The Infinity Gauntlet was a powerful Dwarven-made Uru glove that was designed to channel the power of all six Infinity Stones.

History[]

Forging of a New Gauntlet[]

By 2015, Thanos decided to collect the Infinity Stones himself.^[2] To do so, he went to Nidavellir and forced the Dwarves to construct the Infinity Gauntlet for him. Once they had done so, he proceeded to exterminate the entire Dwarven race. Only Eitri, the King of the Dwarves, was spared, although Thanos destroyed his hands by smelting them in metal, ensuring he could never create anything further on his own.^[1]

Infinity War[]

In 2018, Thanos brandished the Infinity Gauntlet on his left hand and forearm, inserting the stones one-by-one as soon as he acquired them. Upon acquiring the Power Stone from the Nova Corps Vault on Xandar, Thanos attacked the Statesman. Thanos used the Power Stone to torture Thor in order to force Loki to give up the Space Stone. Thanos then inserted it into the Gauntlet and used it to block Loki's attempted attack before strangling and killing him. Thanos then used the Power Stone to destroy the ship while opening a wormhole with the Space Stone so he and his children could escape.

Thanos soon ventured to Knowhere, acquiring the Reality Stone from the Collector and inserting it into the Infinity Gauntlet. Thanos used the Stone to trick the Guardians of the Galaxy by conjuring an illusion of himself interrogating the Collector. After he revealed his true self, Thanos incapacitated Drax and Mantis, stopped Star-Lord's desperate attempt to kill Gamora and left with his daughter via the Space Stone.

Back on his ship, Thanos used the Power and Space Stones to torture Nebula by slowly pulling apart her cybernetics, forcing Gamora to give up the location of the Soul Stone, revealed to be on Vormir. On Vormir, he and Gamora encountered Red Skull and upon realizing he must sacrifice the one he loved, Thanos tearfully threw Gamora off a cliff to her death to acquire the Soul Stone. After inserting it into the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos traveled to Titan to collect the Time Stone.

Upon arriving on his homeworld, Thanos was confronted by Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and the Guardians of the Galaxy, who attacked him with the intent of removing the Infinity Gauntlet from his hand. Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet to destroy the pillar dropped by on him Iron Man and turned it to a swarm of black crystals that he sent at the ironclad Avenger, as well as sending out blasts of energy at Star-Lord, although they were dodged. Doctor Strange soon realized that Thanos had to clench his fist for the Gauntlet to work and had the Cloak of Levitation restrain his left hand. Enraged, Thanos soon ripped the Cloak from his hand and used the Gauntlet to absorb an explosion caused by Iron Man and then redirected the blow towards the hero.

Eventually, Thanos was restrained through a carefully organized strategy of Star-Lord's plan and Mantis was able to immobilize the warlord before Iron Man and Spider-Man began removing the Gauntlet. As Iron Man and Spider-Man came close to slipping off the Gauntlet, Star-Lord, after realizing that Thanos had killed Gamora, repeatedly hit the Titan in a vengeful rage, breaking Mantis' hold on Thanos and allowing him to regain the Gauntlet. Thanos then used the mighty gauntlet to display the ultimate power of the Stones, using the Space Stone to allow the Reality Stone to move Titan's moon before using the Power Stone to crush the moon to pieces and finally used the Space Stone again to pull the pieces to the planet, causing a shower of meteors to rain down upon the heroes.

Thanos and Doctor Strange then dueled, with Thanos using the Gauntlet to fire a beam of energy using the Power Stone and then infused the Power Stone's energy into the Gauntlet to destroy Doctor Strange's use of the Mirror Dimension, after which he unleashed a black hole with the broken shards from the destruction of the Mirror Dimension upon the sorcerer using the Space Stone, which Strange transmuted into butterflies. Strange then created numerous duplicates of himself, which Thanos eliminated by identifying the real Strange with the Soul Stone and then used the Power Stone to destroy the copies. With Strange briefly distracted by the feedback from the elimination of his clones, Thanos then used the Space and Reality Stones to pull Strange to himself, grabbing him in a choke hold once he was close enough.

Iron Man saved Strange and then battled Thanos one-on-one, after using some of his suit's nanotechnology to force Thanos' hand open with a clamp to stop him from closing his fist, but the warlord's natural strength and rage allowed him to rip the device off easily, regaining the ability to use the Gauntlet. The two dueled briefly and Thanos easily won the fight, but before the Titan could finish Stark off, Strange bartered the Time Stone for Stark's life. With his prize secured, Thanos left for Earth.

Arriving in Wakanda, Thanos used the five Stones to quickly dispatch his foes: confining Bruce Banner within solid rock with the Space Stone, knocking away Captain America, Winter Soldier and Okoye with the Power Stone; restraining Black Widow with the Reality Stone; destroying Falcon's wings and bringing him down with the Space Stone; crushing War Machine with the Space Stone; and blocking Wanda Maximoff's attempt to hold him back with the Space Stone; and undoing Vision and the Mind Stone's destruction with the Time Stone.

Seizing Vision, Thanos tore the Mind Stone from Vision's skull and completed the Infinity Gauntlet. However, as he was relishing his success, he was struck by Thor's lightning. Thanos retaliated by firing an energy beam using the combined power of all the Stones, but Thor enchanted Stormbreaker with all his power and the weapon easily sliced through the beam and impaled Thanos in the chest. However, in spite of his wound, Thanos retained enough strength to snap his fingers, activating the Gauntlet, and eradicated half of all life in the universe.

The sheer energy required for such a feat nearly overwhelmed him in his weakened state and cast Thanos' soul inside the Soul Stone, where he conversed with a young Gamora. The effort also severely damaged the Infinity Gauntlet itself, making any further use of the stones in battle a potential risk. Once he recovered from the powerful feedback of the Snap, Thanos observed the damaged Gauntlet momentarily before transporting himself to an alien farmland with the Space Stone, resting and enjoying the sunrise as he stated he would once he accomplished his life-long mission to eliminate half of all life in the universe.^[1]

Destruction of the Infinity Stones[]

Thanos, knowing that the Infinity Stones would only tempt him into a lust for power and acknowledging that the Avengers would target them, used their own power to destroy them, thus ensuring that the Snap could never be undone. The energy wave released from the act, along with ravaging Thanos' left side, destroyed the already damaged Gauntlet while fusing it to Thanos' arm.

Two days later, Thanos was ambushed by the Avengers, who tracked the energy surge caused by the Stones. Once Captain Marvel, Bruce Banner, and War Machine restrained him, Thor used Stormbreaker to cut off Thanos' left hand only for Rocket to discover that the Stones were missing. Once Thanos revealed that he had destroyed them, an enraged Thor decapitated him. With all hope of undoing the Snap seemingly gone, the Avengers left the planet, leaving the charred and useless Gauntlet behind to rust.^[3]

Alternate Universe Versions[]

Miss Minutes' Offer[]

In the Void, Loki and Sylvie Laufeydottir both managed to reach the Citadel at the End of Time. There, Miss Minutes appeared and offered to relocate the two to an alternate timeline where Loki would be able to kill his Thanos and acquire the Infinity Gauntlet for himself. However, Loki rejected the offer.^[4]

Zombie Apocalypse[]

In an alternate 2018, the Infinity Gauntlet had been acquired by Thanos on his quest to acquire the six Infinity Stones. After Thanos traveled to Wakanda, he became infected with a quantum virus and turned into a zombie. Despite this, he was able to retain the Gauntlet.^[5]

Age of Ultron[]

In an alternate universe, the Infinity Gauntlet had been acquired by Thanos on his quest to acquire the six Infinity Stones. After Thanos travelled to the Avengers Tower in New York City, he was met by Ultron who killed him immediately. Ultron then used the Mind Stone to destroy part of the Gauntlet in order to remove the five Stones that Thanos had acquired.^[6]

Infinity War[]

In Earth-838 in 2018, the Infinity Gauntlet had been acquired by Thanos on his quest to acquire the six Infinity Stones. After successfully acquiring four Stones, Thanos travelled to Titan where he was promptly confronted by the Illuminati. They killed him and left the Gauntlet on his corpse.^[7]

1602 Anomaly[]

In an alternate 2018, Captain America fought Thanos, who was armed with the Infinity Gauntlet. Captain America went to strike with one of his shields and accidently grazed the Time Stone, causing an anomaly that displaced him and the rest of the Avengers in 1602. Captain America later described Thanos as "a monster from the skies, armed with a golden glove", referring to the Infinity Gauntlet.^[8]

Capabilities[]

The Infinity Gauntlet was specifically made to allow the wielder to channel the powers of all six Infinity Stones; it even allows the use of their powers in unison, such as using the Space Stone to send the Power Stone's energies to Titan's moon. The Stones seem to be drawn towards the Gauntlet; the wielder has only to hold the stone over an empty pocket and the stone fuses to it by itself. Upon completion of the Gauntlet, the user is able to accomplish almost anything at will — even wiping out half the universe with a snap of the fingers. Despite the great power it grants its wielder, the Gauntlet has a flaw, intentionally incorporated by Eitri: it must be clenched before the power of any Stone could be accessed. Additionally, the Gauntlet's wearer must possess a substantially high level of mental fortitude and physical strength capable of withstanding the severe strain caused by using even just one Infinity Stone.

The Infinity Gauntlet is tremendously durable; able to withstand having all six Infinity Stones embedded into it and provide protection from Captain Marvel's photon blasts even in its damaged state. However, Thanos using the power of all six Stones at once put too much strain on the Gauntlet, heavily damaging it, though it remained functional enough for Thanos to use the Stones to both heal himself and escape. The Gauntlet, though heavily damaged, would again survive yet another full-scale use of it when Thanos utilized it to destroy the Infinity Stones themselves. The aftermath of this action was complete inoperability of the Gauntlet beyond that point, while leaving severe burns on the left side of Thanos' body leading up from his left arm up to the left side of his neck and face. Additionally, the Gauntlet's remains were permanently fused to Thanos' left arm.

Alternate Versions[]

Origin	Status	Creators	Owners	Users
Australian Resident Thor	Active	-	Thanos	Thanos
Zombie Outbreak	Active	-	Thanos	Thanos
Age of Ultron	Destroyed	-	Thanos †	Thanos †
Sakaarian Iron Man	Destroyed	Eitri	-	-
Illuminati Assembled	Inactive	-	Thanos †	Thanos †
Forerunner Steve Rogers	Destroyed	-	Thanos †	Thanos †
Loyal Daughters of Thanos	Active	-	Thanos	Thanos
The Cosmic Quest	Active	-	Thanos	Thanos
Holographic Thanos Training Exercise	Active	-	Thanos	Thanos
Avengers: Endgame	Destroyed	-	Thanos †	Thanos †

Appearances[]

Appearances for the Infinity Gauntlet

In chronological order: Avengers: Age of Ultron Avengers: Infinity War Prelude, Issue 2 What If...? | Episode 1.08: What If... Ultron Won? (alternate universe) What If...? | Episode 1.09: What If... The Watcher Broke His Oath? (alternate universe) Marvel One-Shot: Team Thor: Part 1 (art; alternate universe) What If...? – An Immersive Story (alternate universe) Avengers: Infinity War Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (flashbacks; alternate universe) Thor: Love and Thunder (flashbacks) WandaVision | Episode 1.08: Previously On (flashbacks) What If...? | Episode 1.05: What If... Zombies?! (alternate universe) What If...? | Episode 2.08: What If... The Avengers Assembled in 1602? (flashbacks; alternate universe) Avengers: Endgame Prelude, Issue 1 Avengers: Endgame Prelude, Issue 2 Avengers: Endgame Prelude, Issue 3 Avengers: Endgame Avengers: Endgame (hologram; alternate universe) Avengers: Endgame (alternate universe) The Cosmic Quest Volume Two: Aftermath (illusion; alternate universe) Loki | Episode 1.01: Glorious Purpose (footage) WandaVision | Episode 1.09: The Series Finale (memory) Thor: Love and Thunder (depictions) Spider-Man: Far From Home (poster) She-Hulk: Attorney at Law | Episode 1.09: Whose Show is This? (prop) Ms. Marvel | Episode 1.01: Generation Why (depictions) Look Out for the Little Guy! (mentioned) What If...? | Episode 2.09: What If... Strange Supreme Intervened? (alternate universe) Doodlepool (prop) Loki | Episode 1.06: For All Time. Always. (mentioned)

Trivia[]

• In the comics, the Infinity Gauntlet was originally a glove from Thanos' own armor modified to house the individual Infinity Gems. In the movies, the Infinity Gauntlet was specifically forged at Thanos' demand, and does not match the armor seen on his right hand when worn.
• Due to the Infinity Stones receiving different colors from the original Infinity Gems seen in previous media, the color setup of the Infinity Gauntlet from the movies differs from the color configuration originally seen in the comics.
• The Infinity Stones that are shown in the Gauntlet in Odin's Vault are fakes created by Asgardians, presumably to show how the item is supposed to look, like a museum piece, although the order of the Stones is vastly different from Thanos' order or the original comic configuration.
• Each stone's visual effects are unique, for example; when using the Time Stone, Thanos (just like Doctor Strange) had green rings resembling Strange's circular energy shielding encircle his arm, but while using the Power Stone, Thanos' fist would glow purple.
• How the Infinity Gauntlet actually utilises the power of the Infinity Stones is never fully explained. The only information given on how the Gauntlet functions is that, due to the flaw intentionally built in by Eitri, one must first clench their fist to use the Gauntlet, after which the Stones activate and glow depending on which one(s) the user is interested in or actively using: whether it is one Stone at a time, one Stone in conjunction with another, or all of the Stones at once.

Behind the Scenes[]

• The Infinity Gauntlet prop from Thor was showcased at Comic-Con 2010, while Josh Brolin entered the stage wearing a fake Infinity Gauntlet glove at Comic-Con 2014.
• After the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed that in the Marvel Cinematic Universe there were two Infinity Gauntlets and that the one Thanos retrieved was not in Odin's Vault.^[9] Feige later elaborated after the release of Thor: Ragnarok that when the fake Infinity Gauntlet was included in the first Thor film, Marvel Studios had yet to start planning an adaptation of Jim Starlin's Infinity Gauntlet, so it was included as an Easter egg. Feige also stated that they have a theory that Odin created the fake gauntlet to deceive his enemies, fully knowing the dangers the real Infinity Gauntlet posed.^[10]
• When asked how Stormbreaker could overpower the power of the completed Infinity Gauntlet, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely suggest that Eitri is responsible because of his "Dwarven magic": He made both items and made it so that Stormbreaker is able to defeat the Infinity Gauntlet.^[11]
• Regarding the Snap, Christopher Markus has stated that the immense amount of energy of using all six Infinity Stones at once would kill anyone who attempts it, even with the Infinity Gauntlet, and "the strongest being in the universe has to be the one to do it," referring to Thanos.^[11]

References[]

External Links[]

• Infinity Gauntlet on Marvel Database
• Infinity Gauntlet on Wikipedia