The following contains spoilers for Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. Though the majority of the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are solo projects for different heroes, the most popular movies are definitely the team-ups. Fans like to see numerous heroes work together to save the day, and they can’t be faulted for wanting to see those different character dynamics explored.
For most of the MCU so far, those team-ups have been of members of the Avengers. The Guardians of the Galaxy exist, but typically work outside the main storyline. In Phase Four, however, with so many of the original characters present in the MCU gone, it does beg whether or not the Avengers are still a team, or whether another group of heroes could replace them. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness even poses a potential alternative to the Avengers.
Are The Avengers Still A Team
The original six members of the Avengers in the MCU - Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Hulk - were not the most cohesive of teams. Iron Man and Captain America rarely got along, Thor spent as much time off planet as on, Black Widow and Hawkeye had full time jobs as spies, and Bruce Banner didn’t even want to be the Hulk. While they could work together to save the world, and the group did create an Avengers training compound eventually, they might not have been the best fitting team.
Over the course of the MCU, several members of the team have now died or retired with new characters emerging to take on their mantles or make names for themselves. The last real team-up of the MCU was every superhero that could make it on screen teaming up against Thanos and his army, but the heroes have largely gone their separate ways since. It does beg the question, with Tony Stark and Black Widow dead, Steve Rogers and Clint Barton retired, and Thor adventuring away from Earth, does the Avengers really still exist?
It seems unlikely. After all, Clint Barton, the one who got Wanda Maximoff to join the Avengers, and the one to break her out of the Avengers compound in Captain America: Civil War, doesn’t warrant any communication with her in WandaVision, Hawkeye, or Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. Wanda also doesn’t seem to be in contact with former teammates Bucky Barnes or Sam Wilson, though they formed their own partnership. Scott Lang also has his own new partner in Hope Van Dyne. Even the members of “Team Cap” have all gone their separate ways. They’re no longer a functioning team of superheroes, and as any superhero fan knows, a team is an inevitable necessity.
The Function Of The Illuminati
Much like on Earth-838 in the MCU, the Illuminati are formed in the comics as a way to share information and stave off potential threats. In the comics, however, the group is specifically made up of leaders of other specific factions on Earth, and their involvement is kept a strict secret from the outside world and their own teams. They meet periodically to trade knowledge and evaluate their shared enemies.
The idea is that each of these different factions on Earth - like mutants or Inhumans or residents of Atlantis - would each have different information about potential threats. While that’s true as each group typically faces separate threats from one another, the Illuminati of the comics doesn’t typically get along as well as that in the MCU. When their existence is revealed to others, it’s often followed by outrage that the organization is kept a secret.
It’s not clear if the need for secrecy is the same in Earth-838 as the group is also responsible for eliminating Thanos, something the public knows and thinks Doctor Strange is a hero for.
Could An Illuminati Form In The 616
Though Doctor Strange of Earth-616 doesn’t have the best experience with the Illuminati, the audience might wonder if the idea of the group will appeal to him. After all, he’s teamed up with Avengers, but he doesn’t appear to consider himself one of them either. Would he think it a good idea for leaders amongst the heroes to periodically meet and discuss potential threats?
At this point, iIt seems unlikely. While Doctor Strange is more than willing to team up with someone to save a life, or a planet, as is repeatedly pointed out to the audience for Multiverse of Madness, he’s not the best of team players. Strange, “has to be the one holding the knife.” It’s unlikely that he would advocate for the formation of yet another team of heroes whose egos might outweigh their ability to work together. The Illuminati might remain a fun Easter egg for comic book fans.
It seems more likely that if an Illuminati formed in the 616, it would initially be without Strange’s knowledge. It’s entirely possible that when Namor (who is a member in the comics) or Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four are introduced to the main timeline, that one of them might advocate for working with other heroes to stop potential incursions in secret. It would be very different from the way the Avengers operate out in the open as knowledge of incursions would likely cause a mass panic.
The incursions of other realities, after all, are going to continue to be a threat as three different projects have now had experience with the multiverse and variant heroes (Multiverse of Madness, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Loki). Even the mid-credit scene of Multiverse of Madness shows that the 616 characters aren’t done dealing with the collision of realities. The Illuminati of some of those other universes would be a good opportunity for writers in the MCU to explore characters in new ways as well, but Doctor Strange isn’t going to trust any other secret group of heroes willing to take the life of another hero to get what they want.