Warning!! The following contains spoilers for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, available October 26.
Guardians of the Galaxy is a rock and roll space adventure, but the origin of its main threat is fairly humble. While the Guardians initially find themselves in hot water with the Nova Corps over an incursion into a quarantine zone, they soon must contend with the Universal Church of Truth, a threat that literally spans the whole universe.
However, the Univeral Church of Truth isn’t a threat of their own accord, but rather because the Guardians themselves messed up. Throughout the game's opening, the actions of the Guardians allow the Church to rise to power, and it all kicks off with a moment of pure happenstance in the tutorial. There, the game has players accidentally interact with a powerful object from the history of Marvel Comics and one of the MCU’s most potent weapons: the Soul Stone.
Honestly, it’s pretty masterful how the Soul Stone is hidden from plain sight in the game. Players are distracted by the idea of a contest between Star-Lord and Rocket to see who can shoot the most parasitic egg sacks while exploring the quarantine zone for a monster worthy of impressing Lady Hellbender. It’s when you shoot the final one that the Soul Stone pops out, releasing a terrifying black space creature that is eventually revealed to be the game’s actual big bad, Magus.
In a pretty significant difference to the comic book and Marvel Cinematic Universe takes on the Guardians, though, neither Quill nor Rocket recognize the Soul Stone, and it’s the only Infinity Stone mentioned in the game. This, coupled with the revelation that Thanos is already long dead, having been killed by Drax the Destroyer prior to the game’s events, indicates that this universe has managed to avoid an Infinity Gauntlet level conflict.
Of course, most modern fans will be familiar with the Soul Stone from the MCU, where it was a central object of interest in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. There, the Soul Stone is hidden on Vormire, where it is watched over by the Stonekeeper (a displaced Red Skull). The Soul Stone in the MCU requires a sacrifice and is obtained through Thanos’ sacrifice of Gamora in Infinity War and Black Widow’s decision to sacrifice herself in Endgame.
The comics’ version, however, hews closer to what the game presents. In the comics, the Soul Stone is most commonly associated with Adam Warlock, who watched over it as part of his Infinity Watch while also mastering its powers. Most notably, the Soul Stone is itself a dimension that collects souls, which has allowed many a character to cheat death. While that power isn’t explicitly on display in Guardians of the Galaxy, an approximation of it is what ultimately allowed Warlock’s darker half, Magus, to flourish, giving way to the deceptive nature of the Universal Church of Truth and its twisted Promise.
At the game’s end, the Soul Stone is left in Warlock’s care yet again, as he attempts to mend the universe following the Universal Church’s attack. While no other Stones are teased throughout the game, a clear path is set up for future appearances. While no information or plans on a sequel are known at this time, it’s easy to see how Guardians’ plot could be setting up a truly massive storyline for a sequel.