In the films, the Tesseract was the container for the Space Stone. But as a container, it was itself a priceless treasure, and Earth had always possessed substances very close to it:
Vibranium, as well as the New Element in Tony's chest that his father had discovered.
The New Element Howard Stark had discovered came from the Pegasus Project itself, a research project focused on the Tesseract. It could provide immense energy, but was also extremely expensive to produce.
This element was precisely an isotope of the Tesseract, and was even closely related to Vibranium.
However, the former held a major advantage in energy applications and was highly advanced, while Vibranium had broader applications in materials science and could also be converted into an energy supply.
Overall, though, neither came close to matching the Tesseract's functionality. That was the material's most complete form, capable of continuously absorbing the energy released by the Space Stone and harnessing its unique effects on space.
Harry even suspected that Wakanda's Vibranium might have been defective material from the creation of the Tesseract that had, by some coincidence, crashed into Wakanda.
Now, the hollow shell of the Tesseract sat in the center of the laboratory.
"I know this thing," Eitri said. "Odin once used the Tesseract to provide energy for Asgard and transport armies—before the Bifrost was built."
"I know it too," Tony said. "My father was researching it seventy years ago. I didn't expect it to end up in my hands again."
Eitri glanced at Tony and said casually, "That was probably more than five thousand years ago. I can't remember clearly."
Tony's momentum immediately deflated—but would he admit his own shortcomings over that? Of course not.
Tony glanced at Eitri, then pulled Harry aside and said, "So you went out for a stroll