By Brooke Kaluzienski

Photo via Marvel/Disney

One of the unique factors of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is the existence of six powerful relics that predate the universe itself. These relics are called the Infinity Stones. The concept of the Infinity Stones was first introduced in “Captain America: The First Avenger” with HYDRA’s use of the Tesseract, and the mystery surrounding the Stones has grown from there.

Each Infinity Stone is a different color, has different powers, and is named to reflect those powers. For example, the Space Stone is blue, is contained in the Tesseract, and has the ability to draw energy from space, power and create advanced alien weaponry, and transport the wielder across space. The other Infinity Stones are just as powerful, and can all do different things.

The Infinity Stones, when gathered together, give the wielder immense power. They cannot be allowed to touch organic matter directly or they will destroy it, as shown in “Guardians of the Galaxy.” However, something called the Infinity Gauntlet can contain the power of the Stones and allow the wearer to control them. A powerful being called Thanos (Josh Brolin) possesses the Infinity Gauntlet, and he is the villain in the upcoming “Avengers: Infinity War.”

Thanos has been searching for Infinity Stones since Marvel’s “The Avengers,” where he was featured in a post-credits scene. He likely possessed the Mind Stone at the beginning of the movie, but lost it by giving it to Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in a scepter when Loki lost the scepter. The Mind Stone now resides in the forehead of the Vision (Paul Bettany), an android body holding an AI designed by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) that used to be called JARVIS.

The location of five of the six Infinity Stones is known, but the sixth, the Soul Stone, is still missing. Two of the Stones are currently located on Earth—the Mind Stone and the Time Stone. The Time Stone is contained in the Eye of Agamotto, a necklace designed by the first Sorcerer Supreme to contain its power. The current Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), carries the Eye with him, and can wield the power of the Stone contained within, meaning he can manipulate time. The Mind Stone is in the forehead of the Vision, and gives the android his powers, which allow him to fly, turn himself into a wraith, and shoot destructive beams of energy from the Stone.

The other three known Stones are in space. The Space Stone, contained in the Tesseract, was in Odin’s vault on Asgard, but Loki took it with him when the planet was destroyed by Surtur. The Reality Stone is contained in the Aether, and is the only one of the Infinity Stones that is a fluid instead of a solid. It is currently with the Collector, in Knowhere. The Collector seeks to possess all six Stones, though he means to do it through purchasing them, not by killing everyone else who has them. The Reality Stone has the capability to change reality, and was going to be used to suck all the light out of the universe in “Thor: The Dark World.” The last stone located in space is the Power Stone, and it is on Xandar, with the Nova Corps. It has the ability to destroy the organic matter it touches.

The Soul Stone is the only one out of the six Infinity Stones that has not yet been in any movie, though it is likely going to be revealed in the upcoming “Avengers: Infinity War,” or in its sequel, the name of which is yet to be revealed. Because of this, its powers are also unknown, though they will certainly be just as catastrophic as those of the other five Stones.