Mind Stone

* Mind Stone
* Chitauri Scepter

> I know it's not of this world, that it powered Loki's staff, gave you your abilities, but... its true nature is a mystery.
>
> Vision to Wanda Maximoff, Captain America: Civil War

The **Mind Stone** was one of the six Infinity Stones, the remnant of a singularity that predated the universe, representing the element of mind. It was previously owned by Thanos inside his Scepter who lent it to Loki for the Chitauri Invasion. After the Battle of New York, the Scepter was confiscated by HYDRA, whose scientists used it to give extraordinary powers to the twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. After the fall of HYDRA, the Scepter was recovered by the Avengers. It was taken by Ultron and its blue gem casing was shattered, releasing the stone inside it and placing it on the being that would become Vision. It remained with Vision until it was forcibly removed by Thanos following the Battle of Wakanda killing Vision in the process. It was destroyed along with the other five stones by Thanos after the Infinity War.

In 2023, the Avengers initiated a Time Heist in order to resurrect the victims of the Snap. Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk and Ant-Man were sent back in time to 2012 during the Battle of New York to retrieve the Mind, Space and Time Stones, creating an alternate timeline. After 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 time-traveled to the alternate 2012 to return the Mind Stone, albeit without the Scepter.

A few weeks later, Wanda Maximoff used her Chaos magic to create a new Mind Stone, embedded in the head of a recreated Vision. However, the Stone was erased from existence when Maximoff ended the Hex.

## History

### Origins

> 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 Mind Stone is a remnant of one of the six singularities which existed before the universe. 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 Mind Stone governed over the fabric of Mind.

### Used by Loki

> Do you remember that time I was so angry with my father and my brother, I went down to Earth and I held the whole of New York City hostage with an alien army? Tried to use the Mind Stone on Tony Stark. It didn't work, so I threw him off the building.
>
> Loki to Mobius M. Mobius, Breaking Brad

The Mind Stone was originally portrayed as a power source for the Scepter. The Infinity Stone granted the Scepter such diverse abilities to fire energy projectile blasts, manipulate minds, enable teleportation, perform astral projection and allow mental communication. The Infinity Stone has been under Thanos' possession, who entrusted the Scepter to Loki of Asgard, along with an armada of Chitauri infantry troops and Leviathans, under the condition that Loki invaded Earth to obtain the Tesseract and plan absolute subjugation under his reign.

Upon arrival, Loki arrived on Earth via energy portal unwillingly emitted by the Tesseract, where he found himself arriving in the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility in New Mexico. After arrival, Loki used the Scepter to defeat a unit of armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents by shooting energy blasts and impaling them. Loki proceeded to use the Scepter's powers to brainwash S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clint Barton and Astrophysicist Erik Selvig before escaping the facility on the verge to explode.

Loki continued to wield the Scepter to plot the oncoming invasion on Earth, where he used the staff to establish a mental communication to interact with The Other, and used his weapon during several altercations against the Avengers. After held captive and imprisoned on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier, the Scepter was transported at the laboratory station on board, where it was observed and studied by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. During a heated argument between the Avengers and Nick Fury, the Scepter slowly affected their minds, increasing tensions and consequently, turning them against each other until an immediate threat finally put them back to concentration.

Escaping from his prison on the Helicarrier, Loki reclaimed the Scepter, which he later used his weapon to impale Agent Phil Coulson into his heart when Coulson attempted to confront him. He later attempted to use the Scepter to place Tony Stark under his control atop Stark Tower; however, the Arc Reactor embedded in Tony's chest protected him. Loki continued to use the Scepter to fight against the Avengers in New York City after opening a portal for the Chitauri to invade Earth, until he lost it shortly after fighting his brother Thor.

Near the end of the battle, Black Widow picked up the Scepter and used it to activate a fail-safe that closed the portal being generated by the Tesseract. Following the invasion, Black Widow turned possession of the Scepter over to S.H.I.E.L.D., unaware that they were in fact HYDRA.

### In HYDRA's Possession

> After unspecified experimentation with the Mind Stone, Maximoff gained telekinetic and telepathic abilities.
>
> Jimmy Woo, On a Very Special Episode...

However, the Scepter was transported to the S.H.I.E.L.D. S.T.A.T.I.O.N., where it was studied until Baron Strucker managed to take it to the HYDRA Research Base in Sokovia, where his scientists began to study it, and powered up a large number of Chitauri Guns using it. As Strucker was not completely satisfied with the results, he ordered List to gather volunteers among the rioting population of Sokovia for experiments with the scepter. HYDRA wanted to use the Mind Stone on many of Sokovia's inhabitants, whom possessed some genetic oddities that made them ideal candidates for experiments with the Stone. Although many volunteers died, as a result, the twins Pietro and Wanda Maximoff gained extraordinary powers.

By the time of the Battle at the Triskelion, Strucker and his scientists realized that the Scepter's powers were far greater than they originally thought. In the meantime, Strucker and his scientists used their research into the gem inside the Scepter to start experimenting with artificial intelligence.

### Stark's Experimentation

> The jewel appears to be a protective housing for something inside, something powerful."
> "Like a reactor?"
> "Like a computer. I believe I'm deciphering code.
>
> J.A.R.V.I.S. and Tony Stark, Avengers: Age of Ultron

Tony Stark and Bruce Banner both originally devised the idea for the Ultron Program as an extension of the Iron Legion to operate independently as an A.I. peacekeeping program and result in total obsolescence of the Avengers. However, neither Banner nor Stark was capable to create the intelligence level of A.I. necessary to achieve this purpose on a large scale.

After the assault on the HYDRA Research Base, and the retrieval of the Scepter, Stark asked Thor if he could study it before Thor took it back to Asgard. Upon studying the Scepter, Stark and Banner found inside the Gem on the scepter a net of neurons which could be configured into artificial intelligence that could help finish the Ultron Program. At first, Banner refused to help, but with a bit of persuasion, he agreed. The two eventually configured a suitable AI structure and left J.A.R.V.I.S. to complete the work that would eventually led to the creation of Ultron.

### In Ultron's Possession

> The most versatile substance on the planet, and they used it to make a Frisbee. Typical of humans. They scratch the surface and never think... to look within.
>
> Ultron to Helen Cho, Avengers: Age of Ultron

The Mind Stone was revealed to be inside Loki's Scepter by Ultron, who used its power to enthrall Helen Cho, in order to make him a new body with a combination of her expertise using the Regeneration Cradle and Ultron's supply of Vibranium. He later broke the scepter to claim the jewel, so he could use its power to evolve into a perfect body.

### Creating Vision

> I've had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life and at its center is that."
> "What, the gem?
>
> Thor and Bruce Banner, Avengers: Age of Ultron

Ultron's new vibranium body, with the stone inside it, was taken when the Avengers stole the Regeneration Cradle during the Battle of Seoul, leading to Tony Stark, Bruce Banner and Thor granting the construct inside the Cradle life with the stone embedded in its forehead. The newly-created android, dubbed Vision, viewed Ultron as a danger to Earth and decided to join the Avengers in fighting him.

### Used by Vision

> If he can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone. It's safe with the Vision and these days, safe is in short supply.
>
> Thor, Avengers: Age of Ultron

During the Battle of Sokovia, Vision used the power of the Mind Stone against the overwhelming army of Ultron Sentries, and combined its power with Iron Man and Thor's to overpower and defeat Ultron, who could not match Vision's strength. With the battle won, Vision decided to join the Avengers.

In 2016, Vision and Wanda Maximoff were at the Avengers Compound when Vision tried to make her comfortable, attempting to cook her a meal, which failed since Vision had never eaten anything before. The two discussed their abilities and how they viewed themselves, with Vision noting he did not fully understand the Mind Stone and how it gave him his power.

When the situation involving the Sokovia Accords aftermath got worse, Steve Rogers sent Clint Barton to rescue Maximoff from the Avengers Compound. Barton set off an explosion outside to lure Vision out to investigate while he greeted his friend and explained the situation to her. On their way out, Barton remained confident and noted that although he could not overpower Vision, there was somebody else who could. Much to Vision's horror, Maximoff then used her own powers to control the Stone and forced Vision to phase, making him free Barton. Despite Vision trying to reason with her, Maximoff used her powers to slam Vision through the facility and deep underground, allowing Barton and Maximoff to then escape.

Vision was the last of the Avengers to arrive at the airport on Iron Man's side as the teams clashed; when he arrived, Vision created a warning line by firing a beam from the Stone in front of Captain America's team. He tried to talk and reason with Rogers to convince him to surrender, noting while Rogers believed he was doing the right thing by going against the Sokovia Accords, he should surrender.

Vision, seeing Captain America and Winter Soldier try to escape to a Quinjet, became transparent, moving through Giant-Man in giant form, and used his Energy Blast from the Stone to bring down a watchtower, trying to cut off their escape. However, he discovered it was kept in the air due to the intervention of Maximoff, who used her powers to stop it falling until War Machine used a sonic blast to subdue her, causing the tower to fall although Rogers and Barnes managed to escape.

War Machine asked for assistance to stop Falcon, who was shooting at him to try and ensure that both Rogers and Barnes left safely. Distracted by talking with Maximoff, Vision looked up and unleashed an energy blast aimed at Wilson, but Wilson saw the blast coming and moved out of the way and instead it struck Rhodes directly in his armor's Arc Reactor, causing him to plummet to the ground.

### Infinity War

> Thanos has the biggest army in the universe, and he is not gonna stop until he gets... Vision's stone."
> "Then we have to protect it."
> "No, we have to destroy it.
>
> Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers and Vision, Avengers: Infinity War

In 2018, Vision and Wanda Maximoff were living in Scotland when the Mind Stone alerted Vision as a warning of some kind. Maximoff inspected the Stone but could only feel Vision. As the the two were walking through the town, they were attacked by Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight, members of the Black Order and Thanos' adopted children. Glaive tried to take the Mind Stone from Vision's head, but Maximoff attacked him before he could succeed. The two were eventually rescued by Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, and Sam Wilson.

The team, along with Bruce Banner and James Rhodes, traveled to Wakanda, where Shuri tried to remove the Stone from Vision's head without killing him. However, before she could finish, she was attacked by Corvus Glaive. Vision managed to escape, but Thanos, who got all the other Infinity Stones, came to Wakanda to get the Stone himself. Vision soon realized that there was no other choice and asked Maximoff to destroy the Stone.

Maximoff realized she didn't have a choice and destroyed the Stone, killing Vision in the process. However, Thanos used the Time Stone to undo the Mind Stone's destruction. Once he did, Thanos grabbed Vision and tore the Stone from his head before placing it on the Infinity Gauntlet, finally completing it. Even after Thor severely wounded him using all of his power and Stormbreaker, Thanos managed to use the completed Gauntlet to initiate the Snap, wiping out half of all life in the universe.

### Destruction

Three weeks later, Thanos destroyed all the Infinity Stones by using the Stones' powers on itself, in order to eliminate any possibility of them being used again.

### Chaos Magic Recreation

> But how did she even do it? Bring him back without the Mind Stone?
>
> Jimmy Woo to Monica Rambeau, On a Very Special Episode...

In 2023, Wanda Maximoff, consumed by grief over her losses, used her immense power of Chaos magic to create a Hex in Westview, New Jersey, as well as creating a recreation of Vision and a recreation of the Mind Stone embedded in his head. However, the Stone disappeared when Maximoff removed the Hex.

### Alternate Universe Versions

#### Theft of the Mind Stone

> Sorry, Cap. I can't give you the Scepter."
> "I'm going to have to call the Director."
> "That's okay. Trust me. Hail HYDRA.
>
> Brock Rumlow, Jasper Sitwell and Captain America, Avengers: Endgame

In 2023, the Avengers initiated a Time Heist, using the Quantum Realm to time travel through the Multiverse to alternate past timelines in order to acquire all six Infinity Stones and resurrect the victims of the Snap. Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner and Scott Lang traveled to an alternate 2012 during the Battle of New York in order to retrieve the Scepter which contained the Mind Stone, which had been given to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Brock Rumlow and Jasper Sitwell, who were secretly serving HYDRA.

In order to acquire the Scepter, Rogers, disguised as his past self, asked the agents for the weapon, claiming that the secretary asked him to secure it. Sitwell asked for an explanation, and Rogers lied that there might be an attempt to steal the powerful weapon. Rumlow refused to give in the Scepter, and Sitwell said that he had to call Nick Fury in order to make sure Rogers is telling the truth. In order to earn their trust, Rogers whispered in Sitwell's ear "Hail HYDRA", much to his surprise.

That made the HYDRA agents trust Rogers, and give him the Scepter, with the Mind Stone included. During his way down, Rogers found himself facing an alternate version of himself, who thought he was Loki in disguise trying to steal the Scepter back. After a quick fight, the main Rogers won and left Stark Tower with the Scepter, giving it to Lang.

After successfully transporting the past versions of the stones to their timeline, the Mind Stone was extracted from the Scepter and placed in the Nano Gauntlet. Using the gauntlet, Banner harnessed the power of the six stones to restore the victims of the Blip, albeit losing the ability to use his right arm.

In the culmination of the Battle of Earth, the six stones were used by Stark to kill an alternate Thanos and his army. Following Stark's funeral, Rogers traveled to each of the alternate timelines in order to put back the Infinity Stones and returned the Mind Stone to the alternate 2012.

#### Zombie Apocalypse

> The Mind Stone. The source of... well, me. It emits a sub-frequency that is not to their liking.
>
> Vision, What If... Zombies!?

In an alternate 2018, following the quantum virus outbreak in the United States of America, Vision used the Mind Stone to experiment on Scott Lang to see if the Stone could be a cure to the virus. Vision experimented in his base in Camp Lehigh, New Jersey, and proved his hypothesis, as Lang's head was revived. Vision then used the Stone on Wanda Maximoff but was unable to cure her, as she resisted the Stone due to her own connection with it and her chaos magic.

When Bruce Banner, Peter Parker, Bucky Barnes, Kurt Goreshter and Okoye arrived, Vision explained to them his discovery with the Stone. After Banner convinced Vision to let them escape, Vision used the Stone's power to break open an opening for them to leave through. He then used the Stone to sink the base, temporarily distracting Maximoff. After not wanting to leave Maximoff and realizing that they needed the Stone, Vision took the Mind Stone out of his head, thus deactivating himself.

Banner then recovered the Stone and handed it over to Parker. Parker, along with Lang, T'Challa, and the Cloak of Levitation, took the Stone via Quadjet to Wakanda in hopes that it could be broadcasted worldwide to end the virus.

#### Used by Ultron

> With the infinite power of the Mind Stone, Ultron began to lay waste to the planet.
>
> The Watcher, What If... Ultron Won?

In an alternate universe, Ultron was successful in obtaining the Vision body, which had the Mind Stone embedded in its forehead. He used this new body to kill the Avengers and enact global genocide. Afterwards, Thanos arrived on Earth, intending to take the Mind Stone from Ultron. Ultron, however, used the Mind Stone to bisect Thanos and claimed the stones for himself. Now that the Mind Stone was reunited with the other Infinity Stones, Ultron could harness their full potential and used them to kill every living being in the universe.

Now that his universe was silent, Ultron became aware of the Multiverse and attempted to travel between universes, enacting his plan of genocide on every single one of them. He utilized the stones in fierce battles against The Watcher and then the Guardians of the Multiverse. Eventually, Ultron was defeated by Arnim Zola, who took over his body and permanently erased him. However, a dispute broke out between Zola, now controlling Ultron's body and Erik Killmonger. Both Zola and Killmonger attempted to take the stones, leading to a stalemate. Doctor Strange then trapped the pair in a pocket dimension, where the two would battle for the stones for all eternity, the Mind Stone included.

## Capabilities

> The Mind Stone. It's one of the six Infinity Stones, the greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities.
>
> Thor, Avengers: Age of Ultron

As the Infinity Stone that represents and governs the fabric of mind, the Mind Stone grants whoever holds it complete control over the hearts and minds of others. Like with all the other Infinity Stones, it is among the most powerful artifacts in all existence.

At its core, the Stone contains a highly advanced intelligence framework, akin to an incredibly powerful supercomputer operating similarly to a sentient mind. The Stone's intelligence is powerful enough to enhance and spontaneously grant sentience to the artificial beings Ultron and Vision. As implied by this intelligence, the Stone itself also possesses a form of sentience, with the Stone directly communicating with Vision in order to warn him of the coming threat of Thanos.

Contained within a Scepter capable of harnessing its power, the Mind Stone's power can dominate the minds of others on contact, placing them under the control of the wielder and loyal to their commands indefinitely. By placing the blade tip of the Scepter against a person's heart, energy is released from the Stone, which flows into the person's body and spreads upwards to their head, turning their eyes a fluorescent blue color.

People put under the Stone's control will often regain their individuality after receiving a significant blow to the head, as with Clint Barton, since a temporary loss of consciousness will allow their normal mental state to "reset" and return. In some situations the effects of the mind control can be negated outright if the energy from the Stone is unable to diffuse into the target's body, such as when Tony Stark's Arc Reactor negated the energy instead. During the Theft of the Mind Stone, Captain America was able to use the power of the Scepter to render his past self unconscious, just by tapping it against his chest.

The sentient and intelligent nature of the Stone also allowed it to operate independently of a host to a degree, allowing it to subtly compel and manipulate minds without the presence of a wielder. While in the possession of Loki, unbeknownst to him, the Mind Stone subtly influenced his actions and motivations from within the Scepter. The Stone amplified Loki's hatred of his brother Thor and of humanity, driving him to wage an open war to invade and dominate Earth as its ruler.

In addition, while being kept aboard the Helicarrier by the Avengers, the Scepter managed to compel the heroes to slowly turn against one another in a heated argument, escalating to the point where the Stone's power compelled Bruce Banner to pick up the Scepter involuntarily in an aggressive gesture.

The Mind Stone is also able to project the consciousness of its wielder, in order to mentally view and communicate with beings in faraway places. This ability is powerful enough to reach the far depths of outer space, as evidenced when Loki used the Scepter to communicate with the Other in Sanctuary. During this conversation, The Other was able to interact with Loki's projection and cause him to recoil in disgust in his real body. This method may have also allowed Loki to appear imperceptibly on Earth to subtly influence Erik Selvig into researching the Tesseract, making him repeat his words and thoughts as if they were his own.

The Stone is also capable of granting great knowledge and greatly increasing the intelligence of whoever it is used on, as it "opened the eyes" of Barton and Erik Selvig, showing them visions and granting them special knowledge they can use. Barton was shown targets and detailed plans for breaking into installations, and Selvig was shown visions of other dimensions and advanced knowledge of the science of the universe.

Notably, the Stone appears to also grant the ability to directly manipulate physical matter to an extent. Loki was able to directly alter the Scepter's physical form, allowing him to shape-shift it from its normal short, bladed and curved form, into either a portable cane-like form or an elongated battle-spear taller than a human. Loki was also able to materialize and dematerialize his battle armor from thin air, in a manner distinct from his conventional illusions. Under the control of Vision, the Stone granted him unparalleled control over his own vibranium physiology, with the ability to shape-shift his form and manipulate his own density. Vision was also able to utilize the Stone's computing power and intelligence to directly hack computers, powerful enough to burn Ultron out of the Internet.

Conventionally, the Mind Stone is also able to simply unleash its pure energy in blasts or targeted beams for offensive and destructive purposes, as seen by how it was used by both Loki and Vision. The Stone's energy, through a potentially lethal process, is also able to enhance lesser beings with powerful abilities. While in HYDRA's possession, lethal experimentation by Baron Strucker managed to greatly enhance twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff with the Stone's energy. Pietro Maximoff's physical body was greatly improved, granting him incredible speed and reflexes, while Wanda was enhanced mentally, receiving powerful telekinetic abilities. It also likely enhanced Loki's strength, as while wielding it when it was contained inside the Scepter, Loki proved to be on par with Thor wielding Mjølnir in terms of strength.

The Stone itself is also nigh-indestructible by conventional methods, and wanton physical trauma to the Stone could also cause a potentially devastating release of its energy, to the point where Helen Cho warned that crashing the truck containing the Stone would potentially level the city of Seoul. Only an extremely powerful energy source similar to that of its own, such as the incredible powers granted to Wanda Maximoff, is capable of potentially destabilizing its molecular integrity.

Contained inside the completed Infinity Gauntlet, the Mind Stone reaches its full potential and together with the other Infinity Stones, allowed Thanos to kill half of all life in the Universe with a simple finger snap. However, using all six Stones in this manner at such a weakened state caused the Stones' combined power to nearly overwhelm him, and the Gauntlet as well as his left arm were left scorched by the release of energy.

## Trivia

* In the comics, the blue-colored (later yellow) **Mind Gem** gives the owner psionic powers like telepathy and telekinesis or can augment the pre-existing mental powers of its user. When used in conjunction with the other gems, it can link its user with all other minds in the universe at once. It was used by the Grandmaster, Thanos, Nebula, Adam Warlock, Loki, Ms. Marvel, and Black Widow.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Avengers: Infinity War*
2. ↑ *The Avengers*
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 *Avengers: Endgame*
4. ↑ *Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude - This Scepter'd Isle*
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 *Captain America: The Winter Soldier* Mid-credits Scene
6. ↑ *The Wakanda Files: A Technological Exploration of the Avengers and Beyond*
7. ↑ *Avengers: Age of Ultron*
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 *Avengers: Age of Ultron*
9. ↑ *Captain America: Civil War*
10. ↑ Marvel - Characters: Loki
11. ↑ *Thor (film)*