Sam Raimi directed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness gave lots of fan moments but
nothing could beat the introduction of the Illuminati, a secret society that features the most powerful heroes of the universe, coming together to make the tough decisions regular people don’t even know.
In Marvel comics, the Illuminati consists of Karl Mordo, Captain Peggy Carter, Captain Marvel (Maria Rambeau), Black Bolt, Reed Richards, and Professor Charles Xavier. This team is introduced as the main superhero team of Earth-838, who are different from the MCU’s Earth-616.
In Doctor Strange 2, we got to see a flashback of the Illuminati’s adventures in which they defeated Thanos on Earth-838, not the Avengers like in Avengers: Endgame on Earth-616. This defeat of Thanos cannot be taken lightly but despite that, Illuminati is portrayed as weak in the movie.
Did the Illuminati of Earth- 838 defeat Thanos?
Stephen Strange of Earth-838 founded the Illuminati shown in Doctor Strange 2 to protect the world from major universal threats, and make necessary decisions that others might not take. Just after Illuminati formed, Thanos began his conquest of the galaxy to collect the Infinity Stones like Thanos of Earth-616. The secret society opposed Thanos and Doctor Strange of Earth-838 began using the Darkhold to search for ways to defeat Thanos using dream-walking.
While doing so, Strange caused an incursion with another universe, destroying the entire reality. The rest of the Illuminati found another way to defeat the Mad Titan. The Illuminati then searched for the Book of Vishanti, a book that bestows its user with whatever ability they require to defeat their enemies. Upon finding that book, they used its power to ultimately defeat Thanos. just after the event of killing Thanos, Doctor Strange of Earth-838 willingly sacrificed wrongdoings with Black Bolt killing Strange. With Thanos defeated and Strange dead, Mordo became the next Sorcerer Supreme and member of the Illuminati.
Why were Illuminati weak in Doctor Strange 2?
Though Thanos is the most powerful villain who was defeated in Earth-838, we simply cannot ignore the fact that Scarlet Witch is the most powerful being in the entire universe. Given that the 6 members of the Illuminati defeated Thanos is pretty impressive, still, their defeat at Wanda’s hands was inevitable. However, given this team’s defeat of Thanos, it would have made more sense to show them putting up a good fight against Wanda.
Despite this, Illuminati being added to the MCU is pretty exciting as it would mean that we possibly get to explore them in the future.
