'Avengers: Infinity War' Theory Suggests Previous Sacrifices Were Attempted to Claim the Soul Stone

Avengers: Infinity War may have finally revealed the Marvel Cinematic Universe Soul Stone, but it didn't necessarily reveal much about it. We know it was hidden on the planet of Vormir, and guarded by The Red Skull. To obtain it, a seeker had to sacrifice the thing most important to them. Director commentary from the Avengers: Infinity War Blu-ray has even revealed the one time in the film the Soul Stone's individual power was used.

Now, a new theory is propping up that gives more background to the Soul Stone's history in the MCU, by breaking down some of the previous attempts to obtain it.

Thanos wasn’t the first to make a sacrifice for the Soul Stone. You can see the blood stains of the ones others had sacrificed to claim the Soul Stone but ultimately failed. from r/marvelstudios

Gamora's tragic death scene in Infinity War traumatized a lot of Marvel fans; however, closer examination of the scene (in full Blu-ray HD) has revealed even more grisly detail of that moment. Not only can green blood be seen leaking from Gamora's head after her fall, but close examination of the rock where she landed reveals evidence of multiple other deaths, where other Soul Stone seekers threw their loved ones over the precipice. The fact that the blood is there — but the Soul Stone remains — means that the previous sacrifices were made in vain. Either the people being sacrificed weren't important enough to the Soul Stone seeker, or the seekers themselves leapt to their deaths. Or it could be both.

Seen in full detail, the MCU mythos of the Soul Stone is even more dark and disturbing than it initially seemed in Avengers: Infinity War. Given the emotional impact of the Gamora/Thanos arc, it might even be prudent for Marvel Studios to produce a short or comic tie-in that actually chronicles how a previous Soul Stone seeker ended up leaving those older bloodstains on the rock of sacrifice. As it stands, we're all just going to be mourning a little harder for Gamora, now.

Avengers: Infinity War is now available as a digital download and on Blu-ray and DVD. Ant-Man and the Wasp is now playing in theaters. Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019; Avengers 4 on May 3, 2019; Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5th, 2019; and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.