadvertently create the super-powerful A.I. Ultron. Ultron takes the Mind Stone and attempts to use it and a supply of vibranium to create a more powerful synthezoid form for himself, but the Avengers reclaim the body mid-construction. Stark and Banner go on to complete the synthezoid in the form of Vision, with the Mind Stone embedded in his forehead acting as his consciousness. Vision and the other Avengers destroy Ultron in the Battle of Sokovia.