The Tesseract

A blue cube containing the Space Stone, and the single most-handled object in the timeline.

Hands it passed through: 4
Seen in: 8 entries

What it is

Odin leaves it on Earth. A Norwegian church keeps it for centuries. Schmidt takes it in 1942, Howard Stark fishes it out of the Arctic in 1945, S.H.I.E.L.D. runs a weapons programme on it, Loki opens a portal with it, Thor takes it to Asgard, Loki takes it back off Asgard, Thanos crushes it, and a version of Loki still ends up with it in 2012 because Tony Stark dropped a briefcase.

What it touches

Caused

Where it turns up

Canonical timeline · 8 entries

Notes are veiled until you track what you have watched, or switch spoilers off in the header.

World War II

1943

Captain America: The First Avenger
2011 · First appearance

Schmidt takes it from Tønsberg; it goes into the Arctic with the Valkyrie.

Before the Age of Heroes

1995

Captain Marvel
2019 · Major role

Mar-Vell's lightspeed engine. Goose swallows it.

The Age of Heroes

2011

Thor
2011 · Cameo

In Fury's hands in the post-credits scene, being described as "unlimited power".
The Avengers
2012 · Major role

Powers the portal over New York. Thor takes it back to Asgard.

The Sokovia Accords

2017

Thor: Ragnarok
2017 · Cameo

Loki pockets it from Odin's vault on the way out.

The Snap

2018

Avengers: Infinity War
2018 · Destroyed

Thanos crushes the casing to get at the stone inside.

The Endgame

2023

Avengers: Endgame
2019 · Major role

2012 — the Time Heist loses it, which is where the Loki series starts.

Outside time

Loki
2021 · Supporting · 0/12 ep

Beyond the screen1 from the comics · click to open

From the comics

It is the Cosmic Cube

In print it is a wish-granting device that reshapes reality for whoever holds it — the Red Skull's signature weapon and the engine of Secret Empire. The films demote it to a battery containing the Space Stone, which is a much smaller idea.

Tales of Suspense #79 (1966), Stan Lee and Jack Kirby