The Infinity War - Understanding the Stones and the Glove in the Center of it all

The dates are available on just about any comic website:

Part 1 of the Infinity War is in theaters in May of 2018

Part 2 of the Infinity War is in theaters in May of 2019

Yay!  I mean....wait....what is the Infinity War?

The Infinity War will be the fight for the six Infinity Gems (Infinity “Stones” in the movies), or Soul gems as they were originally dubbed when introduced in Marvel Comics in the 70’s.  The Gems are six powerful, and indestructible, artifacts...the most powerful in the Marvel Universe.  The interesting thing is that although they each have a unique incredibly powerful property they can also be used together to cause even more havoc (the whole being greater than the sum of its parts).  In other words, they can grant the power of a god.

Not sure what the stones are or the power they represent?  Here’s a brief overview (and, yes, there are inconsistencies between the comic books and the movies in regard to color and power....sigh.  See below.):

Tesseract - The Space Stone

This gem was seen in both Captain America (used by Red Skull) and The Avengers (used by Loki).  The Tesseract is a blue stone capable of teleporting anything from point ‘a’ to point ‘b’.  Thor supposedly took it back to his homeworld of Asgard at the end of The Avengers.

Aether - The Reality Stone:

The Aether was represented by a red floating liquid like thingy that appears to connect itself to a host and make it...well...stronger.  As an aside, this is not how it was in the comics.  In the comics it was focused more on wish fulfillment.  The only appearance, so far, was in Thor: The Dark World.  It was given to The Collector for safekeeping by the end of the film.  No one is sure if its still there after the end of Guardians of the Galaxy where The Collector’s home is destroyed.

Orb - The Power Stone:

The destruction of The Collector’s home, as discussed above, was caused by this stone.  This stone gives the wielder immense power.  It can give superhuman strength and the ability to wipe out planets, just by touching the surface.  At the end of Guardians of the Galaxy this stone was being housed by the intergalactic police known as Nova Corps.

Loki’s Scepter/Vision’s Forehead - The Mind Stone:

Marvel tricked you!  (well...me too)  Loki’s blue-glowing scepter was the home of the yellow infinity stone!  As seen in The Avengers, the mind stone allows the bearer to control the minds of others (hence the name “The Mind Stone”).

The Soul Stone:

This one hasn’t made its appearance yet.  If you go by the stories in Marvel Comics, the Soul Stone was a somewhat sentient creature that could trap souls inside another world.  As “trapping souls” has not really been explored yet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) there is no telling what the power may be.

The Time Stone:

Visit the future!  Visit the past! Alter them both so each time it's different!  You can even speed up or slow down the passage of time!  If you are horribly scarred go back in time and don’t have 6 beers before handling an arc welder, or pick up something safer like a nail gun!  I think you get the idea.  Like the Soul Stone, this gem has not been explored yet in the MCU.

So, what’s up with the glove?  Actually, it’s a gauntlet.  And, as an FYI, there are two of them, so it should be gauntlets....plural.  If you don’t believe me watch Thor.  In the Asgard treasure chamber, along with the other dangerous relics, the right glove can be seen.  At the end of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, however, we see Thanos pick up the left glove.  I’ll wait while you go and watch the movies to try to prove me wrong.

When will we see the last two stones?  I would venture to say that they will appear in any one of the number of Marvel movies coming out between now and Infinity War, Part 2.   I make this ridiculously safe bet because I really hate to lose.

If I wanted to just go with just a “semi-safe” bet I would point the finger at Doctor Strange and/or Thor: Ragnarok and/or Guardians of the Galaxy 2 for the other“gem sightings".

The Marvel Easter Egg:  Do The Stones Spell “Thanos”?

There have been rumors that the name of the stones spell out “Thanos”.  So far we have the “T” in Tesseract”, the “A” in Aether, the “O” in Orb, and the “S” in Scepter.  That leaves “H” and “N”.  But what would the names of the stones be?  Helicopter and Numbskull?  Horace and Norris?  wHo kNows?  I’m not going to lose sleep over it, it’s just a rumor and, frankly, a terrible excuse for an easter egg.

And What Comes After?

Once Marvel hits its cinematic peak in Infinity War Part 2, the conclusion that all of the movies have led to, what happens next?  It’s anybody’s guess and, as of right now, Marvel doesn’t have much planned.  All we know is that in July of 2019 the movie Inhumans is coming out.  This is kind of like planning dinner after having a feast for lunch.  What could possibly top what you just had?  I would NOT want to be connected to that film in any way, shape or form as all the reviews will be based on what was previously seen.

Infinity Gems or Soul Gems?  Easter Eggs?  Post Infinity War Movies?  It all remains a big question mark.  All we DO know is that people will wait decades to watch the next part of a good mystery.  Just ask Star Wars.

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Bad Guys, Your Mom and Semantics

“Reason" according to the dictionary is defined as:

Noun:  a cause, explanation, or justification for an action or event.

“Excuse" according to the dictionary is defined as:

Noun:  a reason or explanation put forward to defend or justify a fault or offense.

“Semantics" according to the dictionary is defined as:

Noun:  the meaning of a word, phrase, sentence, or text.

I was reading the latest “New Suicide Squad” last night and saw something that applies to bad guys, your mom, and comics, not necessarily in that order.  The topic today is the difference between “Reason” and “Excuse”.  Frankly, it’s all just “Semantics”.  But let’s look closer.

If you’ve read the latest “New Suicide Squad” Annual (actually, it’s not just the latest, it’s the first one.) you will see yet another group trying to take over the world.

This time it’s a subset of the League of Assassins.

This particular subset is trying to bring about a change that, let’s say, outlaws the simple things in life such as freedom of speech, the ability to think for yourself, and worst of all...recess!  I do agree with one thing on their agenda and that is more, and better, education.  It’s not fun that it goes all year ‘round for the kids, and there are no summer breaks, and recess isn’t allowed, and....well, you get the idea.  In the midst of it all, however, Harley Quinn does her best to cheer the kids up.

But I digress...

There are the usual panels where people are overworked, and killed, etc.  There are also the usual panels where the people say, “I’m sick of excuses!!” at which point someone usually gets shot as an example to others.  Did you ever notice that no one ever says, “I’m sick of reasons!!”.

I put the definitions up top so you can see the subtle difference.  The “Reason” is justification for an action or event whereas the “Excuse” is to justify a fault of offense.  So let’s take an example.

“I’m sorry sir!  I can no longer work in your iron mine due to the fact that you have not fed me (ever) and I am only allowed 1 hour of sleep a week, sir!  I need water and a Twinkee.”

In my mind this is a pretty good “reason” for being unable to work in an iron mine.  It is not a fault or offense, right?  The person is tired, famished, and needs water and a Twinkee!  But what does the bad guy say?

“No Excuses!  Get back to work or die like the others!"

Now let’s look at this from a different angle.  Would the bad guy really sound like a bad guy if he said, “That’s not a good reason!  Get back to work or die like the others!”.

It IS a good reason!

Can we agree that the famished, tired worker gave a “reason” not an “excuse”?  It really is an issue of semantics.

Excuse, however, is often conveniently used in real life.  If I am late to work for the 17th time in 17 days, and I claim today that it was due to a flat tire, is that an “excuse” or a “reason”?  The flat tire is an action to be justified, but if I’m late to work all the time it could be an “excuse” to justify my ‘fault’ of always being late at work.  See!  It’s semantics!  (Isn’t it nice to know you will always learn something when reading this blog?)

My theory is that “reason” has a much softer sound to it and “excuse” has the hard sounds of the ‘x’ and ‘c’ in it.  It seems in comics and in life semantics kind of fly out the window and become an issue of what sounds better.  It’s my opinion so it must be right.

Think about it, it just wouldn’t be right for your mom to tell you as a child, “There’s no excuse to be afraid of the dark” and for the Red Skull to scream, “I WILL NOT TOLERATE REASONS!”.

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What Would Happen If All The Villains Struck At Once Due To a Technical Glitch?

When the Fear Itself series came out there was a parody comic that came out as well called “Shame Itself”.  If you haven’t read it, do so, it’s worth the time.  As a spin on “Shame Itself” I offer my story.

Before I begin, however, let’s look at what typically happens in your typical comic book.

The heroes from any given universe finish up with one disaster, mend the city, have time for a meeting, and are then informed of another disaster taking place.

Luckily, villains seem to be on a schedule and don’t strike at the same time.  It seems that while Dr. Doom is attacking, the Red Skull is busy hatching a plan that won’t be ready to go until Dr. Doom has been defeated.  Of course, at that point Galactus is on the other side of the galaxy and will make his way toward Earth only to arrive after the Red Skull has been defeated.  The same thing happens in the DC Universe as well as others.

But what if the villains, due to a technical glitch, all struck on the same day?  More importantly, let’s say that the villains from DC don’t wait until the villains from Marvel are done attacking?  Everyone’s protecting the same Earth, right?  So, shouldn’t villains and heroes cross over during attacks?

Let’s start with a typical day where we find Electro fighting Spider-Man for some random reason:

Electro:  Spider-Man, your time has come!  I have finally found a way to defeat you!

Spider-Man:  Electro, what could you possibly want this time?  Haven’t I beaten you enough?

Electro:  I must own all of the frozen toothpaste in the world!  You can’t stop me!

Spider-Man:  Wait...frozen what?  Why would you..... (he stops and looks up surprised)

Electro:  What are you looking at?

Spider-Man:  Is that Doomsday?  I thought he was DC.  What’s he doing here?

Electro:  I’m not really sure.  There’s got to be a copyright or trademark infringement here somewhere.  Someone call Stan Lee!

Doomsday:  Electro?  Spider-Man?  I thought this was....(he looks around in surprise)...Metropolis.

Spider-Man:  Nope.  Wrong town.  Wrong comic, even.  (looking up again, amazed, he sees the Hulk coming out of the sky)

Hulk:  Hulk smash!!

Spider-Man:  Now wait just one minute....

Electro:  Hmmm....do I fight Spider-Man or do I try to get rid of the other villains?  Are you guys looking to corner the frozen toothpaste market?  That’s all I really wanted.

Doomsday:  The frozen what?  No, you can have that.  I’m here to destroy Metropolis.

Spider-Man:  Again, I think you’re in the wrong place.

Hulk:  Hulk smash!!

Spider-Man:  Is this a Groot type of thing?  “Hulk smash” means something different each time?  Never mind.

Green Lantern:  I heard there were problems in this Sector!  Wow.  What’s everyone doing here?

Electro:  I was just leaving.

Spider-Man:  Well, that’s one gone.

Doomsday:  I really just want to get on with destroying the city.

Hulk:  Hulk smash!

Batman:  (winded from running) I came as soon as I heard!

Green Lantern:  I’m anxious to hear what you heard about this.

Spider-Man:  Shouldn’t all of you be in another comic?

Batman:  I heard that the Outlook calendar on the Villain network was having issues.

Red Skull:  (stepping out of the shadows) There are no issues!  I specifically had conquering the Earth set for 2:00 pm today!

Galactus:  (appearing in the sky)  That can’t be right, I had devouring the Earth set for 2:00 pm today.

Flash:  (showing up in a blur) I came as soon as I heard!

Spider-Man:  What...is this being Tweeted?  What is everyone hearing?

Flash:  I got the text that Outlook is having issues.

Spider-Man:  Why aren’t I getting these (shaking his iPod and looking at it quizzically)

Flash:  Do you have it on airplane mode?

Spider-Man:  Darnit!  Why do I always do that?  OK, I’m on the same page now.

Reed Richards:  (walking up calmly) I don’t mean to interrupt, but I’m working on the fix right now.  It should be OK shortly.

Doomsday:  Listen, times a’wastin here.  I have another planet I’m supposed to destroy in 2 hours.

Red Skull:  Let’s do this the right way and take a vote.  Which villain would you heroes like to fight right now?

Green Lantern:  I’m not fussy, but I think Galactus would be the toughest to beat.  I vote Red Skull.

Hulk:  Hulk smash!

Flash:  I agree with Green Lantern, I vote for the Red Skull.

Batman:  Doomsday, is there any way you could go destroy the planet now and then come back after we beat the Red Skull?

Doomsday:  But I was already at this end of the universe.

Galactus:  Reed, where are the rest of the Fantastic Four?

Reed Richards:  They are at their regular jobs.  How do you think we pay for all of this stuff?

Galactus:  I just don’t feel right devouring the Earth without all of you here.  No offense to you Justice Leaguers.

Batman/Flash/Green Lantern:  None taken.

Reed Richards:  They should all be available tomorrow for the whole day.

Galactus:  Do you heroes think you can take out the Red Skull by midnight tonight?  Then we can all go home and get a good night’s sleep and fight tomorrow.

Thanos:  (just showing up and looking around at everyone sitting and talking)  What gives here?

Starro:  (also just arriving on the scene and giving a heavy sigh)  Don’t tell me, the Outlook issue?

(everyone nods their heads)

Starro:  I knew I should have sent a herald ahead.

Doomsday:  Listen, I just called the planet I’m supposed to destroy and they’re not doing anything right now, so I’ll just do that and come back.

Green Lantern:  Is anyone protecting them right now?

Doomsday:  No, so it shouldn’t take long.  I can come back the day after tomorrow.

Red Skull:  So, then I’ll attack now, Galactus will come back tomorrow and Doomsday will be the day after?

Thanos:  Great.  Push me off until next week.

Starro:  You?  I travelled 200 light years to get here.  Do you know how much gas that takes?  I’m calling the Outlook help desk right now and giving them a piece of my mind.

Thanos:  Then that should definitely take until next week.

Hulk:  Hulk smash!

Spider-Man:  I don’t do weekends anymore so Thanos and Starro will have to wait until Monday.  By the way, did Electro leave?

(incoming text:  Budapest Frozen Toothpaste Factory raided.  Everything taken.)

Spider-Man:  Never mind.

Reed Richards:  OK, everything seems to be working with the calendar now.  Is everyone set with their schedule?

Galactus:  I’m set.  Does the Marriott have any rooms available for tonight?  I’ll just stay over.

Doomsday:  OK everyone, I’m on my way.  I have a planet to enslave.

Red Skull:  I hear that....

Spider-Man:  I’m glad this is settled.  My spider-sense has given me a migraine.

Batman:  Alfred, book Galactus and I a room at the downtown Marriott.  King size bed for Galactus.

Red Skull:  Is it OK if we start now?  I have thousands of troops waiting to attack and we haven’t even had lunch yet.

Spider-Man:  That’s fine.  Green Lantern, Flash, can you stay with Batman and I and try to wrap this up by midnight?

Green Lantern:  I’m good, I can hang around.

Flash:  I have to run home and set my DVR to record Walking Dead.  OK, I’m back.

Spider-Man:  Hulk, can you go smash another town and we’ll just come clean it up later?  If you do it far enough away from here we have plausible deniability.

Hulk:  Hulk smash!  (he jumps over the horizon)

Starro:  I’m on vacation next week so I’ll attack the week after if that’s OK.

Thanos:  Cool!  Where are you going?

Starro:  It’s a stay-cation.  I have a bunch of chores to do for the wife.

Thanos:  I know the feeling.  Between conquering civilizations and scheming I have no time to cut the lawn.

Batman:  I can recommend a lawn guy.  Starro, we’ll see you in two weeks and Thanos in three.  Can you both send us a meeting planner?

Starro/Thanos:  Sure thing.

Red Skull:  Are we good to go?  Great!   ALL MINIONS ATTACK!

Outside the realm of reality?  Not in our high tech world.  I often wonder if team-ups weren’t just the result of two villains, or heroes, showing up at the same time and just figuring “what the heck” and working together.  All I know is that I’m glad that the artists and writers have the attack schedules firmly in their heads or else we might see something like this in the not so distant future.

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