“The Death Stone”: Thanos Officially Introduces Seventh Infinity Stone, Permanently Changing 48 Years of Marvel Lore

After almost a year of teasing fans, Thanos has finally created the seventh Infinity Stone in Marvel lore. Known as the Death Stone, this new cosmic artifact is currently the prison of the cosmic ‘Universal Abstract’ Death herself, and will soon be used to create a terrifying force of evil that embodies this foundational force of the Marvel Universe.

The moment finally comes in Thanos #4, where Thanos traps Death within his newly created Infinity Stone. The series has revealed that – in order to better understand humanity – Death had the Illuminati transform her into the human Christine Collins. Taking offense at Death lessening herself by becoming a mortal, Thanos fights off the Illuminati, destroys Christine, and imprisons Death. With Death’s power focused in a new Infinity Stone, Marvel has confirmed this new artifact is an official “Death Stone”, joining the Space Stone, Mind Stone, Soul Stone, Reality Stone, Time Stone and Power Stone, which together act as the defining forces of the Marvel Universe.

Thankfully, Thanos can’t yet wield the Death Stone, however he’s clearly got major plans for the artifact. These will kick off in this year’s Thanos Annual, where the power of the Death Stone will be unlocked with immense cosmic consequences.

Thanos Creates the Death Stone

The Mad Titan Has Captured Death Herself

The recent Thor vol. 6 – from Donny Cates, Torunn Grønbekk, Juan Gedeon and more – revealed the Mad Titan’s past attempts to form a Death Stone by experimenting on the Asgardian villain Hela. Thankfully, Thanos’ plans were ultimately foiled by the God of Thunder. However, Thanos #4 reveals that Thanos never gave up on his plans, and during his recent imprisonment within a black hole, he used the opportunity to create a vessel capable of containing and wielding the power of Death.

In Marvel lore, Death is what’s known as a Universal Abstract – a conscious being which is both an individual and a cosmic process. Death the ‘person’ and death the process are inextricable, and what happens to the cosmic being is usually expressed in the process they command – previously, when Death has been locked away, it has made everyone in the galaxy immortal (a negative consequence, since Death holds back eldritch beings known as the Many-Angled Ones, who want to turn every reality into an undying Cancerverse.)

Now, Death’s powers are contained within Thanos’ new Death Stone, as the Mad Titan swears that he will force Death to shed her yearning for mortality and return to her prior cosmic grandeur. Thanos has long professed his love for Death, however the cosmic being has rejected his advances again and again. Multiple stories – including the original Infinity Gauntlet from Jim Starlin, George Pérez and Ron Lim – imply this is because Thanos wants to be Death’s cosmic equal, refusing to actually submit to her as all things must.

Thanos Is Building a New Infinity Gauntlet

Thanos Is Pursuing the Modern Infinity Stone Wielders in Upcoming Stories

As if the introduction of a new Infinity Stone wasn’t enough, Marvel just told fans what to expect next. Coming in June, Thanos Annual #1 (2024) will begin the ‘Infinity Watch’ event. This story will bring back the current Infinity Stone wielders of the Marvel universe, kicking off a nine-part story that will play out across Marvel’s 2024 annuals. This story will end by forming a new version of the Infinity Watch (the team which traditionally safeguards the Infinity Stones) and will unleash a new Death Stone bearer on the Marvel Universe.

So far, Marvel has revealed the story will continue in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (2024) and Immortal Thor Annual #1 (2024), with a running side story detailing the creation of a ‘Death Stone Bearer.’ In current Marvel lore, each of the Infinity Stones has fused with a different person, gifting them the power inherent to the Stones. Currently, the power of each Stone is weakened unless the bearers are in close proximity to each other – something fans recently saw when Black Cat gathered several bearers to try and cure her mother’s cancer.

Following 2018’s Infinity Wars event, Adam Warlock gave each of the Stones its own consciousness and set them loose in the cosmos, hoping they would be able to keep themselves out of the wrong hands. While the Mind Stone’s bearer hasn’t yet been introduced, Marvel has confirmed they’ll debut in ‘Infinity Watch,’ which will also bring the other bearers into conflict with major Marvel heroes (for instance, Spider-Man will battle the time-controlling Overtime.) The current bearers are:

The promise of a “Death Stone bearer” means that a new superhuman is about to join the group above, however whether this will be Thanos himself is yet to be revealed. While the Mad Titan does covet the cosmic power of Death, nine issues is a lot of story to tell, and it may be that Thanos either chooses a bearer he feels will restore Death to her rightful place or that he loses the Death Stone to a more worthy wielder. These questions and more will only be answered in June, when Thanos Annual #1 hits shelves. However, June could also see the return of the original seventh Infinity Stone…

The Death Stone Is Technically the Eighth Infinity Stone

The Ego Stone Is Unlikely to Return in Marvel Lore, But It’s Possible!

With the introduction of a new Infinity Stone, it’s necessary to remember that there’s already technically a ‘seventh’ Infinity Stone in existence. In the ’90s, Marvel began a crossover with Malibu Comics’ Ultraverse. As part of the UltraForce/Avengers crossover (from Warren Ellis, George Pérez and Larry Welch), fans discovered the Ego Gem. This Infinity Stone allows the other Stones to combine into a single being known as Nemesis – allegedly the first being in the Marvel Universe, who formed the Infinity Stones from her own matter to create the rest of reality. The Ego Gem contained the consciousness of this being, which eventually sought to reclaim its power and form. Eventually defeated, Nemesis was destroyed, with her consciousness remaining within the Ultraverse.

While the Ego Gem’s existence can’t be denied, Marvel has been reluctant to acknowledge it ever since. Indeed, stories like Infinity Wars have seemingly retconned this canon, depicting the Stones as artifacts distributed to every reality by the Celestials, rather than them emerging from Nemesis. As intriguing as the Ego Gem is, Marvel seems to consider UltraForce/Avengers as questionably canon at best. Of course, in superhero comics, fans can never say never, and it’s just about possible ‘Infinity Watch’ could re-involve the Ego Gem in Marvel continuity.

Thanos has permanently changed Marvel lore by introducing a seventh Infinity Stone to Earth-616 – now, the Infinity Watch will have to deal with the consequences, as Marvel’s cosmic landscape is thrown into chaos this June.

Thanos #4 is available now, with Thanos Annual #1 (2024) coming June 26.