The Infinity Stones of soul, power, reality, space, time and mind have been existing inside the Marvel Universe ever since the 1991 Infinity Gauntlet storyline brought them to the forefront of the superhero universe. They helped Thanos wipe out half the universe and conquer the rest.
The Infinity Stones have always been subject to objects of godlike powers and the heroes have made sure that they do not fall into the wrong hands lest there be ultimate havoc and chaos. In the recent comic book issues, the Marvel Comics writers have been working day in and day out to explain to the readers the origin stories of the mysterious Infinity Stones.
And they have now revealed a big secret regarding the same. Trust us guys; you will be just as astonished as are we. Presenting – Marvel Comics Update: Marvel reveals the great secret of the Infinity Stones!!
SPOILER ALERT: Major Spoilers for Infinity Wars: Sleepwalker up ahead. If you still have not read it yet and intend to in the near future, we suggest you look away….
It is official now folks. The Infinity Stones have been holding back on their biggest secret. As it turns out, the Soul Stone is not the only one to contain a secret pocket universe within it. Marvel Comics has revealed that the Infinity Stones, each of them in fact, hold their own personal, isolated universe. It is the biggest and greatest mystery of the Infinity Stones that has finally unravelled.
The Soul Stone is officially the bearer of the Soul World, a universe that is just as big and exists solely within the infinity stone itself. We had a short look at the Soul World in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when Thanos walks into a temple in the midst of a landscape covered under a yellowish sky to greet a child version of Gamora.
The Soul World, in the comic books, is witnessing an interesting turn of events. Gamora, who has gone completely insane, has plunged the whole universe into the Soul World. The result- there now happens to be a great imbalance in the multi-verse and someone out there has decided to do something about it.
But who!!
The Soul World is not the only universe within an Infinity Stone. The Mind Stone contains the Mindscape while the rest of the stones contain their own universe within them. Some worlds are said to be actually higher planes of existence. We have a close look at one of them. Turns out, the Infinity Stones are connected to each other.
It is the universes within them that connect them into what could be called a grand universal circuit. If somehow one stone world is an imbalance, it destroys the balance that exists in the other worlds as well. One of those worlds, called the Mindscape, has a character that has taken notice of this imbalance and has decided to venture into the Soul World to correct this mistake at the source itself. But to do that, this character called Sleepwalker must first find a means to master his own universe.
Only then can he go through the portal into the Soul World. The task is daunting and won’t be easy but there is no other choice left.
Let us introduce you to the five other Infinity Stone Worlds:
The Mindscape – Mind Stone
The Mindscape has existed since 1991 in the Marvel Comics. It used to be a separate dimension before the Marvel Comics gave this world a whole new meaning by defining at as the world that exists within the Mind Stone. The Mindscape is a plane where all thoughts of every living and sentient being that was, is or ever will be imagined exist.
The Mindscape contains all the demons and nightmares of despair, agony, paranoia, fear, frustration and the likes. The Mindscape also has its personal police force called the Sleepwalkers. It is from this police force that the central character of the story arc hails from.
Sleepwalker has the foresight to realize that Gamora’s actions have also started affecting the Mindscape, where her dreams are turning into formidable nightmares that could soon gain the ability to tear the Mindscape itself apart. Sleepwalker uses Gamora’s own nightmarish thought creatures in the Mindscape to open a door to the other Stone word which is The Arena.
The Arena – Power Stone
The Arena is a plane of existence where you other live to fight or fight to die. It is planar state of existence where every being is forced to fight for survival in a grand stage called the Arena. The Arena also has its own champion – Dynamus, who looks like a blend of Adam Warlock and the Silver Surfer. Dynamus claims he is the living embodiment of Power Cosmic, the force or energy that gives beings like Galactus and the Surfer their powers.
Sleepwalker is forced to fight Dynamus in combat and almost loses until he finds out a way to cheat in the last second. The Power Stone can only be controlled by pure thought and since Sleepwalker is a being made of the same, he manipulates the Arena until Dynamus has not bitten the dust.
The Vast – Space Stone
The Vast is the world that exists inside the Space Stone. Like the Space Stone, the Vast is also connected with the concept of space-time continuum – as there is a lot of it within this Stone World. The Vast is an infinite stretch of nothingness. It has nothing except pure solitude and isolation.
Not a speck of life exists within this world. The Sleepwalker is accustomed to the vast reaches of the Mindscape but he too is petrified by the level of a void, the Vast holds. He is quick to get out of the Stone World since Sleepwalker has the ability to manipulate space-time and alter the fabric of it.
Ellipsis – Time Stone
Sleepwalker is supposed to be immortal. There can’t ever be a time where you would be able to see a wrinkle on his face as he is a being of pure thought and is practically ageless. Or so we thought!! In the Time Stone, time flows in a distinctively different manner. One moment you are young and vibrant and the other moment you are old and lethargic.
Then the next moment you might become a teenager. The Ellipsis is a world that eludes the Sleepwalker for a long time until he manages to find a way out of it. But the moment he finds the portal to the next Stone World, he realises that this portal had always been existing right beside him the whole time. Tricky universe, this one!!
The World Pool – Reality Stone
The Reality Stone houses a being called Archivus, who is supposed to be the librarian of all realities. Her job is to keep tabs on all realities that ever existed, exist or will exist in the future. And the funny part is, she categorizes her records in the form of comic books.
When the Sleepwalker asks Archivus about any information that she might have about a portal to the Soul World, she is quick to reply with a soft laugh and hands her an Infinity Wars comic book. She even asks whether Sleepwalker would need the additional tie-ins.
Things get interesting when the Guardian of the Nexus of All-Realities – that is, the Man-Thing, decides to crash in on the party. He forcefully tries to pull Sleepwalker into a comic book and end his journey then and there but fails to do so. Including the Guardian of the Nexus of all-realities is a good touch since there must be a place where all these worlds meet and the Man-Thing is already sitting on something that holds the answer.
That was one smart move, Marvel. Sleepwalker decides to leave the plane as soon as possible since the Reality Stone’s World Pool universe, where only the strongest thoughts materialize into action, is a big weakness for beings of pure thought like him. His journey continues as he decides to unravel more mysteries in the Soul World.
The story has not ended yet. We will soon receive another shot at this storyline when Marvel decides to release another tie in to this extremely interesting story arc. Perhaps, we might even get to see newer worlds?!?
