After 6 Years, Marvel Finally Answers a Major Infinity Stone Mystery

Summary Marvel finally reveals Worldmind as the Mind Stone bearer, completing the list of new Infinity Stone bearers.

Marvel's new Infinity Watch saga is finally bringing the new bearers together, six years after their creation.

Thanos is after the Infinity Stones again after creating his own Death Stone.

Six years after permanently changing Marvel's Infinity Stones, Marvel has revealed the official wielder of one of the most powerful artifacts in existence. In 2018's Infinity Wars, Adam Warlock changed the fundamental nature of the Stones, sending them out to bond with new 'Infinity Stone Bearers.' It was a last-ditch attempt to keep the Infinity Stones out of the hands of villains like Thanos, doing something that had never been tried before. Now, following the creation of his own Death Stone, Thanos is hunting down the bearers.

The new Infinity Watch saga will take place across Marvel's 2024 annuals, beginning in June 26's Thanos Annual #1. However, it's not until August 28's Incredible Hulk Annual that fans will finally meet the bearer of the Mind Stone - the superbeing known as 'Worldmind.'

Incredible Hulk Annual #1 Release Date: August 28, 2024 Writer: Derek Landy Artists: Geoff Shaw & Sara Pichelli Cover Artist: Salvador Larroca "Infinity Watch" Part Six! The Mad Titan Thanos carves a path of destruction to his next doomed target - the current bearer of the Mind Stone! But there’s a very big, very green and very, very, very angry Hulk standing in Thanos’ way. Introducing the master of the Mind Stone - Worldmind!

Marvel has spent years teasing fans with the identities of its new Infinity Stone bearers. Some like Star and Quantum are villains, while others like the Prince of Power are heroes (or at least they're trying to be.) However, the Mind Stone's bearer was never revealed. Now, fans know it will be the so-far-unseen Worldmind - a name with major ties to Marvel lore. See below for Marvel's official reading list for the Infinity Watch event:

Marvel's Infinity Watch Saga Introduces Worldmind

The Mind Stone's Wielder Completes the List of New Infinity Stone Bearers

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The Infinity Stones are cosmic artifacts which embody the primordial forces of creation, with a set distributed to every fledgling universe by the Celestials. Possessing one Stone allows the bearer to command that aspect of creation. However, the Stones only achieve their full power when they're brought together, creating a circuit where each enhances the power of the next. The Infinity Stones coming together has almost always been disastrous for life in the Marvel Universe - when Thanos assembled the Infinity Gauntlet he killed half of all life, and when Galactus tried to use the Stones to end his hunger, he unleashed a multiversal predator.

Having had enough of the constant chaos, Adam Warlock gave the Infinity Stones the power of self-awareness, and each flew out into the universe and chose a new bearer - someone who doesn't just wield the stone but is bonded to it. These individuals have been on various adventures since, and - despite more than half of them residing on Earth - Warlock's plan has so far been a success. The bearers have managed to fight off everyone who wanted to use their powers for evil, but each is still of sufficiently low power that at their worst, they're only as influential as the average superhero or supervillain.

Current Infinity Stone Bearers in Marvel Continuity Infinity Stone Current Wielder Current Powers Affiliation First Appearance Reality Stone Star (Ripley Ryan) Short-range reality manipulation Former Thunderbolts member and Captain Marvel enemy Captain Marvel #1 by Kelly Thompson & Carmen Carnero Space Stone Quantum Close-range teleportation and portals Former henchman for the Assessor and Miles Morales enemy Miles Morales: Spider-Man #7 by Saladin Ahmed & Javier Garrón Mind Stone Worldmind Unknown Unknown Unknown Soul Stone Multitude (aka Ward) Can summon lifelike energy constructs Solo operator Avengers Annual #1 by Jed MacKay & Travel Foreman Time Stone Overtime (aka Hector Bautista) Low-power time manipulation, including pausing events and very short-range time travel Solo operator Infinity Wars: Infinity #1 by Gerry Duggan & Mark Bagley Power Stone Prince of Power (aka Otherone) Enhanced physique and ability to enhance powers of others Galactic mercenary and Guardians of the Galaxy Ally Guardians of the Galaxy #3 by Al Ewing & Juan Cabal

Now, Infinity Watch is bringing the bearers together, with Marvel promising that the event will form a new version of Adam Warlock's old Infinity Watch team - a group of powerful beings (at one point including Thanos) who worked together to keep the Infinity Stones from ever being gathered together. However, that team has yet to form, and the big news of Marvel's recent reveal is that fans will soon meet two Infinity Stone bearers they've never encountered before.

Related What Happened When Galactus Used The Infinity Stones Galactus once acquired all of the Infinity Stones in an effort to cure his hunger for good, but in the process unleashed a monster.

Who Is Worldmind? - Marvel's New Infinity Stone Bearer

The Idea of a 'Worldmind' Ties into Nova Lore

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The idea of a 'Worldmind' has existed in Marvel lore for decades, and refers to the practice of advanced societies who run their societies or planets using an advanced supercomputer (or biological equivalent.) The most famous example of a worldmind is the Xandarian Worldmind - the system that runs the planet Xandar, which is used as the home base of the Nova Corps. Other examples of Worldmind-level societies include the Kree Empire, which is ruled over and organized by the Supreme Intelligence, and Thanos' native Titan, which is controlled by the supercomputer ISAAC. Worldminds are a sign of a heavily developed world, but also often coincide with authoritarian rule, as entire planets and even intergalactic empires are overseen by a single machine intelligence.

Recently, X-Men redefined the idea of a 'Worldmind,' including it in the lifecycle of beings known as Dominions. Among the most powerful beings in Marvel reality, Dominions are intellects so vast that they exist beyond space and time, able to alter reality in godlike ways and immune to all threats save major galactic forces like Galactus and the Phoenix Force. Since most Dominions start off as artificial intelligence, it's common for them to evolve out of Worldmind planets, though not exclusively. Recent X-Men comics have seen the rise of the evil Dominion Enigma, which threatens all biological life on Earth, casting Worldminds in a decidedly sinister light.

Related Marvel's New Dominion Army Redefines Its Cosmic Hierarchy (Look Out, Phoenix) The Phoenix Force is one of the most powerful in Marvel history, but now a new force has arisen, potentially capable of destroying it for good.

Given the prominence of Worldminds in recent X-Men comics, it's likely that the new Mind Stone bearer will have some connection to this concept, and may even be a member of the Nova Corps. So far, the Infinity Stones have chosen to bond with people who desperately want the fundamental force they control, so it's likely that Worldmind is someone who is desperate to harness their intellect, rather than a character who's already a genius.

Worldmind Isn't Alone - The Death Stone Bearer Is Also Coming

Thanos' New Creation Is Changing the Cosmic Order

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While it's awesome for fans to finally know the name of the Mind Stone bearer, there's another mystery Infinity Stone bearer caught up in this story. Recently, Thanos used a synthetic Infinity Stone forged in the heart of a black hole to capture Death, feeling that she had betrayed her cosmic purpose by experimenting with living a mortal life. The result was a new Infinity Stone, currently known as the Death Stone. Marvel has confirmed that this Stone will also have an official bearer, who will arrive in July 3's Amazing Spider-Man Annual, part two of the larger Infinity Watch event. Each annual will tell its own main story while also including a shorter chapter following Nick Fury as he hunts the mysterious new Death Stone Bearer.

Related Thanos Reclaims His Crown as Marvel's Ultimate Villain, Killing the 1 Person We Assumed Was Safe Thanos has returned to claim his crown as Marvel's top villain, by imprisoning and threatening to kill the one person fans assumed was safe.

The identity of this new character isn't yet known, and it's hard to imagine who Thanos would possibly trust to embody Death - a cosmic force he worships and has even served in the past. With Thanos apparently on a mission to collect the Infinity Stones during the Infinity Watch event, it's so far not clear what his relation to the Death Stone bearer will even be, or how he will factor into the creation of the new Infinity Watch.

When the Infinity Stones are involved, Marvel fans know that huge events are coming - events so big that even a Hulk vs Thanos rematch is only the beginning. With the reveal of Worldmind and the promise of the Death Stone bearer's approach, Infinity Watch promises an incredibly consequential story, as the altered Infinity Stones and their new wielders officially unite to oppose Thanos' latest scheme.

Incredible Hulk Annual #1 is coming August 28, with the Infinity Watch event beginning in Thanos Annual #1, coming June 26 from Marvel Comics.