Where is the Soul Stone? (Updated)

by Elijah Varner
With Thor: Ragnarok approaching faster by the minute, the question on everyone's mind is...where is the last Infinity Stone? And also mourning the loss of Chris Hemsworth's golden locks. But that's beside the point. While some may say that the Soul Stone will appear in Black Panther (black people = soul music = soul stone. Come on, Internet, that's insensitive.), I believe that it will indeed appear in Ragnarok. But not as Heimdall or Mjolnir, which are both heavily supported theories. Instead, let's delve into a little Norse lore.
Yggdrisil....Rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? (igg-drih-sill, for the pronunciation challenged) In Norse Mythology, Yggdrisil, the tree of life, holds all the nine realms together, as a literal giant tree. In the Marvel take on the subject, the tree has only been referenced, and partly shown on Heimdall's chest plate in Thor: The Dark World. Speaking of said chest plate, the stone is shown hovering above the tree on his armor. Interesting...

 (Heimdall's chest plate, pictured above)

Going back to the Norse, the tree is replenished by Odin's big nap, the Odinsleep. Now, we know that the Odinsleep is Marvel canon, as shown in the first Thor installment. It's worth noting that while he sleeps, orange energy seems to encompass him as he rests. The plot thickens...

(Odin's crib, pictured above)

Here's a bit of lore that has not been featured thus far in the MCU. We all know that Odin lost his eye in an epic battle with the Frost Giants of Jotunheim (seriously, if you haven't watched the Thor movies and are still reading this, do yourself a favor and watch it so I don't have to keep writing explanations). What the MCU hasn't shown is that in Norse mythos and choice Marvel storylines, Odin can see all with an eye that he puts behind the patch, hence the term, "the All-Seeing Odin".

Now, switching to comic book lore, the Soul Stone has been depicted as one the Infinity Stones that is a condensed ingot of all the life force in the universe. It has been shown to either revive or kill people, to absorb individuals into the stone fully, and be able to see whether a soul is good or evil. It has also been known to have an insatiable desire to consume souls. Once a soul has been consumed, that soul can be released when the user of the stone changes, or when the user decides to release them.

Now, this sounds a bit like Heimdall, doesn't it? After all he is a being that can see all the souls of the universe. In orange vision. It's understandable that one might think that he is the Soul Stone. Kind of. A new theory, which I am completely invested in, is that Odin replaced his lost eye with the Soul Stone. The Soul Stone's desire to feed off life force could only be handled by an immortal being such as himself. It's very possible that he gifted Heimdall his power as well. This also may explain why Asgardians live so much longer than humans, because they are feeding directly from the Soul Stone. It's a theory I've read today that definitely piques my interest.

So how does this tie into Ragnarok? Well, we already know that Cate Blanchett's Hela will be the primary antagonist of the movie, along with Skurge the Executioner and Surtur the fire demon. It's not hard to realize why a goddess of death would want to have a relic that controls the flow of all life in the universe. We already have seen images of Asgard being consumed by some orange-colored explosion.

(Things don't look good for Asgard, folks...)
My theory is that the beginning of the movie, after a dramatic flashback of some sort, will find Thor and Loki looking for their father on Earth. We've already seen pictures of Odin dressed as a homeless man in the Big Apple, as well of shots of Thor and Loki in casual clothes. I think they'll be met by a certain death goddess first, who has claimed the Soul Stone through some vile means, and uses it to destroy the Mighty Mjolnir. After that, it's a mystery. We know that Thor ends up in a gladiator match, puts together a team, so on. It'll be a wild rollercoaster ride filled with humor and action. That's the vibe I've been getting. I have faith in this director, for we've seen his take on the character in Team Thor. And all I can say is, I'm pumped.

Thor: Ragnarok premieres in the US on November 3, and features Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Karl Urban, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Idris Elba and Anthony Hopkins, and is directed by Taika Waititi.

Thor: Ragnarok Official Trailer #2 (2017)

Team Thor Part 1 and 2 (2017)

Where do you think the Soul Stone is? Let me know in the comments below: