The Avengers premiered in 2012 and fans couldn't believe that their favorite heroes were all together in one movie. In 2018, when Marvel released Avengers: Infinity War, fans were in shock to see pretty much every Marvel hero from the Marvel Cinematic Universe make an appearance! With a film that big with so many moving parts, problems are definitely going to come up. These issues can range from continuity problems to plot holes. There were big issues regarding missing characters (we'll hopefully see you soon, Hawkeye) as well as character motivations. Why, for example, couldn't Thanos just double resources in the universe instead of halving the population? Regardless, we think the biggest problems aren't with the characters or with the plot, but with the actual Infinity Stones themselves.
Marvel has been hyping up the arrival of Thanos and the Infinity Stones for the past ten years! You think with all of that prep time they would have paid more attention to some of the finer details regarding the Stones. The Collector's assistant, Carina, touched the Power Stone and exploded, almost destroying the entirety of the Collector's collections. However, plenty of other people touched the Stones and lived to tell the tale. If the Stones were so hard to find, with Thanos and Thor searching the galaxy for them, how come no one simply just asked Heimdall? That guy can see everything in the Nine Realms! Our revelations about the Infinity Stones not making sense won't take away from your love of Avengers: Infinity War, but it will make most fans scratch their heads at some of the more obvious things they may have missed!
20 WHY COULDN'T THOR FIND ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE INFINITY STONES?
In Thor: Ragnarok, the film began with the God of Thunder trying to gather information on the Infinity Stones, and we learned that Thor found out virtually nothing! He only found out about Thanos when The Mad Titan captured him during the post-credit scenes.
To make things even more confusing, after Thor is rescued by the Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor tells the Guardians that Thanos has the Power Stone by decimating Xandar and the Nova Corps. When did Thor learn this? Most importantly, why don't the Guardians know this? If Thor knew about Xandar then he probably learned of the Guardians and Peter Quill touching an Infinity Stone. Why didn't Thor seek out the Guardians earlier?
19 WHY ARE THE STONES SO CLOSE TOGETHER?
In Ant-Man and the Wasp, we learned about the Quantum Realm, a sub-atomic universe that exists in the space between atoms. The 2016 film Doctor Strange also introduced audiences to alternate dimensions such as the Mirror Dimension and the Dark Dimension. The list goes on and on, and new realities are revealed with almost every Marvel movie, which makes the placement of the Stones so strange.
Why are the Infinity Stones so "close" together? The Marvel Cinematic Universe has shown us that there are other worlds and dimensions, so why not make the effort and scatter them in different realities? If Ant-Man was around for Infinity War, he could have taken the Soul Stone to the Quantum Realm and hid it there!
18 WHO MADE THE RED SKULL GUARDIAN OF THE SOUL STONE?
Audiences were shocked when the Red Skull made an appearance in Avengers: Infinity War. As opposed to being dusted by touching the Tesseract, it sent him to the planet Vormir where he became the Stonekeeper of the Soul Stone. Why did the Tesseract "decide" to punish him instead of incinerating him? Does that happen to any person that touches it?
Also, why would the Tesseract, which is later revealed to be the Space Stone, do a switcharoo and make him the guardian of the Soul Stone? Why are the Space and Soul Stones connected in that way? How was it explained to him the mechanics of sacrificing someone in order to obtain the Soul Stone? If there is a consciousness associated with the stones, why are they letting Thanos get away with such an act?
17 WHY DIDN'T DR. STRANGE USE THE "DORMAMMU TRICK" IN INFINITY WAR?
Most action films have the climax of the movie feature the hero and villain punching it out until the last person standing is the victor. The end of Doctor Strange was unique, because it involved the hero sacrificing himself against Dormammu, a being so powerful the fledgling magician had no hopes of beating him. Instead of punching or zapping him, he traps the two of them in an endless time loop.
It was an excellent gamble in which Dr. Strange was willing to be trapped with Dormammu forever in a repeating time circle to save the Earth, so why couldn't Strange do the same trick with Thanos? What good is the Power Stone or Reality Stone against someone who can trap you in the same few minutes for the rest of eternity?
16 WHY DID VISION HAVE THE MIND STONE?
Vision didn't have a say as to how he was constructed; that was all done by Ultron in the Avengers sequel. Vision's body was comprised of artificial tissue blended with Vibranium, and the cherry on top was the addition of the Soul Stone. However, what did Ultron intend on doing by putting the Soul Stone in the body of an android?
Interestingly enough, the Scarlet Witch was able to read the mind of Ultron even though he's a machine, so perhaps he did have plans after all to use his "mind" with the Mind Stone. Was there some sort of .pdf file left for J.A.R.V.I.S. to understand how to operate the Soul Stone, or was he given some glimpse into Ultron's master plan for it?
15 WHY DIDN'T HEIMDALL KNOW WHERE THE MISSING STONES WERE?
Odin was King of Asgard, and was considered one of the most powerful Asgardians that ever existed, but did even the son of Bor have the kind of vision that Heimdall possessed? Loki wondered if Odin feared Heimdall due to his ability to see and hear everything in the Nine Realms. So, if he can see everything, he missed some pretty big things.
Why wasn't Heimdall the first person Thor spoke to when he was out looking for the Infinity Stones? Why didn't Thanos force Heimdall to tell him the location of the Soul Stone? Plus, how could Heimdall miss the giant ship the size of a moon approach the Asgardian space vessel as it was traveling to Earth in the post-credits scene of Thor: Ragnarok?
14 WHY DOES THE REALITY STONE FUNCTION MORE LIKE THE SOUL STONE?
In Thor: The Dark World, the Reality Stone was a liquid referred to as the Aether. Jane Foster was transported off of Earth during the Convergence, a moment every five-thousand years when the Nine Realms align. She made contact with the Aether and the liquid possessed her body.
The Reality Stone was used by Thanos to change Drax's body into cubes and the body of Mantis into ribbon in Avengers: Infinity War. However, in the Thor sequel, the Aether seems to possess people, and Odin says it draws strength from the life force of the being it possesses.. The Soul Stone's power set is never really explained, but if any of the Infinity Stones are going to deal with possession, the Soul Stone would be it.
13 HOW DID THE MIND STONE GIVE QUICKSILVER AND SCARLET WITCH THEIR POWERS?
Quicksilver had the power to run at speeds normally impossible for a human. The Scarlet Witch had a variety of powers, including telekinesis and mind manipulation. These powers were granted to them by... the Mind Stone? Perhaps it might make sense that the Mind Stone gave the Scarlet Witch powers to implant images into people's minds, but why would it make Pietro run super-fast?
How did Hydra agent Baron Von Strucker actually give them powers? Was it the same way that Francis was able to pull powers from Wade Wilson at the beginning of Deadpool? If not, then why did they decide on those powers specifically? Was it exposure to Infinity Stone radiation? Did the Mind Stone power some sort of power-granting device?
12 WHY COULD THANOS ACTUALLY TOUCH THE INFINITY STONES?
In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Ego learned about Peter Quill after hearing Star Lord was physically able to touch an Infinity Stone, which was considered an amazing feat. Ronan the Accuser also did it briefly in the first Guardians movie but it was only for a few moments. How come Thanos doesn't seem to have any problems manhandling all six stones?
In the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos literally crushed the Tesseract in the palm of his hands to grab the Space Stone. He also physically touched the Mind Stone and the Time Stone, and only seemed to be in pain when the Infinity Stones were placed on his Gauntlet. Why is he able to touch them without being hurt or incinerated?
11 WHY DIDN'T THE AVENGERS USE THE MIND STONE AGAINST THANOS?
During the climatic Battle of Wakanda in which Steve Rogers, Black Panther and their allies fought off the Outriders and the Black Order, Shuri was busy trying to remove the Mind Stone from Vision's forehead. The goal was to remove it and destroy it before Thanos could use it in his Infinity Gauntlet. However, why didn't they try and fight fire with fire and use the Mind Stone against Thanos?
It seems like no efforts were made to try and harness the energies offensively. Couldn't they have asked Wanda how the Stone was used to give her powers? If Shuri is truly the smartest person on the Earth, maybe she could have used her smarts to weaponize the Stone against Thanos?
10 WHY WAS THE REALITY STONE INITIALLY LIQUID?
In Marvel Comics, the Infinity Stones were all referred to as the Soul Gems. Thanos himself renamed them the Infinity Gems, and in the MCU, they were rebranded to Infinity Stones. When is an Infinity Stone not a stone? When it's a liquid! The Reality Stone was introduced in Thor: The Dark World and was a liquid called the Aether.
Ronan the Accuser was able to use the Power Stone by embedding it in his mallet. Doctor Strange was able to use the Time Stone when it was embedded in the Eye of Agamotto that hung around his neck. Thanos himself used the Infinity Stones when they were in his gauntlet, so why did Malekith need the Aether to be a liquid for him to use and weaponize it?
9 HOW DOES THE INFINITY GAUNTLET WORK?
In the Marvel comics, the Infinity Gauntlet is merely the glove that Thanos normally wears with the Infinity Stones embedded into it. However, in the MCU, the Gauntlet was a special glove crafted by Asgardian Dwarves on Nidavellir. To use the glove, Thanos had to clench his fist together. Strange, Iron Man and the rest of the attacking heroes realized this and tried to prevent him from closing his fist.
How does closing his fist choose what stone he intends on using? Why is this the method used to active the Gauntlet, opposed to pointing with the finger that contains the Stone that you want to utilize? Why did Thanos know that an Asgardian-crafted Gauntlet made of Uru metal would be the best at handling the Infinity Stones?
8 WHY IS THE POWER STONE INCONSISTENT?
The Power Stone is what Ronan the Accuser almost used to destroy the planet Xandar. It's also assumed that Thanos probably tapped into the Power Stone during his fight with Hulk at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War. If the Power Stone is so spectacularly powerful, why did Thanos have such a hard time stopping the Avengers in the ruins of Titan?
If Thanos can take down the Hulk, how come he's not punching holes in the chests of Doctor Strange, Iron Man and Drax? Couldn't he just punch Titan in half, then disappear, leaving the Avengers floating around in space amongst the rubble? The Power Stone seemed to get weaker and weaker with every appearance.
7 WHAT IS THE RAY THAT SHOOTS OUT OF VISION'S MIND STONE?
In the comics, Vision had in his forehead a solar jewel. It absorbed sunlight and was able to concentrate it into a powerful solar blast. When Ultron built the Vision's body, he didn't install a solar jewel, but instead put in the Mind Stone, which begs the question: what is it that Vision is projecting from his forehead? Mind Stone energy?
Is Vision using the Stone the way that Ultron had intended, or is this something improvisational that the J.A.R.V.I.S. artificial intelligence was able to figure out while battling in Sokovia? If this is energy being projected from the Mind Stone itself, why not try and use that energy against Thanos and the other stones?
6 WHY DIDN'T THANOS USE HIS INFINITY STONES TO FIND THE OTHER STONES?
In Avengers: Infinity War, the Scarlet Witch destroyed the Vision's Soul Stone, but Thanos was able to undo the destruction with the use of his Time Stone. That being said, why couldn't Thanos use the Infinity Stones he was in possession of to find the other Stones? Could he have used the Time Stone to go back to a moment when all the Stones were closer?
When Thanos was on Vormir, couldn't he have used the Space Stone or Reality Stone to bypass the sacrifice of a loved one to successfully obtain the Soul Stone? Could Thanos have used the Power Stone to amplify the powers of Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian so they could overpower the Avengers and take the Time Stone back to Thanos?
5 WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE COLLECTOR?
At the end of Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Quill gave the Power Stone over to the Nova Corps. The Corps served as law enforcement for the Nova Empire, so it made sense to hand the Infinity Stone over to them. They were well-organized, well-armed and seemed responsible enough to keep it in their possession. So what made the Collector so important?
Sif and Volstagg gave the Aether to The Collector after the events of Thor: The Dark World. They said it would be better for the Collector to have it than to have two Infinity Stones in Asgard. What amazing defenses does Taneleer Tivan possess that's better than what's on Asgard?
4 WHY DID THANOS NEED THE MIND OR TIME STONE TO ELIMINATE HALF THE UNIVERSE?
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been showing us just how incredibly strong the Infinity Stones are. In Guardians of the Galaxy, Ronan was going to use the Power Stone to destroy the planet Xandar. In Doctor Strange, the Time Stone was used to keep a powerful extra-dimensional entity from entering our world. As strong as they are, why do you need all of them to remove half of all life in the universe?
Certainly the Power Stone makes sense, but why the Time Stone? The Soul Stone is a little vague (and also gets into a philosophical debate). Given how awesome the power is of each Stone, it looks like Thanos could still achieve his goals and still be down a Stone or two.
3 WHY DO THE EFECTS OF THE REALITY STONE WEAR OFF?
In an homage to a panel from the Infinity Gauntlet comic series, Thanos used the reality stone on Drax and Mantis. Drax was turned into cubes and Mantis was transformed into ribbons. Fortunately for them, after Thanos left, they reverted back to their normal form. Why would Thanos transform them back? Perhaps he didn't and this only occurred because the effects wore off.
The same thing happened with Thanos explaining his origins on Titan. After showing an elaborate illusion of how life once was on the planet, everything disappeared. Why not just revert Titan back to its former glory? Does it mean that even the Infinity Stones have their limits, or are the limitations reflecting what can and can't be done by Thanos himself?
2 WHY WAS STORMBREAKER ABLE TO CUT THROUGH A BLAST FROM ALL SIX STONES?
In the comics, it's revealed that within the Uru metal of Mjolnir is trapped a galactic storm that Odin himself captured. The life of Thor's hammer was cut short when it was destroyed by Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. Thor's new weapon, Stormbreaker, premiered in Avengers: Infinity War. Just how powerful was it?
In Thor: Ragnarok, we learned that Thor was, in essence, Dumbo. Dumbo thought that the feather he had allowed him to fly but he had the ability to fly all along. Thor learned that all of his powers came from him and not Mjolnir. Is this a different story with Stormbreaker? The axe was able to cleave through a blast from all six Infinity Stones without being damaged. Just how powerful was that thing?
1 WHY A FINGER SNAP?
Iron Man, Star Lord and the rest of the heroes bravely fought against Thanos on the remains of Titan. The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy deduced that Thanos wouldn't be able to use the Infinity Stones if he couldn't close his fist. Even Doctor Strange's cape participated in trying to prevent the Mad Titan from using his God-like powers, but in the end, Thanos was too strong.
Although Thor was able to mortally wound Thanos, he's still able to activate all six stones and eliminate half the universe's population, however he does it with a literal snap of his fingers. When he attacks Thor moments earlier, he uses energy from all six Stones by clenching his fist. Why is this a different method?