Aether (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

• The Aether
• Reality Stone

“	Long before the birth of light there was darkness, and from that darkness, came the Dark Elves. Millennia ago, the most ruthless of their kind, Malekith, sought to transform our universe back into one of eternal night. Such evil was possible through the power of the Aether, an ancient force of infinite destruction.	„
	~ Odin

“	Reality is often disappointing. That is, it was. Now, reality can be whatever I want	„
	~ Thanos

Summary

The Reality Stone is one of the six Infinity Stones, the remnant of a singularity that predated the universe, which represents the fabric of reality. Liquefied into a dark red fluid called the Aether (pronounced ēTHər), the Dark Elves and their leader Malekith intended to use it to revert the universe to its state of primordial darkness. The Aether was taken from the Elves by the Asgardians and entrusted to the Collector following the Second Dark Elf Conflict.

During the Infinity War, the Aether was retrieved from the Collector's Museum in Knowhere and solidified by the Mad Titan Thanos, who put the Stone inside his Infinity Gauntlet. After collecting the rest of the Infinity Stones, Thanos used the complete Infinity Gauntlet to snap his fingers, causing half of all life in the universe to crumble into dust. Upon fleeing to the Garden, Thanos would ultimately destroy the Reality Stone along with the rest of the Infinity Stones to avoid being tempted to use their powers and to ensure that the Snap became irreversible.

In 2023, the Avengers conducted a Time Heist in order to resurrect the lives Thanos had claimed, with Thor and Rocket Raccoon sent back in time to 2013 to retrieve the Aether from Jane Foster. Following the Battle of Earth, where Iron Man used all six stones to kill Thanos and his army at the cost of his own life, Captain America time-traveled to Asgard of 2013 to return the Reality Stone, albeit in its solidified state.

Powers and Stats

Tier: 4-C, up to High 3-A

Name: The Aether, The Reality Stone

Origin: Marvel Cinematic Universe

Age: As Old as the Big Bang

Classification: Infinity Stone

Wielders: The Dark Elves, Malekith, Bor, Jane Foster (temporary host), The Collector, Thanos, Infinity Ultron (Alternate reality)

Powers and Abilities: Abstract Existence (Type 2), Conceptual Manipulation (Type 2), Elemental Manipulation, Energy Manipulation, Physics Manipulation and Time Manipulation (The Infinity Stones were created by the Big Bang from the remnants of six Singularities that existed long before the current universe. Each of them possesses and represents a fundamental, essential, and primordial aspect of existence: space, reality, power, soul, mind, and time—each capable of manipulating and controlling its respective aspect, containing the universe’s elemental energies. Every stone holds a power so vast, unparalleled, and indescribable that it lies beyond mortal comprehension and defies all science. They also create what is experienced as the flow of time), Reality Warping (The Reality Stone can manipulate reality), Energy Projection (Can generate blasts and tendrils of dark energy), Illusion Creation (Can create highly elaborate physical illusions of false realities, including of living beings that can physically interact with others), Invisibility (The Stone's illusions can make its users invisible), Matter Manipulation & Transmutation (Gave Thanos the power to warp and transmute matter into anything he wished, most often using this ability to transfigure and use objects around him offensively. The Aether can convert matter into dark matter), Creation (Infinity Ultron used the Reality Stone to create an army of Ultron Sentries out of nothing. When Malekith's own hands were cut off, the Aether created a new pair for him), Biological Manipulation (Can warp the bodies of a living organism. Thanos incapacitated Drax and Mantis by temporarily warping their bodies), Regeneration (Low-Mid, enabled Infinity Ultron to reconstruct his arm in seconds), Animal Manipulation (Thanos transmuted the pieces of a ship that he destroyed into a countless swarm of bats that he sent towards Iron Man), Environmental Destruction and Earth Manipulation (The Reality Stone can be used to manipulate terrains and environments. Thanos used the Reality Stone to spawn a cage of stone pillars to trap Black Widow), Life-Force Absorption (The Aether can sapp the life energy of its hosts), Vibration Manipulation (Capable of sending out shockwaves filled with its energy and pulses of power that can throw back any who it deems a threat to itself on its own), Dimensional Negation (Thanos was able to prevent himself from being trapped inside the Mirror Dimension by a gateway to said dimension sent at him by Doctor Strange with the Reality Stone), Power Bestowal & Statistics Amplification (Malekith, fused with the stone, was on par with Thor in terms of raw strength and the Stone granted him various powers), Size Manipulation (Caused Malekith to grow in size to roughly three times Thor's height), Dimensional Travel (Can allow its wielders to access the realities of alternate universes), Resistance to Heat Manipulation (Unaffected by an energy beam from the Mind Stone that melted Uru, which requires a temperature of 50,000 Kelvin to liquefy)

Attack Potency: Star level, up to High Universe level (After amplifying the power of the Aether exponentially by consuming the Nine Worlds—including Nidavellir and Muspelheim, which is a Dyson sphere around a star—Malekith was going to destroy the entire Universe and beyond, encompassing all existence to convert reality to an endless night of dark matter and dark energy, remaking the universe to transform it back into eternal darkness, destroying all life in the process. The Aether has the power to tear apart, alter, control, and reshape the fabric of reality. Stated to be a weapon of infinite destruction and being infinitely powerful)

Speed: At least Massively Hypersonic+ (Can react to Pre-Awakening Thor's attacks)

Durability: Unknown, at least Multi-Continent level (Undamaged by an energy beam from the Mind Stone)

Range: Tens of Meters with Energy Projection. Stellar, up to High Universal (After amplifying the power of the Aether exponentially by consuming the Nine Worlds—including Muspelheim, which is a Dyson sphere around a star—Malekith was going to destroy the entire Universe and beyond, encompassing all existence to convert reality to an endless night of dark matter and dark energy, remaking the universe to transform it back into eternal darkness, destroying all life in the process. The Aether has the power to tear apart, alter, control, and reshape the fabric of reality)

Weaknesses: The effects of the Stone last only as long as the wielder is actually present in the area, and the original reality reasserts itself immediately afterwards at least for some of its abilities, otherwise none notable

Note: As discussed and accepted in this thread, the Infinity Stones are stated to be powerful enough to impact a four dimensional being like Dormammu, even to the point of cowing him and halting his actions, therefore their hax must also be 4-D in order to being able to affect him.

Discussions

Discussion threads involving Aether (Marvel Cinematic Universe)