The Infinity Gauntlet Easter Egg You Never Noticed In Thor

Any self-respecting Marvel Cinematic Universe fan should probably know these two things: First, Marvel Studios really likes Easter eggs. Secondly, Thor's father Odin likes to lie a lot. One of the most talked-about Easter eggs in the franchise (and mind you, there are many) is the first appearance of the Infinity Gauntlet, the powerful Dwarven-made Uru glove designed to channel the power of all six Infinity Stones.

Although most fans consider "Avengers: Age of Ultron" to be the Infinity Gauntlet's first official appearance, that isn't technically true. Marvel Studios first teased the future Mad Titan's weapon in the original "Thor" movie in 2011 — but it is a blink-and-you-miss-it moment that barely lasts a second. And it actually ended up being retconned later in the MCU anyway.

In the first "Thor" movie, Thor prepares to ascend to the throne of Asgard. Odin announces Thor as his heir to the throne of Asgard, but the procession is interrupted by the Frost Giants attempting to retrieve the Casket of Ancient Winters. During the ensuing scene, the Infinity Gauntlet appears in a dim-lit corridor in Odin's vault, guarded by the Destroyer. The scene is easy to miss, but eagle-eyed fans quickly made a note of it.

The Easter egg served a purpose until 2015, when "Avengers: Age of Ultron" was released. While MCU fans expected the Infinity Gauntlet in Odin's vault to be a clever foreshadowing for its future, it ended up creating a massive plot hole — after Thanos was seen wielding the glove four years later, in the "Age of Ultron" post-credits scene that found it sitting in a secret locker that seemingly belonged to the Mad Titan. 

In the scene, Thanos wore a left-handed glove that did not feature any Infinity Stones yet, but the one in "Thor" appeared to hav all the Infinity Stones in place. It turns out there are two Infinity Gauntlets in the MCU, but only one is a proper, fully functioning one.

The Infinity Gauntlet Easter egg led to a big continuity issue in the MCU when it came time for the Infinity Gauntlet storyline to actually play out. How did Thanos get hold of the Infinity Gauntlet if it was in Odin's locker on Asgard? Better yet, why are there two gauntlets?

Following the release of "Avengers: Age of Ultron," a frustrated Kevin Feige caved in following immense pressure from fans and declared that there were two Infinity Gauntlets in the MCU. That's it. We didn't have any clarification until 2017, when "Thor: Ragnarok" arrived in theaters and put an end to all our doubts.

Thor is referred to as Odin's firstborn, but "Thor: Ragnarok" reveals how that isn't true. Asgard wasn't always the safe haven it appeared to be, and Odin, along with his firstborn, his daughter Hela (Cate Blanchett), made their way through the nine realms bringing death and destruction, engaging in bloodshed. At that point, Thor and Loki's peaceful home of Asgard is revealed to be built upon lies, and Hela brings down the roof (literally), destroying the extravagant ceiling paintings that depict peaceful unions between the Nine Realms. They're soon replaced by the paints of warfare and bloodshed that actually made it happen.

After exposing Asgard's dark past, Hela walks into Odin's vault (seen above), deeming his stolen relics useless. During this scene, she is seen approaching the massive right-handed Infinity Gauntlet (from "Thor" 2011) and knocking the weapon off its pedestal, declaring it to be a "fake." Odin's vault, which was believed to have been a room housing objects of great cosmic history, is now revealed to have at least one attempt at trickery. The Gauntlet isn't real, and Odin's reason for keeping it as a souvenir remains unknown. But some fans assume the All-Father learned of the Infinity Stones and their power during his many conquests and designed a fake one to reinforce his superiority. 

Where Thanos' Gauntlet is concerned, it is later revealed that the purple-skinned supervillain from Titan traveled to Nidavellir (a neutron star and one of the Nine Realms) to get it made. He forced the Dwarves there (who come from an ancient race of skilled forgers and blacksmiths) to make it for him. The dwarves previously made Thor's hammer Mjolnir on Odin's request, and Eitri, the king of dwarves played by Peter Dinklage of "Game of Thrones," relays the truth of Thanos' Gauntlet to Thor when the God of Thunder visits him during "Avengers: Infinity War."

After the dwarves made Thanos his weapon of choice, the Titan kills them almost all of them and leaves Nidavellir to ruin. To ensure that Eitri doesn't make another gauntlet, he encases the dwarf's hands in metal. But that doesn't stop him from helping Thor restart the dying star so the blacksmith can make Stormbreaker for him after Mjolnir was destroyed by Hela during the events of "Thor: Ragnarok." Unfortunately, Thor didn't use the axe to go for Thanos' head, and we all know how that turned out. At least The Avengers were able to fix everything and the Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity Stones no longer pose a threat to the MCU.