MCU: Which infinity stone would win in a fight?

[Douglas]

Strange already used a variation of it in Infinity War:

Spoiler

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while we aren't shown the loop from the inside, he assessed 15 million different variations of the timeline to find the one path that works.

14,000,605 as I recall.

[ben-zayb]

I really don't see how Time Stone user would still react once either the Reality or Space Stone user activates. Reality Stone user instantaneously turns all other stones to bubbles and/or instantaneously dices everyone else on sight. Space Stone user instantaneously teleports the other stones to his own person.

If Soul Stone can instantaneously kill, you can also add that to the above that the Time Stone user just cannot rewind to.

Power Stone seems to take time to destroy, and Mind Stone seems to requires contact.

Again, at least for three, possibly four, of these Infinity Stone users, it's rocket tag. Whoever activates their stones first takes it.

[Olinser]

If we're going with what's demonstrated in the movies, Mind stone most definitely seems weakest in an actual direct confrontation. Remember Loki was only able to control humans by touching them DIRECTLY with the Mind stone staff (and couldn't control Stark when he didn't realize he wasn't actually touching him), and the beams that Vision conjures travel incredibly slowly compared to the abilities of the other Stones. So from what was demonstrated it can't effectively kill another Stone user before they access their stone and kill them.

All of the others its simply a question of how fast the abilities trigger. Theoretically with all abilities accessed equally quickly Time would win over everything by timestopping and reversing, and save scumming until you won, with the POSSIBLE exception of Reality (which could potentially win by altering Reality to convince the Time user that he'd already stopped time when he hadn't).

[Olinser]

I really don't see how Time Stone user would still react once either the Reality or Space Stone user activates. Reality Stone user instantaneously turns all other stones to bubbles and/or instantaneously dices everyone else on sight. Space Stone user instantaneously teleports the other stones to his own person.

If Soul Stone can instantaneously kill, you can also add that to the above that the Time Stone user just cannot rewind to.

Power Stone seems to take time to destroy, and Mind Stone seems to requires contact.

Again, at least for three, possibly four, of these Infinity Stone users, it's rocket tag. Whoever activates their stones first takes it.

Space Stone can't actually instantaneously teleport though. It's only use in the movies has been creating a portal that takes you somewhere else - more than enough time for the other user to react and certainly hasn't been demonstrated to be able to instantly move something small like another Stone.

[Lord Joeltion]

Again, reality stone mostly turn stuff in other stuff, it can't affect time or space that's the green and blue stone's job. It should be called matter stone.

Not necessarily, since "reality" is, in a sense, simply what you perceive. It's not about how things "scientifically" are, but how you perceive the concepts that made up (your) reality. Once you think of it as a linguistic process (a "chair" stops being a "chair" if you forget the meaning of "sitting"), Reality Stone is a much more accurate name than Matter, since the effects were never shown to be permanent (never mind the comics). It's probably why they also chose to depict what Thanos did as very complex illusions*

Spoiler: *

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Since Thanos didn't have the Soul Stone yet, we know that the Collector wasn't the "real" collector, but a very complex illusion (possibly a construct?) that resembled the real Collector (but wasn't)

I really don't see how Time Stone user would still react once either the Reality or Space Stone user activates. Reality Stone user instantaneously turns all other stones to bubbles and/or instantaneously dices everyone else on sight. Space Stone user instantaneously teleports the other stones to his own person.

If Soul Stone can instantaneously kill, you can also add that to the above that the Time Stone user just cannot rewind to.

Power Stone seems to take time to destroy, and Mind Stone seems to requires contact.

Again, at least for three, possibly four, of these Infinity Stone users, it's rocket tag. Whoever activates their stones first takes it.

When alone, the Reality Stone was never implied to be able to do either of those things. It mostly affects the user, enhancing them in ways the Power Stone apparently can't.

It's also doubtful either of the Stones are able to compromise the integrity of the others. For a fair contest, I would say that no; both because rocket tag is boring but cheap rocket tag is worse, AND because that is something that never happened in the comics (because it would be stupid).

I think the Stones a very limited in the MCU, and the "only uberpeople can wield it" is the lesser limitation they have. Even the Power Stone seems like it's the most difficult to control of them all, because of its sheer raw power. Maybe more than rocket tag is more like playing Floor is Lava with 10-foot sticks while standing on a pogo. The first one who makes a mistake (mainly, let them touch you) loses to the others.

[Orcus The Vile]

Wow this thread made me realise how limited these "infinity" stones really are in the movies.

[Olinser]

Wow this thread made me realise how limited these "infinity" stones really are in the movies.

To be fair their actual use outside of Thanos in the movies is INCREDIBLY limited. Other than Thanos, Dr Strange and Loki are the only individuals in the movies to actually consciously access unique functions of the Stones.

All of the others either only harness generic power from the stone without using its unique abilities (Malekith, Vision, Starlord with the GotG), explicitly couldn't control the stone but only unleash its power in an act that would kill them (Ronan and the Collector's servant), or harnessed power from it without actually ever actually using the Stone itself (Red Skull and his minions).

[Nerx]

Reality seems powerful with overlaying abilities, body doubles and transmutation

[Mato]

The obvious answer is each of the six you known are all fully capable of being used to counter each other because they are all equal to each other. It's like arguing which one out of rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock would win.

Which is why the bearer of the infinity stone of ego is the only correct answer. Unlike the others, the stone possesses it's bearer with the mind of the original entity that split it's self into the seven equal parts you know as the infinity stones. Arguably weaker than the others in many regards it has one very powerful key trait, it controls the other stones. It'll merge the bearers of the other stones together and become Nemesis.

[S@tanicoaldo]

The obvious answer is each of the six you known are all fully capable of being used to counter each other because they are all equal to each other. It's like arguing which one out of rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock would win.

Which is why the bearer of the infinity stone of ego is the only correct answer. Unlike the others, the stone possesses it's bearer with the mind of the original entity that split it's self into the seven equal parts you know as the infinity stones. Arguably weaker than the others in many regards it has one very powerful key trait, it controls the other stones. It'll merge the bearers of the other stones together and become Nemesis.

But we are talking about the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the stones.

You can clearly see in the title MCU

[Mato]

But we are talking about the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the stones.

You mean the same MCU that in the last ten years decided the Tesseract that appeared in a few films should become an infinity stone in Dark World? The same MCU that claimed Asgardian magic was some kind of quantum technology only for Dr Strange to say nope it's totally magic?

Yeah, I'm going to stick to my claim before it shows up to be Scarlet Witch's necklace or something.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

You mean the same MCU that in the last ten years decided the Tesseract that appeared in a few films should become an infinity stone in Dark World? The same MCU that claimed Asgardian magic was some kind of quantum technology only for Dr Strange to say nope it's totally magic?

Yeah, I'm going to stick to my claim before it shows up to be Scarlet Witch's necklace or something.

I mean, the Space Stone was almost certainly intended to be such from the very beginning of its appearance. Avengers predated Dark World (2012 vs 2013), and there's no way you tease Thanos unless you've already definitively decided that a "powerful singularity of space" was the Space Stone. Given that it only previously appeared in Cap 1 the year before, and that the Tesseract was an object that hadn't appeared in the comics, I don't think there was any retcon there. It was always planned to be the Space Stone.

(As far as Asgard goes, "your science and our magic are one and the same" is almost verbatim from Thor 1. It's not a Sufficiently Explained Magic situation, but a worldview that holds the two powers to be siblings that work in tandem.)

That is to say, while the characters may discover that the world isn't what it once seemed, I'm doubtful of any minor retcon like "btw there was actually another more powerful infinity stone". Plus, if it isn't currently part of the MCU, it doesn't count for MCU-only discussion.

Otherwise, the real answer would be Squirrel Girl.

[Mato]

I mean, the Space Stone was almost certainly intended to be such from the very beginning of its appearance. Avengers predated Dark World (2012 vs 2013), and there's no way you tease Thanos unless you've already definitively decided that a "powerful singularity of space" was the Space Stone. Given that it only previously appeared in Cap 1 the year before, and that the Tesseract was an object that hadn't appeared in the comics, I don't think there was any retcon there. It was always planned to be the Space Stone.

Your speculation tells me that you have no familiarity with Marvel comics.

This may sound familiar to you but when the Red Skull gets his hands on a blue cube after banishing it's last owner to another dimension and A.I.M (aka hydra's R&D) used it's x-element energy to create weapons in WWII. Except that story was published in the 60s and the device was known (and still is known) as a Cosmic Cube. I sincerely doubt they had a plan for an Avenger's plot outside of wanting to do an Avenger's film, and if they did it makes a lot more sense that the writers of Captain America: The First Avenger were planning on the Tesseract being a Cosmic Cube rather than an Infinity Stone.

(As far as Asgard goes, "your science and our magic are one and the same" is almost verbatim from Thor 1.

Yes, I bet the Asgard version of physics 101 probably includes gravity and magical summoning circles. But it was Thor 2 when Jane Foster is in Asgard being scanned by the Soul Forge that she asserts it's a quantum field generator in an attempt to ground "magic" in reality.

But the problem with magic is science is science says you can't wave your hands around to conjure glowing magical spell circles. You need some kind of quantum field generating magical wand or nanobots using some kind of made up scifi energy. You also have to explain Loki's illusions as being some kind of device he carries with him, but they never did because they decided to embrace magic as magic and then Dr Strange & Thor 3: Hela Likes Summoning Sharpened Mass Out Of Nowhere made hundreds millions in the theater.

[Reddish Mage]

Not necessarily, since "reality" is, in a sense, simply what you perceive. It's not about how things "scientifically" are, but how you perceive the concepts that made up (your) reality. Once you think of it as a linguistic process (a "chair" stops being a "chair" if you forget the meaning of "sitting"), Reality Stone is a much more accurate name than Matter, since the effects were never shown to be permanent (never mind the comics). It's probably why they also chose to depict what Thanos did as very complex illusions*

I think we can do this battle without getting into philosophical debates on the nature of reality (btw: its the stuff out there). In the comics, the reality stone controls reality reality, not illusions. There's nothing in Infinity War that contradicts that. Its perfectly reasonable, given the powers we've seen, to suppose that Thanos has manipulated reality to cause weird cartoon-like effects.

When alone, the Reality Stone was never implied to be able to do either of those things. It mostly affects the user, enhancing them in ways the Power Stone apparently can't.

Now you're talking without any grounding.

It's also doubtful either of the Stones are able to compromise the integrity of the others. For a fair contest, I would say that no; both because rocket tag is boring but cheap rocket tag is worse, AND because that is something that never happened in the comics (because it would be stupid).

I think the Stones a very limited in the MCU, and the "only uberpeople can wield it" is the lesser limitation they have. Even the Power Stone seems like it's the most difficult to control of them all, because of its sheer raw power. Maybe more than rocket tag is more like playing Floor is Lava with 10-foot sticks while standing on a pogo. The first one who makes a mistake (mainly, let them touch you) loses to the others.

I agree that cheap rocket tag is boring and wouldn't happen in the comics (or the movie which is what we are talking btw). However, this is a "what if" based on the movie. This isn't a story pitch or something we expect to actually see in the movie. Someone asked the burning question "which infinity stone would win?" and we want to give an answer.

Since a lot of the infinity stones have powers that could theoretically destroy the others (or the users) it becomes a question of which can fire first.

To be fair their actual use outside of Thanos in the movies is INCREDIBLY limited. Other than Thanos, Dr Strange and Loki are the only individuals in the movies to actually consciously access unique functions of the Stones.

All of the others either only harness generic power from the stone without using its unique abilities (Malekith, Vision, Starlord with the GotG), explicitly couldn't control the stone but only unleash its power in an act that would kill them (Ronan and the Collector's servant), or harnessed power from it without actually ever actually using the Stone itself (Red Skull and his minions).

I'm not sure its THAT limited. Red Skull could open a portal to Asgard and a lot of his tech looks like they created portals. The same space stone effect we see Thanos using.

Vision has telepathy as one of his powers in the comics but I don't recall him using the power in the MCU.

Thanos' attacks are actually pretty weak-sauce, even with multiple stones though. The heroes on Titan actually get a fair amount of shots in despite Thanos getting quite a few effects off. Of course the last *snap*
is very impressive.

The stones themselves, however, are clearly more powerful than the relative paucity of uses Thanos had for them in the one movie. The power stone could destroy all of Xandar by touching it. The space stone could portal in giant alien spaceships. The mind stone puts someone completely and totally under its control. Reality stone can manipulate everything around in ways that impose cartoon physics and magic. Dr. Strange uses the time stone not only to restore or destroy life, but put himself and an entire dimension into an infinite loop.

So if we go by the actual ways the stones have been used, we're not looking at much. If we consider how the stones could be used, extrapolating from what's on on-screen, we end up with a lot of uses.