WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Avengers: Infinity War

Thanos is coming for the Infinity Stones of Marvel's movie universe in Infinity War, but they're not the same as the comic book versions they're based on. It can't be said if the changes will be an improvement or disappointment just yet, or how changed the final Infinity Stones will be from the Infinity Gems of the comics. After all, we know that the Infinity War movie isn't following the comic story at all. But that doesn't mean fans have to wait to find out what powers the Infinity Stones will give Thanos.

To help fans prepare for the collection of Infinity Stones in Avengers 3, we're breaking down the versions introduced in the MCU thus far. What we know, what powers they've been shown to possess, and if the comic book Infinity Gems they're based on are more or less powerful. The arrival of Thanos may shock the Avengers, but the Stones themselves won't catch fans off guard - provided they do their homework.

With one last potential SPOILER warning, here's How Marvel's Infinity Stones Are Different From The Comics.

This Page: Space, Power & Time Stone Differences

The Space Stone

The first Infinity Stone to appear in the MCU, the Space Stone was mistaken for a different artifact, thanks to the matrix containing it - in the form of a cube. Originally referred to as a Cosmic Cube and sought out by Red Skull, even the mad scientists seemed to only grasp that the Cube was a source of cosmic power. They could use it as such, and power weapons and explosives with its energy. But it was only in The Avengers when it was used to "open a doorway" across space - first for Loki, then later the entire Chitarui army. As shown in trailers for Infinity War, Thanos will also be using the Space Stone to open portals from and to wherever he wishes, barring unknown limitations.

In the comics, things are very different... and more confusing than other Stone. Mainly because there are Marvel artifacts called Cosmic Cubes that have nothing to do with the Infinity Stones. Thanos will be crushing the Cube/Tesseract in Infinity War to take the Stone within, and THAT we can compare more easily.

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The comic book version of the Space Gem is purple, not blue, and teleportation was the simplest use. It can also be used to move the wielder through space faster than thought, effectively granting super-speed. It also allows the wielder to appear in several places at once, exist in several places at once, and when combined with the other Infinity Gems at its full power, allow its wielder to exist in ALL places at once. Not to mention manipulate the physical location of people, objects, and planets in any way imaginable.

The Power Stone

The MacGuffin of choice for the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, the artifact being referred to as an item of "power" is perfectly broad and unspecific. It's also the first time Marvel movie characters understand that the Infinity Stones can't be wielded by just anybody. Massive beings like the Celestials could, and entire planets were burned to ash in moments due to its power. Its power as a weapon, specifically (with the raw energy spewing from it unleashed, more than directed).

In the comics, the red Power Gem was a bit less volatile, lending the one who possessed it amplified power-- as in raw strength, not uncontrollable energy. Before its true origin and power was known, the Gem could even boost strength subconsciously. When Thanos completed his Infinity Gauntlet, using the Power Gem to access the full potential of the others combined, he was nearly unstoppable. In his fight with the Avengers, he actually claimed to only use the Power Gem to give the heroes a fighting chance, such was his already-superior physiology and lethality. He also had the knowledge to access every power that ever was, or ever will be (as in superpower, not just cosmic force).

The Time Stone

Aside from being a dark orange/amber in the comics, the Time Stone established in Doctor Strange is the least changed from its comic book counterpart (at least concerning the powers exhibited so far). The power to control time, shifting it forward or backward to either destroy or create, and the ability to trap enemies in an endless time loop cover most of its abilities. Combined with the other Gems the other powers could usually be granted another dimension to spread their effects. Create a portal through time, gain knowledge, presence, or change reality through all time at once, for example.

The main difference as can be inferred from its presentation in Doctor Strange, is that the Time Stone is also too powerful to be wielded in its bare form by everyday humans. It would appear that the first Sorcerer Supreme, Agamotto devised a way to access and control the Time Stone using the mystic arts as a safety buffer. For a creature like Thanos though, such manipulations and spells are likely meaningless.

The Reality Stone

The true power and nature of the Infinity Stone in the MCU may have been vaguely sketched from the start, but none is worse than the Power Stone, introduced as the Aether in Thor: The Dark World. Sought by Malekith, a Dark Elf from a time when all Creation was darkness, he wished to use the Aether to "turn matter into anti-matter." Death to the world, death to the other realms, death to... well, that's where things get fuzzy. Once attained, Malekith used the Power Stone inside the Aether (knowingly or not) to... reach out liquid strands and... do evil. But only during the Convergence, when doorways into the Nine Realms were packed closely together.

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The comic book version, as fans might predict, is far less ambiguous in its powers (and yellow). As its name implies, the Reality Gem offers its wielder power over reality itself. Make a wish, and the Gem makes it so. With the powers of the Time and Space Gem, such a move can be pulled off so that few could ever sense, or reverse it. On its own, its a dangerous tool - but eerily effective on a small scale.

Thanos used the Reality Gem in battle to turn Wolverine's adamantium bones to rubber, to shrink the Hulk, and to infect She-Hulk with a crippling disease. Or, should Thanos choose to combine it with the rest of the Infinity Stones, remake the universe by killing half of all life contained within it with just a snap of his fingers...

The Mind Stone

The Mind Stone proved the most confusing to finally unlock and classify in Marvel's movie universe. In the comics the Mind Gem was a blue stone that granted the wielder control over minds of all sentient lifeforms. Practically, that meant the ability to access thought, dreams, and influence subtly, or directly, the thought and actions of one's friends and enemies. Combined with the other Gems granting passage across time, space, and reality, the wielder of the Mind Gem could access and control the shared mind or subconscious of all life simultaneously.

The movies made things complicated from the start, when Loki returned in Avengers carry a staff with a blue stone, used to brainwash servants with a single touch. The casual audience may have assumed it was drawn from the power of the Tesseract, but comic fans suspected it was the (similarly blue) Mind Stone making its first appearance. That theory was confirmed when Ultron cracked open the scepter to take the yellow Mind Stone, but the powers have yet to be clearly defined.

The Mind Stone was analyzed by Tony Stark as an artificial intelligence of sorts, from which Ultron was synthesized (fitting with the idea that at least some of the Infinity Stones have minds of their own). The Mind Stone also gave Scarlet Witch the ability to read minds and project energy with her own... and gave Quicksilver super-speed. It also helped make Vision... Vision, but the true power or limitations of the movie's Mind Stone are still vague.

The Soul Stone

Finally, we arrive at the great mystery: where is the Soul Stone in the Marvel movie universe? Marketing material confirm that it will be orange in color, whenever it finally reveals itself. More recently, a spoiler warning for Infinity War may tease the Soul Stone in the Infinity Gauntlet already. All things considered, it isn't hard to understand why Marvel has kept the Soul Stone a secret above all its fellow Infinity Stones. Not when you know the power it wields in the comics... and how they could impact a blockbuster movie's story and stingers.

In the comics, the Soul Gem was actually the first to be introduced, eventually revealed to be just one of six then-named Soul Gems. It was one of a kind in those days, and placed in the forehead of Adam Warlock upon his birth. Eventually, the Soul Stone was revealed to be alive and hungry for souls, yearning to absorb them into the idyllic 'Soul World' paradise contained within it. No need to go beyond the obvious this time: power over souls means power over the living and the dead - and the ability to turn one to the other.

Inside the Infinity Gauntlet alongside the other universe-spanning Stones, Thanos can snuff half of all souls out of existence, killing countless innocents. The mystery of how the MCU's Soul Stone will relate to the coming Adam Warlock, or any killed-to-be-later-resurrected heroes is intact for now. The one thing we do know? It will be orange now, as opposed to green in the comics.

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