Beware the Illuminati. No, not that Illuminati. Celebrated Marvel Comics' writer Brian Michael Bendis saw fit to create the Marvel Universe's own version of a powerful secret society, evidently inspired by the real world legend. The Marvel Illuminati was formed by a handful of prominent figures following a massive conflict involving extraterrestrial forces that the group's instigating founder believed could have been averted had they pooled their respective knowledge and resources together sooner.
Despite largely disagreeing on the initial proposal to establish a unified superhero government, a consensus was reached between most present at the meeting to reconvene regularly behind the scenes to share information. The organization's roster has changed significantly since, but the original six members were each meant to represent an important community and/or perspective within their collective universe. Some arguably held more power or influence than others, yet they all maintained unique and valuable positions in the group.
6) Tony Stark: The Big Picture Thinker for The Common Man
The one who actually called the inaugural gathering of the Illuminati to order, Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, recognized the merits of operating as a superhero in cooperation with official government rather than outside it, a mindset which he applied to his role as a member of the world-famous Avengers and that he hoped to offer his soon-to-be-born secret cabal. The aftermath of the Kree-Skrull War made Stark realize that had Earth's heroes been more centralized, they could have used their combined intelligence on the threat to prevent it. While his subsequent idea for a global superhuman representative body was soundly ripped apart by those he met, they compromised on needing to be more communicative, coordinated, and strategic.
Stark's strength within the Illuminati doubled as his weakness. Being the only one of the founding members to lack any inherent superhuman abilities, he was easily the least powerful, but it was exactly his connection to ordinary humanity that made him vital to the organization. Furthermore, as a brilliant intellectual, he tended to think for the future, and was perhaps far-sighted to a fault, yet his ability to plan ahead nevertheless inspired the Illuminati's directive.
5) Namor: Ruler Over An Ocean of Gray
The king of the underwater nation of Atlantis, Namor the Sub-Mariner brought ample physical might and the complicated point-of-view of a well-known anti-hero to the Illuminati. He expressed mistrust toward the heroes represented by the other founders, particularly those with histories of violence and criminality, like Avengers member Hawkeye and the mutant Quicksilver. It was he who suggested holding all future meetings in secret, enabling them to keep the circle small and avoid outside interference.
As the rightful Atlantean monarch, Namor carried the power and secrets of an ancient civilization who grew highly advanced and thrived in a domain that remained largely a mystery to the rest of mankind. Namor's ambiguous sense of morality compared to the other Illuminati members added an interesting and, in some cases, needed layer of complexity to the group's supposedly righteous intentions, although it also made Namor a wild card. For all his bluster about the untrustworthiness of the other heroes, he predictably demonstrated a lack of reliability in certain instances.
4) Reed Richards: A Brain That Knows No Bounds
Leader of the well-regarded superhero family The Fantastic Four, Reed Richards, codenamed Mister Fantastic, possesses incredible elastic and shape-changing capabilities that ultimately pale in comparison to his nearly unmatched intellect. He reasoned that Iron Man's original proposition for a "United Nations" of superheroes presented too many logistical and bureaucratic issues, but acknowledged the necessity for more efficient information exchange between them.
Richards represented the scientific perspective of his world's protectors. A passionate explorer and innovator, Richards' understanding and know-how extended beyond the Earthly realms of science and technology to embrace the far reaches of the cosmos with its untold forms of life and the enigmatic workings of parallel dimensions.
3) Black Bolt: The Silent King of Ages
The Inhumans are a race of genetically enhanced beings created from alien experimentation on the inhabitants of prehistoric Earth. They eventually built their own society sequestered from primitive humans, and Blackagar Boltagon, or simply Black Bolt, led them into the modern era. Exceptionally powerful even for his kind, Black Bolt was born with a voice so strong that it could obliterate planets, in addition to other abilities. Unable to speak normally, he communicates through non-verbal means.
Having lived for decades and being ruler of a highly developed species with ties to the Earth's earliest history, not the least of which involved extraterrestrial and cosmic encounters, Black Bolt was an essential inclusion to the Illuminati because of the experience and authority he wielded.
2) Charles Xavier: The Eternal Peacemaker
Founder of the costumed freedom fighters the X-Men, Professor Charles Xavier spoke for the world's mutants as co-founder of the Illuminati. A mutant himself, Xavier was gifted with the power of telepathy, allowing him to read, communicate with, and control the minds of other people, and his prowess with these abilities was especially notable amongst mutant psychics. Throughout his life, Xavier dedicated his wealth, influence, and renowned mental talents to advocating harmony between his kind and regular humans, most of whom feared the former for their extraordinary and often dangerous powers.
Xavier's role within the Illuminati was indispensable as he was their arbitrator. His telepathy ensured that all the members would be able to commune plainly and without worry of betrayal from one another. Xavier's input was also of equal import seeing how he understood the effects that a governing institution could have on those under its supervision because of the discrimination faced by mutants. Unfortunately, external events prevented Xavier from participating in the Illuminati's dealings later on, which could be seen as a contributing factor to the organization's gradual collapse.
1) Stephen Strange: Grand Defender Against The Unknown
The Marvel Universe is full of dangers, whether it is petty criminals, megalomaniacal supervillains, or interplanetary invaders. And there is no shortage of heroes and teams to deal with them. But very few are qualified to protect the innocent from Lovecraftian terrors, Eldritch demons, malevolent magicians, and all the things that go bump in the night. The Sorcerer Supreme stands at the head of Earth's primary line of defence against mystical perils, and for many years, that individual has been Dr. Stephen Strange.
As the Illuminati's representative for the magical and esoteric domains of the world, as well as the independent agents and outsiders of the superhero community, Strange held a great deal of power, both in a very singular and literal sense. His position granted him access to a wide range of knowledge and information by way of mystical tomes and artifacts that the other Illuminati, even with their high stations, would generally be incapable of grasping. Strange was additionally one of the group's most formidable and versatile fighters, if not their best, as his magic afforded him a diverse assortment of awesome abilities.