Does MCU Infinity Gauntlet with Stones/Gems operate differently than the comic book version?

Question

With respect to the MCU Infinity Gauntlet (IG) coupled with all 6 Infinity Stones, imagine if there was an operations guide or tutorial on how to use it, both the IG and Stones together. Based on my observations, these are the 3 guidelines which would make up said guide/tutorial:

1. The Stone must be explicitly activated. It glows/lights up when in use.
2. Only one Stone can be used at a time with one exception...
3. The lone exception is the "snap", which requires all 6 Infinity Stones.

That's it. I've seen Endgame only once, thus far, but I don't believe Thanos has ever tried or successfully used 2, 3, 4, or 5 Stones at once. We also haven't seen if there are other feats which can be employed with all 6 Stones, other than the "snap". The IG is treated as something you must activate, as opposed to an extension of your own being.

Looks like MCU Thanos has used more than one stone at a time, at least in Avengers: Infinity War. See answer below for more details.

In the comics, there's no limit on how few or how many of the 6 gems can be used. You can use 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or all 6 at once. Also, my recollection is the IG is always "on". There's no need to activate it. It's as if the powers are integral to your own being.

I can't picture MCU Thanos w/IG and stones performing the same feats as comic book Thanos w/IG and gems, not because MCU Thanos couldn't if he had enough time and study to master its use, but perhaps the MCU places limits on how the IG w/stones are used. Its use is restrictive, basically. Maybe I'm wrong.

Those are my observations.

Is it that MCU Thanos is a novice at using the IG w/stones and hasn't attained mastery knowledge of how to property use both in tandem and has only scratched the surface or the MCU IG w/stones are innately less versatile than the comic book version of the IG w/gems?

Answer 1

First of all, Thanos has used multiple stones at the same time, there just hasn't been that many occasions in which he needed to. As seen during the Battle of Wakanda, he can usually get away with using one stone to dispatch of a normal human, as he did with Okoye, Groot, War Machine, Black Panther, etc.

For example, during his battle with Dr. Strange, he used the Soul and Power stones to break free from Strange's restraining spell. Also, as Thanos was about to kill Tony Stark, he started to use all four Infinity Stones, rather than all six, presumably to make an energy beam. Finally, in general, he uses the Power Stone in conjunction with another stone. I'm sure there's been other occasions, but these sticks out in particular.

Here's my question: Is it that MCU Thanos is a novice at using the IG w/stones and hasn't attained mastery knowledge of how to property use both in tandem and has only scratched the surface or the MCU IG w/stones are innately less versatile than the comic book version of the IG w/gems?

I don't think he's a novice, quite the opposite: When he gets a new stone, he almost instantly knows how to use it, no training montage needed. Whether that's because he just studied the Infinity Stones prior to using them, or if the Mind Stone gave him that knowledge, we don't know for certain. However, we do know that people who don't know how to use an Infinity Stone typically try to use it as a power source. The Tesseract was used as a power source twice before the Avengers got it: Once during WWII by the Nazis, and again in the 90s by the Skrulls. The Skrulls in particular were trying to develop a lightspeed drive. If they knew how to use an Infinity Stone, they could've used the Tesseract directly and completed their mission instantly.

As far as artificial limitations, the exact limitations of the Infinity Stones, the rules that govern them, etc. are never covered in detail in any canon MCU material, as far as I'm aware.