What If…? attempted to clarify the murky rules surrounding the MCU’s Infinity Stones, but it only made matters worse. To stop Ultron, the Watcher devises a plan in What If…? episode 9. As a result, he assembles all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe heroes from What If…? Captain Carter, T’Challa’s Star-Lord, Gamora, Killmonger, Party Thor, and the evil Doctor Strange make up the Guardians of the Multiverse. The heroes ultimately succeeded in separating Ultron from the Infinity Stones, saving the Multiverse in the process.

The Power Of The Stones

The Infinity Stones have been shown to be less potent than previously thought in the MCU Even though Josh Brolin’s Thanos uses the stones to wipe out half of the universe’s population, Tilda Swinton’s Ancient One explains in Avengers: Endgame that the Infinity Stones control time flow in their own timeline. Loki continued the theme by presenting the Time Variance Authority with a drawer stuffed with useless Infinity Stones. A rule in Marvel comics seemed to be confirmed in that the Stones lose their power once they leave the dimension from which they came.

This adds additional confusion to the Infinity Stones’ laws by asking, “What if…”. “What If…?” seems to disregard the laws of Marvel comics and Loki at first, giving the Infinity Stones their former potency. When Ultron is fueled by the stones, he even consumes a galaxy. The conclusion, on the other hand, alters everything. The Multiverse Guardians use an Infinity Stone crusher to attempt to destroy the stones, but it fails. Ultron says that this is due to the fact that each universe has its own set of stones.

The Incomplete Narrative

However, assuming this is the truth, how is Ultron able to utilize the stones in many universes at the same time?  What If…?  Author A.C. Bradley went on to explain on Twitter that Ultron was powered by the Infinity Stones and punching through worlds, creating a messy soup of universes. Ultron used the stones to fuel himself. At the very least, the Infinity Stones’ laws are a jumble of gibberish. Ultron claims that the Infinity Stones are unique in each reality, yet in What If…?, he plainly utilizes them in many realities.

Happy Monday! Just a reminder that Ultron is using the Infinity Stones to power himself (same universe being). Also he's legit punching across multiverses turning them into one messy universe soup. #Whatif #WhatifMarvel #WeDidOurHW #YouAreAllAmazing ♥️

— A.C. Bradley (@TheAshBradley) October 4, 2021

To explain away narrative gaps and Infinity Stone anomalies, the MCU seems to be leaning on Ultron’s statement from Avengers: Age of Ultron. After all, if they behave differently in other shows and movies because they’re from other realities, that makes sense. The line, on the other hand, just serves to exacerbate things. It doesn’t explain why the Infinity Crusher didn’t destroy Ultron’s Infinity Stones, however, which is a major flaw. The Infinity Stones remain a mystery for the time being.

There’s a good reason why fans are perplexed. The producers of What If…?, according to Bradley on The GOAT Podcast, began production on the show before Marvel had completed writing the screenplays for Loki. As a result, not everything that occurs in the series will be based on what happened in Loki. Moreover, thanks to the Multiverse, Marvel can claim that there are no limits to what they can do. The MCU will be able to ignore the rules anytime it pleases. However, because of the Multiverse, Marvel may be able to make things right in the future. Until then, “anything is possible in a Multiverse,” as Ultron states in Marvel’s What If…? episode 8