The Infinity Gauntlet’s had a bit of a messy history in the MCU so far, with various plot holes and explanations contradicting each other.
First, it was glimpsed in Odin’s trophy room in Thor. Which was all good fun, until the Mad Titan was revealed to have it in Age of Ultron. This discrepancy was then cleared up when Ragnarok revealed that Odin’s was a fake. However, that now makes no sense after Avengers: Infinity War‘s explanation that Thanos’ Gauntlet was only created fairly recently.
It’s convoluted enough to stump even Tony Stark, and while a recent theory did attempt to make sense of it all – and did a pretty good job, no less – a new theory puts forth the idea of what if Odin’s Gauntlet isn’t actually a fake? Or at least, not completely a fake. You see, what this theory suggests is that only the gems on it aren’t real. The Gauntlet itself, though, is entirely genuine.
Here’s what user JMStrum has to say:
I know in Thor: Ragnarok Hela calls the gauntlet in Odin’s Vault a fake but I think there is a reason for this. It is not becasue the Gauntlet ITSELF is fake, only the gems that adorn it are fake (mimicking the Infinity Stones) My Theory is that Odin had Eitri make him a gauntlet, So he could gather the stones back when he was in his conqueror days with Hela.
Back then Odin would have seen the power of the Stones as a weapon to use in his conquests. He had it made for his right hand so he could still wield Gungnir in his left. Odin after all was a Warrior. When he decided to stop his conquest, he locked it away in the vault. The gems were added just as decoration to fill the holes that were meant for the Infinity Stones. When Hela calls it fake, it is because it is JUST a gauntlet not the Infinity Gauntlet with any power.
Continuing on, he writes:
Plus the very sight of it angers her, as she knew of the plan before Odin abandoned it. She either didn’t think she needed it’s power or didn’t think she needed it’s ability to harness the power. The story of the Gauntlet spread over time, and that is why Thanos knew to go to Eitri in the first place, though Thanos had it made for his left hand so, with out a weapon he could hit with the right.
Given that this is simply a fan theory and nothing more, it’s best to take it with a grain of salt. That being said, JMStrum does make some good points. Not to mention that since it’s unlikely that Avengers 4 or some other future MCU movie will bother to explain away these inconsistencies, it’s up to us to work out the story behind them, anyways.
Between this Odin’s Gauntlet theory and the last one, though, we’re happy to call the mystery a closed case (as either can be a plausible explanation). Now, if someone can just explain that Spider-Man: Homecoming timeline discrepancy, we’ll be home and dry…