In my last article about the MCU, we explored the correlation between the main characters of WandaVision and the Infinity Stones. I was initially going to add the original 6 Avengers in that article, but I figured it would be too much information considering the fact that the WandaVision Finale alone was quite a doozy.
This time, I wanted to explore the personalities of each of the original Avengers and figure out which Infinity Stone corresponds to them the most.
Let’s start with the most obvious.
Original Power Stone Avenger
When someone says the word power in reference to anything Marvel, usually the Hulk immediately comes to mind. While Thor is the strongest Avenger in terms of cosmic abilities, the Hulk is the strongest, and not to mention the biggest, when it comes to brute force. While he doesn’t necessarily have the same life-sucking ability of the Power Stone, he is definitely the embodiment of it.
Original Space Stone Avenger
Thor is a literal space prince and hails from a mythical realm in the cosmos called Asgard. Out of all the original six, he’s the most knowledgeable about the cosmic forces of the universe. He also has extensive experience in traveling to different worlds and using advanced methods to do so, just like the Space Stone. Needless to say, if Thor isn’t the Space Stone Avenger, I don’t know who is.
Original Time Stone Avenger
No one in the MCU respects the power of time better than Captain America. He fought in one of the most devastating wars in human history and he was still willing to fight for us in the modern world. He was able to transcend time itself by sheer luck. Throughout the MCU, he seems to be out of place because he’s literally plucked out from his own era; yet he has this uncanny ability to prove he’s still relevant and worthy in the 21st century.
Cap doesn’t actually exhibit any time-related powers or have any control over time itself, but he seems to be immune to its effects. While he was in cryo-sleep, everyone he knew and loved had lived full lives. When he woke up, the ones who were still alive were already grandparents even great-grandparents. Some of them were veterans of not only World War II but also several wars after that. They only have handful of memories of life in the 1940s while Cap is still frozen in time, literally and metaphorically. Thus, Cap has become the living symbol of timelessness.
Now let’s head over to the tougher, more abstract stones: Reality, Soul and Mind.
Original Reality Stone Avenger
The best guess for who represented the Reality Stone the most would be Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow. She first appeared as Pepper’s attractive yet mysterious secretary in Iron Man 2, where she was able to hide her true identity from basically everyone. From that point on, it’s been pretty hard to tell where her loyalties lie.
Was she solely working for S.H.I.E.L.D.? Was she spying on the other Avengers for Nick Fury? Did she truly shed her merciless assassin ways? Was she simply a free agent looking out for her own interests?
Even Captain America had a hard time trusting her back in Winter Soldier. Needless to say, Black Widow was a moral chameleon and was able to manipulate people’s perception of her on a moment’s notice, very much like how the Reality Stone changes people’s perception of reality.
Original Soul Stone Avenger
We know about the Soul Stone about as much as real life astronauts know about space: very, very little. Even now in 2021, after the events of End Game came and went, most fans don’t even know how to describe its powers. My best guess is that it has some sort of control over the Soul aspect of the universe and using it allows unlimited control over every soul that ever existed. This includes souls of the living, souls of the dead, souls of animals/non humanoid creatures and maybe even souls in other dimensions. The properties of it aren’t really explored all that much, but I do have an idea who represents the essence of the Soul Stone the most: Tony Stark.
There was a point in time where Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man was an egocentric playboy billionaire who only cared about increasing revenue for the weapons company he inherited and staying wealthy. Everyone in his life from Pepper to Rhodey to even Cap (who gives everyone the benefit of the doubt) had confronted Tony about his privileged nature. Some even went so far as to say that he was soulless and only made sacrifices that worked in his favor.
But one thing that people fail to realize is that his origin story is a sacrifice in itself. In Iron Man 1, he was kidnapped by a group of terrorists who were actually using his weapons to wage war. Thus, in a way, Tony was responsible for his own kidnapping because he had created the tools that the terrorists had used against him. The entire movie explores how this ordeal changes the way Tony sees his weapons company and makes him contemplate what kind of legacy he wants to leave. Iron Man 2 chronicled Tony’s second brush with death where he realized that the arc reactor he had been using to keep himself alive was also slowly poisoning him. He was willing to keep his pain and suffering a secret so he wouldn’t burden Rhodey and Pepper with his problems. When Iron Man 3 rolled around, Tony was forced to make the most difficult decision in his life: keep his Iron Man suits, which were the source of his power, or completely destroy them so that they would never fall into the hands of his enemies. Having grown a great deal since the first movie, Tony chose the former, and we’re all very grateful for that.
The symbol that best represents Iron Man’s legacy is his glowing Arc Reactor. It’s kept him alive the entire span of the MCU, but it has also come close to killing him. It represents the duality of Tony Stark and Iron Man: being forever on the edge of death, making him somewhat immortal, but also just barely surviving in the most human way possible. His armor is what makes him a hero, but it’s also grave reminder of his own mortality.
After all is said and done, Tony definitely has a soul and has proven that time and time again. This is why he is the Soul Stone Avenger.
Original Mind Stone Avenger
I have to admit this one is a bit of a stretch. I thought this Stone would go to the Hulk because of his split personality or even Tony because he’s faced mental health issues in the past. There was a time when I even matched it with Black Widow because she has shown signs of being traumatized in both the first Avengers and Age of Ultron. After some research I finally realized that this Stone best corresponds with Hawkeye.
Think about it. He’s the first out of the main cast to succumb to Loki’s magical brainwashing, thus making him the first to fall victim to the powers of the Mind Stone. Since then he was the voice of reason for the other Avengers. He had the least amount of both drama and trauma and was able to keep a cool head throughout the events of Ultron. He helped calm down Wanda when she was guilt ridden about helping Ultron unleash hell upon her home. In that scene alone, he solidified his role within the team, seamlessly proving that he is more than worthy of being held within the ranks of super soldiers and demigods. While Hulk and Thor were off planet and Iron Man and Cap were having their bromance drama, Hawkeye managed to lay low and have a semi-normal life.
And then came End Game. In mere seconds he had lost his family, his greatest joy in life. He lost his peace of mind as well as his ability to hope again. He went form a happy retiree/family man to a coldblooded merciless assassin in the span of 5 years. If anything, the events of End Game proved that even those with the soundest of minds can cripple to dust in the midst of catastrophe. Just ask Hawkeye.
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