It is believed by many that no power or entity in the cosmos is more powerful than the Infinity Gauntlet. It is a weapon of complete control, capable of rewriting all of reality however the user sees fit. The Infinity Gauntlet itself is armed with the six Infinity Stones, sometimes called the Infinity Gems. They are Reality, Time, Mind, Soul, Power, and Space–each one granting dominion over one of these concepts.
Together, in the Infinity Gauntlet, the Stones are unstoppable. Separated, they are still forces to be reckoned with, but they are not unbeatable. There are forces in the Marvel Universe that can even outmatch one or more of the Infinity Stones.
10 Adam Warlock’s Connection To The Soul Gem Allowed Him To Steal The Gauntlet
Adam Warlock proved to be an indispensable ally in the original Infinity Gauntlet saga. He, alongside Silver Surfer and Doctor Strange, was aware of the grand designs of Thanos before the rest of the universe. Adam Warlock could see the long game, and he knew ending this crisis would require precision and timing.
Adam Warlock was seemingly killed while fighting Thanos, but his soul is intrinsically tied to the Soul Gem–so Warlock’s spirit entered the Soul World. In the end, Adam Warlock is the one who saves the day by emerging from the Soul World, which exists inside the Soul Gem, to seize the Infinity Gauntlet and save the universe.
9 Thanos Himself Has Conquered Individuals Who Have Wielded Infinity Stones
It’s worth mentioning that Thanos himself beat multiple Elders of the Universe with Infinity Stones in their possession in order to construct the Gauntlet. First, he tricked the In-Betweener into rendering himself helpless in order to obtain the Soul Gem. From there, he outwitted and outplayed the Champion of the Universe, the Cosmic Gardener, the Collector, the Runner, and the Grandmaster to obtain the gems.
Beyond that, Thanos has often proven himself stronger than any one Infinity Stone, and he has proven himself capable of channeling their power effectively while they are in his possession.
8 The Avengers Have Repeatedly Overcome Infinity Gauntlet’s Wielders
The Avengers have been instrumental in taking down wielders of the Infinity Gauntlet on multiple occasions. They took on Thanos when he had the Gauntlet, and they’ve also stared down Nebula, Gamora, and the Hood when they built the Gauntlets.
Each time, the Avengers have lost a direct conflict with the Infinity Gauntlet, but they’ve always found a way to outmaneuver its reality-warping abilities and win the day.
7 Michael Korvac Has Effortless Control Over Reality
The being known as Michael Korvac comes from the 31st Century. He was initially a villain of the Guardians of the Galaxy of that time, but he was hurled back in time and gained immeasurable power from the technology on Galactus’ ship, the Taa II. This gave him enough power to rewrite reality and kill the Avengers.
While Korvac has never been pitted directly against the Infinity Gauntlet, his power comes so easily to him that it’s hard to imagine that even Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet could strike Korvac down.
6 Thanos Even Seemed To Fear The Skyfathers When He Had The Infinity Gauntlet
The Skyfathers is a name used to refer to the godheads of various divine pantheons throughout the Marvel Universe. This includes the likes of Odin and Zeus. When Thanos first attained the Infinity Gauntlet, the Skyfathers were in the middle of a summit inside a parallel dimension. To prevent the Skyfathers from interfering, Thanos locked the Skyfathers inside that dimension.
That begs the question: what did Thanos fear from them? Thanos proved himself the better of several Elders of the Universe and Celestials when he wielded the Infinity Gauntlet. By their combined powers, it seems that the Skyfathers could conquer even mighty Thanos.
5 The Living Tribunal Can’t Be Swayed By Mortal Machinations
The Living Tribunal is supposed to be the unbiased arbiter of justice in the Marvel Universe. When the Elders and Celestials attacked Thanos during Infinity Gauntlet and were defeated, the Living Tribunal was noticeably absent. This is because the unerring Living Tribunal cannot be swayed by the likes of even the Infinity Stones.
The Living Tribunal, able to see beyond the present, likely saw the end of Thanos’ mad quest already. It’s also unlikely that the Infinity Gauntlet could slay the Tribunal. That said, the Living Tribunal was killed in recent years, but it took the efforts of yet another powerful greater than the Gauntlet.
4 The Many-Angled Ones Are Interdimensional Demons That Have Conquered Realities
The Many-Angled Ones are Lovecraftian entities that snake their way between dimensions in a quest for dominance. Doctor Strange’s villain Shuma-Gorath counts himself among their number. When the Captain Mar-Vell of a parallel universe performed an unholy ritual to slay Death, he invited the influence of the Many-Angled Ones into his dimension, which was known from then on as the Cancerverse–as it spread to other dimensions like cancer.
The Many-Angled Ones are eternal and destructive beings, and their pawns were able to take on the likes of Galactus and the Living Tribunal. One can only imagine how powerful the Many-Angled Ones themselves are–and it is likely they could overtake anyone armed with the Infinity Gauntlet.
3 Eternity Exists Beyond The Effects Of The Infinity Gauntlet
All that is exists within Eternity, the living embodiment of all reality. To fight Eternity, Thanos would have had to threaten to end reality itself, and it’s unclear if even the Infinity Gauntlet could achieve such a feat.
Moreover, Eternity has dominion over everything within itself. If Eternity wanted to halt Thanos’ mad quest, they would have been able to do so by merely shifting their own being.
2 The One-Above-All Cannot Be Overpowered By Any Force In The Universe
The One-Above-All is the closest thing to the Abrahamic God in the Marvel Comics Universe. It is a cosmic being with seemingly boundless power. It sometimes takes the form of a being of pure light, other times it looks like classic depictions of the Abrahamic God, and, sometimes, it is drawn to resemble Jack Kirby.
The One-Above-All shares a name with the leader of the Celestials but is far more powerful. The Celestial One-Above-All was among the Celestials and Elders vanquished by Thanos while he had the Infinity Gauntlet.
1 The Beyonders Overpowered The Reality-Changing Power Of The Infinity Gauntlet
The Beyonders exist in an odd place in Marvel continuity. They are all-powerful beings who seem to exist outside the natural cosmic order. They are not Celestials, Elders, or living concepts. They are not gods or Skyfathers. They come from a realm outside the regular Multiverse and have immeasurable power. The first instance of a Beyonder in the Marvel Universe was during the original Secret Wars, and just one Beyonder was able to kidnap and contain Galactus. The Beyonders more recently slew the Living Tribunal.
When the Illuminati attempted to use the Infinity Gauntlet to stop an Incursion, which was indirectly caused by the Celestials. The Infinity Gauntlet itself faded from existence. This was likely caused by the Beyonders themselves, as they had a plan to end all of reality. The plan initially began with using Molecule Men across the Multiverse as celestial bombs, but this shifted when a Molecule Man was prematurely killed by Doctor Doom and the Molecule Man of Earth-616 (the mainstream Marvel Universe). This seems to indicate with as much certainty as possible at this time that the Infinity Gauntlet’s power pales in comparison to that of the Beyonders.