The Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to grow. With the completion of the Fox/Disney deal likely coming just before Avengers: Endgame opens up a new chapter in the MCU, characters that were previously owned by 20th Century Fox (most notably those associated with the Fantastic Four and the X-Men) will now be able to appear in the MCU proper.

While that's exciting for plenty of reasons, the one with perhaps the most potential also requires the freedom to explore almost every corner of the Marvel Universe. With the Fox/Disney merger almost complete, the MCU could finally introduce their own version of the Marvel's sneakiest superhero team, the Illuminati.

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Who They Are

The Illuminati (Iron Man, Professor Charles Xavier, Black Bolt, Doctor Strange, Mister Fantastic and Namor) were first introduced as a single group in the build-up to Planet Hulk. Comprised of some of the most important leaders in the Marvel Universe, the group was ultimately responsible for exiling the Hulk, accidentally sending him to the space gladiator planet of Sakaar.

The group was then revealed to have played a hand in various Marvel Universe events, working behind the scenes to protect the world. They confronted the Beyonder and Marvel Boy, and tried to prepare for potential threats like the Sentry when Civil War and Secret Invasion split the group.

With a member representing each of the main corners of the world, the Illuminati moves in secret. Their existence led to the eventual breakdown of trust between the heroes. Much of the Jonathan Hickman run on New Avengers centered around the group reforming to contend with the Incursions threatening reality, expanding their ranks to include Black Panther (who had refused to join the original group) and Beast, who replaced the then recently deceased Xavier. Captain America even briefly belonged to the group, but his stiff morality proved too inflexible and Doctor Strange erased his memories of the group.

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The Illuminati is potentially the most powerful group on Earth, more so than even the Avengers. Led by the most brilliant minds in the world, the group is able to coordinate heroes without them ever realizing. It's a purposefully shady group, and one that has prompted real questions about the morality of their existence for some of the world's biggest superheroes. So, the possibility of the team appearing in the MCU is cause for excitement.

How They Could Appear

The Illuminati isn't something Marvel has ever shied away from. They were even hinted at in a very sneaky Easter egg from Iron Man 2. While some suspected the group would be adapted for a potential Planet Hulk film, that never came to be. On top of Marvel not having the full rights to release a solo Hulk film (thanks to sharing the rights with Universal,) elements from that plot were lifted for Thor: Ragnarok instead.

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Avengers-Infinity-War-poster

The fact of the matter is that, by the time Avengers: Infinity War rolled around, there just wasn't enough members to justify the group. Of the original six members, only Doctor Strange and Iron Man had been introduced in the MCU. Namor has been in his own cinematic limbo, Xavier and Mister Fantastic were owned by 20th Century Fox and Black Bolt has only so far appeared in the Inhumans television show. Black Panther arrived in Phase Three, but seems firmly set on working with Captain America over Iron Man.

With Avengers: Endgame promising to restructure the entire cosmos of the MCU, along with the characters owned by Fox coming to Disney, this could be the perfect opportunity to let some of the biggest heroic leaders in the MCU try and prevent anything like the ending of Infinity War from happening again.

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What They Could Do

The Illuminati doesn't even necessarily have to consist of the same heroes from the comics. The Inhumans have been all but pushed off to the side following the lackluster response to their television series, so Black Bolt might not even factor in.

Namor still hasn't been introduced to the universe, although there was a sly reference to the character and his kingdom of Atlantis in Iron Man 2. Someone like Black Panther could even assume a role left empty if Iron Man doesn't make it out of Avengers: Endgame.

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There are plenty of other brilliant minds that could take their place among the group. Shuri could easily step into such a role, helping the gender gap that was ever-present in the first three phases of the MCU. Hank Pym could offer expertise in super science, or Nick Fury could become their spy master going into the future.

If the rumors that Professor Hulk will debut in Avengers: Endgame end up being true, than even he could take a spot on the team which, come on, that's some beautiful irony considering how the group was first introduced in the comics.

Xavier and Mister Fantastic haven't been brought into the MCU yet, but it won't be long before they arrive. Their two franchises were some of the last major parts of the Marvel Universe that had no chance of appearing in the films, so it's unlikely that they'll be away from the MCU for long.

Being members of the Illuminati could even provide an easy explanation for where they've been in the universe this whole time. Xavier especially could be revealed to have been working with someone like Fury to hide the existence of mutants from the general populace, explaining their lack of appearances so far while setting up future X-Men films firmly set in the MCU.

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Their most likely (and more important) job could become a reality after Endgame. One of the responsibilities of the group in the comics was to watch over the Infinity Stones, making sure they don't end up in the wrong hands. Each of the six members of the group received one stone to protect.

If Avengers: Endgame ends with the heroes claiming the Infinity Stones, a group of like-minded heroes could work together to keep them safe and hidden, combining the Illuminati and the Infinity Watch into one group that would be perfect for the future of the MCU.