All 7 Infinity Stones Explained: Origin, Powers & Appearances

Infinity Stones are among the most iconic and powerful weapons in the Marvel Universe. Throughout their long existence, Infinity Stones were at the center of some of the best Marvel cosmic stories, and most recently, they have been included in the MCU as well, becoming a global phenomenon and something that marked Thanos as one of the most popular villains of all time. Starting the journey, there were six canon Infinity Stones Power Stone, Time Stone, Reality Stone, Soul Stone, Mind Stone, and Space Stone – each controlling one unique aspect of reality and combined together, controlling the reality itself. Recently, Marvel unveiled the existence of the seventh Infinity Stone, the Death Stone. 

Due to this, we’ve decided to revisit all seven Infinity Stones, as well as their origin, powers, and colors, to see how they varied over the decades. 

1. Space Stone 

Space Stone, like the rest of the Infinity Stones, was created when an entity called Nemesis, with seemingly incomprehensible powers, committed suicide. The aspects of Nemesis’ powers and personality survived in the form of the six Infinity Stones. The first time we are aware of the existence of Space Stone is when Thanos learns of the location of Space Gem, which was at the time held by a powerful entity known as Xambor.

Space Stone was part of the famous Infinity Gauntlet storyline, and later, during the Secret Wars storyline, it was destroyed when Captain America used the Infinity Gauntlets. Following the aftermath of the Secret Wars storyline, Space Stone appeared again, albeit in a different color. 

Regarding the color of the Space Infinity Stone, originally, it was purple. During the Secret Wars storyline, it was red. After Secret Wars, the Gem was “rebuilt” in blue, which matches the MCU color of the stone. Regarding powers, Space Stone allows its user to manipulate space and utilize teleportation at an unprecedented level. Due to its space-manipulating properties, one can utilize Space Stone to create black holes and traverse impossible distances that seemingly break the laws of physics. 

2. Mind Stone 

Mind Stone was created simultaneously with the other six Infinity Stones and traced its creation back to the Nemesis. During the Infinity Gauntlet storyline, Thanos dueled the Grandmaster to take the Gem and assemble all six of them in order to manipulate reality. Like the other gems, the Mind Stone was shattered during the Secret Wars storyline and promptly appeared again when reality recovered. 

As the name suggests, the Mind Stone gives its user incredible mental fortitude and greatly increases one’s psionic powers, such as telepathy. The stone works best if the user already has some mental powers at his disposal and also if the stone is used in conjunction with the Soul Stone.

Originally Mind Stone was blue in color; during the Secret Wars, it was green. The current color of Mind Stone in the comics and in the MCU is yellow. 

3. Soul Stone 

Even though Soul Stone has the same origin story as the rest of the Infinity Stones, somehow, it ended up in the possession of High Evolutionary. High Evolutionary, in turn, gave the Gem to “Him,” aka Adam Warlock, who promptly used it to help High Evolutionary deal with New Men and other things that posed a danger to Counter-Earth. Soon Adam Warlock discovered that the Soul Gem has a dark side and sometimes acts as a vampiric weapon capable of stealing the souls of other entities and mortals alike. 

Thanos recovered the Soul Gem from the In-Betweener, and later, the Soul Gem was like the rest of the shattered. In terms of powers, Soul Stone is capable of giving its user control over life and souls. The Gem appears to be sentient in nature and contains an entire dimension within itself called the Soul World. Using the Soul Gem allows its user to read the minds of others as well as transform creatures into their natural forms.

During its first appearance in the comics, Soul Stone was green. During the Secret Wars storyline, it was purple, and after rebuilding, it appeared in the same color as its MCU counterpart, orange. 

4. Reality Stone 

Reality Stone found itself in possession of the Collector. Thanos was able to deceive the said Collector by offering him an infant Elder in exchange for what he believed to be a worthless yellow Gem, but then used the Reality Gem to show the Collector its true power and disappeared with the Gem, leaving the Collector surprised and regretful.

As Thanos learned, The Collector was unable to unlock the powers of the Reality Stone because he lacked the mental properties to do so. Reality Stone manifests its powers only to entities that showcase enough mental fortitude to utilize the stone’s reality-altering powers. 

Before the Secret Wars storyline, the Reality Stone’s powers were generally oriented toward manipulating the laws of physics and creating things and scenarios that are regarded as impossible and to “break the reality,” after the gems were destroyed and rebuilt, the Reality Stone had a brand new set of powers, and nowadays it can be used to tap into the multiverse and spy on other realities. The infinity gem is best used in conjunction with the Time Stone. 

Originally in the comics, Reality Stone appeared as a worthless yellow bauble. Later, it was depicted as blue. In the MCU, the stone is red in color, which corresponds to the color of the current comic as well. 

5. Time Stone 

During the Infinity Gauntlet storyline, Thanos managed to kill the Gardener in order to acquire the Time Stone. What Gardener wasn’t aware of at the time was that Thanos had Power Stone in his possession, which greatly augments the abilities of Time Gem. When it comes to the origin of the stone, it was created at the same time as the other gems when Nemesis committed suicide. It is interesting that during the Secret Wars, Time Gem was the only Gem that wasn’t “shattered”; instead, it was gone only to reappear again when Reed Richards managed to rebuild reality. 

The Time Stone grants its user complete mastery over time, including the ability to view potential futures, manipulate the aging of beings, and weaponize time to entrap enemies or even worlds in endless loops. 

Time Stone was originally orange-colored; surprisingly, the Gem kept its color again during the Secret Wars. After the reappearance of the Gem, it was green, just like its MCU counterpart. 

6. Power Stone 

An unnamed Champion marks the first appearance of the Power Gem in the comics. The Champion was using the Power Gem to test his strength against the people of Tamarata without realizing its full potential. Thanos challenged the Champion and tricked him into destroying the planet by manipulating him to use the Gem’s power.

Thanos then offered to transport the Champion to a new planet in exchange for the Gem, which the Champion agreed to, unaware of the true value of the Gem. Like the other gems, Power Stone was destroyed during the Secret Wars storyline and consequently rebuilt by Reed Richards. 

With the Power Stone, the user can access all energy and power that has ever existed or will exist and can amplify the abilities of the other gems. Its fundamental abilities include providing the user with unlimited stamina and strength, duplicating any physical superhuman power, and providing invincibility. Additionally, it can serve as an inexhaustible source of power for machines.

Regarding the color, Power Stone was originally red. During the Secret Wars, it was yellow. After the rebuilding, The Power Gem turned purple like its MCU counterpart. 

7. Death Stone 

Death Stone is the newest Infinity Stone to be added to the rooster. Death Stone was created when Bor, Thor’s grandfather, ordered his mages to create the weapon of massive destruction so that he could crown himself the god-king of the realm. An explosion followed, and the combined might of magic and the weapon resulted in the creation of the Death Stone, a Gem that transformed a whole area of Niffleheim into an uninhabitable realm of death and decay. 

The powers of the Death Stone are so far unclear, but the Gem is most likely connected to necromancy. Several powerful figures are on the search for the Gem, including Corvus Glaive, Dr. Doom, and Thor. The Death Stone allegedly holds the secret of Thanos’ return. 

In terms of appearance, previous versions of the Death Stone in the Marvel comics were depicted as being golden in nature. The most recent version is supposed to be black. Death Stone is the only Infinity Gem that doesn’t share its origin story with the rest of the stones, and it shouldn’t be confused with the non-canon “Ego Stone.” Nemsis’ suicide didn’t create Death Stone; therefore, it wasn’t destroyed and rebuilt during the Secret Wars.