Every Character Who Knew About The Infinity Stones Before Infinity War

The Infinity Stones were at the center of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 3 conclusion, but who knew about them in the MCU before Avengers: Infinity War? The powerful cosmic gems known as Infinity Stones have been part of the MCU since nearly the beginning. Although Marvel Studios didn’t know it at the time, the Space Stone and Mind Stone were both instrumental to the Phase 1 story. The Space Stone played a role in Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers thanks to the Tesseract, while the latter film also unknowingly used the Mind Stone through Loki’s Scepter.

It wasn’t until midway through Phase 2, though, that Infinity Stones were directly mentioned. The post-credits scene for Thor: The Dark World confirmed the Tesseract and Aether were Infinity Stones, with the latter being the Reality Stone. Then in Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel provided a quick breakdown of the powerful artifacts since the Orb contained the Power Stone. By the end of Phase 2, four of the six Infinity Stones had been revealed in the MCU, as Avengers: Age of Ultron confirmed Loki’s Scepter contained the Mind Stone. In just the second film of Phase 3, Doctor Strange brought the fifth Infinity Stone to the MCU by revealing the Eye of Agamotto held the Time Stone.

All of this was done as the build-up for Thanos’ true MCU arrival and going to war with the Avengers in Avengers: Infinity War and then Avengers: Endgame. Thanos sat back and squandered some opportunities earlier in the MCU, but Avengers: Infinity War showed him collect all six Infinity Stones himself. This film is where the final Infinity Stone was revealed, with Gamora leading Thanos to the Soul Stone’s location on Vormir. While Thanos otherwise had a rather intricate knowledge of the Infinity Stones’ powers and locations heading into the movie, many characters in the MCU knew about them too.

Thanos

As the being after the Infinity Stones, Thanos knew more about them than just about anyone. It is unknown when the Mad Titan first learned about their existence, but he spent at least a few years before Avengers: Infinity War trying to manipulate others into getting the stones for him. We even know that he at one point had the Mind Stone in his possession but gave it to Loki to try and get the Space Stone. The MCU hasn’t revealed when Thanos acquired the Mind Stone originally, but having it could be how he managed to learn about the rest of the Infinity Stones existing.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy saw the entire team learn about the Infinity Stones in 2014. Gamora knew about them already as a daughter of Thanos and wanted to make sure he did not acquire the Power Stone. We also know from Avengers: Infinity War that she was previously tasked with finding the Soul Stone for him. Due to this assignment and her success in discovering the Soul Stone was on Vormir, Gamora presumably had a wealth of knowledge about the Infinity Stones before the movie even began. It is also likely that Nebula learned about them during her time with Thanos as well.

As for the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, it was on Knowhere that they learned about the Infinity Stones. Star-Lord, Drax, Rocket, and Groot were told about their history and that they now possessed one of them. They went on to have direct contact with the Power Stone, as Peter was able to wield the Infinity Stone’s power with the help of the other Guardians.

The Collector

One of the MCU’s characters with the best knowledge of Infinity Stones is The Collector. We don’t know how he came to know so much about them, but he was the one who explained what they were to the Guardians of the Galaxy. However, his first interaction with an Infinity Stone came in the post-credits for Thor: The Dark World, which is when he came to possess the Reality Stone. He might have had plans to acquire all six for his own purposes, but he lost the Reality Stone during Avengers: Infinity War.

Nova Prime & The Nova Corps

The events of Guardians of the Galaxy also led Nova Prime and other members of the Nova Corps to know about Infinity Stones, if they didn’t know about them already. They were selected to keep the Power Stone on Xandar so they could keep it safe. While that ultimately didn’t work based on Avengers: Infinity War‘s opening, Nova Prime and her subordinates knew what they were guarding long before Thanos attacked.

Ancient One

The Ancient One also had knowledge about the Infinity Stones long before Avengers: Infinity War. While her presence in Doctor Strange never saw her actually use the Time Stone, we know from Avengers: Endgame that she did wear the Eye of Agamotto from time to time. More importantly, the Ancient One had a supreme understanding of what the Infinity Stones meant for reality. The 2012 version of her was the one who explained to Bruce Banner that they were instrumental to the very fabric of each timeline. Since she’s hundreds of years old, there’s no telling when The Ancient One first found out about the existence of Infinity Stones.

Doctor Strange & The Masters of the Mystic Arts

It was in Doctor Strange that Stephen Strange first learned about the existence of Infinity Stones. At the very end of the movie, Wong tells Strange that an Infinity Stone resides inside the Eye of Agamotto. This confirms that Wong also knew about Infinity Stones, while the nonchalant mention of them could point to other members of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, such as Mordo, also knowing about them.

Thor

While it is possible Thor knew about Infinity Stones long before Avengers: Infinity War, it appears he first discovered them during Avengers: Age of Ultron. He had a vision of the Infinity Stones during the movie and came to understand their power. This was supposed to set up Thor searching for the Infinity Stones, but Thor: Ragnarok abandoned most of that plot.

Most of The Avengers

Avengers: Age of Ultron also was responsible for most of the present and soon to be members of the Avengers learning about the Infinity Stones. After Thor stepped in to help bring Vision to life, he explained to Iron Man, Captain America, Bruce Banner, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Vision that the gem in the android’s head was the Mind Stone. It’s possible, if not likely, that Black Widow was told the same later on, but that didn’t happen on screen. Instead, it was Iron Man and Cap who were told at the end of the movie by Thor that this was the fourth Infinity Stone to appear in recent years, potentially giving them a bit more knowledge than the rest.

Lady Sif & Volstagg

The end of Thor: The Dark World also brought confirmation that Lady Sif and Volstagg know about Infinity Stones. They were aware that both the Aether and Tesseract were actually Infinity Stones. It is likely that Fandral and Hogun – the two other members of their team – also are aware of Infinity Stones, but that is not confirmed. It is unclear if they’ve known about Infinity Stones for some time or if they were just told about them prior to this mission.

Odin

There is plenty of evidence to support Odin also knowing about the Infinity Stones before his death in Thor: Ragnarok. He had a fake Infinity Gauntlet in his collection and even had the Tesseract in the vault for a time. With several other Asgardians knowing about their existence and the Infinity Stones’ ancient history in the universe, it would be incredibly strange if Odin never knew about their existence – especially since he knew of the Aether’s tremendous power.

Loki

Loki also definitely knew about the Infinity Stones, even if he never outright says so in the movies. Whether he knew about them during The Avengers is unclear, but he had to of known by the end of Thor: The Dark World. Since he was the one posing as Odin at the end, it was ultimately his decision to keep the Tesseract and Aether away from each other. This suggests he knew both of them were Infinity Stones, especially since Loki took the Tesseract again at the end of Thor: Ragnarok.

Red Skull

Red Skull is one of the earliest people searching for an Infinity Stone in the MCU movies, but it is unknown if he knew that at the time. Even if he didn’t know that the Tesseract was an Infinity Stone during the 1940s, he found out about the Infinity Stones once he touched it. The Tesseract transported him to Vormir, where he became the guardian of the Soul Stone.

Ego

Ego is almost as old as the universe itself, so it is no surprise that he also was aware of Infinity Stones. It is unknown when he first learned about their existence, but he was well aware of their incredible power. This is how he knew the person who managed to hold one must be his son, which sent him on his quest to find Star-Lord.

Ronan

Guardians of the Galaxy also saw Ronan discover the Infinity Stones through his quest to find the Orb for Thanos. He was originally unaware that the Power Stone was inside. When he found out, Ronan merged the Power Stone with his hammer and broke off his partnership with Thanos.

About The Author

Cooper Hood
(5627 Articles Published)

Cooper Hood is a news and feature writer for Screen Rant. He joined Screen Rant in late 2016 following a year-long stint with MCU Exchange, which came after first developing an MCU blog of his own. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media & Public Communication, with a minor in Media Production. Cooper’s love for movies began by watching Toy Story and Lion King on repeat as a child, but it wasn’t until The Avengers that he took an invested interest in movies and the filmmaking process, leading him to discover the world of film journalism. Every year Cooper looks forward to seeing the latest blockbusters from the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, but also loves the rush to catch up on Oscar films near the end of the year. When he isn’t writing about or watching new releases, Cooper is a fantasy football obsessive and looking to expand his Blu-Ray collection – because physical media is still king! Follow Cooper on Twitter @MovieCooper.

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