'Doctor Strange' and the Eye of Agomotto, Explained

Although mostly independent of the last thirteen Marvel movies, Doctor Strange still marches the Marvel Cinematic Universe towards the culminating fight in Avengers: Infinity War against Thanos. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) will play a key role against Thanos and will be armed with an important tool: the Eye of Agamotto.

This article, obviously, contains spoilers.

In Doctor Strange, Strange comes across the Eye of Agamotto, a powerful amulet once owned by a powerful mystic, Agamotto. In the comics Agamotto was one of the three Vishanti, a benevolent triumvirate of beings: Agamotto the All-Seeing, Oshtur the Omnipotent, and Hoggoth the Lord of Hosts. The film doesn’t explore too much into Agamotto or the origins of his Eye. Even the comics have been vague, allowing the film room to reinterpret the item as they wish.

As teased by Marvel Studios exec Kevin Feige, the Eye of Agamotto (or rather, the Time Stone within) can manipulate time itself, which is shown in a spellbinding third act set piece when Strange, Wong, and Mordo use the stone to stop Kaecilius in Hong Kong. At the end of the film, the Stone stays where it should be kept, in Kamar-Taj.

The Infinity Stones have been the interconnecting MacGuffins that keep the plot moving within individual Marvel movies. Different Stones have appeared in different movies like The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, and Guardians of the Galaxy. But the cosmic ruler Thanos (Josh Brolin) is a purple man on a mission and will collect them all to wield in his Infinity Gauntlet, making him nigh unstoppable. That day is fast-approaching, because Infinity War will be released in theaters May 4, 2018.

The Time Stone is the second-to-last Infinity Stone identified in the MCU. The Space Stone — which was the Tesseract in Captain America: The First Avenger and then used by Loki in The Avengers — is currently kept in Asgard in a secret vault. But after the end of Thor: The Dark World, Loki has secretly usurped his father’s throne, landing the Space Stone in Thor’s mischievous brother’s hands once again.

Others, like the Power Stone, were introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy and is currently kept at Nova Corps HQ. The Reality Stone, obtained in Thor: The Dark World, was given to the Collector to keep safe in his personal museum, but his whole joint was destroyed, leaving the status of the Stone in question.

Of all the stones, the Mind Stone is probably the safest next to the Power Stone. Originally in Loki’s scepter throughout The Avengers, the Mind Stone was eventually removed and used to give Vision sentience in Avengers: Age of Ultron. So, it’s on Vision’s forehead. Try and take it from him.

The last Infinity Stone yet to truly appear is the Soul Stone, though it was shown in Guardians of the Galaxy in an orange hue. The Soul Stone, which has the power to steal, control, and manipulate the living and the dead, is arguably one of the most powerful of all the already-overpowered Infinity Stones. The whereabouts of this Stone is anyone’s guess. Heck, Thanos might already have it.

Thanos doesn’t appear in Doctor Strange, and neither do any of the Avengers, though you should stay for the mid-credits scene. But, that doesn’t mean his threat doesn’t loom large. He’s coming, and the Avengers will need to assemble with the rest of the universe to stop him.

Doctor Strange will be released in theaters November 4.