The Infinity Gauntlet is a powerful Dwarven glove owned by Thanos, who used it to channel the powers of the six Infinity Stones.
History
Odin's Vault
The fake Infinity Gauntlet in Odin's Vault
A right-handed Infinity Gauntlet, complete with replicas of the Infinity Stones, was kept in Odin's Vault, guarded by the Destroyer.[1] During her takeover of Asgard, Hela came across this Infinity Gauntlet and declared it to be a fake, knocking it off its pedestal. It was presumably destroyed along with Asgard during Ragnarök.[2]
Forging of a New Gauntlet
Thanos at Nidavellir with his new Gauntlet
After his minions failed him, Thanos decided to collect the Infinity Stones himself.[3] Thanos went to Nidavellir and forced the Dwarves to construct the Infinity Gauntlet for him. Once they had done so, the Mad Titan proceeded to exterminate the entire Dwarven race. Only Eitri, the king of the Dwarves, was spared.[4]
Infinity War
Thanos about to use the Power Stone to destroy the Statesman
Thanos brandished the Infinity Gauntlet on his left arm, inserting the stones one-by-one as soon as he acquired them. Upon acquiring the Power Stone from the Nova Corps Vault on Xandar, Thanos attacked the Statesman. He used the Power Stone to torture Thor in order to force Loki to give up the Space Stone. He then inserted it into the Gauntlet and used it to block Loki's attempted attack before strangling and killing him. Thanos then used the Power Stone to destroy the ship while opening a portal with the Space Stone so he and his children could escape.
Thanos soon ventured to Knowhere, acquiring the Reality Stone from the Collector and inserting it into the Infinity Gauntlet. He used the Stone to trick the Guardians of the Galaxy by conjuring an illusion of himself interrogating the Collector. After he revealed his true self, he incapacitated Drax and Mantis, stopped Star-Lord's desperate attempt to kill Gamora and left with his daughter via the Space Stone.
Back on the Sanctuary II, Thanos used the Power and Space Stones to torture Nebula by slowly pulling apart her cybernetics, forcing Gamora to give up the location of the Soul Stone, revealed to be Vormir. At Vormir, he and Gamora encountered the Stonekeeper, and upon realising he must sacrifice the one he loved, Thanos tearfully threw Gamora of a cliff to her death (after stopping her attempted suicide with his use of the Reality Stone) to acquire the Soul Stone. After inserting it into the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos travelled to Titan to collect the last two from the Black Order.
Thanos revealing the past beauty of Titan with the Reality Stone
Upon arriving on his homeworld, Thanos was confronted by half the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, who attacked him with the intent of removing the Infinity Gauntlet from his hand. Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet to destroy the pillar dropped by on him Iron Man and turned it to a swarm of black crystals that he sent at the ironclad Avenger, as well as sending out blasts of energy at Star-Lord, although they were dodged. Doctor Strange soon realized that Thanos had to clench his fist for the Gauntlet to work and had the Cloak of Levitation restrain the Titan's left hand. Enraged, Thanos soon broke free and used the Gauntlet to absorb an explosion caused by Iron Man and then redirected the blow towards the hero.
Thanos telekinetically ripping apart a moon
Eventually, Thanos was restrained and Mantis was able to immobilize the warlord before Iron Man and Spider-Man began removing the Gauntlet. As Iron Man and Spider-Man came close to slipping off the Gauntlet, Star-Lord, after realising that Gamora had been killed (via Nebula's observations), punched the Titan in a vengeful rage, breaking Mantis' hold on Thanos and allowing him to regain the Gauntlet. Thanos then used the mighty gauntlet to display the ultimate power of the Stones, using the Space Stone to allow the Reality Stone to move Titan's moon before then using the Power Stone to crush the moon to pieces and finally used the Space Stone again to pull the pieces to the planet, causing a shower of meteors to rain down upon the heroes.
Thanos and Strange then duelled, with Thanos using the Gauntlet to fire a beam of energy courtesy of the Power Stone and then infused the Power Stone's energy into the Gauntlet to destroy Doctor Strange's use of the Mirror Dimension, after which he unleashed a black hole upon the sorcerer, which Strange transmuted into butterflies. Thanos eventually won the altercation when he used the Power Stone to destroy all of Strange's copies by identifying the real one with the Soul Stone and then used the Gauntlet to pull Strange while levitating and flying to further close the distance within them, thus resulting in Thanos subduing and choking Strange.
Iron Man saved Strange and then battled Thanos one-on-one, after using some of his suit's nanotechnology to force Thanos' hand open, but the warlord's natural strength and rage allowed him to overpower Iron Man and rip the device off, regaining the ability to use the Gauntlet. He then defeated the hero by impaling him with his own metal dagger, but before the Titan could finish him off, Strange bartered the Time Stone for Stark's life. With his prize secured, Thanos left for Earth.
Thanos completes the Infinity Gauntlet
Arriving in Wakanda, Thanos used the five Stones to quickly dispatch his foes: knocking away Captain America, Winter Soldier, and Okoye with the Power Stone; restraining Black Widow with the Reality Stone; confining Bruce Banner in rock with the Space Stone; destroying Falcon's wings and bringing him down with the Space Stone; crushing War Machine with the Space Stone; and blocking Scarlet Witch's attempt to hold him back with the Space Stone; and undoing Vision and the Mind Stone's destruction with the Time Stone. Seizing Vision, Thanos tore the Mind Stone from Vision's android skull and completed the Infinity Gauntlet; however, he was struck by Thor's lightning. Thanos retaliated by shooting an energy beam from the Gauntlet, but Thor enchanted Stormbreaker with all his power and sliced through the beam. Thanos was cleaved in the chest by the Stormbreaker, but in spite of his wound, Thanos retained enough strength to snap his fingers, activating the Gauntlet, and eradicated half of all life in the universe.
The damaged Infinity Gauntlet
The sheer energy required for such a feat nearly overwhelmed him in his weakened state and cast Thanos' soul inside the Soul Stone, where he conversed with a young Gamora. Thanos soon transported himself to an alien farmland with the Space Stone, resting and enjoying the sunrise or sunset as he stated he would.[4]
Endgame
Thanos, knowing that the Infinity Stones would only temp him into a lust for power and acknowledging that the Avengers would target them, removed them from the Infinity Gauntlet and had them destroyed, thus ensuring that the Decimation could never be undone. The empty Infinity Gauntlet remained charred onto Thanos' arm, unable to be removed.
Ambush on Thanos
When Thanos is suddenly ambushed by the Avengers on Titan II, Thor uses Stormbreaker to slice off Thanos' arm that had the Infinity Gauntlet on it. However, the Avengers soon discover that the Infinity Stones were missing from the gauntlet, to which Thanos reveals that he had destroyed them to ensure his success. Thor soon decapitates Thanos, leaving the Mad Titan's body behind on Titan II along with the charred Infinity Gauntlet.
Capabilities
- "He has the Power and Space Stones; that already makes him the strongest creature in the whole universe. If he gets his hands on all six Stones, Tony..."
"He could destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamt of." - ―Bruce Banner and Doctor Strange[src]
The Infinity Gauntlet was specifically made to allow the wielder to channel the powers of all six Infinity Stones; it even allows the use of their powers in unison, such as using the Space Stone to send the Power Stone's energies to a nearby moon. The Stones seem to be drawn towards the Gauntlet, moving to one of its slots. Upon completion of the Gauntlet, the user is able to accomplish almost anything at whim—even wiping out half the universe with a snap of the fingers. Despite the great power it grants its wielder, the Gauntlet has a flaw: it must be clenched before the power of any Stone could be accessed. In addition, the snap Thanos used to wipe out half the universe also caused considerable damage to his body, notably his left arm all the way up to the left side of his neck.
The Infinity Gauntlet is tremendously durable; able to withstand having all six Infinity Stones embedded into it. However, after Thanos used the power of all six Stones to wipe out half the life of the universe, it was heavily damaged, though remaining functional as Thanos used the Time Stone, the Reality Stone and the Soul Stone to undo his wounds and the Space Stone to escape.
Eitri added weaknesses to the Gauntlet, which allowed Stormbreaker, another one of Eitri's creations, to overpower it.[5][6]
Trivia
- In the comics, the Infinity Gauntlet was originally a glove from Thanos' own armor modified to house the individual Infinity Gems.
- The Infinity Stones shown in the Gauntlet in Odin's Vault are fakes created by Asgardians, presumably to show how the item is supposed to look, although the order of the Stones is vastly different from Thanos' order. Hela later revealed that the Gauntlet itself was also merely a fake.
- Each stone's visual effects are unique, for example; when using the Time Stone, Thanos (just like Strange) had green rings encircle his arm, but while using the Power Stone, Thanos' fist would glow purple.
- Each stone illuminates when in use, indicating which one(s) are currently being utilized by the wearer.
Behind the Scenes
- The Infinity Gauntlet prop from Thor was showcased at Comic-Con 2010, while Josh Brolin entered the stage wearing a fake Infinity Gauntlet glove at Comic-Con 2014.
- After the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed that in the Marvel Cinematic Universe there were two Infinity Gauntlets, and that the one Thanos retrieved was not in Odin's Vault.[7]
- When asked how Stormbreaker could overpower the power of the completed Infinity Gauntlet, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely suggest that Eitri is responsible because of his "Dwarven magic": He made both items and made it so that Stormbreaker is able to defeat the Infinity Gauntlet.[5]
- Regarding the Decimation, Christopher Markus has stated that the immense amount of energy of using all six Infinity Stones at once would kill anyone who attempts it, even with the Infinity Gauntlet, and "the strongest being in the universe has to be the one to do it," referring to Thanos.[5]
References
- ↑ Thor
- ↑ Thor: Ragnarok
- ↑ Avengers: Age of Ultron Mid-credits Scene
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Avengers: Infinity War
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Infinity War Spoilers: Screenwriters Go In-Depth on Making of Film
- ↑ Infinity War: Epic 2-Hour Spoiler Interview with the Russo Brothers
- ↑ The Big Secret Behind The Infinity Gauntlet, According To Marvel's Kevin Feige
