Few beings in the universe can manipulate the power of one Infinity Stone, and only a handful can use the power of all six and survive. But even if you manage to collect all the Infinity Stones, it’s not like you can just hold onto them in the palm of your hand. You need a mechanism through which to channel them, so thus, the Infinity Gauntlet gets brought into play.
Just like his comic book counterpart, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet to control the Infinity Stones he collected as Avengers: Infinity War unfolded, and you can see this iconic glove being created behind the scenes in the below picture.
On his Instagram page, photographer Chuck Zlotnick showed “Fred,” one of the crew members on Avengers: Infinity War, putting together the massive Infinity Gauntlet. At this stage of the game, the globe itself looks nearly completed, although the only Infinity Stone in place is the Mind Stone. Which is ironic considering that was the Stone that Thanos retrieved last in Infinity War. Given that Thanos, a digital creation who was motion performed and voiced by Josh Brolin, was the only one who wore the Gauntlet, I’m curious if the real glove is as heavy as it looks.
Although MCU watchers got their first look at the Infinity Gauntlet in 2011’s Thor, where it was on display in Odin’s treasure room, we learned in Thor Ragnarok six years later that this Gauntlet was a fake. The true Infinity Gauntlet wasn’t introduced until 2015 in Avengers: Age of Ultron’s mid-credits scene, where Thanos retrieved the glove and put it on after deciding to search for the Infinity Stones himself after his minions failed to do his bidding.
Three years later, Avengers: Infinity War unfolded, and with the Power Stone already in his possession at the start of the movie, Thanos slowly obtained the other five Infinity Stones by force. Once all six were in that golden glove, he snapped his fingers, and bam, half of all life in the universe was wiped out, with the Infinity Gauntlet being badly scorched afterwards.
By the beginning of Avengers: Endgame, Thanos used the Infinity Stones again to destroy them, and once that was done, the Infinity Gauntlet was just your average giant, gold glove. Five years later, Tony Stark constructed the Nano Gauntlet to harness the power of the Stones, although when 2014 Thanos was brought into play and attacked the Avengers’ base, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and their allies tried desperately to keep it out of his hands.
With 2014 Thanos and his army gone thanks to Tony Stark’s sacrifice and the past Infinity Stones returned to their proper place in time, it’s fitting that the culmination of the Infinity Saga will likely be the last time we ever see the Stones and any Infinity Gauntlet associated with them. Admittedly, there’s always the chance some villain could retrieve the past Infinity Stones to snap Thanos back into existence, but with the MCU entering a new era, that seems unlikely.
The cinematic side of the MCU will pick back up on May 1 with the release of Black Widow, and the first Disney+ MCU show, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, will premiere in August. Be sure to look through our Marvel movies guide to learn what else this franchise has hitting the big screen in the coming years.
