To viewers only familiar with the MCU timeline, seeing the Guardians of the Galaxy shoot purple lights out of the Power Stone won’t seem that different to Vision shooting a yellow laser out of the Mind Stone. For casual audiences, the stones likely just seemed like vaguely powerful artifacts whose distinctions were more down to the needs of a specific movie’s plot than their unique abilities. However, looking at Marvel Comics, it’s clear that the Infinity Stones were very different from how they were depicted in the MCU.
10. The Reality Stone Can Traverse The Multiverse
The Reality Stone First Appeared In Thor: The Dark World (2013)
The way the Reality Stone works in Marvel Comics has changed over the years. Its original powers, the ability to manipulate reality, were shown in Avengers: Infinity War. They are largely on display when Thanos fights the Guardians of the Galaxy on Knowhere. However, the newer powers that the stone has gained in the comics didn’t make it into the movie.
In the comics, the Infinity Stones were destroyed and then reformed. The new Reality Stone now has the power to allow the user to access the multiverse. The Reality Stone even lets the person using it communicate with whoever has the other Reality Stones in other universes. Seeing as the MCU saved its multiverse stories for after Avengers: Endgame, it isn’t too surprising that Marvel stuck with the stone’s original powers in the movie.
9. The Soul Stone Can Create An Afterlife
The Soul Stone First Appeared In Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
The Soul Stone had a major impact on the MCU by serving as the catalyst for the deaths of Black Widow and Gamora. Despite having a lot of narrative significance, the stone itself didn’t really get a lot of use on its own. When Thanos wielded it alongside the other Infinity Stones, the Soul Stone barely got to show off the powers that it got its name from.
One such power was the stone’s ability to create a life after death for souls. It also has the power to just bring dead things back to life, as seen when Hulk throws a stone into the core of an alien planet, bringing its dead wildlife back. Though it could be argued that the Soul Stone might have brought young Gamora back to speak with Thanos, it seems unlikely that this is the case. If the young Gamora was truly her soul, she would likely have hated Thanos like the real Gamora.
8. The Mind Stone Grants Telepathy
The Mind Stone First Appeared In The Avengers (2012)
Of all the Infinity Stones in the MCU, the Mind Stone shows up more than the other stones. This means that many of its powers are explored by the MCU, including some of the telepathic abilities it grants its users. However, the full extent of the Mind Stone’s telepathic powers is never really explored.
For instance, in The Avengers, Loki needs to make physical contact with people in order to control their minds. In contrast, the Mind Stone of the comics allows the user to read or control minds without any need for physical interaction. It also greatly enhances the powers of characters that already have telepathic abilities.
7. The Power Stone Enhances All Superpowers
The Power Stone First Appeared In Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
The Power Stone is one of the simpler Infinity Stones, and therefore was able to show off a lot of what it can do in the MCU. Its ability to enhance physical strength was on full display when Thanos beat the Hulk in a fight, and its capability to create blasts of raw power was seen in Guardians of the Galaxy. However, the MCU never really showed one of the stone’s other key abilities.
In Marvel Comics, the Power Stone can also enhance any superpowers the person using it might already have. The stone can also be used to replicate specific superpowers that the user might not already possess. This makes the MCU version mostly just shooting purple lasers feel like wasted potential.
6. The Space Stone Can Stop Objects From Moving
The Space Stone First Appeared In Thor (2011)
The MCU did a good job showing how the Space Stone allowed the user to travel between places in an instant. One power the MCU didn’t really tackle was the Space Stone’s ability to interact with how other objects or people moved through space. Aside from allowing for instantaneous movement, the Space Stone can also stop things from moving. There are certainly moments where Thanos could have made good use of this power, though it also would make for less visually exciting fight scenes, so it’s understandable for Marvel not to overuse it.
5. The Soul Stone Can Heal Someone Who Was Corrupted Or Changed
The Soul Stone First Appeared In Comics In Marvel Premiere #1 (1971)
Apart from being able to create life in multiple forms, the Soul Stone can also revert people or living beings back to their original form. For instance, Adam Warlock once used the stone to turn a demon named Monck back into the harmless gibbon he had been before being corrupted by Man-Beast. Of course, this power is from back in the ’70s when the gem was still blue, so a lot has changed in Marvel Comics since then.
Though this power specifically didn’t necessarily need to show up in Avengers: Infinity War, it is just another example of the Soul Stone’s wasted potential. This is especially true, since the Soul Stone was the hardest to retrieve in the movies. With such a heavy sacrifice needed to get the stone in the first place, it would have been nice to see some of what it can do.
4. The Mind Stone Can Create Empathic Links
The Mind Stone First Appeared In Comics In Captain Marvel #41 (1975)
In addition to creating telepathic links, the Mind Stone can also be used to create empathic links. This means the user can fully take on and understand what someone else is feeling. If this is a power that the MCU’s Mind Stone had, it could be assumed that Vision would have been able to make better use of it.
In Captain America: Civil War, Vision shows several times that he has trouble understanding Wanda’s feelings. If Vision was able to empathize with Wanda through the use of the stone, he likely would have realized that she wasn’t comfortable with him phasing through the wall into her room, for instance. It’s possible this power was left out so as not to seemingly rush Vision’s character development off-screen via use of the Mind Stone.
3. The Time Stone Can Slow Down Aging
The Time Stone First Appeared In Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
The MCU did a good job visualizing the Time Stone’s ability to warp time. Doctor Strange’s climactic scene was a perfect example of how the Time Stone could be used to both reverse time and create a time loop. However, the same movie also ignored another of the Time Stone’s powers that would have fixed a major issue for one of its characters.
Doctor Strange reveals that The Ancient One draws on powers from the Dark Dimension to extend her own life. However, with the Time Stone at Kamar Taj, there was no need for her to do this. In the comics, the Time Stone can also be used to slow down aging, allowing the user to live an unnaturally long life. The forced conflict that arose due to the revelation that The Ancient One was using Dormammu’s powers didn’t really lead to much anyway, so it could easily have been substituted for the stone.
2. The Soul Stone Can Steal A Person’s Soul
Soul World First Appeared In Avengers Annual #7 (1977)
Ironically, for the Infinity Stone that got the least attention in the MCU, the Soul Stone is one of the gems with the most powers. One of its most powerful abilities is that it can steal and absorb the souls of living beings. The Soul Stone sends them a place known as Soul World that exists within the stone. While someone is using the Soul Stone, they have access to the skills and knowledge of anyone trapped inside. It’s unique powers like these that make it a shame the Soul Stone wasn’t introduced in an earlier movie like the others.
1. All Stones Together Grant Omniscience
Thanos Collected All Of The Infinity Stones In Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
In Avengers: Infinity War, when Thanos gained all the Infinity Stones, he felt largely unchanged. All that was different was that he now had the power to enact his plan of killing half the universe, but he still seemed like the same character. This is a bit of a downgrade from what collecting all the stones can do for characters in Marvel Comics.
In the comics, collecting all the Infinity Stones can grant someone omniscience as well as what Marvel calls cosmic awareness. This basically means that the person holding all the stones feels at one with the universe. Perhaps if Thanos had taken the time to tap into this power in the MCU, he would have considered simply doubling the resources across the universe instead of killing half its population.
