Mother Boxes vs Infinity Stones: Which Are More Powerful?
The Infinity Stones, also known as Infinity Gems and Soul Stones, are a group of six powerful gems that appear in stories published by Marvel Comics. On the other hand, the Mother Boxes are a group of fictional technological artifacts that appear in stories published by DC Comics. But which of the two are more powerful?
Breaking down the powers of the Mother Boxes and the Infinity Stones
In this section, we are going to explain what the exact powers of the Mother Boxes and the Infinity Stones are, i.e., what abilities they give to their owners or users, depending on the context. This section is going to be a bit different than our usual comparisons, since we’re not dealing with live beings, but rather with regular objects.
The Mother Boxes
Here are the basic attributes, powers and traits of the Mother Boxes, as presented in the comic book stories they have appeared in:
- The Mother Boxes have the ability to access the energy coming directly from the Source to obtain various powers and traits: for example, they are able to manipulate gravity by changing the gravitational constant of a certain area; transfer energy from one place to another; feel danger; feel life; create force fields; rearrange the molecular structure of matter; absorb or project powerful shock explosions; create electro-networks of atoms; control the mental state of a sentient being; communicate telepathically with its host or any other lifeform; manipulate the life force of a host to withstand previous fatal injuries; open and close Boom Tubes (the most famous trait of the Mother Boxes); take charge and control of non-sentient machines; develop non-sentient machines; fuse sentient beings, allowing you to create a super powerful being; keep a lifeform protected in a hostile environment such as space; and a lot of other things. Mother Boxes have an affinity for power coming from the Source, and it is believed that they draw their power from there. It is in this sense that they can be related as a computer that links man with God.
- For the New Gods, they are quite common devices (they use them like humans would use a tablet or a smartphone), insofar as a sentient device can be called an “appliance”. Other DC Comics characters have also had access to them in specific times of need; notably, Superman used one when he went looking for Doomsday.
- The Mother Boxes can only be manufactured by a being born on New Genesis or on Apokolips; in fact, not every being born there can make them, which makes the process very specific (we know this because Apokolips-based beings have failed in the construction of a Mother Box on more than one occasion). The technique to manufacture a Mother Box requires a lot of training to master. The stories have implied that the character of the builder influences the successful results of assembling a Mother Box. This fact applies to all Fourth World stories (as seen in the pages of Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen, The Forever People and Mister Miracle comics) written during the Jack Kirby era, when he was the principal author of these stories. In later versions of the stories mentioned above, and in other stories where elements from the Fourth World comics were used, other writers would alter the crafting and abilities of the Mother Boxes to allow them to be used by characters and entities from other planets (such as Superman, Batman and currently, Cyborg).
The Infinity Stones
Here are the powers and the main traits of the six Infinity Stones, presented in table form:
| Name | Original color (1972–2016) | Marvel Legacy color (2017–present) | Powers and capabilities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mind | Blue | Yellow | Allows the user to enhance their mental and psionic abilities and access the thoughts and dreams of other beings. At full potential, when backed by the Power Gem, the Mind Gem can access all minds in existence simultaneously. The Mind Gem is also the manifestation of the universal subconscious. |
| Power | Red | Purple | Allows the user to access and manipulate all forms of energy and/or powers; i.e. enhancing their physical strength and durability; augment any superhuman ability; and boost the effects of the other five Gems. At full potential, the Power Gem grants the user omnipotence. |
| Reality | Yellow | Red | Allows the user to fulfill their wishes, even if the wish is in direct contradiction with scientific laws, and do things that would normally be impossible. At full potential, when backed by the other five Gems, the Reality Gem allows the user to alter reality on a universal scale and also create any type of alternate reality the user wishes. |
| Soul | Green | Orange | Allows the user to steal, control, manipulate, and alter living and dead souls; as well as animate the motionless. The Soul Gem also acts as a gateway to an idyllic pocket universe. At full potential, when backed by the Power Gem, the Soul Gem grants the user control over all life in the universe. |
| Space | Purple | Blue | Allows the user to exist in any location; move any object anywhere throughout reality; warp or rearrange space; teleport themselves and others; increase their speed, and alter the distance between objects contrary to the laws of physics. At full potential, when backed by the Power Gem, the Space Gem grants the user omnipresence. |
| Time | Orange | Green | Allows the user to see into the past and the future; stop, slow down, speed up or reverse the flow of time; travel through time; change the past and the future; age and de-age beings, and trap people or entire universes in unending loops of time. At full potential, when backed by the Power Gem, the Time Gem grants the user omniscience and total control over the past, present, and future. |
Verdict
Now that we have finally revealed every relevant detail about both groups, we can finally give our final verdict on the issue. As you might have deduced yourselves, both the Mother Boxes and the Infinity Stones are exceptionally powerful artefacts that give their users varied, but always strong powers. They can be the decisive factor in a battle and they can make a powerful character practically unbeatable, despite there always being a way to overpower their influence.
As far as the Mother Boxes go, they are technological devices with a large number of capabilities, most of which are very potent, but they do have their limits and they don’t turn the user into a god; they just amplify their powers. The Infinity Stones, on the other hand, are exceptionally powerful magical objects that have a reality-changing potency within them, especially if united and used in unison.
They practically make their user a god with enormous powers, a being that can shape existence however he desires. The Mother Boxes never had such powers and although they can help in a battle, they don’t really influence reality as it is – they operate within it, but they don’t really alter it, which is something the Infinity Stones can do.
This is why we think that the Infinity Stones are much more powerful than the Mother Boxes, even more so when they are used in unison. There is enough evidence in the comic books to prove us right, which is why we are fairly certain of our conclusion.
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