Marvel

‘Avengers: Infinity War’: Why Haven’t We Seen the Soul or Reality Stones Yet?

Avengers: Infinity War promotional materials and spoiler leaks have revealed some juicy insights […]

Avengers: Infinity War promotional materials and spoiler leaks have revealed some juicy insights into the storyline – but they certainly haven’t shown us everything. In fact, in the midst of big character shakeups and potential game-changing developments for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s almost been easy to miss the fact that the actual MacGuffins of film, the Infinity Stones, are still shrouded in some big mystery.

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In fact, two of the biggest, most powerful and unpredictable of the stones haven’t really be referenced at all in the Infinity War marketing. So what’s up with the Soul Stone and Reality Stone, and why haven’t they been even hinted at in the Infinity War marketing?

Lets break down the situation:

Sleight of Hand

So far, the marketing forย Avengers: Infinity Warย has been very purposeful in what it has shown, which has, as the same time, served as potentially big sleight of hand (pun). We’ve seen Thanosย in possession of the Power Stone left with the Nova Corps afterย Guardians of the Galaxy; and we see him take possession of the Space Stone from the Tesseractย Loki gives him. Thanos’ Black Order agents set out to track down and steal the Time Stone from Doctor Strange, and the Mind Stone from The Vision; we don’t know what happens with the Time Stone (though it doesn’t look good from recent trailer images), but Vision manages to escape with Captain America’s team to Wakanda, to make a final stand to protect the Mind Stone.ย 

In all this, we still don’t knowย how the Reality and Soul stones factor into the storyline, but there are a few breadcrumbs to follow:ย 

Where Are the Remaining Stones?

Before we get into their role inย Avengers: Infinity War, let’s recap what we currently know about the Reality and Soul Stones:ย 

Reality Stone – the Reality Stone or “Aether” was seen inย Thor: The Dark World, when Jane Foster discovered it in a pocket dimension. Malekithย wanted to use it to remake the universe into a Dark Elf world, but Thor stopped him. The Reality Stone was then given to The Collector (Benicioย Del Toro) for safe keeping, since Asgardย was already housing the Tesseract/Space Stone.ย 

Soul Stoneย – No one has seen the Soul Stone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and all fan theories about it (so far) have been wrong. It wasn’t behind Hela’sย return inย Thor: Ragnarok, and it wasn’t the source of Wakanda’sย power inย Black Panther. Right now, speculation is running rampant that Ant-Man and the Waspย orย Captain Marvel could reveal it – butย it actually mightย not show up untilย Avengers 4.ย 

There’s been no indication of what may happen with the Soul Stone, but we do know something about the Reality Stone’s fate:ย 

The Collector’s Role

Late last year, someย Avengers: Infinity Warย footage leakedย revealed a very pivotal moment in the film, which definitely indicates the fate of the Reality Stone. WARNING: Potential Spoilers follow!

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The leaked footage picked up after the already-confirmedย moment whenย the Guardians of the Galaxy return to Knowhere, the outpostย where The Collector’s museum is located. The leaked footage revealed that when the Guardians arrive, The Collector is quite literally under Thanos’ boot heel. While The Collector is attempting to bargain, Thanosย isn’t hearing it, remarking how pathetic the Collector really is.ย 

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END OF SPOILERS

From this scene, it’s pretty easy to surmise that Thanosย gets his hands on The Reality Stone.ย 

Reality Bites

So if Thanosย gets the Reality Stone, why have we not seen it in later scenes shown during theย Avengers: Infinity Warย trailers? Simple: because even the reality of a movie scene can be altered.ย 

There’s been a lot of speculation that the scenes of Thanosย with the Infinity Gauntlet inย Infinity War trailers are not all they intiallyย seem to be. Scenes set in the climatic “Battle of Wakanda” for Vision’s Mind Stone have shown Thanosย only in possession of the Space and Power stones we know he has; however, CGIย visual work could have removed additional stones from the gauntlet, namely the Time and Reality stones.

It follows that Thanosย will have assembled a completed (or near-completed) Gauntlet by the timeย he’s playing tug-of-war with Steve Rogers. We’ve seen Black Order memberย Ebony Maw torturing Doctor Strangeย for the Time Stone, and we know the Collector will similarly be trampled in Thanos’ quest. With some images hinting at Vision losing his stone, it’s a very real possibility thatย Avengers: Infinity Warย ends with Thanosย snapping his fingers and erasing a portion of the universe – leaving just one small sliver of hope:

Soul Survivors

In Marvel Comics, the Soul Stone has been the saving grace of the universe, when the Infinity Gauntlet has posed dire threat. In certain cases, characters have escaped destruction by hiding in the Soul Stone, or have even used a fake replica of it to fool evil-doers into thinking they have the complete set, when they really don’t. At the moment, there are a lot of fans who speculate thatย Avengers 4ย could use a similar tactic.ย 

If Thanosย does use the power of the Infinity Gauntlet to murder half the universe at the end ofย Infinity War, then the reveal of the Soul Stone could explain how there are heroes left over to fight Thanosย inย Avengers 4. Set photos from the second half ofย Infinity War‘s story show the MCUย heroes moving through key points in history – though we don’t know if these are actual time travel moments, or something else. Given the powers of the Soul Stone, it’s conceivable that some Avengers “spirits” will live on, even if their bodies don’t.ย 

MacGuffin Mulligans

Indeed, there’s been rumor that one secret subplot ofย Avengers: Infinity War could be a secret mission to secure the Soul Stone, before Thanosย does. Given the mystery surrounding the Soul Stone, there’s several different ways that MacGuffin could be given a mulligan.ย 

Right now, a lot of fans think that Hawkeyeย will find the Soul Stone, possibly sacrificing a lot to protect it. There’s also the possibility that Thanos’ reign of destructionย prompts cosmic hero Captain Marvel from revealing herself to the larger MCU, with the Soul Stone in her possession. Finally, there’s also a theory thatย Ant-Man and the Wasp will bring Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) back to the MCUย after being trapped in the Quantum Realm, and that she could bring knowledge of the Soul Stone back along with her.ย 

Any of these scenarios would have the desired story effect: giving the MCUย heroes on last mulligan chance to use the Soul Stone to defeat Thanos.ย 

Avengers 4 Quest

Whatever the case may be, we know that inย Avengers 4ย there will be a quest to of sorts to “set things right” after they presumably go so very wrong inย Infinity War,ย and as stated, the Soul stone could be at the center of that quest.

The real question is what these set photos ofย Avengers 4’sย “flashback sequences” are really depicting. Directors The Russo Bros. have openly hintedย  at the root cause, stating that Iron Man’s B.A.R.F. technology from Captain America: Civil War‘s sequence of Tony Stark reliving his own traumatic final day with his parents is the key. Fans have since speculated what that means, with one clear possibility taking the lead: that the Soul Stone may act like a more advanced version of the B.A.R.F. tech, allowing the Avengers to travel through various portions of their own life-lines, like Doctor Strange traveling through the Astral Plane. That power would allow them to revisit key point in the MCUย saga, to steer events away from the cataclysmic events that occur inย Infinity War.

(Photo: MattDemino @ DeviantART)

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Howย do you think the Soul Stone and Reality Stone will factor intoย Avengers: Infinity Warย and its connection toย Avengers 4? Let us know in the comments!

Marvel Studios’ Black Panther is now playing in theaters. Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 27, 2018. It is followed by Ant-Man and The Wasp on July 6, 2018, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, Avengersย 4 on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.