Strictly speaking, did Steve really even *need* to put the Soul stone back when he was returning all the others?

Oddly enough, this occurred to me in the shower earlier today, of all places. But so like the whole idea was, thanks in part to the chat that Bruce has with the Ancient One, they're worried of all these branches of alternate realities being allowed to fester and grow from where the Avengers take the stones in the middle act of END GAME. But does that really need to also be the case for the Soul stone in particular? I mean you could even say that it's *meant* to be taken, by someone, anyway. It doesn't have some active purpose in the current spot it is, at Vormir. There's even this special "rule" that's established for anyone who wants to try to take it. And we know that it's not like it being put back is going to reverse or undo Natasha's death anyway, she's gone no matter what. If anything, arguably what Thanos does at the start of EG is way worse, because he takes it off the board entirely (along with all the rest), if Steve never physically puts it back there it's still existing within the bounds of the universe.

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matty_nice2025-10-08 01:49

It's been a while since I've seen the movie, but what's the reason for returning the stones? Those branches would be better off if they didn't have the stones, cause Thanos could never Snap in their future.

ubutterscotchpine2025-10-08 01:56

Pretty sure returning the stones means those branches never existed in the first place.

FerrusManlyManus2025-10-08 02:00

That means the life that was there got all snuffed out and the Avengers are bigger mass murderers than Thanos.

__wasitacatisaw__2025-10-08 02:04

Can’t really snuff out the lives of a branch if it never existed in the first place

ubutterscotchpine2025-10-08 03:01

Yeah I don’t think the branches ever existed, because the stones were always returned to before they were even taken, meaning they were never taken in the first place.

FerrusManlyManus2025-10-08 03:34

Think for more than two seconds. The Avengers spent *time* in all of these branches. These people in the branches existed. If they vanish all these people get snuffed out.

ubutterscotchpine2025-10-08 12:31

Except they didn’t, because the stones were returned to BEFORE they were taken. You clearly didn’t pay attention when Bruce and the Ancient One were talking in Endgame did you?

FerrusManlyManus2025-10-08 13:21

How does that make any sense at all? If they are “returned” before they are taken, then there would be two stones.

ubutterscotchpine2025-10-08 14:34

No there isn’t, because they end up being taken by the Avengers. So the world never knows a time without the stone in it and it’s as though the stone was never taken in the first place. Literally just watch the one scene that explains this in the movie lol. It’s spelled out for you. Really. Ancient One draws a diagram and everything. It cannot be clearer.

FerrusManlyManus2025-10-08 14:42

Write the scene then. Where they return a stone “before” it is taken.

FerrusManlyManus2025-10-08 18:04

But they do exist. The Avengers, our heroes, interacted with them. We saw that in the movie. Are you saying all those scenes are lies?

__wasitacatisaw__2025-10-08 19:57

Examples?

FerrusManlyManus2025-10-08 20:19

Every single time the Avengers “time traveled” to go on the “time heist” they are interacting with sentient beings in a branch timeline.

__wasitacatisaw__2025-10-08 20:46

Which consequently never happened

FerrusManlyManus2025-10-08 21:10

Except they all did happen. We literally saw it happen.

You’re very very silly.

__wasitacatisaw__2025-10-08 21:19

And then it didn’t

matty_nice2025-10-08 05:55

Wasn't the point that time travel automatically resulted in a new branch? AKA not Back to the Future rules?

ubutterscotchpine2025-10-08 12:28

Yes, but see my comment below, because the Avengers return the stones to before they were taken, there never was a new branch that could start, because the stones were never taken in the first place.

matty_nice2025-10-08 19:24

That's a clear violation of the time travel rules the film established. Once they went back in time, a branch started. So regardless if they brought the stones back, that timeline branch would still exist.

The Russos have even explained it. When you go back in time, you create a different timeline. It's not a loop.

ubutterscotchpine2025-10-08 19:52

Literally explained in Endgame. I don’t think it matters what anyone says when it was literally written IN the movie 😂 why is everyone arguing this? Just go watch the movie, dear lord.

matty_nice2025-10-09 02:23

The movie literally explained that it's not a loop. It's not the Back to the Future Rules. Lol.

FerrusManlyManus2025-10-08 02:02

The Ancient One almost flat out said a universe without a stone becomes unstable / screwed. So they put them back because they aren’t jerks.

matty_nice2025-10-08 05:57

Her quotes:

"I'm sorry, I can't help you, Bruce. If I give up the Time Stone to help your reality, I'm dooming my own."

"The Infinity Stones create what you experience as the flow of time. Remove one stone and that flow splits. Now, this may benefit your reality but my new one, not so much. In this new branched reality, without our chief weapon against the forces of darkness, our world will be over run. Millions will suffer. So, tell me Doctor, can your science prevent all that?"

Kinda vague. I didn't take it to mean the world was automatically unstable.

Realistic_Analyst_262025-10-08 13:17

Without the time stone how would they stop Dormammu? Thats the kind of shit she is talking about.

matty_nice2025-10-08 19:19

Dormammu needed a pretty long series of events to even attack Earth in the Dr Strange film. He wasn't some all powerful being where the only thing stopping him was the time stone.

Realistic_Analyst_262025-10-08 19:23

So? Strange in the Sacred Timeline needed the time stone. Without it Dormmamu would have won. That is something we know for sure.

Romnonaldao2025-10-08 02:00

Yes. It being on a secret world where no one can get to it doesn't mean it isn't important to the workings of the universe

juances192025-10-08 02:01

I mean, technically sure he could just dig a hole in the desert and dump all the stones there.

But the idea is that they should cause the least disturbance possible to the timeline because there's no way to know how even the slightest change could have a butterfly effect and cause a bigger problem down the line. (granted it's no longer 100% possible due to Loki teleporting away and Thanos chasing after them)

N8CCRG2025-10-08 02:25

If he doesn't return it, then when Thanos shows up to sacrifice Gamora, it's not there for him to get it. Thus it would create a branched timeline. Steve doesn't know what that really means (the TVA coming in and pruning stuff), but he knows it's bad.

Belteshazzar982025-10-08 03:11

Thanos ain't ever showing up for that stone. Or any stone. That is from the 2014 timeline that 2014 Thanos and his army came from, which were wiped out by Tony's snap. And the Gamora from that timeline stayed with the Ravagers in the Sacred Time.

CheerfulLonewolf552025-10-08 07:54

Well, that Thanos is dead and Gamora is with Ravegers in the current timeline so I’m sure that timeline is screwed regardless. I’d love to see what happens to the world where the snap didn’t happen though.

knightress_oxhide2025-10-08 06:45

he couldn't have done anything else

Gilded-Mongoose2025-10-08 08:02

The Chesterton Fence applies to every stone.

hell20_2025-10-08 08:57

The real question is how he placed the orb containing the power stone (forgot it's name) back into its place without burning his hand

Endgam2025-10-08 12:32

"Welcome Steve, son of..... a bitch! You're still alive!"

SinginGidget2025-10-08 20:01

I think the issue is that they took it out of the timeline. Normally a person who gets it, takes it to do whatever, but they exist linearly. Where as Clint and Nat jumped back before Thanos got it, and then took it to the future, so all Steve really has to do is get it back to the time it was taken from. I feel like the Soul Stone just makes it back to Voromir on it's own. (Which I guess could be a way around the problem of "what did Steve say when he saw the Red Skull?" question if he just didn't have to.)