Full Powers & First Appearances of All 8 Infinity Stones (Yes, 8)

The Marvel Universe has tons of powerful artifacts, from the Cosmic Cubes to the Ultimate Nullifier, but few items are as powerful or coveted as the Infinity Stones. Originally known as the Soul Gems or the Infinity Gems, the Infinity Stones allow anyone who holds all of them to command the universe itself. This is why they’ve mostly been sought out by Thanos, but other characters have used them as well.

While even casual comic fans know what the Infinity Stones are thanks to the MCU movies, few people can actually explain exactly what the stones do, and even fewer can explain where these stones originally came from. The Marvel Universe is a big place; the Infinity Stones have come from all over, and while most believe there are only six stones, there are actuallyeight. These are all eight Infinity Stones, what they can do, and where they first appeared.

8 Power Stone

First Appearance: Marvel Team-Up #55 (1976) by Bill Mantlo and John Byrne

The Infinity Stones are ancient and most people don’t realize what they’re truly capable of. This was especially true of the Power Stone, which was wielded by Stranger, an amoral scientist. Stranger was one of the first people to realize that the Infinity Stones were part of a set, and he tried to seek out the others. Thankfully, he was prevented from gathering any more stones by Adam Warlock and Gardener. Stranger’s Power Stone was then later stolen by Thanos.

The Power Stone, as the name implies, allows the user to tap into near-unlimited power. The Power Stone enhances any superpowers the user may already have, and grants them unlimited strength, stamina, and even complete invulnerability. Not only that, but it grants the user access to every source of energy that ever has or will exist, meaning it can be used as an infinite power source for machinery.

7 Space Stone

First Appearance: Avengers Annual #7 (1977) by Jim Starlin and Josef Rubinstein

The Space Stone was held by an alien known as Xiambor on a prison satellite. This stone was eventually taken by Thanos, who then combined the Space Stone with three others he had in his possession. With the power of four Infinity Stones, Thanos tried to create a giant synthetic stone, which he intended to use to destroy all the stars in the universe. Thankfully, the Avengers became alerted to his plan and were able to destroy this synthetic stone, preventing Thanos from snuffing out all life in the universe.

The Space Stone offers the user total control over space itself. With the power of the stone, the user can teleport anything anywhere, instantly, as well as create black holes or manipulate gravity as much as they want. While this all sounds very impressive, the Space Stone can do even more. The absolute control over space that the stone provides allows the user to appear in several different locations at once, and at its full power, allows the user to appear everywhere at the exact same time. It can also alter the space between objects, even breaking the laws of physics as it does.

First Appearance: Marvel Team-Up #55 (1976) by Bill Mantlo and John Byrne

The Gardener, also known as Ord Zyonz, was the first person in the Marvel Universe to hold the Time Stone. It’s unclear exactly when Ord came into possession of the Time Stone, and he didn’t seem to be very aware of the true power of the stone itself. He simply wanted to use it to help grow his garden. Eventually, this brought him into conflict with Thanos, who sought to steal the Time Stone from him. With the abilities of the Power Stone at his disposal, Thanos was able to easily steal the Time Stone from the Gardener, as seen in 1990’s Thanos Quest #2 by Jim Starlin and Ron Lim.

The Time Stone is one of the most powerful of the Infinity Gems, as it grants the wielder complete and utter control over time itself. The most basic power of the Time Stone is that of precognition, allowing the user to see what will happen before it does. While that is already incredibly useful, the full power of the Time Stone allows the user to age or de-age people or things, or even trap entire planets in unending time loops, forcing the residents to live out the same moment over and over again.

5 Reality Stone

First Appearance: Avengers Annual #7 (1977) by Jim Starlin and Josef Rubinstein

The Reality Stone has much the same origin as the Space Stone, and was held by Xiambor on a prison satellite. Thanos was able to take the Reality Stone along with the Space Stone from Xiambor, and promptly used it, along with the other stones in his possession, to try and wipe out all stars in the universe. This would result in the extinction of all life, finally fulfilling one of Thanos’ biggest desires. Thankfully, the Avengers managed to stop him, but Thanos would return with even more stones and eventually succeeded in wiping out all life.

All the Infinity Stones are incredibly powerful, and while the Time Stone is one of the most powerful of all, the Reality Stone is the other one that could be considered the most powerful. With the power of the Reality Stone, the user is capable of resurrecting people who have died, or distorting reality around someone so they’re driven insane trying to understand what they’re seeing. The peak of the Reality Stones power allows the wielder to create entire alternate universes or rewrite reality on a universal scale.

4 Soul Stone

First Appearance: Marvel Premiere #1 (1972) by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane

The Soul Gem was possessed by the High Evolutionary, who gifted it to Adam Warlock to aid him in trying to save the world of Counter-Earth. Eventually, Adam Warlock would realize just how powerful and how dangerous the Soul Stone really is,as it has a nasty habit of stealing the souls of others. After Adam Warlock’s death, the Soul Stone would find its way into the hands of the Gardener, who wanted to use it to replace the Time Stone that Thanos had stolen from him.

Unlike the other stones, the Soul Stone is actively sentient and desires to consume the souls of others. It possesses the ability to peer into the souls of others, seeing the truth of their lives. The Soul Stone can also trap people’s souls inside another dimension known as the Soul World, which allows the user to access the memories and skills of anyone trapped inside the Soul World. This would allow the user to become one of the most powerful and dangerous people in the universe, as long as they continued trapping people within the stone.

3 Mind Stone

First Appearance: Captain Marvel #41 (1975) by Steve Englehart and Al Milgrom

The last of the classic Infinity Stones, the Mind Stone, first appeared buried on the planet of Deneb IV. As part of a convoluted plot, the Kree Supreme Intelligence mentally manipulated the population of Deneb IV to unearth the Mind Stone. After the Mind Stone nearly caused a destructive bloody war on Deneb IV, Thanos would find and take the stone for himself. This was when Thanos attempted to wipe out all stars in the universe and was the first time Thanos wielded the Mind Stone.

Of all the Infinity Stones, the Mind Stone is possibly the least impressive. While one might expect the Mind Stone to be remarkably powerful, as it’s fair to assume it’ll have power over people’s minds, it’s surprisingly not that dangerous. The Mind Stone is capable of boosting an individual’s mental abilities, vastly increasing their intelligence, or granting the user telepathy and telekinesis. While both of these can be pretty powerful, the powers of this Infinity Gem pale in comparison to those of the Power, Reality, and Time Stones.

2 Ego Gem

First Appearance: Eliminator #3 (1995) by Hank Kanalz, Roland Mann, and Mike Zeck

While most people believe there to only be six Infinity Stones, there are at least eight that have been revealed so far in Marvel Comics. But unlike all the other stones, the secret seventh Infinity Stone was lost to the reality of Earth-93060. It’s important to be aware of the actual history of the gems. It’s believed that the Infinity Stones were originally components of an immensely powerful being known as Nemesis. Once the sole inhabitant of the First Cosmos of the Marvel Universe, Nemesis was eventually driven to end its own life due to loneliness. Its death created the six Infinity Stones.

While the other stones are aspects of this being’s power, the Ego Gem is the being’s ego and loose consciousness. The Ego Gem doesn’t seem to possess any real powers of its own, instead, it overwrites the user’s desires with its own. Anyone who comes into contact with the Ego Gem still maintains their free will and sense of self, but their desires are twisted into serving the Ego Gem’s interests.

1 Death Stone

First Appearance: Thanos #4 (2024) by Christopher Cantwell and Luca Pizzari

The Death Stone is the most recently created of the Infinity Stones, and one that is not directly tied to the cosmic origins of the universe. It’s no secret that Thanos has always been obsessed with Death. After Lady Death rejected him once again, Thanos used his powers to trap her inside this new Infinity Stone, which came to be known as the Death Stone. With the power of Death itself, Thanos could do whatever he wanted, whether that be inflicting people with instant death, or using the stone to grant immortality and complete immunity to death.

Currently, Thanos isn’t capable of using the Death Stone, as he was rejected by the stone when he attempted to become its living host. It instead chose former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson, whom the stone resurrected as the living embodiment of the Death Stone. Readers have yet to see the Death Stone’s full powers, but considering it holds the avatar of Death itself, there’s no doubt that if Thanos ever gets his hands on it, it will likely be one of the most powerful Infinity Stones he has ever used.