#WhereIsTheSoulStone
It's officially April which means Avengers: Infinity War is round the corner. With over 20 different films having led up to this cinematic event, it would be understandable if you need a refresher in terms of what you should know walking in to the movie theatre. Look no further, then, than this humble blog, because in the four weeks leading up to the Avengers' ultimate outing I will fill you in with all the (admittedly nerdy) details.
This week's assignment? The Infinity Stones - powerful singularities that predate the Universe itself...
For those unaware, the main villain of Infinity War is Thanos, a man who also happens to be the cruel step-dad of Gamora and Nebula (members of the Guardians of the Galaxy). In his quest to take over the Universe he is seeking to reunite the six Infinity Stones, place them into the 'Infinity Gauntlet' (that allows him to channel all of their power at once) and become, henceforth, an all-powerful entity.
Where and what are these Infinity Stones though? Well surprisingly, we've already come across five...
The Mind Stone
The Mind Stone (yellow) was first introduced in Avengers: Assemble. Remember Loki's glowing scepter? The one he used to brainwash Hawkeye? Turns out the blue crystal that powered it held inside of it the Mind Stone, a yellow gem that grants the user control over the minds of others. The Mind Stone was used again in Avengers: Age of Ultron to power the Vision (seen above). The Vision is the physical embodiment of Iron Man's A.I. JARVIS and serves as a current member of the Avengers. His Mind Stone grants him all the energy force he needs to power his robotic body. The last time we saw Vision was in Civil War with the insanely powerful Scarlet Witch at his side. If Thanos, though, aims to rip Vision's power source out of his head, it doesn't exactly look good for him.
The Power Stone
Remember the first Guardians of the Galaxy film? Then you'll probably remember that the film's McGuffin, the metal orb, contained the Power Stone (purple). Ronan the Accuser, a Kree antagonist, sought out to acquire the Power Stone and use it to destroy Xandar. Though any human who attempts to use the stone ends up dead (due to its strength), Star Lord was, thanks to his non-human DNA, strong enough to use the Power Stone to defeat Ronan. At the end of the film the Guardians offered over Power Stone to Nova Prime (above, played by Glenn Close), the commander of the Nova Corps (a.k.a. space police) there on Xandar. As far as we know the Power Stone still resides safely in her clutches, but if Thanos is looking to take it for himself then it seems poor Glenn Close's days are numbered.
The Reality Stone
The Reality Stone (red) also popped up in the first Guardians of the Galaxy, but you may recall it made its debut in Thor: The Dark World under the name of the Aether. The Aether/Reality Stone has the ability to alter physics and reality itself, converting matter into dark matter. The Aether was discovered in Thor: The Dark World by Jane Foster and it used her body as a host to feed off of her life force like a parasite of the soul. Malekith, the leader of the Dark Elves, sensed the Aether within Jane and forced it out of her to absorb for himself. Using its power, he attempted to take advantage of the 'convergence' (in which all realms align) and plunge every world into darkness. Thankfully, he failed, and the warriors of Asgard brought it to The Collector (Benicio Del Toro, above) for safekeeping. The Collector, though, is not as he seems, and it is hinted he may be working with Thanos to acquire all six stones. While The Collector's vault was destroyed in Guardians of the Galaxy, it is assumed that the Reality Stone remains within his clutches.
The Space Stone
The Space Stone (blue), or the Tesseract, first appeared in Captain America: The First Avenger, where the Nazi off-shoot Hydra attempted to utilize its force for mass destruction. Cap thankfully retrieved it and attempted to destroy it by crashing his plane into the sea. Despite going missing, it turns out that Cap didn't actually die; government forces found Cap's plane and body preserved in ice decades later and he was promptly revived by S.H.I.E.L.D. Unfortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D also dug up the intact Tesseract (try saying that five times in a row), and brought it to their labs for testing.
Thanos, on the other side of the galaxy, had struck up an agreement with Loki, the God of Mischief and Thor's adopted brother. Thanos needed Loki to retrieve the Space Stone and, in exchange, offered Loki his Chitauri army to take over planet Earth. Thanos manipulated the Tesseract from afar and teleported Loki right over to the S.H.I.E.L.D lab. There, Loki took the Tesseract and used it in the densely populated area of Manhattan to open a portal that would allow the Chitauri army through.
The Avengers formed as a response to this threat and together imprisoned Loki, defeated the Army and retrieved the Tesseract. Loki was returned along with the Tesseract to Asgard for safe keeping, where it remained safe until the events of 2017's Thor: Ragnarok. While evacuating Asgard in an effort to escape Hela's violent army, Loki was seen pocketing the Space Stone for himself. In the post-credits scene of Ragnarok, Thor, Loki, Hulk and the Asgardians, in their refugee space-craft, were approached by a mysterious ship over 100 times their size.
The ship's pilot? Thanos. Looks like he'll get his hands on the Tesseract after all...
The Time Stone (green) has a less complex history. Currently contained within an ancient relic known as the Eye of Agamotto, the Time Stone grants the user the ability to control the fabric of time itself. Forged by the very first Sorcerer Supreme, the Eye of Agamotto enables to wearer to harness the Time Stone's power. The Eye is currently donned by Doctor Strange, the current Sorcerer Supreme who lives in the New York Sanctum. It was agreed between Strange and his peer Wong at the end of Doctor Strange that to use the Eye of Agamotto is to challenge the nature of time itself and is, in fact, extremely dangerous. Though Strange was seen wearing the stone during his appearance in Thor: Ragnarok, it can be assumed its power has remained dormant for a while now. That is, until Thanos arrives in New York later this month...
You're not exhausted by that comprehensive breakdown? Good, because there's one stone left - The Soul Stone. The only problem with this is that no one actually knows where it is. In a wink to the fans, The Russo Brothers (who are directing Infinity War) recently tweeted out the hashtag #WhereIsTheSoulStone?
There are multiple theories that explain we have already seen the soul stone on screen. Some believe that it lies within Heimdall (Idris Elba, above, last seen in Thor Ragnarok), and it is this that offers him the power to see all souls. Others theorize the Soul Stone is, itself, a soul, and that an Avenger must die for Thanos to retrieve it.
The most popular guess is that the stone lies within the meteor that crashed into Wakanda, millions of years ago. Wakanda, you'll remember, is an advanced African nation and home to Black Panther. Within the country grows a heart-shaped herb that is infused with nutrients from the meteor which have seeped into the nation's soul. When ground into a pulp and drank, the herb offers the drinker the ability to communicate with the souls of their ancestors, hence the theory that within the meteor lies the Soul Stone. This theory is backed up when considering Thanos seems to be invading Wakanda in the trailers for Infinity War.
All of these are excellent guesses, but we will have to wait until April 27th to truly discover where the Soul Stone lies.
So there you have it, a run down of all six Infinity Stones set to re-appear within Avengers: Infinity War. Here's hoping Thanos doesn't get his hands on all of them...
For more Avengers: Infinity War coverage both before and after the film's release, stick to JG Review.
Written by James Green
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