Marvel's Illuminati Explained!

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Marvel's Illuminati, a group of some of the most powerful heroes in the universe, is set to make an appearance in Doctor Strange. Here's what you need to know about them.
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The Brain Teaser, Bonnie Davies, Senita Mahoney, Jonathan & Megan Pierson, David Adler, Alex, Milton Appling, Jonathan Aresse, Ralph Braganzan, Ethan Dannen, Yoav Haimovitz, LookWhosFhtagn, LuHeDi, Scott Nesmith, Casper Qvortrup, Andrew Shaffer, Talentless Hack, Vydal
Tags: #Marvel #DoctorStrange #IronMan

[@Just_Some_Guy_with_a_Mustache]

I always loved that they’re a group that exists only to have their plans blow up in their faces.

[@Barber100Dr]

Ah yes, the Wile E. Coyote school of planning!

[@edwardsimpson119]

To be fair, they're a group designed to prevent situations from turning into major problems, so of course we only hear about their fuckups, because that's the only times anything interesting happens. When their plans were successful, all that happened would be just another typical day in the Marvel universe.

[@ronanbloodedge5378]

@@vullord666 fr

[@skakee10]

Huh. I guess given that description they're representation in multiverse of maddness was actually pretty accurate

[@eciyahsmalls-sanders8880]

@@vullord666 I mean it kind of worked the only reason he got mad about it was because one of his friends tricked them into thinking they caused a problem on his planet by exploding it

[@WhiteRaven696]

I would love to see a breakdown of all the heroes/villains who got replaced in Secret Invasion and a rough estimate of when they got replaced. Because that still confuses me.

[@jalapenoofjustice4682]

that would be useful to have when reading comics from that time and I haven't been able to find a good list maybe when the Secret Invasion show comes out would be a good time to do that

[@john_comi]

I'd love this

[@luigiboi4244]

Well, we do know that Aunt May did the dirty with a Skrull.

[@mangareader7474]

@@luigiboi4244 she did?

[@Uff-dada]

So she was skrull ****ed.

[@ThexAngryxPharoah]

I love how to this day we all agree that Hulk represents the physical game over scenario for Civil War and Dr. Strange represents the metaphysical game over scenario, therefore REQUIRING them to not participate in the conflict

[@ironlordshellhead3415]

Agreed, also don't forget Thor, that to me he represents both of those two scenarios to a certain degree.

[@conradkorbol]

@@ironlordshellhead3415 they had clone Thor in civil war

[@RobotDecoy]

@@conradkorbol the clone was WAY less powerful than True T-man

[@RobotDecoy]

@@ironlordshellhead3415 yup, he was dealing with ragnorrock

[@TupocalypseShakur]

​@@RobotDecoyno he was dead, he had been dead for over a year when that happened

[@kyleburke449]

I would love to see a complete breakdown of every negative action Namore has ever preformed. Everytime I hear something about him, it’s never good.

[@МаксБурый-р2ю]

Namor the cuntmariner

[@sentientwaffle535]

It’s so funny Namor’s considered a hero because every time he shows up he does something absolutely awful until the consequences of his actions catch up with him and he begs for help

[@violetbean8928]

there's a reason he's my least favorite Marvel character, and that's counting joke characters like the Wall

[@d04lvallier]

My first exposure to Namor as a kid was flirting with Mr Fantastic's wife lmao

[@sentientwaffle535]

@@d04lvallier It just gets worse

[@WarmLillie]

Comic Drake is revealing one of the greatest conspiracy ever known…

[@ilajoie3]

Yes, the one about bald people

[@gummy787]

Thank you, I'm so happy you mentioned the misconception about DC being darker than Marvel thanks to the snyderverse (which i personally despise). Both have insanely dark characters (some of Marvels biggest hitters were Punisher, Daredevil, Wolverine, Blade and etc) and before the snyderverse Superman and the rest of the Justice League were not edgelords. That "darker" comparison really needs to end soon :-3

[@MrSecretSentai]

I noticed the only people who say that are people who only consume the movies and don’t read the comics or the Batman fanboys

[@christinawalker101]

🤓

[@gummy787]

@@christinawalker101 this is the comment section of a comic book video no duh

[@cunnyman]

Snyderverse is darker. I can’t see jack shit lol

[@nkemnoraulmanfredini7286]

@@MrSecretSentai don't generalize about batman fans. I'm a batman fan since I was 2 years old and I don't say things like that 😐

[@NobodyofNot]

With how both DC and Marvel have stand-ins of of each others heroes then it would be cool to see a video about how each company handles them.

[@cameoshadowness7757]

Yes. That'd be cool!

[@ItsButterBean1020]

I’d read a crossover between the Squadron Supreme and that one Avengers parody from DC

[@elPacoPuente]

Great video, man! The Illuminati are maybe my favourite superhero team (probably because they fail so much lol) and you did such a great job explaining the Incursions saga, which is complicated as hell but also so cool.

[@jacksonbrickmedia939]

The Illuminati storyline in the buildup to secret wars is the best part for me

[@Wandasolosurfavs]

They are the worst

[@WhiteRaven696]

The Illuminati. The visionary geniuses behind such glorious decisions as pissing off the Skrulls and pissing off the Hulk. Those decisions definitely won’t come back to bite the other heroes anytime soon. 🤣

[@ADAJ342]

Tbf, the plan to get rid of the hulk was actually pretty good. It just backfired because the ship hulk was going in got damaged.

[@graydanger]

I loved LOVED the whole Incursion events. Hickman run was godly. Everything truly felt epic.

[@gfaDiaspa]

Hard agree! Time Runs Out was one of the greates Avengers arc EVER!

[@thebobbrom7176]

Why did anyone not want to look like Professor X He's played by Patrick Stewart for christ sake!

[@cameoshadowness7757]

Some people down play him so bad! ;_; my man is one of the few bad ass locking baldies!

[@readingking1421]

The vast majority of people look terrible bald? Not everyone can look like Patrick Stewart.

[@picklenik9658]

Something I’ll never forget that was just an insane coincidence is a few years ago before ever learning about the Marvel Illuminati and their conflict with the Hulk, I was playing a game of Superfight with some friends, and got in to maybe the most intense debate I’ve ever had in that game about who would win between the Hulk and the Illuminati (I had the Illuminati and debated hard but everyone voted for the Hulk, cause he’s the Hulk)

[@frozarburst6350]

I think the perfect summary is: Never trust anyone in Marvel to form their own organization...ever

[@earthgrazer2164]

The way Black panther questioned the morals behind it and why would follow was karma for not taking concern

[@Cookie12670]

I love these videos. Thanks for explaining The Illuminati of Marvel so clearly. I knew about some of it like sending The Hulk to an empty planet but the ship being thrown off course but that was all I knew until now. I also like Black Panther’s character more after this vid.

[@krustian9272]

i would love to see a modern version of the illuminati, even if its just for a one shot or something quick, it would be pretty cool in my opinion

[@tomascbonez6355]

they’re probably gonna appear in the judgment day event if they do. I doubt xavier would be on it with what he’s doing with the mutants

[@xemnas9726]

I believe they are still operating minus Xavier. Last year's hellfire Galla seemed to show them being pretty tight.

[@alancarnell2747]

I don't really pay attention to the background all that much but I did notice kinda quickly that you updated a certain hero's icon. You have a fine attention to detail. Most would've left it or not even think of changing it because they forgot it was there in the first place.

[@ComicDrake]

Fuck the alt right.

[@sourjoker962]

Which hero?

[@alancarnell2747]

@@sourjoker962 Punisher

[@mattwo7]

16:07 So, an alternate version of Squadron Supreme (as if the Supreme Power version of them wasn't enough). I mean their Green Lantern expy is literally just another Doctor Spectrum.

[@Busker_3000]

Oh wow... With Spiderman: No Way Home made that memory wipe spell MCU cannon, I can totally see a Sentry movie or show coming out. As a die heart Sentry fan I'd love that

[@MidnightPhantom]

Same. He is my favorite Marvel hero

[@jonthehuman7417]

Hi Drake, great vid. Following up on the events of Secret Wars and the OG illuminati last appearance, most heroes don't seem to remember or at least talk about the Incursions. Characters like the F4 and Miles Morales have acknowledged the event but it feels like the majority of the Marvel Universe has forgotten about it. Could you think of the reason behind this or is it for the convenience of writers

[@deadpool3982]

Probably because in the rebooted universes the incursions didn’t happen, or they left that part out of most people’s memory so as not to cause chaos...remember it was Franklin and Owen that were remaking all of the destroyed realities

[@dragonetafireball]

I’m the type who likes characters and self contained series so events like all these annoy me because they happen often enough they usually kneecap any series that starts to hit it’s stride

[@ANIpJs]

Oh dope I just noticed you added the Punisher's new oni skull logo. I actually think it's cool looking and kinda needed since the dangerous assholes kinda ruined the old one for me.

[@squeethemog213]

I didn't know much about this group prior to Linkara's WW Hulk vid so this provided a great insight into it. Thanks Drake and have a great day 😃

[@thepc6988]

Really wish we got a sequel to that animated Planet Hulk movie, it would’ve been badass to see the action scenes between the heroes and hulk.

[@FatGuyInSpace]

Comic Drake is that one channel i genuniely feel bad for forgetting to catch up with

[@SailHatinSoap]

I love to imagine them sitting around a table and black bolt has to use a dry erase board to communicate (yeah I know professor x is there so that's unnecessary but it's fun to imagine)

[@rainingcomplete3018]

True true they probably do just use Professor X but they DEFINITELY use dry erase whenever X is sick.

[@MatthewPrower]

ngl the craziest part of secret wars (2015) is the fact marvel said our earth (1218) died in an incursion even though it’s still around IRL

[@BionicRambutan]

OMG! I have read all those events and some of those Avengers issues, and now I truly understand what happened at the start of those events you mentioned and Infinity! Thank you! You're are the Comic Book Sage.

[@FrankDancona]

This was the perfect recap I didn’t know I needed before diving into secret wars! Thanks man, 👍🏽 keep it up

[@chriswing7466]

Loving these videos! Whilst I apprrciate these mostly relate to tv/movoes, I'd love to see some on more obscure comic-only characters... like Death's Head II, or the Exiles

[@brandonraymus3026]

I kind of disagree about watching Batman recruit the justice league being more entertaining than Nick Fury and widow doing it. Mostly because DCs idea of recruiting a new hero was a single scene between Bruce Wayne and a new character. Our entire introduction to Aquaman before he joins the justice league is 1 single scene with Bruce Wayne, who magically knows exactly where the Aquaman is, for plot purposes. It felt extremely forced

[@jackcassidy9963]

Ngl I doubt it was too hard to find a water based creature who's well known as the Aquaman where he's from

[@richardsphd]

"DC Heroes are like gods trying to be human" Don't know about you, but it seems to me these gods sure acted more human than the Illuminati in this story

[@leopardtree2249]

That’s what i was thinking everyone in marvel are gods trying to be human. THOR??? A literally god. Hulk is overpowered more than superman. Half of the marvel universe are god level genius and know about the multiverse and other dimension. Dc comics don’t even know about the multiverse until someone invaded them. Storm is a literal goddess. Dc comic is more realistic than marvel

[@Gabe600]

@@leopardtree2249 It really isn't they both are equally fantastic and surreal, there isn't much realism in the world of either of them apart from the more down to earth stories that exist in both companies

[@Gabe600]

That's literally the point Superman is an alien with godlike power but he's the most human person in the world

[@mikesmith145]

@@leopardtree2249 neither are realistic

[@rakeemkoroma2398]

Marvel would be humans dealing with godlike power, whereas DC is more like god’s dealing with being human

[@luigiboi4244]

I would *LOOOOVE* a Deep Dive on both of the Secret Wars. I mean, I do know the cliff notes of both*, but after getting my hands on some of the Tie-In issues (Specifically Inhumans, Runaways, and Guardians of the Galaxy) I’m curious as to what everyone was doing in their respective books. *(SW I: The Beyonder** creates Battleworld to play TABS: Marvel Edition. SW II: Dr. Doom using the power of the Beyonders** creates Battleworld by stitching previously destroyed Earths together, with himself as God Emperor) **The Beyonder (singular) was created by The Beyonders (plural). I know it’s confusing.

[@TheKevann]

I freaking love comic books! Thank you, Drake! This was a wild ride in something I only had passing knowledge with. I did learn a little something new!

[@ag23415]

I know it seems like a ton of work, but a tier list of all the Marvel universes would be amazing.

[@alejandrogonzalez00]

17:36 that is such a powerful scene man really showing how much of the psychological toll that it’s been taking on them to the point Black Panther’s own ancestors kicked him out of their afterlife basically, just because he wouldn’t detonate that bomb, man that scene is so great

[@martinyoon5252]

Idk why but I love this moment of the video the most 17:01 - 17:10 Probably because I’m just a DC fanboy but that quote felt important to me

[@cristianrivera6719]

Honest I read both the New Avengers Comic and The Secret Wars without fully understanding what was going on back when it came out, but this video has really helped but the pieces together

[@mattwo7]

3:15 Wait, Dr. Strange has a spell like that in the comics too?!

[@nkemnoraulmanfredini7286]

Of course.

[@nachovichoZX]

6:54 In Latin America, in comics, TV series, videogames and movies, they all called "Gemas del infinito" (Infinity gems) in Latin Spanish.

[@TommyBoy313]

Fantastic video Drake! Thank you for such a detailed explanation on a group which I knew so little about. That was a very fun watch. Love your channel.

[@lishark843]

Its funny for me how the Illuminati fail constantly and still people were upset when they failed at the movie too

[@timburbagereads]

This was a fantastic video, covering a lot of topics. Well done Drake

[@jonbrewer297]

And the measure of if one is truly a hero or a villain: How long did it take before they hated being part of the Illuminati?

[@someoneirrelevant6815]

The whole “used the stones to destroy the stones” thing working in the movies and not in the comics can be explained by something from the what if show: infinity stones from different universes play by different rules

[@superior6385]

“Only two universes remained. Earth 616, and the Ultimate Universe.” *MCU literally just hiding in the shadows:* 😶‍🌫️

[@skarloey1214]

Great Video Drake.

[@CZ008]

Nice I always enjoy Learning from you. So professional but friendly

[@JLeeminus]

It’s funny how we expected so much of the illuminati LOL….

[@TheCreepypro]

wow that was a lot and was super interesting so thanks for this video and your work

[@singularitychannel823]

I don’t know if this is something you would do, but I would love to see some videos on your personal favorite storylines involving relevant characters. With Doctor Strange: MoM coming up, you could do a video on some of your favorite Doctor Strange stories

[@deleondaniel6206]

Comic Drake should more History Of Videos in the Future💜💜💜

[@RealQuickComics]

I swear the the algorithm is in my head I was already thinking about this and then it pops into my feed I never said anything about it out loud😂

[@ComicDrake]

Sounds like the algorithm knows that you want to watch more of this channel. 😏

[@RealQuickComics]

@@ComicDrake oh yeah, your channel is a big part of my channels inspiration!

[@ComicDrake]

@@RealQuickComics Well best of luck! ComicTube can always use more positive folks spreading the good word.

[@supamillienp]

17:17 Dr. Strange: "I'm losing? Nah bitch, WE'RE losing. Roses are red, weapons against me won't prosper... with this sacred treasure, I summon... BIG RAGA, THE OPP STOPPA!"

[@patrickkilduff5272]

Also...Reed DID succumb to the allure of the gems power...it took the Watcher to talk him down...

[@stevencooper564]

Holy shit, your breakdown of "Men trying to be Gods versus God's trying to be Men" is such a great comparison, I don't think I've heard that before but I'm using it now, thanks!

[@ChamarM]

I love how Doctor Strange 2 is going to turn the Illuminati from a secret super team to a group of variant versions of characters who protect the multiverse from threats

[@bigboy2281]

I mean that’s kind of what they where SUPPOSED to do in the comics 🤷🏾

[@jms7265]

@@bigboy2281 They weren’t supposed to protect the Multiverse from threats, their goal was to pretext their Reality, their earth and their Universe from threats.

[@bigboy2281]

@@jms7265 yeah that’s what I said they are supposed to protect there world from ALL threats even multiverse ones like the incursions they had a big deal to do with

[@tangchuho123]

such a good video, keep it up Drake

[@gorachand1235]

Man the Illuminati breaks up more quickly than the relationship of High Schooler

[@davidholik1859]

well after hellfire galla event there was a clue of all ex-member of all illuminati to gather together so they can fight mutants on krakoa

[@nanospark1]

the story telling is exquisite.

[@drifter4training]

is it me or some of the events in the comics mentioned in this video kinda inspired the MCU movies...

[@ReissSpangenberg4470]

16:01 red suit mr fantastic is cool. Now I want to se marvel make a comic AU where all reds on suits are blue and all blue suits are red. And captain America’s Shield has is classic color from its 1st appearance

[@CurrentNetPriceTanaka]

they did em dirty in Multiverse of Madness

[@eternallylearning2811]

13:43 I just love how australias just conviently on the side thats not breaking i'm just imaging us Australian are like ""matey the americans are at it again,,.

[@DarkApostleNoek]

For AvX did they explain how Namor flooded Wakanda, cause it is a land locked nation, so did he just make it rain really bad very fast or what? If they do decide to do this again bring in Fury for both being on the group and field agent, in the sense when he recruits a bunch of random heroes from different groups no one blinks an eye. They talk about a threat, give who they think from their group would do best, then Fury gets and sends them off.

[@diegoprodriguez]

Man, there is never gonna be another event like Secert Wars 2015, where it really felt like what we knew was coming to an end and you see all these characters go to extremes to make their point

[@boulderthebolder6165]

As a bald man, I'll stand with Professor X, thank you very much.

[@ItsKagiVids]

Funny you mention the Illuminati forming again because that appears to be what the main MCU seems to be heading in lol. I mean we have Doctor Strange a version of Professor X, and even a version of Iron Man.

[@federicomarintuc]

Imagine if Anson Mount reprise his role as Black Bolt. We will have two Enterprise captains and Kahn at the same time

[@noahharris6724]

7:29 You're gonna need a montage.

[@alexjsanchez7456]

They did the illuminati dirty in Doctor Strange

[@Ashguy733]

Ahem the Annihilators are the most powerful. And yeah I really like Namor, but A vs X and Hickmans interpretation honestly wasn't my favourite part, even if he was a necessary evil in his stories.

[@Omnitrickster0207]

Hey Drake, I loved your Sonic video it was cool do you think you will ever make more video game content in the future. I was curious if you knew anything about the glory of Hercules games

[@pedrocavalcante4939]

I'm surprised Banner/Hulk would join up with the Illuminati after everything...

[@MrQdiddy85]

I know the whole story of world war hulk and all but I honestly can't remember if they asked Bruce Banner if he was cool with being sent off, cause I would think that Bruce would be totally done with that

[@MARCSEIDis]

I remember Bruce being pissed off about the whole situation too, specifically when Strange tries to calm him down.

[@K1ng1995]

According to a tie in. The reason why they didn't ask Banner if it would be cool to do with while they worked on a cure WAS BECAUSE HE MIGHT SAY NO thus they couldn't trick him.

[@Gangerworld]

Wow what a bonkers ride. Thanks!

[@JudgementalGoat]

The infinity gems are the dragon balls from the MU. Change my mind.

[@FraserSouris]

The funny thing is that the Snyderverse characters aren't even that dark. I feel even Drake missed that aspect. Like, in Man of Steel, literally the whole thesis of the story is that Superman is going to be the hope for humanity. That's Jor El's whole message to Clark. To be that hope. In BVS, the film literally ends with Batman realizing how wrong he's been about Supes and is inspired to become a better person. Because Supers continued to be hopeful and stick to his missions despite the whole world hating him.

[@tyronechillifoot5573]

Marvel characters aren’t paragons they’re people they represent what we would try to do when given powers what we think we’d do with a dose of humanity added to it

[@DradthemercenaryXV]

i wish you could have mentioned the hint of their comeback during the hellfire gala, idk, the way they all gather to discuss xavier's position was sussy af

[@stage_door9831]

God tier ad transition

[@dsierra16]

good summary of the illuminati and new avengers vol3. I'd liked that you explained more dr dooms moving behind everybody, but I understood why you didn't. Thanks to that saga I love/hate namor and I know that he will NEVER get a good adaptation that will to him justice. Same for the illuminati, it may be good, but not even close as great as these stories. You should have pointed out the easter egg that they got the responsible (Hickman), since he got arrested on the ultimate universe wearing a spiderman cosmic suit. He confessed and everything xD

[@devinkavanaugh1034]

Great video. Love what you said about DC, very true!

[@kingofthebis1068]

Personally I think being involved with the Illuminati makes you more villainous than most villains

[@aadn.]

They only killed dead worlds. Well, everyone but Namor

[@kingofthebis1068]

@@aadn. they all built the bombs together just because they were to cowardly to pull the trigger doesn’t mean they aren’t responsible. Steve was right about the illuminati imo. If the incursions were public information all of the superheroes could’ve contributed to finding solutions.

[@bobmularky7456]

@@kingofthebis1068 The whole point of Hickman's New Avengers was that there was no solution.

[@K1ng1995]

​@@bobmularky7456Thank you

[@rekyrro9669]

The DC paragon thing i think was pretty obvious if even the CW shows talk about it Zack Snyder really doesnt understand those characters

[@Darknova67]

Yooo, the doctor strange movie opens an amazing opportunity, imagine how cool it would be if we met a new Black Panther, who's like this fugitive, he has a beat up suit and wears a black cloak and is constantly on the run from the illuminati, that could be an amazing side character or main focus for the next black panther movie

[@KingOfThaDead64]

I like the idea, but this version is similar to his 616 when it comes to intelligence. He's the 8th smartest in marvel.

[@Darknova67]

@@KingOfThaDead64 Yeah, if there was anything like that, it would have been teased by now. I really liked Heimdall in Ragnarok and thought it would be a cool call back to the comics while also doing something original for the MCU and giving us a new Black Panther that is a different black panther, one that's like hardened survivalist and no longer a regal king

[@AlteredNova04]

I love how in the marvel universe, having the greatest heroes in the world team up to deal with universal threats is treated like this nefarious secret elite society, but in the DC universe they just openly formed the Justice League and everyone loves and respects them.

[@cameoshadowness7757]

The Justice League is still feared like all hell. There are many who don't respect them as well. This is why things like Task Force X and other projects came into works across the globe.

[@doomgod314]

This was probably my favorite ara of Marvel Comics

[@Dw7freak]

Namor deserves some respect. While the others in the group are influential in their circles, Namor is a king. His first priority after making sure the world is safe is that his kingdom is safe. While some of his choices weren't the right ones, they were the ones that needed to be taken for his people to survive. The lives of other worlds aren't as important as his own people's. That's why he didn't hesitate to destroy the other planets. The weight of that sin was nothing compared to the weight of his crown.

[@МаксБурый-р2ю]

You say that as if he feels anything after doing that

[@yurineri2227]

Great video, I hope they come back one day

[@AlonsoGarcia-r1o]

18:46 I got a Pizza Hut commercial at this moment

[@Jade-qy5bc]

“So what are we some kinda Illuminati?”…”say that again”

[@vojinpetrovic1]

Will u continue your Amalgam Comic series?

[@Mr.Crawlyo]

Comic iron man got me trembling how many crazy stuff hes done

[@Itsdamere]

The sentry is like Superman with the goblin mixed

[@juliusbossman7280]

Namor: Destroy Wakanda, planets, the first Marvel Hero and form the Cabal. Yeah, if there are people that still call him a weak fish dude, they better shut it

[@Michaelengelmann]

“DC is too dark” is always a bs argument. Especially in the Snyderverse. In IM2, they showed Tony as a drunk, that’s dark. Ppl were made Snyder killed off Dick but if he said it was Todd’s ppl wouldn’t be mad. They’re all hypocrites

[@Cornyboa]

as a kid i actually thought this was the real illuminati 🤣

[@alexnoel2]

I'd be ecstatic to find out Ironman and Dr.Strange are secretly controlling the world governments

[@Blahblahblah608]

Where did you get the tshirt from ? I like it

[@dracish123456789]

The issue with incursions is why aren't the stars or other planets incursing

[@ComicDrake]

Earth is the center of the multiverse.

[@dracish123456789]

@@ComicDrake Didn't know that so in Marvel the earth centroc theories were right