Guardians Of The Galaxy: Why The Power Stone Doesn't Kill Ronan (At First)

Ronan the Accuser briefly holds the dangerously lethal Power Stone in Guardians of the Galaxy, yet he survives, despite the stone killing most beings who touch it. As one of the MCU’s six Infinity Stones, the Power Stone is one of the most dangerous objects in the universe, and it’s shown to hold too much power for most beings in the film. Ronan’s species and the time he spent handling the stone explain his survival, however.

The Power Stone was central to the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy, with various parties, including Ronan and the fledgling Guardians themselves, seeking the gem. The Power Stone, fittingly, seems to have the most intrinsic power of all the Infinity Stones, and Ronan sought to use it against Xandar. The stone was finally acquired and used by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War to kill half of all life in the universe, but The Avengers used a version of it in Avengers: Endgame to resurrect everybody killed by the Mad Titan.

Rather than giving the Power Stone to Thanos, Ronan uses it for his own nefarious goals in Guardians of the Galaxy. Grabbing the Power Stone from its housing, The Orb, and struggling to contain its power for a time, Ronan places the gem in his weapon, the Cosmi-Rod, allowing him to use its power safely. Ronan’s brief time holding the Power Stone, however, can be explained by his heightened Kree durability and the fact that he only spent a few brief moments holding the Infinity Stone. The Power Stone is extremely dangerous to handle for most beings, as shown when Carina dies almost instantly upon picking up the gem. Carina was a Krylorian, a humanoid species whose physiology appears quite similar to a human’s. Ronan, on the other hand, is a Kree, whose strength and durability are far greater than most humanoids, giving him greater resistance to the Power Stone’s energy.

Even by Kree standards, however, Ronan’s physical traits are exceptional due to augmentation afforded to him by his position within Kree society. Ronan is an Accuser, which is an elite Kree military force whose augmentations come from their advanced battle armor. Thanks to his suit, Ronan is shown easily overpowering beings like Drax before his strength is further increased by the Power Stone. Ronan’s enhanced resistance to the stone’s power is further highlighted by Korath the Pursuer, a Kree soldier with less specialized gear, being visibly hesitant to approach Ronan while he was handling the Power Stone. Thanks to the augmentations afforded by his Kree warrior armor, Ronan survived direct contact with the Power Stone before giving it a new housing.

Despite his heightened resistance to the Power Stone, Ronan is only shown holding it for under a minute before embedding it in the Cosmi-Rod. During his brief exposure to it, the Power Stone’s energy visibly begins to overwhelm Ronan, and he likely would have perished if he’d held onto it for much longer. Star-Lord, who is half-Celestial, has natural durability that far outclasses Ronan's (even in his Accuser battle armor), allowing him to withstand the raw power of the Power Stone while his companions managed to contain some of the stone’s power by distributing its excess energy amongst each other. While Ronan lacked the durability of a half-Celestial, he held the Power Stone and lived in Guardians of the Galaxy thanks to his superhuman Kree physiology, Accuser armor, and brief time holding the stone.

Next: What If Phase 1's Originally Planned Avengers Had Fought Thanos?