The Infinity Stones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are six ancient singularities that existed before the dawn of creation. Following the Big Bang, these singularities were forged into concentrated crystals—the Stones—each embodying and controlling an essential aspect of existence: Space, Mind, Reality, Power, Time, and Soul. Thanos sought to collect all six to balance the universe by eradicating half of all life, a goal he achieved in 2018 before destroying the Stones. 

Overview of the Stones

• Space Stone (Blue): Allows for instantaneous travel anywhere in the universe. Housed within the Tesseract.
• Mind Stone (Yellow): Grants control over the minds of others and enhances mental abilities. Initially housed in Loki’s scepter, later placed in Vision’s forehead.
• Reality Stone (Red): Enables the wielder to alter physics and reality itself. Known as the Aether.
• Power Stone (Purple): Grants unlimited access to all forms of energy and can destroy entire planets. Housed in an orb.
• Time Stone (Green): Gives total control over time, including speeding it up, reversing it, or creating time loops. Housed in the Eye of Agamotto.
• Soul Stone (Orange): Controls life and death, allowing the user to manipulate souls and access the “Soul World”. Located on Vormir. 

---

Historical Textual Timeline

This timeline follows the stones from their creation to their destruction, based on MCU events. 

Era: Pre-Universe (Before Time)

• Creation: Six singularities exist representing different aspects of existence.
• The Big Bang: The universe is formed, and the singularities are forged into the six Infinity Stones and scattered across the cosmos. 

Era: Ancient History

• Circa 965 A.D.: Odin, King of Asgard, brings the Space Stone (Tesseract) to Earth for safekeeping, hiding it in Tønsberg, Norway.
• Undated: The Dark Elves, led by Malekith, attempt to use the Reality Stone (Aether) to return the universe to darkness during a convergence. Odin’s father, Bor, defeats them and hides the Aether.
• Undated: The Power Stone is used by the Celestials to judge and destroy civilizations. It is eventually hidden away on the planet Morag. 

Era: World War II (1940s)

• 1942: Johann Schmidt (Red Skull) locates and steals the Tesseract from Norway to weaponize it for Hydra.
• 1943: During a confrontation with Captain America, the Tesseract is damaged, activating a portal that transports Red Skull to Vormir, where he becomes the guardian of the Soul Stone.
• 1945: The Tesseract falls into the Arctic Ocean. Howard Stark recovers it shortly after. 

Era: Late 20th Century

• 1989: Dr. Wendy Lawson (Mar-Vell) experiments on the Tesseract for S.H.I.E.L.D., accidentally granting Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel) her powers.
• 1995: The Tesseract is briefly swallowed by the Flerken Goose, who later vomits it onto Nick Fury’s desk.

Era: Modern Age (MCU Phase 1 & 2)

• 2010/2011: Nick Fury shows the Tesseract to Dr. Erik Selvig for research.
• 2012 (The Avengers): Loki uses the Space Stone (in the Tesseract) to open a portal for the Chitauri invasion of New York. The Avengers defeat him, and Thor returns the Tesseract to Asgard.
• 2013 (Thor: The Dark World): The Aether (Reality Stone) is found by Jane Foster. It is secured by the Collector after the Dark Elves are defeated.
• 2014 (Guardians of the Galaxy): Star-Lord retrieves the Power Stone from Morag. After a conflict with Ronan the Accuser, the Guardians entrust the stone to the Nova Corps on Xandar for safekeeping.
• 2015 (Avengers: Age of Ultron): The Avengers recover the Mind Stone from a Hydra base. Tony Stark and Bruce Banner use it to create Vision, who acts as its protector. 

Era: The Infinity War (2018) 

• 2018: Thanos decimates Xandar and takes the Power Stone.
• 2018: Thanos attacks the Asgardian refugee ship and takes the Space Stone from Loki.
• 2018: Thanos visits the Collector and takes the Reality Stone.
• 2018: Thanos takes the Soul Stone from Vormir after sacrificing his daughter, Gamora.
• 2018: Thanos takes the Time Stone from Doctor Strange on Titan.
• 2018: Thanos kills Vision to take the Mind Stone in Wakanda.
• 2018 (The Snap): Thanos activates the Gauntlet, erasing half of all life in the universe. He later uses the stones a second time to destroy them, reducing them to atoms. 

Era: Post-Snap (2023)

• 2023 (Avengers: Endgame): The Avengers travel back in time to 2012, 2013, and 2014 to borrow the stones from alternate timelines.
• 2023: The Avengers use the borrowed stones to reverse Thanos’ snap.
• 2023: Captain America returns the borrowed stones to their original timelines to prevent the creation of dark alternate realities. 

The Infinity Stones are six primeval artifacts representing different aspects of the universe