Will The MCU Replace Avengers With The Illuminati?

The MCU Has Already Taken Inspiration From Illuminati Storylines

Marvel Illuminati
Marvel Comics

Although, they also likely kept their new team secret because they did some pretty unheroic things. They sent the Hulk into space without consulting anyone else, wiped Captain America's memory of their existence, and also destroyed several other alternate universes. As you'd expect, this results in some pretty serious conflict in the superhero community, and generally lands the group in some of the biggest Marvel storylines of all time.

However, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has used some of these storylines without the Illuminati being involved, like when the Hulk ends up on Sakaar between Avengers: Age of Ultron and Thor: Ragnarok, which is under totally different circumstances than how it happened in the comics.

It's also worth noting that the current MCU has taken a LOT of inspiration from writer Jonathan Hickman, who is also the same person who penned the majority of the Illuminati storylines in books like New Avengers, Infinity, and Secret Wars.

Marvel's Illuminati
Marvel

As such, there's still very real potential for the Illuminati to make it into the MCU. If there's one thing that Civil War proved, it's that morally complex conflict between heroes tends to make for some of the most interesting viewing. And also some sweet fights. (Because it's just not a superhero film without someone managing to throw someone else through a table at an absolute minimum.)

This is exactly where the sordid group of superheroes would shine. Nobody joined the Illuminati to be underhand - they did it because they genuinely believed working together would make a difference. But it would reflect poorly on them to publicly work together, as many of them belong to other groups that are often at odds with one another, such as the X-Men and Inhumans.

The fact that all these awful deeds are done for good reasons would make for a genuinely engaging topic that would divide our cast of heroes, as well as provided us fans a topic to discuss that isn't a simple case of good and evil.

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Contributor
Contributor

I like my comics like I like my coffee - in huge, unquestionably unhealthy doses.