With the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos quest to obtain the all-powerful Infinity Stones and complete his Infinity Gauntlet will finally be over. Once he gets his hands on all the six Infinity stones namely Space stone, Power stone, Realty stone, Time stone, Mind stone and Soul stone; he will become the most powerful cosmic creature as the user of the gauntlet gets limitless power and it is beyond anyone’s reach to then bring him down, at least Avengers and Guardians don’t have what it takes to defeat Thanos.
But as the Mad Titan is about to best the Avengers at their own game, there have been several theories as to who will defeat Thanos and why. Thanos will taste defeat one way or another. But what about the Infinity Gauntlet!! Will one of the Avengers end up wearing the Gauntlet to defeat Thanos with the very weapon he created himself? A list of possibilities opens up.
The Infinity Stones, otherwise called the Soul Gems or the Infinity Gems in the comic books, were introduced quite early in the Marvel Universe in the 1972 Marvel Premier #1. The Gauntlet arrived much, much later to the scene. The prelude to 1991’s Infinity Gauntlet saw Silver Surfer revealing that there exists an item that can combine the power of all the Six Infinity Gems and help the wearer become a God.
And thus began Thanos’ quest to obtain the Gauntlet so that he could merge the Stones together and create a weapon to conquer the cosmos. His intention was simple – he wanted to impress Lady Death. So he wiped out half of all life in the universe as an offering.
One Particular Silver Surfer scene will be replaced by Bruce Banner in the movie. Marvel is hard at work to meld several key comic book scenes to reciprocate and accommodate them in Avengers: Infinity War. While the name of the movie itself is the same as that of the comic book sequel to the Infinity Gauntlet storyline of 1991, the movie will be heavily influenced by Jonathan Hickman’s Infinity arc. We can take a look at the entire history of the Infinity Gauntlet to determine which Marvel Superhero could actually end up wearing the mighty God Glove.
A busload of superheroes and supervillains has wielded the power of all the six Infinity Stones in the comic book story arcs and multiple animated shows. Several people starting from Reed Richards to Doctor Doom and even Darkseid, courtesy of a Marvel-DC crossover arc, have wielded the Infinity Gauntlet.
The X-Men have worn the Gauntlet in the comic books but with the news of the Disney-Fox merger not affecting Phase 3 of the MCU anyway, the mutants are out of the race. So that leaves us with a small but definite list of a small group of heroes who could be potential candidates.
Captain America
The Infinity Gauntlet has a way of corrupting its user. That is the reason several heroes have succumbed to the power it bestows on them. Absolute Power corrupts absolutely. Captain America is exempt from that rule. His ironclad ideals and righteous principles mean he is immune to the Gauntlet’s corrupting qualities. He has even worn the Gauntlet in the comic books.
In New Avengers #3, the Illuminati discover that the universe is about to collide with another alternate one. To avert the Catastrophe, Captain America wields the Gauntlet and recreates reality. The universe is saved but the Infinity Stones are lost in the process.
Black Panther
The Soul Stone may or may not be in Wakanda but that won’t stop T’Challa from making it to this list. As a highly principled man wielding the high tech Black Panther suit, and one of the most skilled fighters of the MCU, T’Challa has the right ingredients in him to snatch the Gauntlet from Thanos. He has worn the Gauntlet in the comics to fight God Emperor Doom in Secret Wars #6.
Nebula
In the comics, Nebula is a full-on, irredeemable supervillain. The MCU saw her joining the Guardians and become the good guy. In the comics, Nebula tried to snatch the Gauntlet from Thanos for herself and tried to kill her ‘Father’ with it in the 1991 Infinity Gauntlet saga. She was quickly dispatched in the comic books. Let’s hope she won’t face a similar fate in Infinity War. But she is surely the front-runner in the MCU for wielding the gauntlet as GOTG Vol. 2 clearly set her up to face her evil father and exact some kind of revenge on him for what he did to her when she was little. She is burning with rage against Thanos and she deserve a payback.
Spider-Man
In 2010’s Avengers and the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos fights Earth’s mightiest heroes in a retelling of the Infinity Gauntlet saga. In this particular story arc, Spiderman is the last hero standing. He then uses his smarts to trick Thanos and claim the Gauntlet for himself. Spidey then wishes the day never happened. Everything returns back to normal. No one but Spidey remembers the event as the day never happened in the first place. Poor Spidey has the worst luck ever, even when he wears the Infinity Gauntlet.
The Hulk
In the Ultimates universe, there aren’t just six but eight different Infinity Stones and two Infinity Gauntlets. In the Ultimates #25 of 2011, the Hulk gets hold of the two Infinity Gauntlets. The storyline is not part of the main Marvel continuity but since the Ultimates universe has been a big contributor to the MCU, it could happen.
In the MCU, every time Bruce Banner hulks out, he is stuck with being ‘the other guy’ indefinitely. That means if Banner decides to turn back into the Jade Giant again in the movie to defeat Thanos, he might just lose his human form forever. That will be an emotionally intense scene in Infinity War. We sure hope it happens.
The ensemble cast is just unbelievably awesome including Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Sebastian Stan (Winter soldier), Jeremy Reiner (Hawkeye), Tom Holland (Spiderman), Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange), Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Evangeline Lilly (Wasp), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlett Witch), Paul Bettany (Vision), Josh Brolin (Thanos).
The official synopsis of the Avengers Infinity War released by the Marvel studios can be read below:
“As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment – the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.
“An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe”.
“Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers unite to battle their most powerful enemy yet — the evil Thanos. On a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the artifacts to inflict his twisted will on reality. The fate of the planet and existence itself has never been more uncertain as everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment”.
Avengers Infinity War will be released in theaters worldwide on April 27, 2018. The movie is directed by Russo brothers (Captain America movies) and produced by Marvel head Kevin Feige along with a set of executive producers including God of Marvel comics Stan Lee, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Michael Grillo. The screenplay has been written by a creative duo – Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
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