The history of the Infinity Stones in the MCU

The Infinity Stones are powerful artifacts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that have been a major plot point in many of the films. Here is a brief history of the Infinity Stones in the MCU:

1. The Tesseract (Space Stone): The Tesseract was introduced in "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011) as a powerful artifact that could harness unlimited energy. It was later revealed to be the Space Stone, which allows the user to travel anywhere in the universe. The Tesseract played a major role in "The Avengers" (2012) and was eventually used by Thanos to destroy the Asgardian ship in "Thor: Ragnarok" (2017) and acquire the Space Stone in "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018).


2. The Aether (Reality Stone): The Aether was introduced in "Thor: The Dark World" (2013) as a mysterious substance that could turn matter into dark energy. It was later revealed to be the Reality Stone, which allows the user to manipulate reality. The Aether was eventually collected by Thanos in "Avengers: Infinity War."


3. The Orb (Power Stone): The Orb was introduced in "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014) as a powerful artifact that was coveted by many beings in the universe. It was later revealed to be the Power Stone, which allows the user to manipulate energy. The Orb was eventually collected by Thanos in "Avengers: Infinity War."


4. The Scepter (Mind Stone): The Scepter was introduced in "The Avengers" (2012) as a powerful weapon that was used by Loki to control people's minds. It was later revealed to contain the Mind Stone, which allows the user to control minds and enhance intelligence. The Scepter was eventually used by Ultron to create Vision in "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015), and Vision later became the holder of the Mind Stone.


5. The Eye of Agamotto (Time Stone): The Eye of Agamotto was introduced in "Doctor Strange" (2016) as a powerful relic that could manipulate time. It was later revealed to contain the Time Stone, which allows the user to manipulate time. The Time Stone was eventually used by Doctor Strange to defeat Dormammu in the same movie and later by Thanos in "Avengers: Infinity War."


6. The Soul Stone: The Soul Stone was introduced in "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018) as the last Infinity Stone to be revealed. Its location and powers were shrouded in mystery until the movie's climax, where it was revealed that the only way to obtain the Soul Stone was to sacrifice a loved one. Thanos ultimately obtained the Soul Stone by sacrificing his adopted daughter, Gamora.

In "Avengers: Endgame" (2019), the Avengers traveled back in time to collect the Infinity Stones in order to undo the damage caused by Thanos in "Infinity War." However, after they succeeded in their mission, Iron Man used the stones to snap Thanos and his army out of existence, which ultimately cost him his life. The stones were then returned to their proper places in time to prevent any further disruptions to the timeline.