Tesseract (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

The Tesseract, also called the Cube, was a crystalline cube-shaped containment vessel for the Space Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones that predate the universe and possess unlimited energy. It was used by various ancient civilizations before coming into Asgardian hands, kept inside Odin's Vault. Eventually, it was brought to Earth and left in Tønsberg, where it was guarded by devout Asgardian worshipers.

In 1942, the Tesseract was retrieved by Johann Schmidt, the leader of HYDRA, who used the Tesseract to power enhanced weaponry in order to defeat the Allies during World War II. Following Schmidt's defeat at the hands of Captain America in 1945, the Tesseract fell into Arctic waters, where it was recovered by Howard Stark. The Tesseract was then kept at Camp Lehigh in New Jersey, where it remained until at least 1970.

Spending decades attempting to harness its power, Stark eventually helped foundProject P.E.G.A.S.U.S., to whom he relinquished custody of the Tesseract in the 1980s. Mar-Vell, an undercover Kree, joined P.E.G.A.S.U.S. and harnessed the Tesseract's power to create the Light-Speed Engine to assist the Skrulls in their war against the Kree and took possession of the Tesseract, storing it in her laboratory in orbit. In 1989, Yon-Rogg killed Lawson, causing pilot Carol Danvers to destroy the engine, as she was doused in Tesseract energy. Six years later, Danvers, now Captain Marvel, recovered the Tesseract from Lawson's laboratory and relinquished custody of it to S.H.I.E.L.D.

It remained in their possession until 2012, when it was stolen by Loki who used the Tesseract to open a wormhole and allow the Chitauri to invade New York City. Following the Battle of New York, the Tesseract was acquired by Thor, who brought the Tesseract and Loki back with him to Asgard.

After using the Tesseract to repair the Rainbow Bridge, Odintasked Heimdall, the realm's gatekeeper, with the task of protecting the Tesseract. However, after Loki usurped the throne and disguised himself as Odin, he charged Heimdall with treason, forcing the gatekeeper to flee, while the Tesseract was placed within Odin's vault once more.

During the destruction of Asgard, Loki noticed the Tesseract and took it for himself before the vault, along with the planet, were destroyed. Thanos later acquired the Tesseract and crushed it to unveil the Space Stone within and then inserted the stone into his Infinity Gauntlet.