Soul Stone

> To ensure that whoever possesses it understands its power, the stone demands a sacrifice."
> "Of what?"
> "In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. A soul... for a soul.
>
> Red Skull and Thanos, Avengers: Infinity War

The **Soul Stone** was one of the six Infinity Stones, the remnant of a singularity that predated the universe, representing the element of soul. Kept on Vormir and under the protection of Red Skull since 1945, the Soul Stone was acquired by Thanos in 2018 after he sacrificed Gamora.

In 2023, the Avengers initiated a Time Heist in order to resurrect the victims of the Snap, with Hawkeye and Black Widow sent back in time to an alternate 2014 to retrieve the Soul Stone from Vormir, where Romanoff sacrificed her life. Following the Battle of Earth, where Iron Man used all six stones to kill Thanos and his army at the cost of his own life, Captain America returned the Soul Stone to the alternate 2014.

## History

### Creation

> From the dawn of the universe, there was nothing. Then... boom. The Big Bang sent six elemental crystals, hurtling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence.
>
> Wong, Avengers: Infinity War

The Soul Stone is a remnant of one of the six singularities which existed before the universe's creation. After the universe came to be, the Big Bang forged the remnants of these singularities into six elemental crystals, dubbed the Infinity Stones, and hurtled them across the universe. The Soul Stone represented the soul. It would later go on to cultivate a reputation of mystery throughout the galaxy. Even those who were well versed in the powers, and even locations, of the other five Stones, had little concrete knowledge regarding the Soul Stone to the point of only knowing its name. Despite, or perhaps because of, this aura of mystery, it would eventually be considered as the most dangerous of all the Infinity Stones. Even the Asgardians knew little of the stone, with Thor stating no one had ever seen it or knew where it was.

### Guarded by Red Skull

> A lifetime ago, I, too, sought the stones. I even held one in my hand. But it cast me out, banished me here. Guiding others to a treasure I cannot possess.
>
> Red Skull to Thanos, Avengers: Infinity War

The Soul Stone eventually found its way to Vormir where it became concealed in a shrine, accessible only to those who were willing to sacrifice someone that they loved. In 1945, the Space Stone banished Red Skull to the planet after he had abused its power, due to knowing that the HYDRA commander would be unable to make the sacrifice required to obtain the Soul Stone. The Soul Stone then cursed Red Skull, transforming him into an immortal wraith with the power to immediately know whoever comes to Vormir and preventing him from leaving the planet. He eventually would go on to accept this fate, become a Stonekeeper and serve as an adviser to those who would seek the Soul Stone's power.

### Infinity War

#### Acquired by Thanos

> Where is the Soul Stone?"
> "You should know, it extracts a terrible price."
> "I am prepared.
>
> Thanos and Red Skull, Avengers: Infinity War

In 2018, Thanos had captured Nebula and accessed her memory drive, discovering that Gamora knew the location of the Soul Stone. Forcing her to divulge the Soul Stone's location by torturing Nebula, the pair traveled to Vormir. There, they were approached by Red Skull who explained that Thanos had to sacrifice someone he loved in order to gain the Stone. Thanos then tearfully threw Gamora off of the cliff, her sacrificial death allowing him to obtain the Stone.

Having successfully claimed the Soul Stone, Thanos returned to his desolate homeworld of Titan, where he was confronted by an alliance of Doctor Strange, the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Upon breaking free from being restrained, Thanos used the Soul Stone to remove the souls from the Guardians. When Doctor Strange cast a spell creating dozens of copies of himself in order to restrain him, Thanos used both the Soul Stone and the Power Stone to track down the real Strange and destroy the copies.

Thanos then headed to Wakanda, where he retrieved the Mind Stone from Vision. Although he was stabbed by a vengeful Thor, Thanos retained enough strength to complete his quest, activating the Infinity Gauntlet with all the Infinity Stones, including the Soul Stone, to wipe out half of all life in the universe. This act briefly sent his consciousness into the Soulworld, where he communed with a reflection of Gamora in her child form, telling her that he had achieved his goal but solemnly admitting that fulfilling his destiny had cost him everything.

### Destruction

Three weeks later, Thanos destroyed all the Infinity Stones, including the Soul Stone by using the stones' powers on itself, in order to eliminate any possibility of undoing the Snap.

### Alternate Universe Versions

#### Sacrifice of Natasha Romanoff

> In order to take the stone, you must lose that which you love. An everlasting exchange. A soul, for a soul.
>
> Red Skull to Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton, Avengers: Endgame

In 2023, the Avengers initiated a Time Heist, where they used time travel to travel through the Multiverse to alternate past timelines to acquire all six Infinity Stones in order to resurrect the victims of Thanos' Snap. Arriving in an alternate 2014, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Nebula and War Machine used the *Benatar* to travel to Morag and Vormir. While on Vormir, Romanoff and Barton met Red Skull, who informed them that one would have to sacrifice the life of a loved one in order to obtain the Soul Stone. Despite Barton's attempts to sacrifice his own life, he was bested by Romanoff, who fell off the cliff, thereby allowing Barton to acquire the stone. While mourning Romanoff's death, Barton used the Quantum Realm to return to his timeline.

After successfully transporting the past versions of the stones to their timeline, the Soul Stone was placed in the Nano Gauntlet. Using the gauntlet, Bruce Banner harnessed the power of the six stones to resurrect the victims of the Snap, albeit losing the ability to use his right arm.

In the culmination of the Battle of Earth, the six stones were used by Tony Stark to kill an alternate Thanos and his army. Following Stark's funeral, Steve Rogers was sent back in time by Banner in order to put back the Infinity Stones to whence they were taken and journeyed to the alternate 2014 to return the Soul Stone.

#### Seized by the TVA

While capturing Variants and pruning timelines, the Time Variance Authority seized Infinity Stones from alternate timelines, including a Soul Stone. It would be kept inside a drawer inside the Time Variance Authority Office to be used along with the various other stones as paperweights, as the office nullified their powers while they were in it.

#### Zombie Outbreak

In 2018, Thanos began amassing the Infinity Stones within the Infinity Gauntlet, including the Soul Stone. When he arrived in Wakanda to claim the Mind Stone, he was overwhelmed by zombies and infected with the Quantum Virus, turning into a zombie himself. Remaining in the Golden City, Thanos awaited the arrival of the Mind Stone to complete his gauntlet.

#### Age of Ultron

> You stole my Soul Stone?!
>
> Ultron, What If... The Watcher Broke His Oath?

Thanos acquired the Soul Stone, in addition to four of the other Infinity Stones. He then teleported to a post-apocalyptic Earth and confronted Ultron, who wielded the Mind Stone, the last one Thanos required. Before Thanos could do anything, Ultron used the Mind Stone to bisect Thanos, killing him, and took all the stones from him. With his new powers, Ultron created a sentient robot army and destroyed every planet with life.

Once this was done, Ultron became aware of The Watcher and the multiverse, and set his sights on eliminating all life across all reality. He started by infiltrating the Nexus of All Realities, where he fought the Watcher across multiple universes and eventually overpowered him, though he was able to escape before Ultron killed him. Ultron returned to the Nexus and began invading realities, including Thor's.

Eventually, Ultron was alerted to life in a world he had previously thought was void of it. Traveling there, he fought against the Guardians of the Multiverse, who had ben assembled by the Watcher. During the fight, Star-Lord stole the Soul Stone, and by the time Ultron realized this, the Guardians had escaped to a different universe. Ultron found them in his home dimension, where he fought the Guardians again in order to retrieve his Soul Stone.

However, Gamora was able to get the Stone and used it to power the Infinity Crusher, which she unleashed on Ultron as the other heroes subdued him. The Crusher tried to destroy Ultron's stones, though it could not destroy them, as the Crusher was designed for the stones from Gamora's world; since each universe's stones were different, Ultron's could not be destroyed as he then reclaimed the Soul Stone.

After another fight, Black Widow infected Ultron with Arnim Zola's consciousness. After his body fell to the ground, Killmonger attempted to take the stones and fought against Zola when he tried to take them back. Evenly matched, Doctor Strange put Zola, Killmonger, and the Infinity Stones in a pocket dimension which he promised to watch over.

#### Illuminati Assembled

In 2018, Thanos began his crusade to collect the Infinity Stones, managing to procure the Soul Stone, Reality Stone, Space Stone and Power Stone. However, he would be confronted by the Illuminati on Titan, and in the aftermath of the Battle of Titan, Thanos was killed through the use of the Book of Vishanti, ending his campaign.

## Capabilities

> Soul holds a special place among the Infinity Stones. You might say it has a certain wisdom.
>
> Red Skull to Thanos, Avengers: Infinity War

The Soul Stone ranks as possibly the most dangerous of all the Infinity Stones, with it holding a special standing among the others. Uniquely, in its shrine on Vormir, the Stone purposefully imposed a test to those who would try to claim it - only the sacrifice of a loved one to the Stone would allow for someone to wield it. The sacrifices for the Stone are permanent and irreversible, as not even the nigh-omnipotent combination of the Six Stones could resurrect them. The Soul Stone has the ability to manipulate the soul, the essence that makes up an individual, and has the ability to resurrect and conjure the spiritual representation of the people who are dead. Additionally, the Soul Stone can give sentience to inanimate objects; the Infinity Crusher was dormant until empowered by the Stone, at which point it sought out the other Stones.

Upon Thanos acquiring it, the Titan uses it the least out of all the Stones but still displays familiarity with the Soul Stone's powers. During the Battle of Titan, when cornered by Doctor Strange's mirror images, Thanos activated the Soul Stone and combined it with the Power Stone to locate Strange's soul, destroying all the false images in the process and revealing the real one while also briefly forcing Strange's astral form out of his body.

After the Infinity Gauntlet was completed, the Soul Stone was used in tandem with the five other Infinity Stones to wipe out half of all life in the universe with Thanos' Snap.

## Trivia

* In the comics, the orange-colored (previously green) **Soul Gem** gives the owner the power to alter and manipulate all souls. It also acts as a gateway to its own pocket dimension. When used in conjunction with the other gems, it gives the user complete control over all life in the universe.
* The Soul Stone contains a pocket dimension, consisting entirely of shallow water underneath a dim orange sky, where the souls of the dead can be communicated with. Apparently, the subconscious of the stone's wielder determines the Soulworld's environment once it is entered, as in Thanos’ usage, a younger version of Gamora standing underneath an archway appeared, whereas in Iron Man's, there appeared a small tree and a tent, along with an older version of Morgan Stark, although this particular scene was cut out of the final copy of the movie.
* The Soul Stone is the only known Infinity Stone that seemingly can be wielded by anyone, as Hawkeye despite being a normal human was able to hold the Soul Stone. It's possible that due to its unique nature, it doesn't recognize its user as being worthy based on their power but more on their understanding of the power the Soul Stone holds, meaning that as long as they have sacrificed someone they loved for the stone and thus fulfilled the requirements, they can use the Soul Stone.

## References

1. ↑ *Avengers: Infinity War Prelude*
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 *Avengers: Infinity War*
3. ↑ List of Deleted Scenes
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 *Avengers: Endgame*
5. ↑ *Loki: 1.01: Glorious Purpose*
6. ↑ *What If...? 1.05: What If... Zombies!?*
7. ↑ *What If...? 1.08: What If... Ultron Won?*
8. ↑ *What If...? 1.07: What If... Thor Were an Only Child?*
9. ↑ *What If...? 1.09: What If... The Watcher Broke His Oath?*
10. ↑ *Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness*
11. ↑ Avengers 4: Russo Brothers reveal Soul Stone's POWER – the key to reversing the Snap?