Avengers: Endgame
retaliator : Endgamesubtly established the MCU version ofthe Illuminati- but the concept would be very unlike to the comic strip . The first three phase angle of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have come to a close , and all attention is turn to the future of the MCU .
There ’s a sense in which , going forward , the MCU can never be quite like the comics again . The comics depend upon a concept Stan Lee called the " Illusion of Change , " where stories change the status quo temporarily , and go full - circle so as not to damage a superhero ’s core concept . That ’s why Captain America will always wind up up leading the Avengers , the ten - adult male will relaunchfor a metre but at long last go back to combat to protect a populace that hates and fear them , and Spider - Man will always go back to having a secret identity element . In direct contrast , however , withAvengers : EndgameandSpider - Man : Far From Home , the MCU has implemented real and persistent change . Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. have bowed out for good , meaning their several characters are written out of the future of the MCU , and new heroes like Captain Marvel , Black Panther , and Shang - Chi will move to the foreground .
Related : retaliator : Endgame Proves Marvel ’s ' Martha ' Twist is bad Than BvS
This of course means that certain concepts can never be played out in an all comic - book - accurate way . One perfect example is the Illuminati , a secret mathematical group of Hero who search to organise events across the globe . create by writer Brian Bendis in 2005 , the Illuminati seem to have been written out - but , amazingly , they may really have already been set up as part of the MCU after all .
Marvel’s Illuminati Explained
In the comics , Tony Stark ’s greatest ability is his futurist judgment , which allows him to intuit both societal and technological modification . He realized that the threats facing Earth were growing in scale leaf , and conclude that the world take a coordinated response . To this close , he on the QT meet together a group of brawny and like - minded individuals , each representing a different aspect of superheroism . Stark himself represented the Avengers ; Mr. Fantastic , drawing card of theFantastic Four , served as a scientific adviser ; Black Bolt , loss leader of theInhumans , help guide cosmic affairs ; Doctor Strange work on behalf of the magical residential area ; Charles Xavier was the mutant liaison ; and theSub - Mariner stood for Atlantis . Stark also invited Black Panther , but King T’Challa rejected the proposal , believing the Illuminati were too bad and lacked appropriate checks .
Any member of the Illuminati could call a meeting , and over the years the group confabulate on numerous affairs . Sometimes they acquire action as a radical , intervening in the wake of theKree - Skrull Waror gathering and hide out the Infinity Stones across Earth . In the remnant , they went too far and banished the Hulk to outer space , unwittingly spark off the " World War Hulk " event . The Illuminati reunite during Jonathan Hickman’sNew Avengersrun , attempting to save the Multiverse from the scourge of colliding realities ; this was a subtly different avatar of the team , with Steve Rogers reluctantly joining for a time .
Are Black Widow’s Avengers The MCU’s Proto-Illuminati?
avenger : Endgamemay have subtly set up theMCU ’s version of the Illuminati . In the consequence of Thanos ' victory inAvengers : Infinity War , most of the OG Avengers extend their own means . The exception was Black Widow , who steadfastly reject to give up on the superhero life . rather , she begin to coordinate with several other hero , using holographic transmitter - perhaps provided by Rocket or Captain Marvel - to ensure everybody kept in tactual sensation . Black Widow seems to have been considered the one in boot , but the group also include Rocket , Captain Marvel , Okoye , and War Machine .
relate : Endgame Subtly Left A persistent Connection Between Earth & The Cosmic MCU
acknowledge the similarities betweenBlack Widow ’s teamand the Illuminati . Just like the comic book eq , the Illuminati represent the various different corner of the MCU . Black Widow tolerate for the Avengers , Nebula , Rocket and Captain Marvel for the cosmic MCU , Okoye for Wakanda , and War Machine for the US military . What ’s more , there ’s in reality no evidence that this squad is public knowledge . None of the people who participated in the meetings ever mentioned them again , even in front of other heroes like Steve Rogers , Ant - Man , or the Hulk . In fact , War Machine ’s participation in itself suggest that this group was clandestine , give the US military would be unlikely to sign off on his reporting his mathematical process to a group who include Wakanda ’s leaders . It ’s really not operose to envision Black Widow ’s meeting as a proto - Illuminati .
The MCU’s Illuminati Is Only Missing Doctor Strange
There is , of trend , one scene of the MCU that ’s not present in Black Widow ’s meeting ; the Masters of the Mystic Arts . It ’s actually potential Black Widow never do it much about them , given the only member of the OG Avengers to have encountered Doctor Strange were Thor , Tony Stark , and the Hulk . Thor abandoned the Avengersand settled down in New Asgard , Tony Stark retire , and Bruce Banner go away to work out how to make theProfessor Hulkpersona . The Avengers do n’t seem to have made contact with the Masters of the Mystic Arts at all during the five - class time leap , as turn up by their struggle to remember where the Sanctum Sanctorum is .
The Masters of the Mystic Arts are no longer a secret after the climacticfinal battle ofAvengers : Endgame . The reinstate hero were only able to enter in that conflict because of the Masters and theirSling Rings , which transported them from across the world . As a consequence , anyone who ’s disposed to see the light Black Widow ’s group will know they need a sorcerer . There ’s only one candidate ; Doctor Strange himself .
The Illuminati’s Future In The MCU
At this stage , it ’s difficult to say whether Marvel seeded the Illuminati by design , or whether this is merely a felicitous accident . Either manner , Black Widow ’s meetings found the precedent for the MCU ’s Illuminati , and it ’s not laborious to image a scenario where someone else decide to regenerate them because they think the world still take to be protected . There ’s no reason to assume the holo - transmitters are out of service ; Avengers Compound is being rebuilt , the tech will still live in Wakanda and on the Benatar , and they were presumably installed in both War Machine and Captain Marvel ’s suits .
In the comic , the Illuminati were reform when the Multiverse itself come along to be fall in . Interestingly , there ’s significant grounds that the construct of the Multiverse is cardinal to Phase 4 of the MCU and beyond after the case ofAvengers : Endgame . Doctor Strange 2will explicitly cover with a Multiverse of Madness , Kevin Feige has referred toSpider - Man jumping between cosmos , and the Loki of another timeline is expect to make his way to the mainstream MCU onward ofThor : Love and Thunder . There ’s speculation that , just as in the comics , all this is apparatus foran upcomingSecret Warsmovie . And the Illuminati could play on the dot the same persona they did in Jonathan Hickman ’s run , attempting to trammel the Multiversal bedlam ahead ofSecret Wars .
More : Why Endgame ’s Captain America fall back To 2012 ‘S Steve Rogers
