Infinity Gauntlet
The Infinity Gauntlet is among the most powerful artifacts of the fictional universe of Marvel Comics. It consists of the six Infinity Gems mounted on a glove. It also refers to a major crossover in which the insane Titan Thanos, who believed in a nihilist philosophy, assembled the Infinity Gauntlet in order to gain omnipotence to be worthy of his love, Death.
In the two issue miniseries The Thanos Quest, written by Jim Starlin, Thanos schemed to steal the Infinity Gems from the Elders of the Universe, each gem granting a different power:
- time
- space
- power
- soul
- mind
- reality
Thanos succeeded in retrieving the six gems. He put them onto his glove, which thus became the Infinity Gauntlet. He was now the most powerful being in the Marvel Universe. In the miniseries The Infinity Gauntlet, also written by Jim Starlin, Thanos used his power to send half the living beings in the universe to their deaths with but a thought. He did this in order to please Death. However, because he was now more powerful than she was, she was not pleased and instead refused to acknowledge him. Thanos became enraged.
His power did not last. The superheroes of the Marvel Universe regrouped to stop Thanos as he pondered whether to erase the entire universe to be loved by Death.
Thanos was defeated by Adam Warlock and the Infinity Gems were once again given to six bearers, who formed the new Infinity Watch.
The cosmic entity Eternity asked the Living Tribunal to decide whether the gems are or not a threat to the reality. The Living Tribunal decided that they were, and made the gems unable to work together, though they can still work together if Eternity decides to command it.
The events of The Infinity Gauntlet directly continued into the ongoing series Warlock and the Infinity Watch and the miniseries crossover event The Infinity War.
