- “The Illuminati will see you now.”
- ―Baron Mordo to Doctor Strange[src]
The Illuminati are a superhero team from the Marvel Comics that appeared in the 2022 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Background
- “Your alternate self created the Illuminati to make difficult decisions, no one else could.”
- ―Captain Carter to Doctor Strange
The team was founded by Doctor Strange and Professor X on Earth-838 at an unknown point in time. It consisted of humans with enhanced abilities beyond everyday human capabilities. During some time after the Illuminati formed, they worked with Tony Stark to build Ultron sentries to be the security in their headquarters.[1]
In 2018, the world was at war with a mad titan named Thanos, who had the goal to wipe out half of the universe. The Illuminati took part in the battle after the Avengers disbanded, on Titan. Doctor Strange in that world learnt of the Darkhold's capabilities beforehand and used it to kill Thanos, stopping him from completing his quest. However, the Illuminati did not like what Strange had become and had him executed for his actions after Thanos' death.
Role in the film
In 2024, Stephen Strange from Earth-616 finds himself on Earth-838 with a teenage girl named America Chavez who has the power to travel to different universes. They meet one of the Illuminati members, Baron Mordo who Strange despises on his world, and learns of the Scarlet Witch planning to use the darkhold to dreamwalk into the body of her alternate self in this universe, so she can be with her sons. However, Baron tricks Strange and Chavez into passing out after drinking tea and they are taken to the Illuminati headquarters, where Stephen meets an alternate version of his ex-girlfriend, Christine Palmer. Doctor Strange is brought to the Illuminati to discuss him being in this reality, and meets the other members of the team - consisting of Captain Carter, Captain Marvel, Mr. Fantastic, Black Bolt and Professor X. Mr. Fantastic informs Doctor Strange that being here, he is causing an incursion in the multiverse and it could have dire consequences, but he tries to warn the team that the Scarlet Witch from his reality is a serious problem because of her powers, to which Captain Marvel debunks, believing they can easily handle Wanda.
However, there is a breech in the building, revealing it to be the Scarlet Witch having successfully dreamwalked into the body of her 838 counterpart, who is demanding to destroy the universe to stay with her children. While 616 Strange battles Mordo, the Illuminati confronts the Scarlet Witch after Mr. Fantastic tries to reason with her. After failing to do so, Wanda brutally kills them all, leaving Baron Mordo the only surviving member of the team.
Trivia
- Captain Carter originally appeared as an animated character in the series What If...?.
- The writers of Captain America: Brave New World revealed that the team were going to originally appear in the film, but they were cut from it. However, it was confirmed that it was the Illuminati that Samuel Sterms was referring to in the post-credits scene of the film.[2]
- Iron Man was part of the team in the comics, but was not part of it in the film. However, Iron Man did help build the Ultron Sentries that the Illuminati used in their headquarters.[1]
Gallery
References
External links
Illuminati (comics) on Wikipedia
Illuminati on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki
Illuminati (Earth-838) on the Marvel Database
