The first appearance of an Infinity Gem occurred in 1972 in "Marvel Premiere" #1. It was originally called a "Soul Gem". In 1976, a second "Soul Gem" appeared in a "Captain Marvel" story which established that there were six Soul Gems, each with different powers. One year later, two more "Soul Gems" were introduced in a Warlock crossover involving Spider-Man. The full set of six Gems appeared when the death-obsessed villain Thanos attempted to use them to extinguish every star in the universe. In a 1988 storyline in "Silver Surfer" vol. 3, the Elders of the Universe tried to use the "Soul Gems" to steal the energy of the world-eating entity Galactus.