Marvel Fan Notices One Infinity Stone Has Not Been Physically Touched at All

The Avengers: Endgame theories are coming at us hard and fast on the daily, with Marvel Cinematic Universe fans especially keen on what kind twists we may get with the Infinity Gauntlet and the six stones that power it.

Today comes a theory drawn from a curious detail about how the Infinity Stones have been handled in the MCU... in the most literal sense possible. You can check out the full theory below, but what it basically posits is this:

As you can see in the photo collage above, the Time Stone seems to be the one Infinity Stone that has never been physically touched in any of the movies (Doctor Strange, Avengers: Infinity War) in which it has appeared. All of the other Infinity Stones (Space, Power, Reality, Mind, Soul) have had very pointed scenes in making contact with the stone has had significant effects and/or consequences, whether it's objects like the Power or Space Stones disintegrating people, the Mind Stone possessing people, or Reailty Stone dislodging them from reality itself.

The Time Stone first appears as "The Eye of Agamotto," and is contained in the eye-like necklace that the Masters of the Mystic Arts protect. What's more curious, however, is that even when the Time Stone is broken out of the Eye of Agamotto it doesn't see to be physically touched by either Doctor Strange or Thanos, during the "Battle on Titan" sequence of the film. It's not a major red flag or anything: it could just be the chosen design and power of the Time Stone that the MCU creative team decided on. Then again, given the curious way that the Time Stone was surrendered to Thanos, the fact that no one has actually held the stone in their hand could be a detail of quite a bit of significance.

Fans have long held the theory that the Time Stone Doc Strange gave Thanos was a fake, but that theory is hard to sustain when, at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos is clearly seen using the same wrist-mounted holographic bracelet to control the Time Stone as Doctor Strange did in his solo film. That suggests the powers of the Stone are real, and lends credit to the idea that Thanos did get the actual Time Stone. If nothing else, hopefully some forthcoming MCU tie-in materials will clue us in better on how the Stone works, and what it takes to actually hold it.

Avengers: Infinity War is now available on home video. Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universemovies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, Avengers: Endgame on April 26, 2019, and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5, 2019.