By Marc Strom
Welcome to another installment of Secret Invasion Illumination, True Believer, your inside source to the various key players from the mega event spinning through the SECRET INVASION limited series itself as well as MIGHTY AVENGERS, NEW AVENGERS and many more of Marvel's top titles!
This week, the Illuminati themselves take center stage in preparation for their walk down memory lane in NEW AVENGERS #44, on sale August 30, when writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Billy Tan go through the powerful groups' history books to unveil a shocking secret that…well, saying any more would ruin it, Marvelite!
So in preparation for the next major revelation in the Secret Invasion saga, catch up on your Illuminati history and listen in as Executive Editor Tom Brevoort drops a couple hints as to just what the shadow organization's unrevealed role in the bigger picture might be!
Protecting the World in Secrecy
Since the days following the Kree-Skrull war, a group of the biggest guns in the Marvel U have met in secrecy to ensure the Earth's safety and monitor any possible threats, whether they appear from outer space or within the Avengers' ranks.
The Illuminati's membership—unchanged through the years—reads like a phone directory of the biggest movers and shakers: Iron Man, Professor X, Black Bolt, Dr. Strange, Mr. Fantastic and Namor. Together they have made some of the largest decisions in history, unbeknownst to the populace at large, to maintain the safety and order of their world.
In recent months, the Illuminati faced the repercussions of shooting Bruce Banner into space in the form of World War Hulk shortly before discovering a spy in their midst. After Tony Stark brought the body of the Skrull posing as Elektra to the group, Black Bolt revealed himself to be a member of the alien race as well. Unsure of who to trust, Marvel's most powerful secret cabal went their separate ways in preparation for the impending invasion…
A Great Responsibility
The Illuminati walks a very delicate line between helping the denizens of the Marvel Universe and becoming a highly dangerous threat themselves. While readers have seen the group successfully handle threats such as the Beyonder or Marvel Boy, not all of their choices have ended well.
Having a secret organization of six extraordinarily powerful individuals policing and watching over their world, making the hard decisions that an average human couldn't even dream of, may seem like a good idea in theory, but as we all know, with great power comes great responsibility...and the Illuminati haven't always used that responsibility wisely.
While the group's members have always had humanity's best interests at heart, they still failed to prevent the Civil War, created the situation which led to World War Hulk, and may have inadvertently helped plant the seeds of Secret Invasion.
For all the good they've done, we can't help but wonder when the negative consequences of their actions will eclipse everything else.
Secrets and Revelations
The Skrulls' don't have a monopoly on secrets these days. The Illuminati have one of their own, and according to Brevoort, this revelation will have very direct ties to the invasion.
"[The Illuminati's secret is] the key to what the Skrulls are doing and how they're doing it," the editor reveals. "Without it, the Skrull invasion wouldn't have happened the way it happened."
Of course, the Illuminati have had at least one run-in with the Skrull Empire that we know of. During their first gathering, the secret assemblage journeyed into the heart of the aliens' intergalactic kingdom, only to find themselves imprisoned by the green-skinned races' top scientists in the pages of NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI #1.
While the full implications of that incident have yet to reveal themselves, Brevoort teases that NEW AVENGERS #44 will "certainly be picking up on elements from the recent ILLUMINATI limited series in a major way."
The issue won't address at least one major point of that series, however—the revelation of Black Bolt's replacement.
"[We won't deal with that] in this story, I'm afraid—but [we will] in SECRET INVASION: INHUMANS," Brevoort notes, plugging the four issue tie-in debuting August 13.
As for the Illuminati's future, the editor voiced concern over whether or not the group even had a "present" to speak of.
"Does the Illuminati even still exist at this point," Brevoort questions. "Black Bolt is missing, Doctor Strange is gone, Professor X is powerless—it seems like they've got problems above and beyond just the Skrull Invasion."
NEW AVENGERS #44 sheds light on the dark secrets of the Illuminati on August 30. To delve deeper into the history of this covert cabal, check out Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.
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 "NEW AVENGERS #44 cover by Aleksi Briclot")
 "NEW AVENGERS #45 black and white art by Jimmy Cheung")
