The Super Bowl trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness potentially teased a massive debut from an intriguing Marvel Comics super-team: the Illuminati. The trailer shows Doctor Strange captured and brought before a council of six unseen individuals. One of them is seemingly voiced by Patrick Stewart, who played Professor X in the X-Men movies. Professor X is also a key member of the Illuminati.
The potential of having Professor X in an MCU movie is exciting enough for fans, but his presence would suggest an even bigger possibility. If the Illuminati is the council in the upcoming movie, then it likely means that fans will see its iconic members appear, many of whom have yet to appear in the MCU. Comic book fans know the Illuminati are a major force in the Marvel Universe and would be one in the MCU as well.
A Council Of Titans
The Illuminati are comprised of some of the most powerful and intelligent figures in the Marvel Universe, including a number of characters who have yet to appear in the MCU. Doctor Strange is a founding member, making the upcoming movie a natural place to introduce them.
The secretive council includes Iron Man, Professor Charles Xavier of the X-Men, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, Namor The Sub-Mariner and the King of Atlantis, as well as Black Bolt, leader of the Inhumans living on the moon.
Formed After The Kree-Skrull War
Though their first appearance takes place in New Avengers #7 from 2005, the Illuminati actually formed much earlier, in the aftermath of the cataclysmic Kree-Skrull War, which represents some of the best Avengers comic book issues of the 1970s.
Iron Man brings together the other members of the council after the devastating events of the cosmic war, which he thinks could have been prevented because individually, each of the members of the council had intelligence on the aliens that would have helped if they had shared it.
Black Panther Refuses To Join
The initial meeting of the council takes place in Wakanda, home of Black Panther and one of the most important fictional countries in the Marvel Universe. Though he is invited to join the council, T'Challa refuses to join on principle.
Black Panther fears the secret nature of the council will ultimately lead to disaster thanks to the arbitrary and unilateral nature of their decisions, a fear that is ultimately borne out in several instances in the comics.
Unintended Consequences
It takes many years, but unintended consequences eventually arrive in the form of a massive Skrull invasion of Earth. This invasion occurs in Secret Invasion, a major storyline from the early 2000s that is now being adapted into a series of the same name for the MCU.
The Skrull attack is largely made possible by the Illuminati's attempt to dissuade the Skrulls from any further attacks after the Kree-Skrull War. The Skrulls are able to obtain genetic samples of some of the Illuminati, allowing them to impersonate humans and launch their attack.
Wiping Captain America's Mind
The membership of the council would fluctuate in later years, with Captain America part of the council for a time. However, he would become one of many allies who would end up on the wrong side of the council's decisions when the Illuminati wipes his memory of them.
Doctor Strange executes a spell that erases Captain America's memory of the Illuminati after he disagrees with their decision to build a superweapon powered by the Infinity Gems to defend Earth. It is one of many egregious acts by the council that T'Challa warned about.
Planet Hulk
Another reprehensible act involves the council's behavior towards the Hulk. After the Hulk goes on a rampage and destroys much of Las Vegas, the Illuminati decides to exile him off of Earth, eventually leading to his crashing on the alien planet of Sakaar.
The Planet Hulk storyline comprises some of the best Hulk comic book issues of the 2000s, but it also shows how the Illuminati could turn on their own. It also ends up proving T'Challa's point, when Hulk returns to get revenge and nearly destroys the world.
Civil War
The Illuminati plays a critical role in one of the best Marvel Comics events of all-time, Civil War. Iron Man and Reed Richards lobby for the Superhuman Registration Act, while other members fight against it or abstain.
The Illuminati council actually breaks up over disagreement regarding the push to register all superhumans with the government, a move Tony Stark feels is just a natural evolution of the Illuminati's governing body itself.
The Infinity Gems
One of the most fascinating parts of the Illuminati's comic book history and its potential MCU future involves the Infinity Gems. Reed Richards assembles all of the powerful gems with the intent to use their own power to wipe them out of existence.
This ultimately fails and leads to more major disagreements within the council on dealing with the gems at all. Reed Richards ultimately gives one gem to each member of the council to watch over, something that could happen in the multiverse of the MCU.
The Cabal
Most superhero teams in comic books have an evil inverse, and that is mostly true of the Illuminati. A possible MCU team in the future is The Cabal, a team of supervillains that includes some of the Marvel Universe's most powerful foes, like Doctor Doom.
The Cabal actually included Namor at one point, and it also included the female version of Loki. An MCU version could potentially involve Sylvie from Loki, whose comic book counterpart Sylvie Lushton was briefly a part of another version of the Illuminati in the comics.
Secret Wars
Comic book fans know the Illuminati appearing in the MCU would likely be a signal that the franchise will adapt a major comics storyline: Secret Wars. The 2015 version of the story features Black Panther leading the council to try and stop the destruction of the universe.
This eventually leads to the collapse of all the realities in the multiverse down into one, Battleworld, ruled by God Emperor Doom. All of the recent events involving the multiverse in the MCU could lead to a similar crisis in the near future.