Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 May Have Finally Completed the T.H.A.N.O.S. Theory

Since the premiere of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, word has gotten out on quite a few developments taking place in the #MarvelCinematicUniverse. Some of the more intriguing developments pertain to the Infinity Stones and how they'll factor into next year's Avengers: Infinity War.

The last remaining Infinity Stone to be revealed is the Soul Stone, and it just so happens that the Soul Stone was teased briefly during one of the post-credits scene in #GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2.

The Last Infinity Stone, the Soul Stone, Was Revealed in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

If you stuck around after the credits, you witnessed a scene involving Ayesha speaking to one of her subordinates about the next stage in their evolution. The camera pans up from Ayesha to what she's looking at — what appears to be a sarcophagus. In actuality, it's Adam Warlock's cocoon. Just as his cocoon appeared in the comics, the Soul Stone has been implanted in its head, indicated by a glowing light that corresponds with the color of the Soul Stone in the MCU.

More importantly, now that we've seen the Soul Stone for the first time, it might just confirm the T.H.A.N.O.S. theory.

The T.H.A.N.O.S. Theory asserts that each of the Infinity Stones in the #MCU belongs to a vessel. Each of the stones and vessels already unveiled have matched up with their corresponding letter in the word "THANOS," except one "H," which brings us back to the Soul Stone. Check out the video below for a better picture:

How Does Adam Warlock's Cocoon Fit into the Missing 'H' Slot?

How can Warlock's cocoon correspond with the letter "H"? There may be no "H" in the name Adam Warlock or in the word "cocoon," but there is a big "H" in the name "HIM." The name HIM is Adam Warlock's alias in the comics.

In the comics, when Adam Warlock is first birthed by the Beehive, they give Warlock the name HIM. It isn't until the High Evolutionary finds Warlock's cocoon and he's reborn with the Soul Stone embedded in his forehead that he's finally given the name Adam Warlock.

With Warlock's previous name being accounted for, it does seem like the T.H.A.N.O.S. theory was right after all. Since Warlock is essentially the container for the Soul Stone, his namesake is evidence enough for us to claim that Adam Warlock a.k.a. HIM is the letter "H."

There's just one fly in the ointment; Warlock himself isn't set to appear in Avengers: Infinity War. When recently asked if we could expect to see Warlock in the fight against Thanos, Kevin Feige said:

"He’s not in 'Infinity War'. But he will be a part of the future Marvel cosmic universe and a pretty important part of that."

This could be a misdirect on Feige's part, but more than likely than not, this will prove to be true. However, Warlock doesn't actually need to be present for Thanos to get the Soul Stone. It's possible that in the MCU, the Soul Gem powers Warlock's cocoon and his incubation, but not actually Warlock himself once he emerges. Infinity War will take place 4 years after the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2; it's possible Warlock will have emerged from his pupa stage by this point. The Sovereigns would, hypothetically, still be in possession of the Soul Gem, but Thanos could obtain it from them without us actually seeing the results of their experiments until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

If the T.H.A.N.O.S. theory does turn out to in fact be a hidden Easter Egg for fans to figure out, that would mean #Marvel has been prepping their assembly of the Infinity Gauntlet since the first appearance of #Thanos. Nevertheless, confirmation of the Soul Stone implanted in Adam Warlock's head provides the last piece of the puzzle, proving the T.H.A.N.O.S. theory correct.