James Gunn's Infinity Stone Retcon Created a Major MCU Misconception

A common misconception has grown around the Marvel Cinematic Universe: because Thanos appeared in The Avengers' post-credit scene and the Infinity Gauntlet briefly showed up in Odin's treasure room, many assumed the Infinity Saga was planned from the start. In fact, the term "Infinity Saga" did not exist until March 2019, and the detailed lore for the Infinity Stones only came together years after the MCU began.

Thanos' mid-credit cameo was added by Joss Whedon to explain Loki's army and to tip a hat to comics readers, not to launch a long-range strategy. Marvel's immediate priority was completing The Avengers, and Whedon later picked Ultron for the sequel. When Guardians of the Galaxy was announced in 2012, Marvel asked James Gunn to devise an origin for the Stones and a scene in which the Collector explains them; Gunn says he wrote that origin in an hour and a half, noting, "They were like, 'We're thinking about putting the Power Stone in.' I was like, 'That's cool.

The Power Stone...

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