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In Avengers Assemble season 2 episode 12, Widow's Run, Natasha holds four Infinity Stones to defeat Dormammu (that series is actually great, btw).

Natasha wielding four Infinity Stones in the episode “Widow’s Run”

How was she able to do that, if only highly powerful beings in the MCU could bear those, like Thanos, Loki (only one on his scepter) and the assembled Guardians of the Galaxy (but only a single stone)?

Was it her "discipline of the mind" as Thor puts it? Is Russian spy academy training that powerful, or is there something else to it?

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  • It's not MCU work, and even there, it was different then people think. Only what was contained in the center of the Orb (later isolated in the form of the Power Stone) was actually shown shown to destroy just one person for reasons unsure. Better forget stupid Ego talk.
    – Mithoron
    Feb 1, 2022 at 20:25

1 Answer 1

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Although this series was inspired by the first MCU Avengers film, it isn't set within the MCU. Instead, it's apparently set in the same universe as the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series, which was designated Earth-12041 in Secret Wars: Official Guide to the Marvel Multiverse #1.

Since it isn't set within the MCU, the Infinity Stones in this series can be somewhat different from the ones in the MCU. They're clearly not exactly the same, as these stones speak to people around them, attempting to seduce and corrupt them, which doesn't apply in the MCU.

Also, these Infinity Stones don't have the same colour designations as the ones in the MCU. In Avengers Assemble S02E13, we see Thanos using individual stones, and the Time Stone is shown to be orange in this universe, whereas it's green in the MCU. The Mind Stone is shown to be blue in this universe, whereas it's yellow in the MCU. And the Space Stone is shown to be purple in this universe, whereas it's blue in the MCU.

In the universe the mainline comics are set it -- Earth-616 -- the Infinity Stones (or Infinity Gems, as they're also called in the comics) aren't portrayed as being directly harmful to the wielder, the way they are in the MCU. For example, in She-Hulk Vol. 1 #12, She-Hulk was able to wield the Power Gem in her human form, Jennifer Walters, without feeling any pain or sustaining any injury.

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She-Hulk Vol. 1 #12 (April, 2005)

It seems likely then that the Infinity Stones in the Avengers Assemble animated series take after the ones in the comics, in this respect, rather than the ones in the MCU. Natasha's S.H.I.E.L.D. training was given as the reason that she could resist the stones' corrupting influence, but it doesn't make sense to think that this would also allow her to resist being physically harmed by the stones.

WIDOW: Hulk, these stones. They corrupted Tony and they'll do the same to anyone who comes in contact with them.

HULK: Yeah, like you.

WIDOW: No. My S.H.I.E.L.D. training can keep the stones from taking over my mind, but not for long.

Avengers Assemble - S02E12 - "Widow's Run"

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  • The soul stone is also missing. Besides, there's a lot of inconsistency in this show. Captain America nearly died grabbing the power stone on episode 1 of season 2 (and the wave of energy it unleashed destroyed all the robots that even Hulk had trouble smashing). Another scene at the beginning of season 2 depicts Hulk struggling to grab the power stone and feed it into a robot (because it's too powerful). Later on, Dr. Spectrum is shown to struggle using the reality stone to alter reality, to the point he requires a device to help him. Then Black Widow uses 4 stones without straining at all.
    – Clockwork
    Jan 31, 2022 at 21:30
  • This video is a bit glitchy, but it's the aforementioned scene with Captain nearly dying: youtu.be/IjPUNKrIa9c?t=63
    – Clockwork
    Jan 31, 2022 at 21:46
  • A great answer nonetheless... many Earths to be considered, makes me think a lot about many weirds things... Is there's an Earth where the stones are powerless? Is there's an Earth that has been destroyed as soon as a stone arrived here? So much to consider...
    – Arc
    Feb 1, 2022 at 4:19

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