Infinity Stones (Earth 1)

The **Infinity Stones** are powerful artifacts that originated from a primordial universe, found below the Quarry of Creation and inhabited by Celestials. That universe contains countless Infinity Stones, which get sent to other universes by the Celestials.

The first of the Infinity Gems to appear in the Prime Universe was the Soul Gem, which was given to Adam Warlock by the High Evolutionary.

Thanos was the first to use the six Soul Gems in unison. He intended to destroy the universe by using the Soul gems to destroy the stars. He was stopped by the Avengers, Adam Warlock and Captain Marvel.

The Elders of the Universe were the second entities to use the gems in unison. Connecting the six Soul Gems to a device, they were able to use its beams to absorb the life energy of Galactus and transfer it to a barren planet, giving it life. However, the Silver Surfer interfered and destroyed the machine, and the gems were lost in a black hole. Galactus also punished some of the Elders by consuming them.

Because the Elders of the Universe were barred from entering Death's realm due to prior machinations of the Grandmaster, Galactus soon found himself being poisoned from within by the Elders he consumed. To save Galactus, who asserted that only one of the gems had the power to absorb the immortal Elders' souls inside his body, Silver Surfer, Mr. Fantastic, and the Invisible Woman journeyed through the black hole to recover the gems, where Invisible Woman became possessed by the sentient Soul Gem and had her evil Malice persona awakened. She was later subdued, but the whole scheme turned out to be work of the In-Betweener so he could use the gems to destroy Galactus.

Reed, Sue, and the Silver Surfer were able to get into contact with Master Order and Lord Chaos, and the two entities agreed to aid them in stopping the In-Betweener. They then used their powers to free the Elders of the Universe who were trapped inside Galactus and restore him to full strength. Master Order and Lord Chaos then dealt with the In-Betweener before he caused any more trouble and entrusted five of the Soul Gems to the Elders of the Universe, while the In-Betweener was imprisoned by his masters and retained his Gem.

## History

### Infinity Gauntlet

After being resurrected, Thanos gazed into the Infinity Well and realized the Gems' true nature, so he set out to acquire all of the Soul Gems again (now named Infinity Gems). There it was revealed that the Infinity Gems are the remnants of one of the earliest beings from the time of the universe's creation. Feeling lonely, it split itself into six different fragments. Under unknown reasons, each individual gem became associated with a particular facet: power, space, time, mind, soul and reality.

 File:Infinity Gems (Item) (Earth 1) from Infinity Gauntlet Vol 1 1 0001.jpg
The Infinity Gems were kept by the In-Betweener and by members of the Elders of the Universe who, on the contrary, were not aware of the true essence of their Gems. The mad Titan Thanos then gathered these gems into the Infinity Gauntlet. He took the Soul Gem from the In-Betweener, the Power Gem from the Champion, the Time Gem from the Gardener, the Reality Gem from the Collector, the Space Gem from the Runner, and the Mind Gem from the Grandmaster.

Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet to remove from existence half of the population of the universe in order to gain Death's love. In the end, Thanos was defeated when Adam Warlock was able to gain possession of the Infinity Gauntlet.

### Infinity War

Adam Warlock was brought before the Living Tribunal because of the danger posed by the Infinity Gauntlet in his hand. After being shown that Adam Warlock was too mentally unpredictable, he was required to surrender it. Since it was too dangerous for it to be possessed by anyone, the Living Tribunal decreed that the Infinity Gems were too powerful to be used together again. Warlock then formed the Infinity Watch.

During the Infinity War, Magus, Adam Warlock's evil persona, tricked Galactus into convincing Eternity to agree to the activation of the Infinity Gauntlet so he could conquer the universe. Magus defeated the heroes using the activated Infinity Gauntlet. Still, Adam was able to defeat the Magus when it was revealed that the Reality Gem was a fake and Adam, taking advantage of this distraction, was able to trap the Magus in his Soul Gem, though the act left Warlock in a comatose state.

### Ultraverse

 File:Nemesis (Cosmic Being) (First Cosmos) from UltraForce Avengers Vol 1 1 002.jpg
The Gems were later stolen by the vampire Rune from the Ultraverse and dispersed throughout the Ultraverse. Several heroes and villains were also pulled into the Ultraverse, including Adam Warlock. In that universe, another gem, the Ego Gem, was found. It claimed that it was the main consciousness of the Infinity Gems, the original being and was now ready to reclaim itself. The gems gestated as Nemesis, but were defeated by the Avengers and UltraForce (alongside several alternate reality versions of the same teams). With its defeat, the Ego Gem was seemingly destroyed.

The gems were found to be back in the universe by Galactus who planned on using them to end his unending hunger. He is seen taking the gems off a vampire's skeleton (presumably Rune) that he retrieves through an inter-dimensional portal. Galactus' plan fails, and instead allows a deadly inter-dimensional parasite, named Hunger, access into the Earth 1 universe who was mentally influencing Galactus' actions all along. Thanos intervened and destroyed the gateway. After Hunger is defeated, the gems are scattered throughout the universe except for the Soul Gem, which Thanos retrieved for Warlock to get back.

### Illuminati

Champion would find the Power Stone and use it to give him an advantage over challengers he fought in his arena but agreed to stop using it when She-Hulk told him its a weapon, which weren't allowed during his challenges. The Power Gem later fell into the hands of Titania, before being taken by She-Hulk.

She-Hulk turned the Power Gem over to Mister Fantastic for safekeeping, which prompted Reed to seek help from his fellow Illuminati to gather the remaining gems with the objective to ensure they wouldn't cause any more trouble for the Earth. Once the gems were all brought together in the Infinity Gauntlet, Reed tried to will them out of existence, but failed. Uatu the Watcher then appeared to the Illuminati and expressed his disappointment in Reed and the Illuminati. The Illuminati then divided the gems amongst themselves. Iron Man received the Reality, Prof. Xavier the Mind, Namor the Time, Black Bolt the Space, Dr. Strange the Soul and Reed Richards the Power gems. Due to the events following the gathering of the Gems, the Illuminati disbanded for a time.

After The Hood stole three of the Gems, and while looking for the fourth one, the Illuminati gathered once more and, with the Avengers' help, stopped him. After recovering once more the six Infinity Gems, they again divided the Gems among themselves (this time, Namor received the Power; Mister Fantastic, the Reality; Professor Xavier, the Mind; Captain America, the Time; Iron Man, the Space; and Dr. Strange, the Soul gems) and disbanded once more.

 File:Infinity Gems from New Avengers Vol 3 3.jpg
The group assembled after the Black Panther discovered that the Earth was affected by the incursions, a multiversal phenomena that caused the periodical collision between realities. In an attempt to stop the the latest incursion, the Illuminati assembled the Infinity Gauntlet. Even though Captain America managed to prevent the incursion, all the gems shattered, with the exception of the Time Gem, which simply vanished.

The Time Gem unexpectedly returned sometime later and transported the Avengers through time. During each time jump, the Gem returned more of the heroes back to the present until only Captain America remained, who was rescued by Iron Lad. Following a confrontation against Iron Lad and his future counterparts, Kang the Conqueror and Immortus, Captain America retrieved the Time Gem and used it to return to the present, though it vanished again afterwards.

### Infinity Countdown

 File:Infinity Stones from Infinity Countdown Prime Vol 1 1 001.jpg
Following the destruction of the entire Multiverse and its eventual restoration, the destroyed Infinity Gems were recreated and scattered across the universe. The Collector and the Grandmaster allied themselves with the Guardians of the Galaxy to find the stones, as they believed they held the key to learn more about the destruction and restoration of the universe. This was because from the point of view of its inhabitants, this process occurred in a blink and went mostly unnoticed, and only powerful beings such as the Elders could sense traces of the mysterious re-ordering the cosmos had suffered.

The Reality Stone (until then colored purple) emerged in Weirdworld, a sequestered dimension where it was known as the Wuxian Seed. After being shattered in a dispute for its possession, the Reality Stone took the form of a dragon-shaped aether and fled from Weirdworld. It re-emerged (now colored red) in a universe that was a dark mirror of Earth 1, where it was later found and claimed by Captain Marvel.

The Space (now colored blue) and the Mind Stone (now colored yellow) resurfaced on Earth. The former appeared mysteriously in a S.H.I.E.L.D. storage facility, with a failed attempt from Loki's part to retrieve it resulting in the gem ending up in the hands of Logan. The latter ended up in possession of petty crook Turk Barrett, who started using it to serve his own needs.

The remaining three stones appeared scattered throughout the universe. The Power Stone (now colored purple) manifested in a giant-size in the desert planet of Xitaung, where it was found by the Nova Corps. The Time Stone (now colored green) restored the ruined planet of Sakaar, where it was later found by the Super-Skrull, who planned to use the Infinity Stones to remedy the humiliation the Skrull Empire had suffered over the years. Finally, the Soul Stone (now colored orange) was located by the Magus after he forced the Comtemplator to show him where it was. Magus didn't get to enjoy his success for long as Ultron / Hank Pym ambushed and killed him so he could claim the gem for himself, since he intended to assemble the Infinity Gauntlet and rewrite the universe.

The Infinity Stones quickly changed of owners. Logan left the Space Stone under the care of Black Widow; the Power Stone was reduced to a handheld-size and claimed by Star-Lord; the Time Stone was stolen from the Super-Skrull by Doctor Strange; and finally, the Soul Gem was retrieved from Ultron's hands by Warlock with Kang's help. Kang had enlisted Warlock to stop the imminent calamity caused by whomever gathered the Infinity Stones in the future.

### Infinity Wars

 File:Gamora Zen Whoberi Ben Titan (Earth 7528) from Infinity Wars Vol 1 3 002.jpg
After learning that the other Infinity Stones were on the move, Doctor Strange convened a meeting between its wielders to assemble a new Infinity Watch. The parley which took place on Earth was interrupted by Gamora, who had stolen the Power Stone from Star-Lord and used it to wage war against the other stone wielders. Gamora planned to claim all the Infinity Stones as part of a plan to reunite with a fragment of herself trapped inside the Soul Gem. In the end, Gamora emerged victorious and got hold of all the stones.

To prevent opposition from her quest and to feed the being Devondra, who was responsible for the Soul Gem's hungering for souls, Gamora used the Infinity Stones to fold the universe in half and merge the two halves together before sending the new universe into a pocket dimension called Warp World inside the Soul Gem. Gamora planned to create a reality once Devondra devoured all the souls inside the Soul Gem. She also sealed Loki into the Soul Gem when he asked to be her counsel. Gamora then traveled to the God Quarry to investigate what laid beneath it as she couldn't see past it.

Gamora was unable to breach the barrier at the bottom of the God Quarry, and she was eventually confronted by Loki and his newly assembled Cosmic Avengers. Gamora had unintentionally created copies of the Infinity Stones when she brought Warp World into existence, and the Cosmic Avengers used them to escape the Soul Gem. Loki's team subdued Gamora and took the Power, Reality and Space Stones from her. Loki in turn took these stones for himself in addition to the copies of the Soul, Time and Mind Stones, thus assembling a complete set of Infinity Stones. He used the stones to send Gamora to Warp World before transporting himself to the unknown realm that existed beneath the Quarry of Creation, where he found the group of Celestials that guarded the deposit of Infinity Stones.

 File:Adam Warlock (Earth 1) from Infinity Wars Infinity Vol 1 1 001.jpg
Loki returned from beneath the Quarry of Creation, and used his Infinity Stones to render the surplus gems inert. He handed over his set to the Cosmic Avengers so they could repair the universe. After returning to Soul World and defeating Devondra, the Cosmic Avengers joined forces with Adam Warlock to restore the universe while keeping Warp World intact within the Soul Gem. Adam Warlock then used the Soul Gem to flee Soul World with the Cosmic Avengers and his allies while Drax the Destroyer sacrificed himself to keep the portal leading to the real universe open. After sending Gamora someplace to set her on a path of redemption, Adam Warlock decided to give the Infinity Stones sentience and let them decide their destinies in order to stop the conflicts over their power.

All Infinity Stones left the Earth, save for the Time Stone, which merged with Hector Bautista, and the Reality Stone, which merged with Ripley Ryan. It is later revealed that the Power Stone was swallowed by Otherone therefore merging with it, the Space Stone merged with a man called Quantum and the Soul Stone bounded to a synthetic person called Multitude.

## Properties

 File:Nebula (Earth 1) and Cosmic Beings from Infinity Gauntlet Vol 1 6 001.jpg
On their own, the Infinity Stones provide great power. They form a circuit, meaning that mastery over the aspect of each Infinity Stone allows for better exploit of another. Assembled together, they create a positive feedback loop, granting the user infinite power, although they only work in their native universe. The gems are also sentient. In unison, the Gems exceed cosmic beings like Eternity in power. In fact, the Gems allowed Thanos, Nebula, and Adam Warlock to defeat almost all of the universe's major cosmic entities at the same time with ease. The only beings that have overcame the Gems together are the Living Tribunal and God Emperor Doom via the power of the Beyonders.

* **Power Stone:** Powered by the user's mastery of mind. Increases strength and durability, enhances virtually any known superhuman ability, energy manipulation. It also supplies the other gems with their power/energies.
* **Space Stone:** Powered by the user's mastery of power. Allows travel through space, mostly through teleportation. Able to interfere with the motion of other objects.
* **Time Stone:** Powered by the user's mastery of space. Allows for time travel; stop, slow down or speed up flow of time; accelerate or slow down ageing; see into the past and future; and bend time to the user’s will.
* **Reality Stone:** Powered by the user's mastery of time. Alters all of reality; similar to the effects of a Cosmic Cube, but much, much higher.
* **Soul Stone:** Powered by the user's mastery of reality. Observe, attack or even steal a being's soul or spirit. Also used to revert individuals to their natural state.
* **Mind Stone:** Powered by the user's mastery of soul. Near-limitless psionic/psychic abilities including empathy, telepathy, and telekinesis.

The Gems give their user virtual omnipotence, as well as omniscience and cosmic awareness. The user gains the power and status of a cosmic being above likes of Death and Eternity, but below that of the Living Tribunal. Thanos with the Gauntlet was able to usurp Eternity's role in the universe.

## Gem Protectors

Originally, the Infinity Gems were protected by what would be known as the Infinity Watch after Adam Warlock won the Infinity Gauntlet and was put on trial by the Living Tribunal, being found too mentally unstable to handle the power. The Infinity Watch remained until the gems disappeared. Each member was selected by Warlock based on their unwillingness to use the Gem's capabilities or inability to either access any of it's power or full potential.

* **Power Gem:** Drax the Destroyer; chosen due to being unable to fully tap into its power.
* **Space Gem:** Pip the Troll; chosen due to only exploiting the Gem's basic powers of teleportation.
* **Soul Gem:** Adam Warlock
* **Reality Gem:** Thanos; chosen due to being intelligent enough to not misuse the Reality Gem's power.
* **Time Gem:** Gamora and later Maxam. While Gamora was chosen due to her skills, she was later replaced by Maxam after leaving the Infinity Watch.
* **Mind Gem:** Moondragon. Chosen because her previous failures in life and lack of self-confidence would disallow her from exploiting its full potential. However, safeguards were made to ensure she couldn't abuse its powers. One of them included not being able to read the mind of those within the Watch.

The gems were later protected by the Illuminati, and each member was given a gem to hide from anybody else. After the criminal The Hood tried to assemble the Infinity Gauntlet, the Illuminati retrieved the Gems, but switched protectors. The use of the Infinity Gauntlet to prevent the collision of Earth 1 with another Earth caused all the gems but the Time Gem, which just vanished, to be accidentally destroyed. The Time Gem later reappeared and took the Avengers on a journey through time before disappearing after Captain America used it to return to the present.

* **Power Gem:** Namor, and Mister Fantastic before him.
* **Space Gem:** Iron Man, and Black Bolt before him.
* **Soul Gem:** Doctor Strange
* **Reality Gem:** Mister Fantastic, and Iron Man before him.
* **Time Gem:** Captain America, and Namor before him.
* **Mind Gem:** Beast, and Professor X before him.

Following the creation of the Eighth Cosmos, the Infinity Stones were scattered across the universe, passing through many hands before finding a group of owners that became the new short-lived Infinity Watch, from whom Gamora stole all of the Infinity Stones:

* **Power Stone:** Star-Lord
* **Space Stone:** Black Widow
* **Soul Gem:** Adam Warlock
* **Reality Stone:** Captain Marvel
* **Time Stone:** Doctor Strange
* **Mind Stone:** Turk Barrett

During the Infinity Wars, Gamora created a pocket universe within Soul World called Warp World, unwittingly creating duplicates of the Infinity Stones that were collected by Loki and his allies. These were the final wielders of the Infinity Stones before Adam Warlock granted each gem their own soul so that they could live a life of their own:

* **Power Stone:** Emma Frost
* **Space Stone:** Hulk
* **Soul Gem:** Loki
* **Reality Stone:** Kang the Conqueror
* **Time Stone:** Ant-Man
* **Mind Stone:** Ms. Marvel

## Notes

* In the original story describing the origin of the Stones, the Stones came into existence following the suicide of the cosmic being known as Nemesis.