Note: Post spoilers Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has brought a lot of interesting details related to characters, treasures and a series of big events in the Marvel comics. One of them is the Illuminati – a secret organization that gathers the “most powerful” superheroes to decide the fate of the world. The most unfortunate thing is that the broadcast time of the Illuminati (in reality Earth-838) in this film is too short, and they only play a dual role in Strange’s multiverse adventure.
So how did the Illuminati come to be and how influential is in the Marvel universe?
The origin of the Illuminati in the comics
As mentioned above, the Illuminati is a secret organization consisting of the most influential superheroes in the world: The Ultimate Wizard Stephen Strange; King of the Inhumans, Black Bolt; X-Men founder and mutant rights activist, Charles Xavier; Emperor of Atlantis, Namor the Sub-Mariner; Fantastic Four founding member, Reed Richards; and the original member of the Avengers, Tony Stark. These 6 superheroes have teamed up to “shape” and shape the world state of humanity.
Tony Stark was the one who proposed the idea of Illuminati to T’Challa (Black Panther) after the Kree – Skrull war ended. Stark wants to create an organization strong enough to unite all different superhero teams, ready to face similar threats in the future. In the end, Stark’s idea was scaled back a bit, with the number of members significantly reduced. These members will secretly share information and together decide to solve major problems, including the return of the Sentry. However, T’Challa decided not to join the Illuminati.
The first 6 members of the Illuminati.
The Illuminati worked quite smoothly, until Tony Stark decided to trick the Hulk and push the green giant into space, to a planet far from Earth. This decision led Namor to leave the organization because of dissent. Meanwhile, Charles Xavier disappeared after the events of House of M. Stark tried to save the situation by drafting the Superhuman Registration Act to prevent future civil wars, but the majority of the members. The rest disagree. The Illuminati is officially disbanded.
However, when the Avengers discovered a Skrull masquerading as the Elektra assassin, Stark regrouped the organization. However, when they were still struggling to know how to solve the new problem, they were immediately attacked with another Skrull who transformed into Black Bolt. Despite successfully stopping the alien conspiracy, the seeds of suspicion have been planted in the hearts of the Illuminati superheroes, making them unable to trust each other as before.
Illuminati in the MCU
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Strange had the opportunity to meet the Illuminati of the Earth-838 universe. Similar to the comics, this organization will secretly vote and make decisions on the most serious issues, such as the punishment for Strange and America Chavez for traveling through the universe and possibly causing a phenomenon. encroachment, leaving at least one reality on the brink of total destruction. Unlike Earth-616, the Illuminati here have been active for quite a long time, since before the infinity battle with Thanos broke out.
Besides, the members of this organization also have many changes compared to the comics. Stephen Strange, who used both the Darkhold and Vishanti books in Earth-838, is the founder of the Illuminati. He is the one who has traveled to other universes to find a way to defeat the mad Titan, and then cause an entire reality to collapse. The Illuminati then decided to kill Strange to prevent the dangers his arrogant, independent nature could pose in the future.
Other members of this organization include Baron Mordo – Strange’s close brother (but not enemies) in the Earth-838 universe; Charles Xavier, Professor X of the previous X-Men franchise; Peggy Carter/Captain Carter, who was given the super soldier serum on behalf of Steve Rogers; Maria Rambeau – Captain Marvel of Earth-838; Black Bolt, leader of the Inhumans who can knock down an entire building with a whisper; and Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards, dubbed “the smartest man in the world”.
The Future of the Illuminati in the MCU
The appearance of the Illuminati secret society in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness did make a lot of fans excited, but that joy lasted only a few minutes. Most of the members of this organization were immediately “wiped out” by the Scarlet Witch and murdered in many barbaric ways.
However, let’s not forget that this is the Illuminati of the Earth-838 universe, while the main MCU timeline is Earth-616. Not excluding the possibility that after what has been experienced in the multiverse journey, Doctor Strange will consider and form the Illuminati for his universe. Several future Marvel Studios projects are supporting this theory, including the Secret War series, when the Skrulls invade Earth; Fantastic Four, which will bring Earth-616’s Reed Richards to the big screen; The Marvels, when Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau reunite; and especially the X-Men mutants are closer to this cinematic universe than ever.
According to Collider