A real-life Infinity Gauntlet once existed – how similar does it look to Thanos' glove?
Avengers: Endgame appears to have a surprising connection to a medieval saint...
The last two Avengers movies have revolved pretty heavily around the Infinity Gauntlet, a snazzy bit of forearm bling used by baddie Thanos (Josh Brolin) to collect and safely(ish) use the all-powerful Infinity stones against our heroes – but did you know a historical Infinity Gauntlet once existed?
Well, sort of. This week, as Avengers: Endgame is released in cinemas, fans online have noted that the reliquary for the real-life holy hand of 16th century Spanish saint Saint Teresa of Avila bears a striking resemblance to Thanos’ omnipotent accessory – and it’s hard to deny the similarities.
But did Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame copy Teresa’s look? Well, probably not. While the reliquary looks a lot like the solo version of the gauntlet used by Thanos in the movies, the comic-book origins of it are slightly different.
First appearing in 1991 in an ongoing series of the same name, the first Infinity Gauntlet was created when Thanos simply added the stones (then called “the Infinity Gems”) to the armoured glove he was already wearing – part of his overall armour and not an especially important garment in itself.
Unlike in the films, the gauntlet itself is only made special by the stones held within it – though in both cases the struggle of the Avengers to take the glove away from Thanos is a key part of the action.
And yes, obviously 1991 is STILL quite a bit after the 1500s, we’re happy to mark this one as a coincidence – or, at most, a shared sense of style between a deceased 16th century nun and a fictional purple Titan.
Avengers: Endgame is in cinemas now
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
