A complete Tesseract timeline in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
the tesseract has played an important role in the entirety of the mcu. If you’re having trouble keeping your prolific journey in order, we’ve put together a complete timeline of where you’ve been.
With over a decade of movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, no other Infinity Stone has played such a pivotal role as the Space Stone, better known as the Tesseract.
The Tesseract has influenced various storylines throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe, acting as a catalyst for moments from Captain America: The First Avenger, the First Avengers Movie, all the way to Endgame.
Keeping a timeline of where and when the tesseract has been is a daunting task, but we’ve done all the hard work for you. With Disney+’s Loki moving fast, revisiting the milestones of the Space Stone’s journey will likely prove important.
the mcu tesseract timeline
dawn of the universe: infinity stones are created
There were six singularities before the formation of the universe, related to different aspects of existence: space, reality, power, soul, space and time. the cosmic entities, a group of primordial beings, then concentrated them into six crystals of immense power. the big bang sent these crystals hurtling across the universe, including the space stone.
unknown year, asgard: odin acquires the space stone
At an unknown time, the Asgardians acquired the Space Stone. it is now contained within a container called a tesseract. this becomes odin’s vault jewel, which should give some indication of his power, considering all the artifacts we’ve seen in asgard.
circa 965 AD, Norway: the tesseract comes to earth
around 965 AD. In Tønsberg, Norway, the Asgardians left the Tesseract on Earth. fell into the care of humans who worshiped the Asgardians as gods. That’s where a lot of Norse mythology comes from!
1942, norway: red skull takes the tesseract
hydra agent johann schmidt, aka red skull, takes the tesseract from a church in tønsberg, norway, where it had been kept safe for generations. Arnim Zola unlocks his powers and Hydra uses him as a weapon in an attempt to take over the world.
1945, arctic ocean: the tesseract is lost
After a battle between Red Skull and Captain America over the Arctic Ocean, in which Red Skull is transported to Vorimir and becomes the guardian of the Soul Stone, the Tesseract blasts a hole in the floor of the Valkyrie and falls into the waters. down. Captain America crashes the Valkyrie into the ocean soon after, eventually freezing to ice for 70 years.
unknown year, arctic ocean: the tesseract is recovered
During his search for Captain America, Howard Stark retrieves the Tesseract from the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. stark then spends several years researching the cube.
1980s, nevada: project p.e.g.a.s.u.s. start
The United States Air Force and NASA begin a joint operation known as Project Pegasus, after the Tesseract passes into government hands. dr Wendy Lawson, a Kree scientist in disguise, tries to use her research to create a lightspeed engine to end the Kree-Skrull war and resettle the Skrull refugees in a new home. At some point, Lawson moves the Tesseract to her hidden research facility in Earth orbit.
1989, nevada: carol danvers absorbs the powers of the tesseract
yon-rogg, a starforce kree commander, shoots down the test fighter plane piloted by carol danvers and also carrying lawson. the fighter was powered by the tesseract’s energy. yon-rogg kills lawson. Danvers destroys the fighter to keep the Tesseract’s power out of Yon-Rogg’s hands and absorbs the energies into his body. yon-rogg kidnaps danvers and takes her to the kree homeworld, hala.
1995, earth: carol retrieves the tesseract
After Carol Danvers lands on Earth and learns the truth about her past, she works with Nick Fury to retrieve the Lawson Research Facility’s Tesseract (also known as Mar-Vell). Mar-vell’s flerken, the goose, swallows the tesseract and stores it in a pocket dimension in its stomach.
1995, s.h.i.e.l.d.: tesseract enters s.h.i.e.l.d. custody
The Tesseract is left in the care of S.H.I.E.L.D., via Nick Fury and Goose (who later regurgitates it), and Project P.e.g.a.s.u.s. restarts.
2012, mojave desert: loki steals the tesseract
After the events of Thor, Fury is ordered by the World Security Council to create weapons from the Tesseract. loki, on behalf of thanos, infiltrates a s.h.i.e.l.d. facility in the mojave desert and steal the cube.
2012, new york: the avengers defeat loki
The newly formed Avengers team defeats Loki in the Battle of New York. Thor brings the Tesseract back to Asgard, where he reinstates it in Odin’s Vault for safekeeping after Heimdall uses it to repair the Bifrost.
2012, new york: an alternate timeline is created
During the events of the endgame, the Avengers go back in time to steal the Infinity Stones and bring them back to the present. they fail to do so in 2012, during the events of the first avengers movie, where loki takes the tesseract and disappears into a wormhole, thus creating an alternate timeline.
2017, asgard: loki steals the tesseract… again
while summoning surtur to bring about ragnarok and stop hela, goddess of death, loki discovers the tesseract in odin’s vault and takes it with him. Asgard is destroyed, but Loki escapes with the surviving Asgardians in a Sakaaran spaceship, the Statesman.
2018, space: thanos attacks the ‘statesman’
in an attempt to get all the infinity stones, thanos attacks the statesman. Thanos kills Loki and half of the Asgardians on board, and crushes the Tesseract to reveal the Space Stone. he places the stone in the infinity gauntlet.
2018, earth: thanos uses the infinity stones
thanos uses the infinity gauntlet to manipulate the powers of the stones to kill half the universe. after the snap, the stones are destroyed. The Avengers track down Thanos and kill him, believing there is no hope of returning the lost to annihilation.
2023, new york: the avengers plan a robbery in time
To defeat Thanos, the Avengers go back in time to steal the Infinity Stones. After a failed attempt to retrieve the Tesseract in 2012 (mentioned above as an alternate timeline), Steve, Tony, and Scott travel further back to Camp Lehigh in 1970, where they manage to return the Tesseract to the present.
2023, new york: iron man defeats thanos
Shortly after using the Nano Gauntlet to retrieve everyone lost during the Annihilation, a 2014 version of Thanos travels to 2023 to battle the Avengers. Iron Man uses the gauntlet to defeat him and his army, and then the Avengers return the Infinity Stones to the points in time where they recently retrieved them.
the future of the tesseract in the mcu
In the current timeline, the Infinity Stones are destroyed. After Thanos’ defeat, the Space Stone was returned to 1970, albeit without the Tesseract container. the only outlier now is the version of the tesseract loki he escaped from to an alternate timeline. this will be the base of the loki show.
The series will follow Loki over the course of six episodes, airing on June 11, 2021. We will see everyone’s favorite anti-hero appear before the Time Variation authority, where he is given a simple choice: to be eliminated. reality for their crimes against the timeline or help them catch an even bigger threat.
We’ll have to wait to see what happens to the tesseract: will the tva return it to its proper place, or will it use its power for its own purpose?
Loki will also connect with Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (March 25, 2022), in which Doctor Strange will continue to study the Time Stone. With time travel now on the table for the MCU, the Tesseract is never too far out of reach.
