We humans have been fascinated by the gemstones since time immemorial. From millennia, before branching into different civilizations, we had become fond of the rare stones that look different from the regular ones.

This obsession with gems doesn’t stop here and we have incorporated them into literature and art well. From the fantasy world of Star Wars to the universe of Marvel comics, ‘gemstones’ have important part in the story lines. In this article, we will try to look how Marvel Comic strips incorporate the fascination of gemstones on its vast canvas of stories.

The six infinity stones of Marvel Universe

Many of us have heard a about infinity stones in the marvel cinematic universe. But before that they were called soul gems. All of these fantasy gems, in their color and texture, resemble the real-world gems.

There were total infinity or soul gems in Marvel’s universe and according to the present day timeline all of them are in different places. However, history of this universe tells us that these infinity gems possess infinite and unparalleled powers and that is why they even become the bone of contention among different powerful entities of the universe.

The power of infinity stones can be gauged by two different anecdotes from the comic strip:

• Thanos, one of the super villains of Marvel Universe tired to use all the six gems in unison to destroy the stars but Avengers stopped him from using the power of infinity gems.

• Elders of the universe, the oldest and survivor of their respective species used the combined energy of the stones to energize the barren planets.

Let’s look into the qualities and capabilities of each stone that has been important part of Marvel universe since the beginning.

Space gem (Tesseract)

The purple soul stone inspired by the color of real earth gem of amethyst is famous for its teleportation capabilities. Its blue rays are teleporting objects from one place of the other throughout the universe. It is also able to interfere in the movement of moving objects. Another use of space gem apparently is being used as a part of advanced weapon systems.

You can see this stone in the movie Captain America being used by Red Skull and in The Avengers by Loki.

Reality gem (Aether)

This gem yellow in its color is used to alter the reality, logic and bend the law of physics. The stone has a range of different wonders that are differs in their scale. The stone can be used to resurrect the dead. It can be used to distort and change the reality around any individual.

If used with more power, it can used to create the whole new desired reality. Its power gets exponentially high when it is used with other infinity stones and then it can alter the reality on a universal level. It is inspired by citrine and yellow sapphire.

Mind gem

It was lastly seen in the hands of Loki. This blue stone sapphire-like gem has infinite psychic abilities like telepathy, empathy and moving physical objects with the sheer mind power. When used with other infinity stones, it can connect the user’s mind with all the other minds of the universe in the same moment of time.

Power gem

Seen as the reddish ruby-like stone in the comic stripes, this infinity stone can grant all the power to its possessor that has ever exist or will exist in the universe. It increases the strength and stamina of any human to superman levels. The stone also helps other stones to produce their own powers and energy.

Soul gem

As the name suggests, it can be used to observe, attack or control the soul of any living being. It also protects the user with external magic attacks on his soul. Soul stone can also be used to revert back the mutated beings to their natural state. Soul gem resembles the real word emerald.

Time gem

Resembles with garnet or coral, this infinity stone is capable of playing with time as a physical object. It can stop, slow, speed up the time flow. Wielder of this stone can time travel and can see through the past and future. It can also used to alter the aging process.

The popularity of Marvel’s comic has a significant contribution from these fictional infinity stones and all them are inspired by one or the other real gems.