The MCU's Infinity Saga: Your essential cheat sheet to the Infinity Stones

Infinity Gauntlet

Eagle-eyed viewers got their first look at the Infinity Gauntlet in 2011's Thor, where it made a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance as a trophy in Odin's (Anthony Hopkins) weapons vault. (It turned out to be a fake, as revealed in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok.) The six Infinity Stones that give the Gauntlet its vast power each contain special abilities of their own, with Thanos (Josh Brolin) determined to possess them all. Here's a guide to the specifications of each one.

The Space Stone/The Tesseract

The Space Stone (contained inside the Tesseract) is the one with the most screen time pre-Infinity War, first showing up in Thor's end-credits scene, then during World War II in Captain America: The First Avenger, when the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) used the Tesseract to create weapons for HYDRA. As we see in The Avengers, the cube's primary function is to create portals and control space. Thanos acquires the stone by force after destroying the Tesseract in Infinity War.

The cube pops up whole again in Endgame, this time in the past, circa 2012, when the Avengers are pulling their multi-pronged time heist to get all the stones before Thanos can. Loki (Tom Hiddleston), however, steals it and disappears (causing him to be caught by the Time Variance Authority, as we find out in season 1 of his own Disney+ series). Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) end up having to travel even further back in time to 1970, going to Camp Lehigh where they not only could pick up the Tesseract, but get extra Pym Particles to time travel them back to what should be their present and use the Infinity Stones to undo what Thanos did with his snap in Infinity War.

The Mind Stone/The Scepter

One of three Infinity Stones on Earth, this yellow gem is responsible for bringing the android Vision (Paul Bettany) to life and giving Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) their powers. Before helping create Vision, it was encased in a scepter that Loki used to control minds in The Avengers. The gem is ultimately acquired by Thanos in Infinity War by physically removing it from Vision's forehead.

On the the same trip back in time to 2012 to pick up the Tesseract, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) planned to steal Loki's scepter since it would be in the same spot. Steve, decked out in his Captain America garb, manages to obtain the scepter by pretending to be a HYDRA agent, which was somehow enough for MCU baddies Brock Rumlow (Frank Grillo) and Jasper Sitwell (Maximiliano Hernández) to just hand it over.

The Reality Stone/The Aether

As seen in Thor: The Dark World, the Reality Stone is a symbiotic and red-wine-colored liquid called the Aether with devastatingly destructive abilities. Thanos takes the reality-altering stone from the Collector's (Benicio Del Toro) museum and crystallizes it for his Gauntlet.

As part of the time heist, Thor and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) go back to Asgard in 2013 when the Dark Elves attacked (yes, they went back to The Dark World). Rocket ends up having to extract the Aether from Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) because Thor gets emotional — and distracted — seeing his mom, Frigga (Rene Russo), alive again because the day they went back to is the day she dies. The Asgardians are able to share a sweet moment before Thor and Rocket head back to their present. In addition to the Aether, Thor brings Mjølnir back with him, as in his own timeline it had been destroyed.

The Power Stone/The Orb

The stone with the dullest name is also, arguably, the most dangerous one. It vaporizes anyone who touches it, and, as Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) tries demonstrating in Guardians of the Galaxy, it can destroy an entire planet. Thanos ultimately takes the stone from the intergalactic peacekeeping force Nova Corps.

In order to get the Orb with the Power Stone in it before Thanos in Endgame, Nebula (Kaen Gillan) and James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle) go to Morag circa 2014 and stop Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) from getting the Orb in the first place. Rhodey, as War Machine, knocks Star-Lord out and Nebula is able to grab the Orb from where it's being held because of her metal arm. Rhodey gets the Orb back to his present, but Nebula is stopped from making the time jump by Thanos. Past-Thanos is then made aware of what the Avengers are doing and 2014 Nebula takes the place of 2023 Nebula…but at least the Avengers physically had the Orb/Power Stone.

The Time Stone/The Eye of Agamotto

Capable of manipulating, well, time, the stone is, at one time, housed in Doctor Strange's (Benedict Cumberbatch) mystical Eye of Agamotto. The Sorcerer Supreme uses the Eye to trap the evil interdimensional being Dormammu in a time loop. Strange eventually gives the stone to Thanos to save Tony Stark's life.

Like the Tesseract and the scepter, the Time Stone was thought to be in New York City in 2012. The Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) goes to where thinks Doctor Strange is, but runs into the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) who tells him that Strange is still a practicing doctor and that he's five years too early. The Ancient One only agrees to give Bruce the Time Stone because Doctor Strange already gave the Time Stone away to Thanos in the future because he knew he had no choice.

The Soul Stone

With the ability to collect and control people's souls and trap them inside itself, the Soul Stone was the only one not introduced before the climactic events of Infinity War. Thanos goes to Vormir and acquires the all-powerful gem after sacrificing a particular loved one — his adopted daughter, Gamora (Zoe Saldaña).

As part of the time heist, Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Natasha Romanov (Scarlett Johansson) go to Vormir to talk to Red Skull (now Ross Marquand), who is the one to break the news to them that the only way to get the Soul Stone is to make a sacrifice. Best friends Clint and Natasha each argue that they themself should be the one to die, but Clint is the one to first throw himself off of the cliff. It's Natasha, though, who ultimately is the one to fall. Devastated, Clint makes his way back to his present by himself with the Soul Stone. Even if the Avengers succeeded in their plan to undo what Thanos did, Natasha would not be among those brought back.

It turns out that Natasha is not the only Avenger to sacrifice themself with an Infinity Stone. Tony Stark wields all six in a showdown with Thanos and is the one who snaps the biggest MCU villain of the entire Infinity Saga and all his minions into dust, draining himself of life in the process.

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