History
One of six Infinity Gems that grants its user control over reality. According to the most commonly accepted origin story, the six gems were once part of an all-powerful being who committed suicide out of loneliness. Its power survived and manifested as six gems.
Soul Gems
For a long time, knowledge of the true nature of the Gems was unknown and the six were known collectively as "Soul Gems", with much of their powers unrealized by their users. The one that would eventually be identified as the Mind Gem turned up on the planet Deneb IV.[3] Somehow, the Kree Supreme Intelligence knew of it and mentally manipulated natives of the planet to unearth it as part of a subtle step in a byzantine plot to eventually control the dormant power of Rick Jones. The Supreme Intelligence besieged the planet with destructive automatons and ensured Jones and his partner, Captain Marvel would become stranded there at a point when their minds were in danger of merging. The Denebian underground resistance offered Mar-Vell and Rick a solution to their plight by having their minds enter the Gem to sort themselves out, but the process manifested as a violent mental struggle that was broadcast to the planet's inhabitants by the Gem, intensifying the already bloody war across its surface. This was secretly the intention of the resistance's cyborg General, whose mechanically indifferent mind saw a violently definitive end to the war as the only path to peace. Rambu, a less-cyberized soldier of the resistance, attempted to prevent this when he learned of the General's plan, and with the help of a mental construct of Rick's, went into the Gem to break up the partners' fight. Captain Marvel and Rick Jones emerged from the Gem with their minds intact and were able to continue on their journey to confront the Supreme Intelligence. The Gem remained abandoned in the resistance tunnels beneath Deneb IV, having lost its purpose to the Denebians.[4]
The Gem was shortly thereafter picked up by Thanos on a quest to collect them all. Thanos combined the Gem with four others and siphoned energies from the sixth to create a giant synthetic Gem with the intent of destroying the stars of the universe with its absolute power. The combined efforts of Warlock, Captain Marvel, and the Avengers thwarted Thanos' plan and destroyed the combined Gem.[5]
For a time, the five combined Gems were thought to be destroyed, but a conclave of the Elders of the Universe eventually learned that they could not be truly destroyed in such a manner and that they were actually scattered across the universe. Having a plan to use the Gems to further their ambitions, the Elders set out to gather them together again. The Kree discovered the one that would later be identified as the Mind Gem[6] and delivered it to the Supreme Intelligence, who equipped it to assist in keeping the blue and pink Kree components of its mind out of conflict. When the Silver Surfer came to confront the Supreme Intelligence about the Kree's aggression against worlds under his protection, the Intelligence used the Gem to absorb the Surfer into its collective as a way to conquer him.[7] The Elder Contemplator had been attempting without success to negotiate with the Intelligence to obtain the Gem. Given the opportunity presented, Contemplator reached out to the Surfer's mind within the Supreme Intelligence, giving him the chance to summon his board and break free of the collective with the Gem in hand. Without the Gem, the Supreme Intelligence quickly descended into madness, rendering it functionally disabled for some time.[8]
The Elders had gathered the other five Gems and only needed the one now held by the Silver Surfer. Knowing he opposed them, they took steps to hold his lady loves Shalla-Bal and Mantis hostage. Though both women begged Surfer to sacrifice them rather than allow the Elders to win, the Surfer handed the Gem over. The Elders then sent the force bubble holding the hostages hurtling through space to explode, giving the Surfer only enough time to rescue one of them, him choosing Shalla-Bal. With the Surfer presumably out of the way, the Elders combined the six gathered Gems into a space platform aligned with a star system with six desolate planets the Gems could resonate with, setting up a trap for Galactus. Their apparatus would steal planetary energies from Galactus, channeling them into the planets, thus killing Galactus and subsequently Eternity due to the loss of balance that Galactus maintained. The universe would end and be reborn, with only the Elders surviving due to their earlier victory over Death[9] and as such be true Elders of the new universe as Galactus had been in theirs. Though the Elders successfully trapped Galactus, they failed to handle interference from his heralds. While the Silver Surfer blocked the ray from the Gem apparatus, Nova detonated the star at the center of the system, creating a black hole that consumed the Gems and some of the Elders, saving Galactus.[10]
The Elders joined with the In-Betweener in a further scheme to kill Galactus, retrieving the Gems from the black hole, but they were thwarted again by the Silver Surfer. Lord Chaos and Master Order became involved and redistributed the Gems among the In-Betweener and the Elders afterwards, with the one that would soon be revealed as the Mind Gem entrusted to the Grandmaster.[11]
Infinity Gauntlet
Thanos learned of the Gems' true nature as Infinity Gems from the Infinity Well and set out to gather them once more in a quest to become a god worthy of being Death's consort. The Gradmaster's blue Gem was the last one he needed, and by that time the Grandmaster had prepared intricate safeguards against the approaching Titan. Rather than wield the Gem, he locked it behind impenetrable security and proposed a virtual duel to Thanos with all the Gems as the prize. Grandmaster had secretly begun to fathom the true potential of the Gems as well and was glad to let Thanos collect the other five up to that point so he could claim them all at once. He sabotaged Thanos' weapons to guarantee his victory in the duel, but Thanos cheated as well, sending a robotic duplicate to fight in his place. While Grandmaster was thus occupied, the real Thanos disabled the game and claimed the unlocked Mind Gem, noting that if his opponent had made the better choice to wear it on his person, he might have used its attributes to detect his duplicity.[12]
When Thanos assembled all six Gems into his Infinity Gauntlet, he had the power and knowledge to achieve anything he desired, except he found he still didn't know what it would take for Death to return his affection. He attempted various grand gestures, eventually creating a great shrine to Death and fulfilling his promise to her to kill half the population of the universe, removing them from existence with a snap of his fingers.[13] No matter what he did, Death continued to regard him with silent disdain. He became increasingly unstable in his frustration and when a coalition of surviving heroes came to confront him, he was compelled to attempt to entertain Death by limiting his own abilities and giving his enemies a minute chance of victory. He swore off the use of all the Gems except Power in the ensuing battle. Though he defeated many of his opponents through manipulations of time, space, and reality, he kept true to his vow not to read his opponents' minds, allowing himself to be surprised at their tactics.[14] After neutralizing them all, Thanos reclaimed full control of the Gems just in time to face an alliance of Cosmic Beings. When Death stood with the other Abstracts against him, Thanos lost his last vestige of patience and subdued them all, imprisoning them in an energy field. Upon defeating Eternity, he took their place as an abstract being one with the universe. This meant abandoning his physical body, which was still wearing the Gauntlet. Nebula, who up to that point was a helpless bystander being tortured by her grandfather for his amusement, seized the opportunity and stole the Gauntlet. She quickly used the Gauntlet to reset the timeline by 24 hours, more so to spite Thanos' accomplishments than to set things right. She lacked the experience or understanding to make full effective use of the Gems, so Adam Warlock, who had formed more of a connection to the Gems through his time within the Soul Gem, was able to hide from her and eventually separate her from the Gauntlet to claim it for himself. Pledging to be a more worthy supreme being, Warlock ended the conflict and sent everyone on their way.[15]
Infinity Watch
Warlock did not hold the Infinity Gauntlet for long before Eternity brought his case to the Living Tribunal that the young god was no more suited to hold omnipotence than Thanos. The Tribunal ruled that Warlock disperse the Gems so that no individual could misuse their combined might. Warlock decided to split the Gems among friends and allies he knew would not or could not abuse their potential. He gave the Mind Gem to Moondragon to augment her already formidable mental powers, though he admitted he didn't fully trust her and had set certain safeguards to make sure she would not betray him or use the Gem for evil.[16]
Illuminati
After the Illuminati came to possess the Infinity Gems, Professor Xavier was given the Mind Gem. After his death, he bequeathed it to his student Beast. When the Illuminati attempted to use the Infinity Gauntlet to push away another universe that was colliding with Earth-616, the Mind Gem shattered.[17]
Infinity Countdown
Following the destruction of the entire Multiverse and its eventual restoration, the destroyed Infinity Gems were recreated and scattered across the universe.[18] The Mind Gem (now colored yellow) fell in the hands of a group of monks that attempted to take it to Doctor Strange for safekeeping. On their way to the Sanctum Sanctorum, they were attacked by Skrulls. Petty thug Turk Barrett stumbled into the fight, and got hold of the stone. After feeling a taste of the Mind Stone's power, Turk fled with it while the battling factions killed each other. Turk used the stone to build a criminal empire, gaining the loyalty of fellow criminals he helped with the Mind Stone's power.[19] Doctor Strange eventually found out about Turk and tried to convince him to hand over the Mind Stone. However, Turk managed to distract him, using the Mind to force bystanders into attempting to commit suicide, and slip away.[20]
Properties
The Mind Gem gives the owner psionic powers like telepathy and telekinesis or can augment the preexisting mental powers of its user. When used in conjunction with the other gems, it can link its user with all other minds in the universe at once.
Alternate Reality Versions
Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610)
The Mind Gem in this reality is said to have been created when Odin defeated Hidelbard, the most astute giant in Jotunheim. Odin fell the giant and used his own sword's magic to steal his intelligence. However, the intensity of Hidelbard's mind caused the fabric of the Nine Worlds to collapse and concentrate Hidelbard's power into a gem.[21]
At some point in time, the Gem fell into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s possession, and it was stored in Project Pegasus for a decade. It was stolen by Modi when he assaulted Pegasus' facility to arm the Hydra troops under his command.[22] He used it to take control of Thor's mind and force innocent people into joining his army.
Modi's spear
When Modi and his troops were attacked by S.H.I.E.L.D.,[21] Modi used the Gem to project into Captain America's mind a perfect dream world, in order to break his will. However, Rogers snapped out of it. After getting hold of his shield, which had been taken by the mentally-controlled Thor, Captain America destroyed the spear Modi was using to hold the Gem, breaking Modi's control over everyone. Before Modi could retrieve the Gem, which went missing after falling to the ground, Thor killed him.
The Gem was later retrieved by S.H.I.E.L.D.,[23] and it prompted the Invisible Woman to search for the other Gems.[1] Five were identified, but only four retrieved. The Mind Gem and the other four Gems were stolen by the Dark Ultimates, who attempted to assemble the Infinity Gauntlets.[24]
Shortly after Tony Stark got his hands on all of the eight Infinity Gems, a tear in the fabric of reality caused by a Wolverine echoed through the Multiverse, and shattered the Infinity Gems.[25]
Marvel Cinematic Universe (Earth-199999)
The Mind Stone was originally housed in the sceptre given to Loki to aid in his invasion of Earth. Placed within the sceptre, the stone granted its wielder the power to enslave others' minds. When Loki was defeated, the sceptre was taken into the custody of S.H.I.E.L.D..[26] Sleeper Hydra agents smuggled the sceptre into Sokovia, where Baron Strucker began using it to experiment with human enhancement. However, only two subjects survived the process: Pietro and Wanda Maximoff.[27]
Freed from the Sceptre
After capturing the sceptre from Strucker in a raid with his fellow Avengers, Tony Stark analyzed it and determined that it contained an advanced AI, which could be used to bring about his vision of a global peacekeeping program called Ultron. However, Ultron was an immediate failure, and the AI stole the sceptre away again. Thor subjected himself to a vision which clarified that the sceptre contained the Mind Stone, one of six Infinity Stones. Ultron used the Mind Stone to empower a perfect organic metal body for himself. In capturing the android body, the Avengers reacquired the Mind Stone, and after it came to life with benevolent programming it proved to them that it was an ally rather than a threat. The android, then calling himself the Vision, aided the Avengers in defeating Ultron. Thor subsequently opted to leave the Mind Stone in the Vision's care, both because the Vision had demonstrated his good character by lifting Mjolnir, and also because the stone seemed safe in the Vision's care.[2]
Scarlet Witch's abilities are connected to the Mind Stone, and she could manipulate it and Vision, such as controlling his ability to change his density against his will.[28] She also was capable of destroying the stone (along with Vision), which she did when it became apparent Thanos was inevitably going to retrieve the stone. However, Thanos used the Time Stone to reverse time and make the Mind Stone whole again and stole it from Vision and added the stone to his Infinity Gauntlet, completing his collection of the Infinity Stones, before killing half the population of the universe.[29]
2010s Marvel Animated Universe (Earth-12041)
In this universe, the Red Skull stole the Infinity Stones (as they are called, instead of "Infinity Gems") from his master Thanos and returned to Earth. He had his ship heavily damaged, which caused the Stones to be scattered all over the Earth.[30] The Mind Stone supposedly sought M.O.D.O.C., who used its power to extend his abilities to control minds. He used the Mind Stone to take complete control over S.H.I.E.L.D., as a mean to try to destroy the Avengers. When the Avengers discovered M.O.D.O.K. was behind S.H.I.E.L.D.'s odd behavior, they attempted to reclaim the Mind Stone. The confrontation ended up with the Stone transferring the Avengers' mind into different bodies from their teammates. While the Avengers escaped from S.H.I.E.L.D. while trying to get used to inhabiting another body, M.O.D.O.K. mind was transferred into the Tricarrier.
M.O.D.O.K. used S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to build equipment to transfer his mind back to his body while still having control over the Tricarrier. However, the Avengers managed to stop him and claim the Mind Stone.[31]
The Stone was contained with the other three that had been retrieved by the Avengers, under special care by Tony Stark. However, the Black Widow noticed that Tony was slowly being corrupted by the Stones. She sneaked into the vault and stole them, with the intention to send them to Asgard for safekeeping. Their plan failed, and they resorted to Doctor Strange so he could bury them between realities. However, Dormammu appeared shortly after to take the gems. Black Widow was forced to wield the Stones in order to vanish him back to his dimension. After initially falling into the Stones' influence, Natasha was capable of resisting their control and reject them. However, as soon as she stripped of the Stones, Thanos returned, and assembled the Infinity Gauntlet with the Power Stone that was already in his possession.[32]
Using the Gauntlet, Thanos created a citadel near Earth's orbit, and started modifying Earth's climate, causing anomalies around the globe. In order to defeat him, the Avengers got Thanos to fight them with each individual Stone. He used the Mind Gem to fuel them with anger and make them fight each other, however, the Hulk managed to get them to focus their rage and attack Thanos, for which the Titan decided to stop its influence over them.
After getting the readings of each individual Stone, Iron Man activated Arsenal, who seized the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos. When the Avengers returned to Earth, it was revealed a backdoor left in the robot's programming allowed Ultron to possess him. Arsenal was re-shaped into Ultron, and the evil A.I. revealed itself. The five Stones were drained of their power by Ultron.[33]Notes
- In the Ultimate Universe, the Mind Gem was the only of the Infinity Gems to be called by its name,[21] and one of the only two to be used separate from the Infinity Gauntlets, the other one being what appeared to be the Power Gem.[34]
See Also
- 227 appearance(s) of Mind Stone
- 1 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Mind Stone
- 71 minor appearance(s) of Mind Stone
- 10 mention(s) of Mind Stone
- 4 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Mind Stone
- 233 image(s) of Mind Stone
Links and References
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ultimate Comics Ultimates #19
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Avengers: Age of Ultron
- ↑ All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update #4
- ↑ Captain Marvel #45
- ↑ Avengers Annual #7
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #5
- ↑ Silver Surfer (Vol. 3) #7
- ↑ Silver Surfer (Vol. 3) #8
- ↑ West Coast Avengers Annual #2
- ↑ Silver Surfer (Vol. 3) #9
- ↑ Silver Surfer (Vol. 3) #18
- ↑ Thanos Quest #2
- ↑ Infinity Gauntlet #1
- ↑ Infinity Gauntlet #4
- ↑ Infinity Gauntlet #6
- ↑ Warlock and the Infinity Watch #2
- ↑ New Avengers (Vol. 3) #3
- ↑ All-New Guardians of the Galaxy #10
- ↑ Infinity Countdown Prime #1
- ↑ Infinity Countdown #4
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Ultimate Comics Ultimates #17
- ↑ Ultimate Comics Ultimates #16
- ↑ Ultimate Comics Ultimates #18
- ↑ Ultimate Comics Ultimates #25
- ↑ Ultimate Comics Ultimates #30
- ↑ Marvel's The Avengers
- ↑ Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- ↑ Captain America: Civil War
- ↑ Avengers: Infinity War
- ↑ Marvel's Avengers Assemble S2E01
- ↑ Marvel's Avengers Assemble S2E08
- ↑ Marvel's Avengers Assemble S2E12
- ↑ Marvel's Avengers Assemble S2E13
- ↑ Ultimate Comics Ultimates #21