The Most Powerful Marvel Infinity Stones Ranked

Some of the most powerful relics in fiction, the Infinity Stones were first introduced throughout the 1970s in cosmic Marvel Comics stories involving Captain Marvel. They were initially referred to as "Soul Gems" before Thanos began to collect them, and were thereafter redubbed the Infinity Gems, and later the Infinity Stones. 

So what are the Infinity Stones and how powerful are they? According to lore, they are the remnants of a being that existed before the Big Bang, with each controlling a different aspect of existence, from space to time to reality itself. There were initially just six individual stones, each with unique properties and abilities. When brought together, they could turn any being who could survive wielding them into a veritable god. While most often seen in the possession of Thanos, the Infinity Stones have over the years been used — separately and collectively — by others. Yet it might surprise you to learn that there are more than just those six, with a few even appearing outside of the comics.

The question is, when ranking them by power, how can we possibly figure out how each one stacks up when we're talking about relics that can rewrite the universe? It wasn't easy, but we first based it on their abilities — individually and together — and have also considered how they can be used to boost each other when combined. We've also taken into account depictions in other media, such as the films "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame." All told, we've collected what we believe is the definitive ranking of the Infinity Stones.

There will probably be fans ready to debate whether the Rhythm Gem belongs on this list, seeing as it only ever appeared on the 2009-2011 animated series "The Super Hero Squad Show" as more or less a one-off gag. But there's no reason to discount it just because it was introduced in a kid's cartoon, and after all, it was wielded by the Mad Titan himself, Thanos. 

Throughout Season 2 of "The Super Hero Squad Show," Thanos hunts down the six Infinity Stones (still called "Infinity Gems" at this point), eventually getting his hands on the likes of the Soul Gem and the Mind Gem, with which he gains control of the Hulk. At one point, however, we learn of the Rhythm Gem, a seventh Infinity Gem that can give the wielder total power over rhythm and music. If that sounds silly, well, this is a kid's show after all. Of course, the other reason fans might throw shade for its inclusion on this list is the fact that it was a fake, conjured by Loki as a deception. 

Sure, it probably belongs elsewhere, perhaps alongside Lego's "Build Stone," but because it was in an official Marvel cartoon — and was part of a great gag that even recurs in the show's tie-in video game — we'll toss it in as an honorable mention of sorts. 

Not quite a fake stone, but not a very serious one either, The Continuity Stone first turned up in an issue of "Deadpool" (Vol. 5, #27, to be exact). At first it appeared to simply be a joke that writer Mark Waid and artist John McCrea invented to allow Deadpool to change continuity: Deadpool uses it to literally jump inside a comic book, and into the real world where writers and artists make the comic books. 

If the ability to change history and retcon past events weren't powerful enough, the fact that the Continuity Stone can hop universes is actually quite significant: In every other story we've seen, the Infinity Gems lose their power when they leave Earth-616 (DC supervillain Darkseid even held the Infinity Gauntlet in a crossover comic, only to discover the Infinity Stones only work in their native universe). Though not confirmed, this does suggest that perhaps the Continuity Stone could also allow the other six Infinity Gems to work in any realm of the multiverse if used together. If that is indeed the case, it might push the Continuity Stone higher on our list, but for now, near the bottom it stays.

Beyond the comic books, movies, and TV shows that have featured the Infinity Stones, there lies another dimension — the wondrous land of video games. In "Marvel: Contest of Champions," various heroes and villains from across the Marvel Universe are brought to a place called the Battlerealm and forced into gladiatorial combat. One storyline in the game involves Thanos yet again attempting to bring together six Infinity Stones, but they are very different than the ones we know from the comics and the MCU, comprised of the Genesis Stone, the Nightmare Stone, the Chaos Stone, the Evolution Stone, the War Stone, and the Death Stone. 

Because they are of a different nature than the primary six Infinity Stones, the Battlerealm Stones have very different properties. We don't know much about them, but we do know that the Death Stone contains a dark version of the Battlerealm that's devoid of life. Highly unstable, the Battlerealm Stones have never made it off the video game screen, but appear to be incredibly powerful in their own right — when assembled they would allow Thanos total control over the Battlerealm. Whether they could be used elsewhere to their full effect remains unknown.

While the original six Infinity Stones were created in the 1970s, there was another introduced in 1995, and it came in the pages of an inter-company crossover, no less. No, it wasn't a crossover with DC Comics, of which there were many in the '90s, but in a series that pitted the Avengers of the Marvel Universe against the heroes of the short-lived Ultraverse from Malibu Comics. 

In the series, the six Infinity Gems are lost in the Ultraverse — a separate reality from Marvel's 616 universe. When Loki travels the multiverse to find them he also discovers there's a seventh gem: The Ego Gem. The rock itself houses the essence of the very ancient being whose body was destroyed and gave birth to the Infinity Gems — a being later known as Nemesis. With it, the wielder becomes possessed by the power of Nemesis and becomes a flesh puppet for the primordial cosmic entity.

In the crossover, Nemesis possesses the Avenger Sersi and uses her to acquire the other six Infinity Gems in an effort to resurrect herself. Though we didn't see much of the Ego Gem's direct power, we do know that it can be used to control the other six, making it something similar to Sauron's One Ring in "The Lord of the Rings."

Another Infinity Stone that may or may not belong on this list is the Death Stone, which is separate from the similarly-named Battlerealm rock and appeared in an issue of the 2015 mini-series, "The Infinity Gauntlet." In that series, Thanos is (as he always seems to be) in search of the Infinity Stones, hoping to gather them all together to attain the powers of a god. He gets the final one, the Reality Stone, and tries activating his god-glove only to be met with failure: What he thinks is the Reality Stone is actually the Death Stone, and it obliterates Thanos in an instant.

The truth of the matter is that the Death Stone is another fabricated Infinity Stone. It's created by a member of the Nova Corps named Anwen Bakian, who finds the Reality Stone before Thanos can get his hands on it. With the Reality Stone, Anwen is able to create a decoy that kills Thanos when he uses it. 

Some might say fabricated Stones don't count, but this one should. Because it was created by the Reality Stone, the Death Stone is a very real Infinity Stone, even if it wasn't one of the originals from the dawn of the universe. And with the power to kill in an instant, it earns its place — and we still don't know what other powers it may be hiding. 

The final entry on our list before we get to the original six Infinity Stones, the Wishing Box is something altogether unusual because technically it's not a stone at all. Instead, the Wishing Box is essentially an alternate universe counterpart of the Infinity Gauntlet, comprised of six panes of "Forever Glass" that form a perfect cube. It all was revealed in a 2014 issue of "New Avengers" that took the heroes to Earth-4290001, home of a team of superheroes called the Great Society.

As explained by Tony Stark, the Wishing Box is this reality's version of the Infinity Gauntlet — an assemblage of powerful relics that are in this case panes of Forever Glass. With the Wishing Box, the heroes of this Earth are able to stop a multiverse incursion, but the box itself doesn't survive its own use. Though we don't know exactly what each pane of Forever Glass does, we can safely guess that they are similar to, if not the same as, Earth-616's Infinity Stones. 

The Soul Stone — originally known as the Soul Gem — is actually the first Infinity Stone to make its presence known in the Marvel Universe. It's originally possessed by the High Evolutionary, the Earth scientist who creates the artificial man known as Adam Warlock. The High Evolutionary gives the Soul Gem to Warlock when he sends him to save the planet called Counter-Earth (something that comics fans know about Adam Warlock that you may not). 

The primary power of the Soul Stone is its ability to manipulate others by literally tapping into their souls. It can be used to control any form of life, in fact, and has even been shown to be sentient itself, seeking out souls in a desire to gain more power. The Soul Stone isn't an object of power, however, but a conduit to another realm — the Soul World — where the wielder can trap the souls of its victims. It may be one of the more powerful stones on its face, with the apparent ability to control countless souls. 

What holds it back, though, is the fact that — at least in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — the Soul Stone has one enormous weakness: To gain possession of it, one has to sacrifice something they love. In the MCU, both Thanos and Hawkeye are forced to trade the life of someone close to them in order to obtain the Soul Stone (which, in the case of Hawkeye, made for one of the most confusing moments in "Avengers: Endgame"). 

The Ego Gem can have a psychic hold over its wielder, the Soul Stone can control other beings, and the Death Stone can end life at will. The Mind Stone has a lot of the same qualities — allowing the user to control the mind of others and kill with a thought — but it can also do so much more. In addition to total psychic manipulation of matter (also known as telekinesis), the Mind Stone also allows one to read the minds of every living being in existence.

If that wasn't enough, the Mind Stone can also wipe memories and erase the entirety of a person's mind. Its power can also allow a person direct mental communication with anyone anywhere in the universe at any time. It provides the wielder with something even more precious than power itself: the ability to better control the other Infinity Stones. The Mind Stone brings with it a kind of mental control that can allow the user to focus their mind and not be overwhelmed by the sheer awesomeness of the power possessed by the Infinity Stones. Without the Mind Stone, the other stones' powers are more difficult to control, particularly when used together.

Like the Soul Stone, the Mind Stone has a life of its own, and can even imbue inanimate objects with sentience — as it did in "Avengers: Age of Ultron," when it helped create both Ultron and Vision. It's also, incidentally, the final stone collected by Thanos in the original "Infinity Quest" comic book.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the first Infinity Stone we ever see is the Space Stone, a relic of incredible power hidden within what is known as the Tesseract. While the Tesseract is the MCU's version of the Cosmic Cube — an entirely different weapon in the comics — it contains within it the Space Stone, which helps power the Red Skull's army during World War II, creating powerful weapons unlike anything humanity had seen before.

Of course, the Space Stone's real power is mastery over space itself, allowing those who hold it to traverse the entirety of the universe with a thought. Beyond just a mere transporting device, though, the Space Stone is able to manipulate the laws of physics, create supermassive black holes, and, when used in conjunction with other stones, unleash their full awesome power. 

With the Space Stone, the powers of the other stones can be used anywhere in the universe whether the wielder is there or not. It can even focus the power of the Time Stone, making it easier for a person to travel to a specific point in space in the future or the past. In theory, the powers of the Reality Stone and Time Stone, together with the Space Stone, can allow an individual to exist at all points in time and space simultaneously.

Even on its own, it's easy to see just how powerful the Time Stone can be. Introduced in "Marvel Team-Up" #55 in 1976, the Time Stone does just what you'd imagine, allowing the holder to travel back and forth through time instantaneously. But it does so much more than just provide a means to time travel; It can also manipulate time itself, force people and objects to be frozen in time, and even accelerate their aging with a thought.

Strangely, the Time Stone is originally held by a being known as the Gardener, who doesn't even realize its might. Not knowing the full extent of what it can do, the Gardener simply uses the Time Stone to create, well, a massive garden — accelerating the time it takes to grow wondrous plants and other florae. Eventually, Thanos realizes that his little plant-growing gem is really the Time Stone, and comes gunning for it to complete his Infinity Gauntlet.

In the MCU, the Time Stone is held by Doctor Strange and powers the Eye of Agamotto around his neck (although it doesn't explain the third eye that pops up later in his head). With it, Strange was able to see into the future of not just one timeline but millions of others as well, providing a kind of precognition that can aid the wearer in countless ways. With it they can instantly view the result of any action, guaranteeing a positive outcome and making them nearly unstoppable.

Making its first appearance in the same issue of "Marvel Team-Up" that introduced the Time Stone, the Power Stone is once again exactly what you think it is: A stone that grants its owner unlimited physical power, and not just strength. It's true that it can make one the strongest being in existence, but it also can make one impervious to physical harm while also providing an endless amount of energy so that one's physical form never tires.

Drawing upon the limitless energy throughout the cosmos, the Power Stone gives the wielder any kind of physical power one can imagine. We've seen Thanos and others who have possessed it using the Power Stone to fly, shoot energy beams of seemingly unlimited strength, and grow to enormous sizes with the power to tear planets in half. Energy blasts, fire, explosive bombs — if you can think it, the Power Stone can give you that power.

Once again, though, the Power Stone's greatest strength might not be the power it provides, but how it gives a boost to the other Infinity Stones, allowing them to reach their greater potential.

It might be reasonable to assume that the Power Stone would top our ranking of the most powerful Infinity Stones. But there remains one more that trumps it so heavily that it is undeniably the stone you'd want if you could only have one: the Reality Stone.  Because once you learn what it can truly do, it becomes clear why it's king of the Infinity Stones.

The Reality Stone quite literally has the power to reshape existence itself on a whim – don't be fooled by the MCU, which makes it seem like it just creates illusions. With a snap of one's fingers, the Reality Stone alone can allow anyone holding it to create entire worlds, decimate others, and change the very laws of physics. Resurrect the dead, end all life in the universe, or turn one thing into another — it doesn't matter. If you can think of it, the Reality Stone can make it happen.

In fact, the Reality Stone all but makes one a god by itself, and some might even wonder why the other stones are necessary or even desired. That's because the power of the Reality Stone is so great that it's nearly impossible for even the most disciplined minds to control it. That's where the Mind Stone comes in — allowing better mental control of the other relics, including the Reality Stone. The Power Stone, too, boosts the Reality Stone's abilities, to affect life on a truly universal level. But without that control, the Reality Stone is more likely to wipe out all of existence by mistake, thus making it the most dangerous stone as well.