Why Marvel's Infinity Stones Are All On Earth

Avengers: Infinity War is easily one of the most hotly-anticipated movies of the year. It's the culmination of a decade's worth of build-up, with Thanos the Mad Titan finally arriving on Earth in pursuit of the Infinity Stones. Marvel is still keeping the final Infinity Stone under wraps, but fans have noticed one striking detail. These Infinity Stones keep ending up on Earth.

The Time Stone has been on Earth since the days of Agamotto, the first Sorcerer Supreme. The Tesseract wound up abandoned on Earth too, protected by an ancient Norse cult. Although the Aether was kept on another world, it still found its way to Earth. And Loki brought the Mind Stone to Earth; it's still here, protected by the Vision. The Soul Stone remains a mystery, but to date only one of the Infinity Stones hasn't wound up on Earth. It's a big galaxy; so just why do the Infinity Stones keep coming to Earth?

The Secret of the Infinity Stones

Unsurprisingly, a possible explanation is actually found in the comics. Although fans mostly connect the Infinity Gems (as they are in the comics) to their creator, Jim Starlin, many writers have penned tales that involved these cosmic artifacts. In 2010, for example, Brian Bendis had a mystic known as the Hood begin to track the Infinity Gems down. At the time, they'd been hidden away - secreted away by members of the so-called Illuminati. Unfortunately, the Hood learned the location of the Reality Stone and recovered it.

That's where things took an intriguing twist. The Illuminati had learned that the Infinity Gems were drawn to one another. "As [the Hood] acquires them," Professor X explained, "You should know, the Gems may start to reach out to one another." It turned out the Infinity Gems are drawn to one another, as if by a sort of magnetism.

Earth Is At The Heart Of It All

The MCU heroes in Avengers: Infinity War

It seems that, in ancient times, a group of beings used the Infinity Stones. They then attempted to secrete them away; the Power Stone, for example, was hidden on the deserted world of Morag. Only one Stone truly remained in play: the Time Stone, which was used by Agamotto - the first Sorcerer Supreme - to stand in defense of our reality.

So the Infinity Stones had been scattered. Back in those ancient times, Earth would be the perfect hiding place for the Time Stone. It was, after all, a cosmic backwater; the Time Stone was essentially trapped on a primitive planet, on a world overlooked by other races, with no way off-world. But, crucially, it's possible the Time Stone was still exerting a pull on the other Infinity Stones. It was inexorably drawing the other Infinity Stones to Earth. That's why the Tesseract, the Jewel of Odin's Treasure Vault, wound up left on Earth. It's why the Convergence triggered a rift that brought the Aether to Earth. It's also likely why Thanos gave Loki the Mind Stone in the first place; he knew that Loki would need it to find any Infinity Stone on Earth.

If this theory is correct, though, it raises an ominous possibility. For every Infinity Stone Thanos collects, he will be increasingly drawn to the others. His awareness of their presence and their position will keep increasing. The Avengers can run - but there's no way they can hide.

Of course, this is only a theory. It's one that matches with the facts, though, and that has precedent in the original comics. If this theory is correct, Avengers: Infinity War may provide the proof, as Thanos attempts to assemble the Infinity Gauntlet and "rebalance the universe."

MORE: Where The Hell Is The Soul Stone?