If you haven’t heard by now, Infinity Stones are kind of a big deal. I mean, they’re about to start a war… 🙂

I really cannot believe that Avengers: Infinity War opens in theaters THIS WEEK! If you’ve been watching the Marvel movie marathon with me, then you know that this film is going to be epic. 10 years and 18 movies later, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to collide on one screen.

If you’re planning to see the movie this weekend, you probably don’t have time to watch all of the movies as a refresher. (I did tell you to start in January, didn’t I?!) But don’t you worry. I’m sharing a quick guide on what Infinity Stones are and where you’ve seen them in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

What is an Infinity Stone?

Well, let’s have the Collector explain it, shall we?

There you have it. As the Collector said:

“Before creation itself, there were six singularities. Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots… Infinity Stones.”

If wielded by a being of immense power (your average Joe shouldn’t go near them, I’m looking at you, Ant-Man), an Infinity Stone grants the individual who possesses it a power, and when all six are combined, they can destroy planets, solar systems… maybe even the entire universe?

Who is Thanos? And Why Does He Want the Six Infinity Stones?

Thanos, aka the Dark Lord and the Mad Titan, is a powerful warlord who yearns to collect all six Infinity Stones in an attempt to use their power to destroy the entire universe. We also know that politics bore him and that he has a favorite daughter, Gamora.

Throughout the previous MCU films, Thanos has tried relying on the likes of Loki and Ronan the Accuser to collect him Infinity Stones. But when both of their attempts to retrieve a stone for Thanos failed, and subsequently brought both the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy together, Thanos has now determined that the collection of the Infinity Stones is a job he must do himself.

What are the Six Infinity Stones?

I’m glad you asked. With multiple names and appearances in various movies, it can be challenging to keep them all straight. Let’s start at the beginning.

The Space Stone

The Space Stone is commonly known as the Tesseract. You’ll largely remember it from the first Captain America and Avengers. For you visual folks, here’s a quick recap of where you’ve seen it on the screen.

Thor’s post-credits scene with Professor Erik Selvig, Nicky Fury, and Loki:

Red Skull and Zola’s experiements in Captain America: The First Avenger:

Opening space portals in Avengers:

In the recent Avengers: Infinity War trailer, we’ve seen Loki has the Tesseract. And since it was last seen in Asgard’s now destroyed vaults (Thor returned it to Asgard at the end of Avengers), we can assume the trickster snagged it before Asgard’s destruction in Thor: Ragnarok.

The Mind Stone

The Mind Stone first appeared in Avengers, powering Loki’s scepter and helping him to control the minds of Professor Erik Selvig and Hawkeye. And interestingly enough, it was granted to Loki by none other than Thanos himself to help aid Loki’s attempted invasion of Earth with the Chitauri.

The scepter’s role did not stop in the first Avengers. The Mind Stone also had a large role to play in Avengers: Age of Ultron. It gave the Twins, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, their abilities and it also brought Vision to life.

And if you had to take a guess where the Mind Stone is as we enter Avengers: infinity War? Yep, you guessed it — it’s with Vision.

The Reality Stone

Seen thus far only in Thor: The Dark World, the Reality Stone is also known as the Aether, an ancient force which has the potential to alter the entire universe.

After the Aether was seized in Thor: The Dark World, it was taken to the Collector to store in his collection on Knowhere for safekeeping by Lady Sif and Volstagg since they deemed it unwise to keep both the Aether and the Tesseract in the Asgard vaults.

The Power Stone

Introduced to Marvel films during the first Guardians of the Galaxy, the Power Stone was found by Peter Quill as the orb on Morag.

Throughout GOTG, Ronan the Accuser sought the orb on behalf of Thanos who agreed to wipe out all Xandarians if Ronan could deliver the orb to him. However, after Ronan saw the power the orb possessed, he decided to keep it for himself. But leave it to the GOTG to save the day. While the power stone vaporizes anyone who comes in contact with it, the GOTG have one thing that most do not — Peter Quill and his Celestial ancestry.

At the end of Guardians of the Galaxy, the Guardians left the Power Stone in the hands of the Nova Corps on Xandar for safe keeping.

The Time Stone

The Time Stone offers the power to, well, manipulate time. Seen in Doctor Strange, the Time Stone is contained in the Eye of Agamotto and was used by the Sorcerer Supreme to trap Dormammu, an inter-dimensional villain, in a never-ending time loop.

The Time Stone is currently being fashionably worn by Doctor Strange in NYC.

The Soul Stone

Ahhh, the mysterious Soul Stone. While there are many theories as to the location of the final Infinity Stone, it has yet to be unveiled to the MCU. Some of the most popular ideas believe that the missing stone is in Wakanda and that it plays a role with the Heart-Shaped Herb which grants access to the Ancestral Plan. Another theory is that Asgard’s Heimdall has it, lending itself to his ability see every soul. There are a ton more theories, ranging from it being a planet to Tony Stark himself, and you can read up on them on ScreenRant. But in the end, we don’t know where the Soul Stone is… yet.

And if there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that there is still a lot of mystery surrounding all six Infinity Stones. I can’t wait to see what Avengers: Infinity War has in store for the MCU… I’m excited, a little nervous, and a little sad that the anticipation for this film is coming to an end. (It’s part of the fun!)

Are you planning to see Avengers: Infinity War in theaters opening weekend? Gear up with my favorite Avengers items!