Thanos Names the Most Powerful Infinity Stone, & It’s a Surprising Pick

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Thanos Annual #1 – Infinity Watch! If there’s one thing Thanos is an expert in, it’s the Infinity Stones, as he not only committed an entire storyline to studying and finding the Gems during Thanos Quest, but he also famously wielded all six at once during Infinity Gauntlet – and that was all before he had many more encounters with the Stones at later points in his Marvel Comics history. Therefore, if someone could accurately name the most powerful Stone, it’d be Thanos, and his choice is a decidedly surprising one.

In Thanos Annual #1 – Infinity Watch by Derek Landy and Salvador Larroca, Thanos is using the Death Stone, which he created himself from the essence of Mistress Death, to once again secure the other six Infinity Stones. Thanos is seeking knowledge of how to merge with the Death Stone just as the other Infinity Stones have done with the new members of the Infinity Watch.

In that effort, he has to challenge three Infinity Watch members, each wielding the full might of their respective Infinity Stone. The three Thanos is fighting are Space, Reality, and Time, and while each of them present a unique challenge to the Mad Titan, one of them stands out from the rest as the most dangerous: the Time Stone.

The six Infinity Stones are: Space, Reality, Power, Soul, Mind, and Time. Together, they make up the very fabric of the universe, and if wielded together, they grant one ultimate power in the cosmos. And even when wielded separately, each Infinity Stone offers nearly unparalleled cosmic power stemming from whichever Stone is being wielded. And that’s why it’s so surprising that the Time Stone is named as the most powerful.

When considering the ‘most powerful’ Infinity Stones, one would likely point to the Power or Reality stones, as the former lives up to its namesake by offering unparalleled cosmic power, and the latter gives one the ability to bend reality to their whim. However, if one stops to think about it, Time really is the best of the bunch. Power can be outmaneuvered, Reality can be overcome, but one who manipulates Time is truly unstoppable, as they can rewrite events as quickly as they happen with little more than a thought, with someone like Thanos utterly powerless to combat them.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

In this comic, Thanos makes it clear that, if one is going to try to obtain the Stones or challenge the might of their wielders, they had better go after the Time Stone first. Not just because having the Time Stone would grant him all the power he’d need to grab the others, but because it’s strong enough to beat him, even with other Stones in his possession. And that’s exactly what fans see in Avengers: Infinity War, when Doctor Strange kept the Time Stone from Thanos only until he offered it to the Mad Titan willingly.

Thanos couldn’t take the Time Stone from Doctor Strange in the MCU, even with Space, Power, Reality, and Soul in his Gauntlet at the time. It’s an understated point, but a clear one nonetheless, and it’s made even more so by Thanos’ assertion in this comic, as he names the Time Stone as the most powerful Infinity Stone.

Thanos Annual #1 – Infinity Watch by Marvel Comics is available now.