Is 'Avengers: Infinity War' Hiding The Final Infinity Stone In Plain Sight?
The amount of footage we've seen from Avengers: Infinity War has been limited to a teaser trailer and a Super Bowl TV spot. As far as the story is concerned, we know Thanos is tracking down all of the Infinity Stones so he can bring balance to the universe in his own destructive way. He's got a lot to do since there are six stones to track down, including the Soul Stone that we haven't even seen appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet (as far as we know). However, if a new theory is correct, there's a chance we may have seen the power of the Soul Stone in the Avengers: Infinity War trailer.
Let's dive into the theory below, but beware of possible spoilers.
In the trailers for Avengers: Infinity War, there's a lot of action happening on Earth. A portal appears above the skyline of New York City, catching the likes of Peter Parker, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange and his mystical colleague Wong off guard. Some kind of alien army attacks Wakanda and Captain America, Falcon, Hulk, Black Panther, Black Widow, the Winter Soldier and more charge into battle to face them. But it's the action that appears to be happening off-planet that ties into this Soul Stone theory.
The Orange Planet
The sequences where we've seen Thanos wielding the Infinity Gauntlet with a couple of the Infinity Stones in place is happening on some kind of rocky, desert-like orange-colored planet (seen above in the opening shot of the first Infinity War trailer). This is where he lays a big punch right into Iron Man and knocks him down to the ground with one swift blow.
While there doesn't seem to be any other characters around, the footage that was screened at Comic-Con featured Peter Parker being in a pretty dire situation on this world, as well as Star-Lord and Doctor Strange fighting together against Thanos. So this appears to be where the final big battle between the Mad Titan and a team-up of Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy takes place. But where the hell is this place? The answer might lie in Marvel Comics, if a new theory from ScreenRant is correct.
The Soul World
The Soul Stone gives whoever wields it the power to control both the living and the dead by commanding their souls. This allows them to do things like bring the dead back to life. But the Soul Stone itself also yearns for souls, and it can absorb them by bringing those tempted by its power into another world where they could end up forgetting ever being part of the real world. This is the Soul World.
What's interesting about the Soul World, aside from it being a place where souls can be imprisoned to give the appearance of life after death, is that it was recently given a bit of a makeover in Marvel Comics. There's a new Infinity Countdown comic event coming to the Marvel universe, and Guardians of the Galaxy #150 establishes that the color scheme of the Infnity Stones has been changed to match how they appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making the Soul Stone an orange-colored rock.
So the theory is the Soul World would also be an orange color like the stone, and that might be where this final battle is taking place. The question is whether this is a place that exists outside of the world of reality, and if so, what does that mean for anyone who finds themselves there? Perhaps what's happening in these sequences isn't real. Maybe this fight is a vision created to drive Tony Stark crazy. After all, when Scarlet Witch messed with his mind in Avengers: Age of Ultron, he saw a world where all of the Avengers had been killed around him. Maybe it's all part of a ruse Thanos has to torture Stark and slowly kill him.
Does This Mean the Soul Stone Isn't In Wakanda?
One of the popular theories is that the final Infinity Stone is somewhere in Wakanda. In fact, one theory posits that the stone might be somewhere deep in the ground of Wakanda and it might be what gives the heart-shaped herb its mystical powers that allow the Black Panther to venture into the afterlife to interact with their ancestors. Even if this theory about the Soul World is true, that doesn't mean it's not in Wakanda.
We've assumed that the invading alien horde is in Wakanda to get their hands on an Infinity Stone, and that could very well be how Thanos gets the Soul Stone. It may not be on the Infinity Gauntlet in the shot when he's wielding it in the Infinity War trailer, but let's not forget that Thor: Ragnarok trailers hid the fact that Thor lost one of his eyes in a key shot of him using his lightning powers so as not to give away any spoilers. So it's not out of the realm of possiblity for Marvel to keep secrets by hiding details with visual effects.
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With so much unknown about Avengers: Infinity War, this is all speculation. But it definitely gets us excited to see what directors Anthony & Joe Russo have in store for us when the movie hits theaters on April 27, 2018.