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TheInfinity Watch is the name of three fictional organizations appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The first version of Infinity Watch was gathered inWarlock and the Infinity Watch #1, and starred in that series until it ended with issue #42. The six members were the self-appointed guardians of theInfinity Gems, which were each given to a single member in order to safeguard against anyone else assembling them into the Infinity Gauntlet.

WhenAdam Warlock obtains possession of the all-powerful Infinity Gauntlet (that contained the sixInfinity Gems) fromThanos, he is ordered by theLiving Tribunal to separate the Gems so that they might never be used in conjunction again.^[1] Warlock forms the Infinity Watch, entrusting each member with an Infinity Gem to protect (keeping the identity of the sixth member a secret even from his fellow Infinity Watch-members). Under the Gauntlet's influence, Warlock is not in his right mind, and even he wondered if he had made the right choices later on.

Initially, Warlock did not intend for the Watch to become a team; he believes the gems would be safer if they were all kept separately, but Warlock's old enemy, theMan-Beast, abducts four Infinity Watch members and manipulated their gems in an attempt to destroy Warlock. After the Man-Beast is defeated, the Infinity Watch chose to stay together as a heroic team, except for Thanos. However, Thanos, having undergone a period of humility after the Infinity Gauntlet affair, did not abuse his gem, but kept it safe.

Warlock negotiates a deal with theMole Man to use a castle on Monster Island as the Watch's base. With help fromThe Avengers and Warlock, theUnited Nations recognize the Mole Man's sovereignty of Monster Island (after a fatality-free battle with the Watch). The Infinity Watch goes on to deal with many other foes, most of them interested in the power the Gems could confer on their owner. Other opponents had personal interests in the Infinity Watch members.

Anamnesic man appears on Monster Island and was taken in by the Watch despite Gamora's warnings. Gamora, holding the Time Gem, has visions of this man killing Adam Warlock. The Watch names the man Maxam after a symbol found on his belt and he joins the Watch, despite a violent outburst against Warlock.

The Watch also becomes involved in the events ofThe Infinity War andThe Infinity Crusade, both stemming from the events ofThe Infinity Gauntlet.

A while later Gamora leaves the team after an argument with Adam Warlock. Maxam became the new Guardian of the Time Gem. This causes his memories to return; he is under the belief that Warlock is a danger to his homeworld. Under Moondragon's telepathic influence, Maxam believes that he had broken Warlock's neck and returned to his own world.

Meanwhile, the being known as Rune steals all the Infinity Gems and took them to theUltraverse. With Gamora, Maxam and the gems gone, the Watch disbands. Although the gems are eventually returned to the Marvel Universe, the Watch has not been fully reestablished yet; however, Adam Warlock, Gamora, and Pip were shown attempting to overthrow theChampion of the Universe's rule of the planet Skardon in the 2004–2005She-Hulk series, and at one point recruited Drax to aid in their efforts.

At the end of the "Infinity Countdown" storyline, Doctor Strange used a magic spell to speak to the holders of the Infinity Gems and requested a parley to reform the Infinity Watch. He states to Adam Warlock, Black Widow's clone, Captain Marvel, Star-Lord, and Turk Barrett that they need to safeguard them from such calamities even if one of them is Thanos.^[2]

In order to retrieve her soul piece that was trapped in the Soulworld, Gamora using the alias of Requiem, stole the Infinity Stones from Doctor Strange's Infinity Watch, but ended being corrupted by her father's influence and the seductive power of the Infinity Stones. She uses the Infinity Stones, and the Soul Stone, in particular, to not only recover her missing soul but also fold the universe into itself, combining every two souls into a single being. This resulted in the creation of “warped” characters with Loki to be the only one who wasn't merged with another character since he was beside Requiem, nevertheless, before he was placed into this new reality afterward, he was able to lightly influence her while she was committing the act so he could dupe his own version of the Infinity Watch within the Soul World.

To prevent the Infinity Stones from being stolen, Adam Warlock gave them a free will so they can choose their own Infinity Watch. The Soul Stone created the Mergiverse, a pocket multiverse that is home of the Secret Warps; the Time Stone choseHector Bautista / Overtime, a Texan inmate convicted for a murder that he didn't commit; the Reality Stone choseRipley Ryan / Star, a former journalist turned supervillainess; the Space Stone choseQuantum, a human test subject used by his bossAssessor; the Power Stone choseApex/Prince of Power, a Musculan from the planet Muscula; the Soul Stone chose a robot named Ward who becameMultitude; the Mind Stone chose a human named Worldmind before he was killed by Thanos and came into the possession ofColleen Wing; and the newly-created Death Stone revivedPhil Coulson and chose him as its wielder.

A team called the Infinity Watch exists in the year 3193, first appearing inUncanny Avengers #16. Led byImmortus, it includesCaptain Marvel,Silver Surfer,Martinex,Yondu,Starhawk,Adam Warlock, and theVision with the power ofThe Phoenix.

In the 2017 video gameMarvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, in a scheme concocted byJedah Dohma andMistress Death to combine both theMarvel Universe and theCapcommultiverse to bring about equilibrium, utilizing the Infinity Stones, they enlist the help ofThanos andUltron in infiltratingAbel City. However, he is intercepted bySigma, and they form an alliance, betraying Thanos and utilizing the Space Stone and Reality Stone to fuse intoUltron-Sigma, and succeeds in combining the Marvel and Capcom realities. After defeating Ultron-Sigma by the end of the game, the Reality Stone is cracked, thus rendering the restoration and separation of the combined realities impossible. Now with no choice but live on the unified world, the heroes resolve to individually protect the Stones one by one to prevent them from ever being used again, as to avert a similar disaster from happening ever again, paralleling the Infinity Watch's purpose.

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