The Marvel Cinematic Universe has released its 28th film, and the universe is still expanding with no signs of stopping.
Earlier, while the Marvel Shared Universe managed to bring in some characters from the comics, the “Fantastic Four” and “X-Men” stayed in their own separate universes because Marvel didn’t adapt them at the time rights to the film program.
That all changed, however, when Disney acquired 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios) in 2019.
“Deadpool,” “Fantastic Four,” and “X-Men” all belong to Marvel now, but until “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” the Marvel Cinematic Universe hadn’t incorporated these characters into its films and TV series.
With the release of “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, marking yet another expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Reed Richards and Professor X make their first appearance in the Marvel Universe.
While they are not part of the shared universe’s main Earth (now officially named Earth-616), their presence changes the status quo while opening up endless possibilities to see them again at some point in the future.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced related characters through The Light, which was revealed earlier through official channels and known to fans for a long time.
Now, with the release of “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, the veil has finally been lifted. The Illuminati of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is made up of six members who are some sort of superhero advisor.
They think Doctor Strange is dangerous, because the dangerous behavior of him in the multiverse to find the “dark fortress” by himself through dreams has caused Illuminati’s vigilance to Earth 616 Doctor Strange, and they don’t want the same thing to happen again.
Here’s a look at each of the Illuminati members in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, their powers, and how this live-action adaptation differs from the original.
(The following section of this article contains minor spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
John Krasinski as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic
Reed Richards is the lead character of the “Fantastic Four,” a superhero nicknamed Mister Fantastic.
Reed is a smart scientist, he can stretch his body as he wants, which makes him extremely elastic and plastic, Mister Fantastic can deform to a certain extent, and is immune to electricity, he is also a member of Illuminati in the comics .
Before that, Mister Fantastic was played by Ioan Gruffudd in 2005’s “Fantastic Four” and 2007’s “Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer”.
This time Reed Richards is played by John Krasinski, himself a huge fan of the character.
Lashana Lynch as Maria Rambeau/Captain Marvel
Maria Rambeau becomes Captain Marvel on Earth-838 and joins The Light. As Captain Marvel, Maria has the same abilities as Carol Danvers.
She can fly, can fire blasts of energy, and has superhuman strength and stamina.
On Earth-616, Maria has a daughter, Monica Rambeau, who is not mentioned in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”.
Previously, Maria starred in “Captain Marvel” on Earth 616, where she was Carol’s best friend and founder of S.W.O.R.D.
Maria died of cancer a few years after Thanos was killed. Maria Rambeau is played by Lashana Lynch, best known for her roles in “No Time to Die,” “Dangerous,” and “Bulletproof.”
Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter/Captain Carter
Peggy Carter of Earth 838 is a character in “whatif…”. After being attacked before Steve Rogers was injected with super soldier serum, she volunteered to be injected with super soldier serum to become Captain Carter at a critical moment.
After helping bring down Hydra, she entered a wormhole that sent her 70 years into the future.
Captain Carter possesses the same strengths as Steve Rogers, including superhuman strength, stamina, rapid recovery, enhanced agility and reflexes.
It’s worth noting that Captain Carter also has a Vibranium shield that can take any damage.
Peggy has been in the Marvel Universe for a long time, starting with “Captain America: The First Avenger” in 2011, and then briefly appearing in “Avengers: Endgame”, and she can also be seen on other Marvel shows at times. , including the Agent Carter series.
Anson Mount as Black Bolt
Black Bolt is an Inhumans, a genetically modified race of augmented humans, who is also a member of the Inhumans royal family, whose real name is Blackagar Boltagon.
Black Bolt’s main power is his hypersonic sound waves, which have super lethal power, and he also possesses superhuman strength, capable of flying and manipulating particles.
The character was last seen before “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” on the much-maligned ABC television series “Inhumans,” also played by Anson Mount.
The return now marks the character’s official entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo
Karl Mordo is the Sorcerer Supreme on Earth 838 and the guardian of the New York Sanctuary. He and Doctor Strange were still friends before he became the Sorcerer Supreme.
Mordo is well versed in magical lore and spellcasting, as well as an advanced martial artist, and his Marvel movie debut was in “Doctor Strange”, but on Earth-616.
Patrick Stewart as Charles Francis Xavier, Professional X
Professor X is a mutant with the x gene that gives them special abilities, Professor X has strong telepathy and telekinesis abilities.
He can read people’s minds and manipulate them psychologically, and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” became Professor X’s Marvel Universe debut.
Previously, the telepath and founder of the X-Men appeared in most of the “X-Men” movies including “X-Men,” “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and the “Wolverine” series.
How the MCU changed the origins of Illuminati
In the comics, Illuminati was formed after the Kree and Skrull’s war, an interstellar war between two otherworldly beings affecting Earth.
It was Iron Man (one of the founding members of Illuminati) who realized that other powerful superheroes on Earth should share relevant information with him and others in order to prevent cascading destruction or deterioration from war.
Thus, Illuminati is another group formed in secret on the basis of various (or field) superhero groups that come together to keep each other informed and, when certain issues and conflicts arise, Make a decision on what to do with it.
The original members of The Light in the comics were: Iron Man, Professional X, Mister Fantastic, Black Bolt, Namor, King of Atlantis, and Doctor Strange, with others joining them later, including Black Panther, Beast and Captain Britain.
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Illuminati founding members of Earth-838 are different than in the comics.
And it’s worth noting that the Tom Cruise version of Iron Man that has been rumored has not appeared.
And now, it doesn’t appear that this group was formed because of any intergalactic war, even before Thanos came to wreak havoc on Earth.
But “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” doesn’t say when and why the Illuminati came into being, unlike the reasoning in the comics, and can’t be the same anymore.
After all, many events have not happened in the Marvel Universe, and only Marvel knows what happened to Earth 838.
In the film, it’s also unclear if this version of Illuminati is the original, or if they’ve rotated members.
In the comics, however, Captain Marvel and Mordo were never part of the group.
In the movie, Mordo apparently replaces Doctor Strange in the group, as Doctor Strange becomes evil and decides to use the powers of the Dark Fortress to create instability in the multiverse.
How powerful is the Illuminati in the MCU
The Illuminati appear to have considerable control over Earth-838, and they make many decisions that affect everyone, including manipulating information.
Their physical strength is unbelievably powerful, they’ve also fought Thanos together, and other possible villains, and combined with their knowledge and physical abilities, there’s almost nothing they can’t do.
However, as seen in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, despite being very powerful, they cannot withstand the magical powers of the Scarlet Witch.
She has been able to manipulate reality, and even more unimaginable elements, all with a flick of her hand.
As evidenced by how quickly Scarlet Witch defeated Illuminati in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” the superhero’s advisor when faced with an omnipotent foe who will spare no effort to achieve her goals The strength of the team is still very limited.
I don’t know, what do you think of Marvel’s Illuminati adaptation after watching the movie, please leave a message and share it with everyone.
