In the Marvel Universe, there have occasionally been threats that warranted preemptive action. With plenty of teams like X-Force or the Secret Avengers, there’s no shortage of clandestine super groups to take on any threat. However, few of these groups are as powerful or dangerous as the Illuminati. And considering those granted membership into this secret society, few groups have had a greater impact on the heroes of the Marvel Universe.
A secret think tank comprised of some of the Marvel Universe’s most influential heroes, the Illuminati, namely Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, Professor Xavier, Namor, Doctor Strange, and Black Bolt, first appeared as a group in the pages of New Avengers #7 by Brian Michael Bendis, Steve McNiven, and Mark Morales. Gathered to share intelligence and discuss potential threats, their history is detailed in the New Avengers: The Illuminati miniseries by Bendis, Alex Maleev, and Jim Cheung.
Choosing to keep their meetings secret from anyone outside of the team, they agreed that a small group would be easier to manage. They initially invited Black Panther who immediately declined, not trusting the group of opinionated leaders to handle every threat as a unified front.
Iron Man called the first meeting after the events of the Kree-Skrull War under the notion that the threat could’ve been prevented had the heroes gathered to share information before the Earth was used as a battleground by the two alien races. In response, they invaded the Skrull homeworld as a show of force only to be captured and studied, giving the Skrulls insight into Earth’s superhuman defenses. They eventually escaped, but they knew another invasion would be inevitable.
Later, they gathered the Infinity Gems with the goal of reforming the Infinity Gauntlet and using it to will itself out of existence. But when they failed to do so, they elected to hide the gems themselves, with their whole endeavor earning the disapproval of the Watcher.
Without Tony Stark, the Illuminati sought to confront the Beyonder after the events of Secret Wars by Jim Shooter, Mike Zeck, and Bob Layton. The Beyonder was seemingly persuaded by Black Bolt to journey to another dimension, although he ultimately returned. The Illuminati also visited Noh-Varr, Marvel Boy, in his Earth prison to sway him to defend the world like his Kree predecessor, the original Captain Marvel, did before him.
After the formation of the New Avengers, the group gathered to share intelligence on the Sentry, with nobody remembering him despite Reed’s files to the contrary and Xavier’s revelation that his mind and memories had been altered. Along with their various teams, they manage to get through to the Sentry and restore everyone’s memories, with Tony and his Avengers taking responsibility for Bob Reynolds and all his power.
The group would then—without Xavier—exile the Hulk from the Earth, causing the events of Planet Hulk by Greg Pak, Carlo Pagulayan, and Jeffrey Huet. The vote was unanimous save for Namor, who came to blows with the others, knowing that this would lead only to the Hulk’s return and their undoing.
Despite vowing never to meet again, they gathered once more during the events of Civil War by Mark Millar, Steve McNiven, and Dexter Vines, with only Iron Man and Mister Fantastic agreeing to submit to superhero registration. While Namor simply didn’t care about registration, Black Bolt and Doctor Strange disagreed with the Registration Act, and Xavier was off-world. Just as Black Panther had predicted, there was no unified front.
After Civil War, Hulk returned for his revenge against the Illuminati in World War Hulk by Greg Pak, John Romita Jr, and Klaus Janson. After capturing Black Bolt and sparing Xavier due to the events of M-Day, the now-intelligent Hulk captured Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, and Doctor Strange, outing them to the public as the ones who exiled him and destroyed his alien home before forcing them to battle each other as gladiators. It’s not until he’s defeated by the Sentry that it’s revealed that one of his allies was secretly responsible for Sakaar’s destruction.
The Illuminati met again before the events of Secret Invasion by Brian Michael Bendis, Leinil Yu, and Mark Morales, with Tony showing them the remains of the Skrull impersonating Elektra as proof that the invaders had finally returned for revenge. Their suspicions are confirmed when Black Bolt is revealed as a Skrull and attacks the other members. While they defeat him, their trust in one another is shattered, and they individually worked to beat back the Skrulls with the rest of the hero community.
Their secret is eventually revealed when Parker Robbins, a criminal known as the Hood, began hunting for the Infinity Gems to regain his lost power. Tony reunites the Illuminati in response, only to be discovered by the Avengers. This led to conflict amongst the heroes, but after the Hood is defeated, the group reforms, now counting Captain America as a member.
The group met one final time during the events of Avengers vs X-Men by Jason Aaron, Matt, Fraction, and more, when Captain America seeks to convince a Phoenix-possessed-Namor to get the rest of the Phoenix Five to stand down. While the other members of the group leave after expressing their distaste for the conflict, Namor appears only to tell Rogers that he wouldn’t back down.
The history of the Illuminati is one of well-meaning and ill-advised gambits, with the group nearly creating as many catastrophes as they sought to avert. But the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and more than once, these heroes nearly dragged down the rest of the Marvel Universe with them.
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