Marvel’s latest cinematic release, ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ has brought us a surprising cameo that could be vital for the future of the franchise and pave the way for phase 4 and, more specifically, ‘Avengers 5’.
Of course, from here on there may be spoilers for the Sam Raimi movie.
And it is that the second act of the film took us to Earth 838, a world—somewhat dystopian I suspect (why is everyone dressed in shades of grey?)—that features the Illuminati, a power group made up of Reed Richards, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), Charles Xavier, Black Lightning, Captain Carter and Mordo as Sorcerer Supreme.
The Council of Superhero Minds
A film version of the same group in the comics. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Steve McNiven for their time in New Avengers, it is a secret council made up of the brightest minds and leaders of the Marvel Universe.
His first lineup (appeared in 2005) is very similar to the one shown in the movie, with the exceptions of Doctor Strange, Tony Stark and Namor instead of Mordo, Carter and Rambau.
According to the Bendis story, the group was formed years ago after the Kree-Skrull War with the intention of making a kind of superhuman government.
However, the proposal did not convince all members, who decided that simply would meet from time to time to share information and trying to solve some other problem as we jumped from Mark Millar and McNiven’s ‘Civil War’ to Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu’s ‘Secret Invasion’.
Perhaps his riskiest move was forcibly exiled the Hulk, catapulting him into space to stop him from destroying cities on Earth. This gave rise to one of the most acclaimed stages of the emerald colossus: ‘Planet Hulk’ (Greg Pak and Carlo Pagulayan) and seeking revenge upon his return to our planet in ‘World War Hulk’ (Pak and John Romita Jr.).
everything dies
The last great plot with the Illuminati we owe to Jonathan Hickman, who made them the protagonists of ‘New Avengers’, drawn by Mike Deodato Jr. On this occasion the group had in its ranks with Stark, Namor, Richards, Strange, Black Lightning, Black Panther, Captain America (temporarily) and Beastwhich replaced Xavier for being dead at the time.
And this is where it most connects to ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ as T’Challa embraces the group in the face of an immense threat: the destruction of the multiverse through the so-called incursions. In them, two Earths (nexus point between two universes) collide, destroying both universes.
Faced with the inevitable accelerated end of the multiverse, the group decides to try to stop it with the Infinity Gauntlet, but they fail. The next step is already moving in the field of ethics: create a device capable of destroying worlds, in order to prevent Earth 616, the main one, from being annihilated in one of these incursions.
Some drastic measures that, as you can imagine, will end up being known and sitting like a bomb among the superhero community. The plot of the raids will have its completion in ‘Secret Wars’, a magnificent event by Hickman and Esad Ribic.