Did ‘The Marvels’ just introduce the MCU’s next answer to the Infinity Stones?

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Marvels.

We all know by now just how much the MCU loves its glowing space jewelry. After all, the entire Infinity Saga was built around Thanos finding the perfect gems to bedazzle his fetching golden glove with. Up to now, the Multiverse Saga has ditched that formula for the most part, so that’s why The Marvels felt downright nostalgic with its plot revolving around the hunt for a newly minted pair of fabulous accessories.

To be specific, ubervillain Dar-Benn spends the film desperate to get her hands on the other Quantum Band, which just happens to rest on the wrist of Kamala Khan. Yes, we finally have a name for those bangles introduced in Ms. Marvel which unlocked Kamala’s powers. But what exactly are the Quantum Bands? Here’s all you need to know about the bangles’ rich Marvel Comics history.

The Quantum Bands, explained

The Marvels reveals that the Quantum Bands are an old Kree legend, ancient artifacts of immense power that were used to create the network of Jump Points that allow Kree ships to open windows through the cosmos to allow for instant cross-space travel. As we know from Ms. Marvel, one ended up in a Ten Rings temple on Earth and was retrieved from the arm of a dead Kree by Kamala’s Clandestine grandmother, Aisha. The other, we discover, was ultimately retrieved from a deserted planet by Dar-Benn.

In the comics, the Quantum Bands’ origins are much different. Created by Eon, the son of Eternity (as seen in Thor: Love and Thunder), the Bands were bestowed upon those chosen champions dubbed the Protectors of the Universe and were worn by all those in this hallowed line of heroes, except for the original Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell. Those who have wielded the Bands include Marvel Boy, Quasar, and Phyla-Vell. Yes, they’re basically Marvel’s answer to DC’s Green Lantern Power Rings.

How the Quantum Bands tie into Ant-Man, Thanos, the Eternals, and more

It’s entirely possible that the further history of the Quantum Bands won’t be explained and they’ll simply reappear as Kamala’s nifty arm bands but, if Marvel wanted to, it could easily use the Quantum Bands to fuel many more storylines. They’d particularly be ripe for sparking an Eternals sequel, if that’s something the studio was actually interested in, one which revealed the origins of Thanos and his brother, Harry Styles’ Eros.

In ancient times, the Eternal Kronos transformed the Quantum Bands into wedding rings and gave them to his son A’Lars and his bride Sui-San to mark their marriage. The power of the bands allowed the couple to conceive children in the traditional manner, despite Eternals’ artificial biology, and Sui-San gave birth to two boys, Thanos and Eros. Unfortunately, the Quantum Bands’ baby-making powers were clearly a little erratic as while one became a pretty boy cosmic pirate the other grew up to be Space Hitler. Siblings, amiright?

And if you’re wondering about the name, the Quantum Bands do indeed derive their power from the Quantum Zone, better known as the Quantum Realm in the MCU. This wasn’t specified in The Marvels, but seeing as Ant-Man and the Wasp revealed that anything with “Quantum” in the name links to the Quantum Realm we can easily surmise that this is the case on screen too. Whether this will be explored in time, who knows? Perhaps the Quantum Bands could prove key to defeating Kang in Avengers: Secret Wars, just like the Quantum Realm was in stopping Thanos in Avengers: Endgame.