Alex Yarde thinks #MarvelEvent “Mike Drop” of 9 films share one thing in common -The Illuminati
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“You’re used to dealing with heroes…but what you don’t have much experience with is kings. And that’s your problem here. You can’t think of them as normal men. You can’t even think of them as behaving human–that’s thinking too small…They are larger than that,bigger than that…they exist above other men because they were born that way. Authority began at the cradle, you see. Their very idea of morality is different than what you are used to. The people–their people–expect them to do violence to ensure a certain amount of peace and prosperity. And like gods, they are also expected to commit murder…so the people can sleep at night knowing they are protected.”
— Maximus “The Mad” of The Inhumans *
Hubris is the fatal flaw of the powerful and as we will see in the upcoming Avengers: Age Of Ultron the super powerful often have the largest blind spots. Marvels Illuminati is a covert think-tank formed after the earths near destruction in the Kree-Skrull War, in order to prevent a similar event. The term Illuminati came to mean any powerful secret society whose aims were to clandestinely influence world events. Led by Iron Man, Black Panther, Mr. Fantastic, Black Bolt, Dr. Strange and Prince Namor. As I see it, from the fall of SHEILD, ascendance of HYDRA squabbling over alien artifacts of power, Tony Starks attempt at revisiting the dangerous ULTRON project to the future Civil and Infinity wars and beyond, all roads lead to formation of the Illuminati within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
I’m as excited as anyone about Tuesday’s #MarvelEventBut I’d like to discuss what was not shared. The biggest clues of the formation of the Illuminati are in the properties & characters they chose to release. Iron Man, Black Panther, Doctor Strange and The Inhuman King Black Bolt are all members of the Illuminati. The powerful Kree (Ronan the Accuser from Guardians of the Galaxy is a member) and the shape shifting Skrull I’ll wager will be more heavily explored soon.(Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Captain Marvel). Events that are shaped by the Illuminati (Captain America: Civil War, Avengers Infinity War 1 & 2). When asked in the Q&A about Hulk and Black Widow solo projects Kevin Fegie didn’t exclude future Hulk projects; he also made no mention of Kree/Skrull War, that prompted the Illuminati’s formation. Alien invasion is the catalyst which prompts Tony Stark (Iron Man) to approach T’Challa ruler of Wakanda (Black Panther) the Inhuman King Black Bolt, Earth’s Master of the Mystic Arts Doctor Strange, Prince Namor of Atlantis and Reed Richards from the Fantastic Four with the idea of forming a “Security Council” similar to the UN to meet in secret, pool information and recourses based within the isolated, highly technological Wakandan City-State, to ensure all planetary level threats cosmic, inter-dimensional or terrestrial were neutralized. How could this group play out on the upcoming films? The past is our best road map.
.Captain America: Civil War;
Though the Illuminati didn’t actively meet during Civil War, its members influenced events. Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic became two of the leading members of the pro-registration side, working with the US government. Dr. Strange stayed out of the conflict; Afterwards, he joined the New Avengers, who continued to operate underground without registering. Black Bolt stayed out of the conflict, but began a Cold War with the US. Namor was involved only so far as it served his interests. Avenging the death of his cousin in the Stamford tragedy and aiding his friend Captain America’s forces.
Avengers: Infinity War 1 & 2:
In the wake of the Mad Titan Thanos Reed Richards, realizing the danger posed by any single being possessing all six Infinity Gems enlists his fellow illuminati to collect them in a failed attempt to wish them out of existence. Which Uatu Earth’s Watcher warned him about. Then, each Illuminati member claimed one gem to safeguard so that they would never be combined and used again. They brokered backroom deals, confronted cosmic entities like the Beyonder & Sentry in secret to gain protection for Earth basically throwing humanities lot with the powerful Kree against Skrull invasion. They even smugly and unwisely travel to Skrull Home world with ultimatums which had unintended long reaching consequences. Pride cometh before a fall.
The Endgame: Planet Hulk /Skarr/World War Hulk
In a morally ambiguous secret society, one act the Illuminati are best known for is also the most dubious, the banishment of the Hulk from Earth. Maria Hill, then Director of SHIELD, approached Iron Man concerning Hulk, who had just destroyed Las Vegas. Iron Man’s solution was to capture and send Hulk to an uninhabited planet where he could live out the rest of his days peacefully but alone. It fatally splintered the group but the naysayers save Namor reluctantly conceded. Black Panther, forever the biggest skeptic of Tony Stark, foresaw this plan going sideways and dreading Hulks return. The Hulk of course escaped and landed on a warlike planet where his strength and fury were an asset not a liability. Hulk rose quickly from the Gladiatorial pits to rule this world (Planet Hulk) fell in love and sired a son (Skarr Son of Hulk) and, as Black Panther predicted, returned to earth to seek vengeance (World War Hulk). World War Hulk is high lit by incredible set pieces. Hulk vs. Black Bolt on the Moon, The defeat of The Xmen, Iron Man’s last stand in Hulkbuster armor, the destruction of Stark Tower. Hulk “The Worldbreaker” forcing his former jailers to fight for his amusement in a broken Madison Square Garden. Kneel before Hulk…Yes. It’s as AWSOME as it sounds! My question is if they are indeed creating the Illuminati why not use their greatest failure to springboard a superb Hulk Trilogy?
Admittedly, I’m playing the silences here. No groundwork exists as of yet for my Hulk dream trilogy. You could drive a truck through my theory since I have no inside knowledge of what Marvel is up to. There are currently no revealed plans for Atlantis or Prince Namor the Submariner within the MCU I’m aware of. Still, the death of his niece Namorita during the Stanford tragedy is the catalyst for the Hero Registration Act and eventual Civil War. Charles Xavier is a prominent Illuminati player but we all know The X-Men and The Fantastic Four are currently 20th Century Fox properties. Sony owns Spiderman who’s public “outing” makes him a poster child for Stark’s Civil War Pro-Registration faction, but it would benefit all involved to collaborate, which I hear is brewing at least between Marvel & Sony, it even prompted the #BringBackSpidey hashtag. The influence of the Illuminati, I predict will be felt over the entire span of all nine new films and into the future. (Speaking of long reaching consequences Secret Invasion comes to mind). Marvel has an ambitious road map and an increasingly full plate. Will we witness Illuminati members start to coalesce in end credit scenes like Nick Fury recruiting for The Avengers? I look forward to this story playing out over the next few years in the MCU. So what are your thoughts? Sound off below!
*citation~ Marvel Wiki
Art~Marvel Entertainment
Hey Alex
It was Nice to meet you yesterday at John Sammaros Halloween Party this was a great article the infinity wars were some of the greatest story’s of my teenage year and marvel has been doing some awesome movies cant wait for next May