Of all the Infinity Stones, none are more forgettable than the Reality Stone. Its appearances, much like the Power Stone, are limited to only two movies. In this particular case, Thor: The Dark World, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Of those two, obviously the former is the source for most of the information regarding the Stone. Even so, that information is quite scarce. However, it is the aim of this here piece to delve into the history of the Reality Stone and see what more can be gleamed from the depths of the MCU’s lore. For a refresher on that, you can take a quick look back at the Book of Yggdrasil by clicking right here.
From what we’ve seen in the MCU, Malekith created the Aether by somehow warping the Reality Stone. Its true form is no different to its five counterparts. The likelihood for this transformation is to ensure that once it is wielded by its host, it becomes much more difficult to separate it from that host. With the other, and let’s face it much less powerful Infinity Stones, the wielder must keep the Stone within their grasp, or at the very least within the confines of some other vessel. In a sense, the wielder of the Reality Stone becomes the Reality Stone. What’s more, the Reality Stone actually seems to possess some degree of consciousness; as evidenced by its defense of Jane Foster while it used her body to replenish its energies before being transferred back to Malekith. It’s as though the Stone was using Foster as a human shield, essentially taking her hostage before returning to one more worthy of its power. However, I believe this to be a mechanism built in by the Dark Elves, and therefore something that is exclusive to the Reality Stone’s Aether form. When the Aether bonded with Jane Foster, it caused the awakening of the Dark Elves. The implication here, I believe, is that the Aether shares a bond with those who have wielded it. Malekith is the first of the Dark Elves to reawaken, and it is hinted by some of his first words that this is a result of the discovery of the Aether.
The case here is that perhaps the Aether’s consciousness is born out of its contact with other sentient life. After all, consciousness is as much a part of reality as physical matter, so why wouldn’t the Reality Stone harbor some degree of consciousness? This brings us to the Aether’s abilities. Supposedly, the Reality Stone is capable of warping reality by converting matter into dark matter. But I believe that that is only the case when the Reality Stone is in its Aetherial form. Perhaps the case is thus: The Reality Stone, when it has not been tampered with, has a much broader power set. Rather than simply turning matter into dark matter, it may be capable of allowing its wielder to simply reach out their clenched fist and destroy a moon. Maybe even throw the debris like it’s nothing more than a few soft balls. Those who have watched the leaked Avengers: Infinity War trailer will know exactly what I’m getting at here.
Pretty much every single description of the trailer says that Thanos has three of the Infinity Stones already mounted onto the Infinity Gauntlet. These being the Power Stone, the Space Stone, and of course, the Reality Stone. In the trailer, we also see Thanos do a few things, all due to his use of the Gauntlet. One of these is that he opens a portal just big enough for him to pass through at will. This portal is reminiscent of the portals we’ve seen created by the Space Stone in past movies. The likelihood is that, thanks to the Power Stone, Thanos can fine tune the Space Stone’s abilities. If we carried that logic over to the Reality Stone, then all he would be capable of with it would be instantaneous conversion of matter into dark matter on a colossal scale. However, we see him destroy a moon and throw the debris at the gathered Avengers with little effort. Neither the Space or Power Stones have shown that sort of capability. I believe this is because the Reality Stone, in its natural form, is far more powerful than its Aether form. And, as I mentioned earlier, the Reality Stone is likely the most powerful of the six Infinity Stones. Malekith created the Aether for a specific purpose, and as a result, the Reality Stone’s further powers were neglected. Thanos, on the other hand, couldn’t give a shit about restrictions.
So, there you have it. Malekith essentially streamlined the Reality Stone by turning it into the Aether. This allowed him to convert matter into dark matter, which was his goal, despite the fact the Reality Stone’s abilities likely go far beyond that.
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