The Complete Guide to all 12 Legendary Infinity Stones that Shape the Marvel Universe
As an avid Marvel enthusiast and content creator focused on analyzing Marvel comics and movies, I‘m often asked by fellow fans to elucidate the most opaque and intriguing corners of Marvel lore. And one epic saga that fascinates fans involves the all-powerful Infinity Stones that undergird the Marvel multiverse.
So far across over 30 Marvel movies, we‘ve been introduced to 6 different Infinity Stones. With the epic finale of phases 1-3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in Avengers: Endgame, hardcore fans got to finally witness the incredible reality-warping powers of all 6 stones united in Thanos‘ infamous Infinity Gauntlet.
But the comics and expanded lore reference even more than just those 6 stones…suggesting the existence of 12 total Infinity Stones scattered across the weird and wonderful dimensions of Marvel!
In this deep dive, I‘ll leverage my expertise as a Marvel analyst to reveal everything fans want to know about the 12 mythical Infinity Stones: their names, abilities, key roles across Marvel movies and comics, and even their relative power levels. Let‘s get to it!
A Spectral Summary: The 12 Stones, Colors and Powers
Before digging deeper, let‘s recap the 12 Infinity Stones along with their associated colors and universe-shaping powers:
Above you can see the 6 iconic stones depicted in the MCU so far, along with the additional Death, Ego, and Genesis stones that have appeared in Marvel comics and sub-lore.
Fans also speculate that there may even be a 13th or 14th stone in some yet unseen planes or phases of the multiverse! As a content creator, I closely monitor Marvel message boards to stay on pulse of the freshest fan theories about new developments in this mythology.
Now let‘s explore some highlights and need-to-know history on each stone:
The Six Foundational Stones of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
These six stones compose the bedrock of known Infinity Stone lore for casual Marvel fans, given their pivotal roles across a decade of Marvel movies!
Space Stone
- Blue color, often contained in Tesseract cube
- Allows opening of portals across space and teleportation
- Featured in Captain America, Avengers and Captain Marvel films
- Responsible for bringing interdimensional threat Loki and his Chitauri army in the first Avenger movie
Reality Stone
- Blood red Aether liquid, featured in Thor: Dark World
- Mutates matter to match wishes of user; nearly unlimited reality warping potential
- Almost enabled Malekith the Dark Elf to plunge the 9 realms into eternal darkness
Power Stone
- Purple, used by Thanos and Guardians of the Galaxy
- Boosts strength and ability energy projection of user
- Once decimated planet Xandar just through remote detonation; nearly unmatched destructive capacity
Mind Stone
- Yellow, often integrated in Vision‘s forehead
- Grants powerful mental abilities like mind control, projection
- Used by Loki and Hydra for nefarious plots; source of Maximoff twins‘ powers
Time Stone
- Luminescent green, monitored by the Masters of the Mystic Arts
- Controls flow of time; rewind, accelerate, suspend entities in time loops
- Strange used to analyze over 14 million alternate futures to find one path to defeat Thanos
Soul Stone
- Orange, tucked away on planet Vormir
- Total control over life, death and souls
- Thanos shockingly sacrifices Gamora to unlock its apocalyptic potential
What‘s incredible about the standalone powers of each stone is how their abilities compound exponentially when multiple are combined, as we finally witnessed with Thanos‘ completed gauntlet in Infinity War. He was nearly unstoppable until the Avengers pulled off that time heist to create their own gauntlet in Endgame.
But the ancient lore suggests more stones scattered across Marvel‘s sprawling omniverse…
Beyond the MCU: Additional Mythical Stones from the Comics and Lore
While the MCU depicts 6 Infinity Stones so far, various Marvel comic narratives and sub-stories detail some additional reality-controlling stones theorized to exist out in the many mosaic dimensions of Marvel.
The Death Stone
Created by Anwen Bakian from the MCU‘s red Reality stone, this black Death stone represents and channels the chilling powers of death itself. As such an incredibly rare and dangerous artifact, little is known about the full capabilities and location of the Death stone.
The Ego Stone
This goldish stone contains the essence of Nemesis, named after the Greek goddess who personified retribution. It was supposedly hidden away in the enigmatic Ultraverse realm, a universe running parallel to the main Marvel 616 continuity. The Ego stone is thought to grant the holder dominion over all life in that dimension.
The Genesis Stone
When Thanos used the Infinity stones to decimate 50% of life, the immense energies released fractured space-time itself. The Genesis stone is hypothesized to have formed from the remnants of those fractured primordial energies, coalescing into a new stone with prodigious creative powers. Some fans think this Genesis stone or others may appear during the upcoming multiversal chaos of Phase 4 and beyond!
There are also vague references in obscure texts of a theoretical 13th and even 14th Infinity stone that may or may not exist…theories abound in fan communities about what cosmological forces these additional gems might control! As a Marvel analyst, I‘m constantly scouring various subreddits and Wikis looking for any clues about appearances of new stones in upcoming movies or shows.
So while only six have manifested thus far on screen in the MCU, the Marvel sacred texts and expanded canon suggest a total of twelve reality-rending relics!
Next I‘ll share my personal tier list ranking the known stones by sheer power…
Ranking the Power of the Primary 12 Stones
Fans often passionately debate the raw power and danger levels associated with each Infinity Stone. Based on in-universe feats across various Marvel films and comics, here is my personal power tier ranking of the principal 12 stones:
- Power Stone
- Soul Stone
- Reality Stone
- Space Stone
- Time Stone
- Mind Stone
- Genesis Stone*
- Death Stone*
- Ego Stone*
*rankings speculative based on limited canonical appearances
There‘s certainly room for debate even among hardcore fans on the precise order. For instance, some argue the Reality stone used to its full creative potential could equal or even exceed the Power stone in raw damage output.
And the Soul stone‘s ability to manipulate life and death itself is clearly on par with the Power and Reality stones in practice. I give the Power stone the slight edge for literally destroying planets in one concentrated blast.
As the MCU saga continues to shift into the multiverse era with Phase 4 and 5, we may see appearances of these additional stones from the comics realized on screen! Their introduction could also give rise to dangerous new villains and cataclysmic events.
For example, in one epic comic run a sinister being named Ultron masters the Genesis stone to generate a destructive army of Ultron drones and conquer civilizations across the omniverse. And that‘s just one example of the apocalyptic threats that could arise from new reality-bending stones!
Closing Thoughts on the Stones That Shape Existence
The Infinity Stones represent literal plot devices that have driven immense conflict and drama across Marvel‘s comics and blockbuster movies. Casual fans now know of the 6 MCU stones revealed explicitly on screen.
But beneath the surface lies an entire lost mythology around additional Death, Ego and Genesis stones scattered across Marvel‘s vivid multiverse. These powerful relics have barely even been hinted at in the movies. Unlocking their secrets forms an ongoing odyssey for cosmic champions and villains alike!
As the resident Infinity Stone analyst here at my blog, I‘ll be continually sleuthing obscure forums, Wikis and Marvel insider scoops for any glimmers of intelligence on these enigmatic gems. Because whichever forces can harness the Infinity Stones will reshape the destiny of the Multiverse itself!
Stay tuned here as I shine light on the darkest corners of Marvel lore and share the latest insights with fellow fans and content enthusiasts. And sound off in the comments with your favorite Infinity Stone fan theories!
