The MCU Phase 4 Confirmed That The Soul Stone Is The Strongest

Marvel’s What If…? confirms that the Soul Stone is the strongest and most important of the six Infinity Stones in the MCU. Going beyond the reveals made in Avengers: Infinity War, the Soul Stone was a key focal point in the plan made by the Watcher’s Guardians of the Multiverse (heroes summoned from various realities). It’s certainly a logical conclusion, considering that the Soul Stone had more protection than the majority of the other Infinity Stones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In comparison, the other Infinity Stones were not nearly as protected as the Soul Stone was. While most were certainly hidden such as the Space, Reality, and Power Stone (and presumedly the Mind Stone before Thanos found it), none had any kind of significant protection. The only exception beyond the Soul Stone itself was the Time Stone protected by Earth’s formidable Sorcerer Supreme. Even then, only the Soul Stone demanded sacrifice and significant loss in order for it to be taken from the planet Vormir.

The idea of the Soul Stone being the most important and strongest of the six fits quite well with the comments made by the Red Skull to Thanos and Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War: “Soul holds a special place among the Infinity Stones. You might say it holds a certain…wisdom“. While this is an allusion to the Soul Stone having a degree of sentience in the original comics (before the Stones were reborn and all became sentient), it indicates the Soul Stone’s greater strength above the others. As such, it makes sense that the Guardians of the Multiverse zeroed in on taking the Soul Stone from Ultron first in the finale episode of What If…?, correctly recognizing it as the Stone with the most importance. The fact that it both demands a special level of sacrifice and is shown to weaken Ultron so significantly after its removal highlights that the Soul Stone really is the strongest Infinity Stone.

Unfortunately, the abilities of the Soul Stone on its own were never seen in full in the MCU or in the alternate realities of What If…?, seeing as how Thanos (and Ultron) obtained the other Stones rather quickly. However, the comics reveal that the Soul Stone allows its wielder to attack souls in a variety of ways, while also trapping souls in a pocket realm known as the Soul World (seen briefly in Infinity War). It also allows the wielder to control all forms of life regardless of sentience. While the powers and abilities granted by the other Stones are nothing to sneeze at, it makes sense that the Soul Stone would be protected on a greater level than the others given the sheer levels of influence and control it could provide just on its own (along with its unique sentient nature).

The simple fact that the Soul Stone was the most guarded in the final two Avengers films communicates its greater importance. Furthermore, the Guardians of the Multiverse specifically going after the Soul Stone in What If…? further confirms its greater value and strength. While the MCU has been gradually drifting away from the idea of Infinity Stones as it continues into Phase 4 and beyond, it would certainly be interesting to see the Soul Stone return in some fashion, albeit with a bigger spotlight to match its greater strength and importance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

About The Author

Kevin Erdmann
(2525 Articles Published)

Kevin Erdmann is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers. With a major in Cinema Studies and a minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies from the UofO, Kevin is pretty sure he’s writing for the right site. While Kevin is a huge Marvel fan, he also loves Batman because he’s Batman and is a firm believer that Han shot first. Disney also shares a big part of his fan patronage. Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife and sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise.

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