Complete MCU History Of The Tesseract: When It Appears In The Timeline

The Tesseract, or Space Stone, has appeared throughout the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The ancient history of the Infinity Stones is something of a mystery, even after all this time. According to the Collector in Guardians of the Galaxy, the Infinity Stones originated from the universe before the current one; they somehow survived the Big Crunch of their universe and the Big Bang that created the new. "The remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots," the Collector continued. "Infinity Stones."

It's generally assumed the Celestials were the ones who did this. The Celestials existed when the universe was very young, and they have been associated with several of the Infinity Stones; the Collector showed chilling footage of the Power Stone being used to judge entire worlds, while in Avengers: Endgame, Nebula described the Soul Stone as being hidden on Vormir, "the center of Celestial civilization." Whatever the case may be, at some point in time, someone chose to scatter the Infinity Stones across the stars, concealing them. The Space Stone became the Tesseract, and it was secreted on Asgard, the jewel of Odin's treasure vault. Ancient images show the All-Father using the Space Stone to travel between the Nine Realms. It's reasonable to assume the Bifrost Bridge was originally created using the Tesseract.

For unknown reasons, Odin decided to hide the Tesseract away on Earth. According to Marvel's official timelines, he did this in 1409 AD, trusting the Tesseract to a cult at Tønsberg, Norway. The cult remained until the 20th century, guarding the Tesseract with their lives.

The Tesseract Was Discovered In Captain America: The First Avenger

The Tesseract remained hidden until 1942 when it was recovered by the Red Skull and the forces of Hydra. The Red Skull believed the myths of Asgard and the Norse gods contained the seeds of truth, and he had discovered the existence of the cult of Odin at Tønsberg. Realizing the treasures they guarded, the Red Skull laid siege to Tønsberg, successfully capturing both the Tesseract and the Book of Yggdrasil. Seen in more detail in Thor: The Dark World, the Book of Yggdrasil tells the story of the Nine Realms and the history of Odin's family. The Red Skull thus learned the secrets of the universe, including the existence of the Infinity Stones.

As shown in Captain America: The First Avenger, Hydra learned how to siphon the Tesseract's power into devastating weapons. Fortunately, they were opposed by Captain America and the SSR, the organization destined to become SHIELD. The final battle between Captain America and the Red Skull took place on board the Red Skull's bomber as it flew over the Pacific Ocean. The Red Skull made the mistake of handling the Tesseract, and he was transported to the distant and deserted world of Vormir, where he would live his life in the presence of the Soul Stone. The Tesseract was lost in the ocean, recovered by Howard Stark sometime later as he attempted to find Captain America's body. As revealed in Avengers: Endgame, Stark kept the Tesseract close at hand over the decades, continuing to study it.

The Tesseract Resurfaced In Captain Marvel

The Tesseract found its way to Project PEGASUS, a joint venture between SHIELD and the USAF. Howard Stark worked with Project PEGASUS at some point - Tony Stark accessed his father's PEGASUS records in Iron Man 2 - and thus, he presumably gave them access to the Tesseract. This drew the attention of the rogue Kree scientist Mar-Vell, who sought to use the Tesseract to create a new form of interstellar travel that would allow her to take Skrull refugees to safety where the Kree could never reach them. In 1989, six years before the events of Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell created a prototype ship powered by Tesseract technology. Unfortunately, it was shot down by the Kree, and Mar-Vell was killed. Her pilot, Carol Danvers, was irradiated with Tesseract energy and granted phenomenal powers. Mar-Vell had taken the Tesseract, hiding it aboard a cloaked ship in orbit around Earth; it was lost for years.

Carol Danvers was taken by the Kree and brainwashed into becoming one of their agents. However, the brainwashing didn't take, and her memories gradually returned when she arrived on Earth again in 1995. She learned the truth of her own past, discovered Mar-Vell's identity, and even located the Tesseract. It was swallowed by Goose, an alien Flerken, and sometime later was vomited back up on Nick Fury's desk at SHIELD in Captain Marvel's end-credits scene.

Erik Selvig Is Recruited To Examine The Tesseract In Thor

The Tesseract appeared in Thor, a movie generally believed to be set in 2011; its existence was first teased in a book on Norse mythology, which showed an old sketch of Odin using it. The post-credit scene saw Nick Fury recruit Erik Selvig to Project PEGASUS, revealing the Tesseract to him. Unknown to Fury, Selvig was under the influence of Loki, who immediately realized he had just discovered something very powerful indeed. According to the tie-in comic Fury's Big Week, SHIELD had been trying to tap into the power of the Tesseract for years - probably ever since the events of Captain Marvel - but had been unable to figure out how to extract Tesseract energy. Under the influence of Loki, Selvig began to succeed where SHIELD had failed.

The Tesseract Drove Events In The Avengers

At the end of Thor, Loki was cast into the Multiverse. He was discovered by Thanos and used his knowledge of the Tesseract to persuade the Mad Titan to spare his life. Loki traveled to Earth and stole the Tesseract from Project PEGASUS at the beginning of The Avengers, destroying the entire facility in a burst of Tesseract energy. He then combined the power of the Tesseract and his Scepter - actually the Mind Stone - to create a massive portal in the skies over New York. Fortunately, the Avengers assembled to save the day, and Thanos' Chitauri army was dealt a grievous blow. Thor used the Tesseract to return to Asgard with Loki as his prisoner, and according to the Thor: The Dark World Prelude tie-in comic book Odin used the Tesseract to rebuild the Bifrost Bridge. He then secreted it away in his vault, where it lay until Thor: Ragnarok, when Loki once again stole it.

Thanos Acquired The Infinity Stone In Avengers: Infinity War

This proved to be a fatal mistake for Loki because the Tesseract drew the attention of Thanos. Avengers: Infinity War opened with half of the Asgardian refugees slaughtered at Thanos' hands, and Loki was forced to hand the Tesseract over by Thanos. The Mad Titan broke it apart, revealing the Infinity Stone within, and slotted it into place in the Infinity Gauntlet. This was the first Infinity Stone retrieved by Thanos, and it was the first he mastered. He learned to combine the Space Stone and the Power Stone to torture his daughter Nebula and later to drag a moon out of orbit and toss it at the Avengers in battle on Titan. In one remarkable scene at Wakanda, he used the Space Stone to turn Bruce Banner intangible.

Ultimately, Thanos succeeded in his insane mission. He collected all the Infinity Stones and combined their power to destroy half the life in the universe. As revealed in Avengers: Endgame, he then destroyed the Infinity Stones, believing that would prevent anyone from reversing what he had done. Fortunately for the cosmos, the Avengers used time travel to retrieve the Tesseract from elsewhere in the timeline and achieved the impossible.

A New Tesseract Timeline Has Been Created For Loki

Loki grabs the Tesseract in Avengers Endgame

The Avengers' time travel exploits unwittingly created a new timeline, one in which Loki escaped immediately after the Battle of New York - with the Tesseract in his possession. This branched timeline was explored in the Disney+ Loki TV series, which saw the trickster god captured and put on trial by the Time Variance Authority (TVA). Although they confiscated the Tesseract, he swiftly regained it, only to learn Infinity Stones don't work in the TVA. In the comics, Infinity Stones only work in the timeline they originated from, losing their power if they are transported to other timelines or planes of existence. The same is likely true in the MCU, explaining why Infinity Stones were nothing more than paperweights to the TVA.

Marvel's What If...? Introduced Another Tesseract Timeline

The first episode of Marvel's What If...? introduced another timeline where the Tesseract was important. In this timeline, Peggy Carter became a super-soldier instead of Steve Rogers. She successfully took the Tesseract from the Red Skull before he could begin his experiments with Tesseract energy. Howard Stark instead used the Tesseract to power the almost indestructible Hydra Stomper armor worn by Steve Rogers as Peggy's sidekick and love interest, but unfortunately, it was ultimately recaptured by Hydra. The Red Skull used the Tesseract to open a portal and unleash a horrific monster upon the world (possibly Shuma-Gorath, one of the Elder Gods). Captain Carter forced the creature back into the portal, which closed behind her.

In a rather appropriate twist, seventy years later, scientists succeeded in opening the Tesseract portal and freeing Captain Carter. It seems the Tesseract's wormholes can travel through time, which makes sense since wormholes connect one point in spacetime with another. Given some time did pass for Captain Carter in the wormhole, she didn't emerge in exactly the same posture as when she jumped in, meaning there was some sort of experience of time. It's unknown whether the Tesseract can be used to travel to the past as well as to the future or whether its power allows for wormholes to link branched timelines in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

More: Marvel Is Retconning The Tesseract (Again)?