Reed Richards' Darkest Kill Explains Why Not Every Reality Has Illuminati
Many realities throughout the Marvel multiverse have their own version of the Illuminati, but Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four is to blame for some universes going without. In particular, the Reed Richards of Earth-231 caused his universe’s Illuminati to disband nearly as soon as it began in one of the hero’s darkest acts to date.
The Illuminati stands as a cabal within the Marvel Universe, uniting leaders and heroes of extreme intelligence in secret for the greater good. In Brian Michael Bendis and Steve McNiven’s New Avengers #7, the Illuminati first forms by bringing together Iron Man of the Avengers; Black Bolt of the Inhumans; Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme; Namor, King of Atlantis; Professor X of the X-Men; and the aforementioned Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. The Illuminati would later gain new members such as Captain America, Black Panther and Bruce Banner.
Related: DC's Illuminati: Fans Choose Heroes to Match Marvel's Secret Team
Following the catastrophic events of Civil War and Secret Invasion, the Richards of Marvel’s main universe (Earth-616) builds a device known as The Bridge that allows him to view alternate realities in the hopes of discovering where things went wrong. While scanning the different realities, Richards finds that many end in catastrophe, with the Illuminati seemingly doing more harm than good. In Jonathan Hickman and Sean Chen’s Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #3, the Reed Richards of Earth-231 comes to the same conclusion and disturbingly kills all other members of the Illuminati as soon as the group is formed, seeing it as the only way to prevent the danger the party poses.
While the concept of a murderous Reed Richards isn’t a new one, this culling shows the shocking measures
Read more on screenrant.com
