An alternate Earth explored by Doctor Strange in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, with its own unique superheroes and history to go along with it. It's protected from cosmic and multiversal threats by The Illuminati, yet they hide a dark secret regarding one of their most famous members.
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Earth-838
In General
- Adapted Out: Inverted in comparison to the rest of the MCU which was famously Screwed by the Lawyers and until Fox was bought by Disney in 2019 was unable to use any of the Fantastic Four and X-Men characters (except for Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver). This universe includes representatives from both teams in the forms of Reed Richards and Charles Xavier, with Strange voicing his disbelief and amusement at the Fantastic Four name since he only knows the name from the 1960s band.
- Alternate History: In comparison to Earth-199999, there is no point of divergence between it and Earth-838. Instead it has multiple differences such as the presence of two teams that don't exist on Earth-199999, several characters existing in roles different from their Sacred Timeline counterparts, and Bizarro Universe logic in regards to traffic rules.
- Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome: Zig-zagged.
- This universe seems more successful than the Sacred Timeline, as they managed to defeat Thanos well before he was able to complete the Infinity Gauntlet and kill half the universe, this universe's Tony Stark was able to successfully create a benevolent, peace-keeping Ultron, Wanda Maximoff lives peacefully with her children, and the Fantastic Four, the Inhumans, and the X-Men are prominent hero teams.
- However, they were only able to defeat Thanos with the Book of Vishanti, and after Strange used the Darkhold, an action that resulted in the deaths of trillions in another universe. The Illuminati were forced to execute him while claiming to the public that he sacrificed himself to beat Thanos. Additionally, the Illuminati were completely unprepared against Sacred timeline Wanda, who was able to whittle them down to just Mordo (and Sacred timeline Doctor Strange made short work of him), ending the Illuminati and greatly crippling this world's forces.
- Bizarro Universe: In regards to traffic rules, at least. Here, red means go and green means stop. They also have pizza in the shape of balls.
- Expendable Alternate Universe: Played horrifically straight when Wanda kills the Illuminati with little difficulty, as none of these characters are protected with the Plot Armor given to the protagonists despite achieving much more in their own universe. A more humorous example would be the Pizza Poppa Vendor Strange uses magic on to force him to hurt himself over a fairly minor offence, which he wouldn't normally do in his universe likely due to how it would affect his reputation.
- Retired Badass: With the sole exception of Captain Carter, the Avengers are largely defunct in this universe, due to the Ultron program working successfully here, thus allowing the rest of its members to retire.
- Solar Punk: 838-New York City has trees growing everywhere and looks futuristic compared to NYC of the main universe.
The Illuminati
In General
The Illuminati
Appearances: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
"Stephen Strange, you are now called before the Illuminati."
— Baron Karl Mordo
A team and council made up of the greatest heroes of Earth-838, who the Sacred Timeline Stephen Strange is brought before.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: In the comics, Tony Stark formed the Illuminati after the events of the Kree-Skrull war, due to his belief that a secret, organized group of superhumans could preemptively protect the world from dangerous threats. In the MCU, the Illuminati is instead formed by Doctor Strange due to the threat of Thanos looming over Earth-838 at the time. According to
Word of God, the team forming was necessary because the Avengers had disbanded due to Tony Stark creating the Ultron Sentries. - Adaptation Distillation: The original Illuminati in the comics included Iron Man and Namor the Sub-Mariner. In the MCU, Tony — or some counterpart to him — is implied to have been involved with the Illuminati due to the existence of several Ultron androids working for the group, but he never actually appears. Meanwhile, Namor made his debut after the Illuminati put themselves on the map. However, there are also some characters standing in for others, such as Mordo for Doctor Strange (who he replaces after Supreme Strange's death) and Peggy Carter for Captain America, who in the comics joined the team much later. Captain Marvel is the only member who has never been featured on any version of the team.
- Adaptational Diversity: In the comics, the Illuminati originally consisted entirely of white men, all but two of them American (those two being kings of fictional nations). Here, they have a British woman, an African-American woman, and a Black man of unknown nationality in their ranks.
- Adapted Out: As said before, Tony Stark and Namor aren't part of this version of the Illuminati despite Tony even being the one who came up with the Illuminati in the comics. That said, several Ultron drones are utilized and subservient to the group, implying that Tony was still involved with the group in some regard.
- Big Good: At least what they are supposed to be by their own standards.
- Black-and-Grey Morality: Unlike the Avengers, the Illuminati are more than willing to make pragmatic choices to save as many lives as possible. This includes killing the Doctor Strange of their world.
- Doomed Contrarian: Zig-Zagged. While the other variants of Stephen encountered in the film do prove they have a point about him tending to cause chaos across The Multiverse, they gravely underestimate how much more of a big, direct and immediate threat Wanda is and insist that Sacred Timeline Strange requires their sole attention despite his warnings. They continue to do so right up until Wanda finally attacks their headquarters and massacres them all to a man.
- Good Is Not Nice: They immediately detain Doctor Strange with the intent of locking him away forever. Not because of anything he did, but because their own version of Stephen was so big of a threat that they presume all versions of Doctor Strange are capable of collapsing realities like he did.
- Hero of Another Story: Charles Xavier reveals that this Illuminati was created to combat their universe's version of Thanos. The aftermath of their battle is shown to have ended in success but came at a heavy cost.
- Hero Ball: Had they heeded Doctor Strange's warnings about the Dreamwalking Scarlet Witch, they may have been able to neutralize her foray into their universe.
- Hypocrite: They accuse both their own Doctor Strange and Sacred Timeline Strange of being arrogant, while themselves showing incredible arrogance in their ability to defeat Wanda, who swiftly murders every single one of them while barely breaking a sweat.
- Idiot Ball: For a team that's apparently effective enough to kill Thanos, they sure drop the ball facing Wanda by not coordinating better or attacking once the first casualty. Reed especially holds it when he indirectly gives Wanda a way to kill Black Bolt and then attempts to personally subdue her and is promptly killed.
- The Illuminati: They are named after the secret society.
- It's Personal: It's shown by some of the members that they're saddened at the possibility that they may have to kill yet another Strange, and that it was a decision that heavily weighs on their shoulders. It's also hinted by their arrogant behavior and statements that they're trying to convince themselves to do it, even when the new Strange in front of them is innocent.
- Mirroring Factions: To the original Avengers of the Sacred Timeline. Both groups consist of some of their universe's best heroes and decided to form a Super Team together to best cosmic threats such as Thanos. However, the Illuminati were a secret group that mostly works in the shadows, and operate purely on Black-and-Grey Morality. Their relationships with each other are also much more strict and professional, even being willing to kill their version of Doctor Strange for the greater good with little remorse. Meanwhile, the Avengers were a very close Band of Brothers who are revered by the public, who are very good at collaborating with each other to take down bigger threats and take the losses of a team member hard to reverse what Thanos has done to their universe. The Illuminati, however, lacked proper teamwork, mostly due to their overconfidence in their abilities, and barely show grievance towards each other as they were killed off one-by-one by Earth-199999's Wanda.
- Mook Chivalry: Inverted. The heroes decide to attack Wanda one at a time. It's even more blatant when she is killing Reed Richards, and Captain Carter and Captain Marvel are just staring as their teammate screams in pain. They just watch their teammate undergo a Cruel and Unusual Death and don't decide to help him out. Then the two remainders decide to tag-team Wanda, although at that point the battle is lost.
- Not So Stoic: Despite their no-nonsense attitude towards 616 Strange when he's brought before him, Charles Xavier's telepathic vision to the former shows that despite their contempt towards 838 Strange for dreamwalking and causing an incursion, they were all genuinely devastated to have to kill someone they considered a friend. Before he dies, Charles tells Stephen that he will miss him, Maria looks to be barely holding back tears, and Black Bolt makes sure that the final words that he hears are a sincere apology.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Charles Xavier reveals to Doctor Strange that he, his universe's Doctor Strange, and several Illuminati members managed to kill Thanos before he was able to assemble the Infinity Gauntlet, albeit at the cost of Strange using the Darkhold and being killed by Black Bolt.
- Omniscient Council of Vagueness: The first wide shot we see of them in the film has their faces and bodies in silhouette.
- Pragmatic Hero: They all decide to kill the Doctor Strange of their world when they discover he tried to use the Darkhold to stop Thanos and caused an Incursion in the process. Fearing that Strange might become further corrupted, they have Black Bolt execute him. That said, Charles Xavier and Black Bolt himself are genuinely remorseful about losing their comrade, with Charles saying he'll miss Stephen, and Black Bolt's only words being a heartfelt apology as Stephen is killed.
- Smug Super: They are Earth-838's mightiest heroes in place of the Avengers and are quite capable in their own right. However, they've grown a little too comfortable in this role and believe Wanda can be handled despite Strange's attempts to warn them because their version of Wanda isn't as powerful in their experience. Strange takes the limited time he has meeting them to make them see reason and when they still won't listen, mocks them for their arrogance. He's proven right.
- Sole Survivor: Aside from Mordo, they're all murdered by Wanda.
- Super Team: Earth-838's own. It's not clear if they replaced the Avengers on their Earth or if they are acting out of the Baxter Foundation in secret (the Avengers do or did exist there since Captain Carter is referred to as "The First Avenger").
- Two Girls to a Team: Peggy Carter and Maria Rambeau are the two sole female members of the group. Bonus points in that they're also the only members who hold the title of "Captain".
- Team Member in the Adaptation: Baron Mordo, Peggy Carter, and Maria Rambeau were never affiliated with the Illuminati in the comics, but are three prominent members of the group in Multiverse of Madness. However, Mordo and Peggy are both Alternate Universe stand-ins for Doctor Strange and Captain America, who are members in the comics.
- Walking Spoiler: It's hard to talk about any of them without also bringing up the fact that Scarlet Witch kills them all except Mordo in extremely violent ways.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: All of them but Mordo are violently killed by Wanda possessing her own self from another universe, and they didn't have much screen time before it happened.
- The Worf Effect: They managed to defeat Thanos and end the Infinity War in their universe... and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch easily kills them all bar Mordo, who doesn't even face her. In fairness, they horribly underestimate her and defeated Thanos with the Book of Vishanti... which they currently do not have.
Baron Mordo
Baron Karl Amadeus Mordo
"I always suspected this day would come, because you always suspected this day would come...my brother."
Species: Human
Citizenship: British
Portrayed By: Chiwetel Ejiofor
Appearances: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
The Karl Mordo of Earth-838 who became the Sorcerer Supreme and joined the Illuminati.
- Adaptational Hairstyle Change: Last time we saw him, the Sacred Timeline version of Mordo had short hair. His Earth-838 counterpart, on the other hand, sports long braided hair.
- Adaptational Heroism: Both compared to his comic book and his main MCU-counterpart, even being part of the Big Good Ensemble of this Earth. That said, his reaction to 616 Strange's accusations against him implies that he may have been Secretly Selfish in wanting the title of Sorcerer Supreme, and possibly orchestrated the downfall of his universe's Strange so he could claim the title.
- Adaptational Wealth: Unlike his Sacred Timeline counterpart, this Mordo holds the title of Baron, a title of nobility and wealth. That said, we don't actually see him using or talking about his title at all during the film.
- Adaptational Weapon Swap: Whereas the Sacred Timeline version of Mordo used the Staff of the Living Tribunal as his main weapon, his Earth-838 counterpart fights with a magical sword instead. Although, if one looks closely, the weapon is the same in appearance as the Staff of the Living Tribunal, implying it is the same weapon, but Mordo instead draws out of its two handles and forms the magical sword through that. This implies that Sacred Timeline Mordo could do the same with his Staff, but chooses not to. It makes sense that 838-Mordo would use a sword instead because he directly wants to execute Strange immediately while it makes sense that Sacred Timeline Mordo would use a whip because it has a lot more functionality in the situations of the first movie.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: He and Strange seemed to be very close, a far stretch of how their relationship is usually depicted. Than again, Strange himself suggets that maybe their relationship might not be as well as Mordo says.
- Affirmative-Action Legacy: A black man replacing a white man (who replaced a white woman) as the Sorcerer Supreme.
- Alternate Self: To the Mordo of the Sacred Timeline.
- Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome: This version of Mordo is nothing less than the Sorcerer Supreme himself, as well as a prominent member of his universe's resident Super Team the Illuminati.
- Ambiguous Situation: Did 838-Mordo have a hand in the downfall of his universe's Doctor Strange to take his place as Sorcerer Supreme, or did 838-Strange bring it upon himself, as Mordo claims? We never find out for sure. Though he is strangely eager to "pass his verdict" onto Stephen and it's heavily implied that his Breaking Speech to Mordo did touch a nerve...
- Apologetic Attacker: Mordo takes a moment to apologize after drugging Strange and America.
- The Archmage: 838-Mordo became the new Sorcerer Supreme shortly after 838-Strange was executed.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Downplayed; unlike his Sacred Timeline counterpart, this Mordo is explicitly a Baron, and while he is certainly antagonistic towards Strange, whether he's truly evil is left ambiguous.
- Bait the Dog: He appears friendly to Strange at first, but this is only an act to lower his guard so he can drug and capture Strange and America.
- Beard of Evil: While his Sacred Timeline counterpart was clean-shaven, this Variant of Mordo has a full beard and isn't any nicer.
- Berserk Button: Mordo loses his temper and attacks Strange when the latter accuses him of being jealous of 838-Strange and orchestrating his downfall. Whether this is because Mordo genuinely was 838-Strange's friend and resents the implication, or because Strange's taunts were a little too close to the truth goes unanswered.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He warmly welcomes Strange into Earth-838's New York Sanctum only to drug him and drag him in front of the Illuminati so they can vote whether or not to let Strange live.
- Brought Down to Badass: While Doctor Strange manages to make him lose his magical powers by putting a magic-nullifying cuff on one of his hands, Baron Mordo proves to still be a skilled hand-to-hand combatant who gives him a pretty hard fight.
- Chained Heat: During their fight in the Illuminati Headquarters, Doctor Strange manages to free one of his hands from his magic-nullifying cuffs, and then handcuffs himself to Mordo, causing the two opponents to be stuck together for a brief moment until they get separated by snapping the handcuffs in half.
- Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: Averted, as he refers to himself as Baron Karl Mordo, something his Sacred Timeline self hasn't done yet.
- Composite Character: He's both Sorcerer Surpreme and a member of the Illuminati in this reality, two roles usually played by Doctor Strange. Justified as he inherited both roles after his reality's Strange dies.
- Cool Sword: Baron Mordo fights by using a sword with magical powers.
- Dirty Coward:
- Implied given he refuses to fight Wanda along with the rest of the Illuminati and attempts to kill a restrained Strange who is almost defenseless.
- From Strange's taunts against Mordo, it's also implied that he's trying to get rid of Strange due to a possible hand Mordo may have played in the corruption of his universe's Strange, and this being exposed to his fellow Illuminati.
- Dreadlock Warrior: He's a Kung-Fu Wizard who forms dreadlocks with his long hair.
- Evil Is Petty: While it is clear the other members of the Illuminati are motivated to act against Strange by the chaos that his variants tend to sow across the Multiverse, Mordo is motivated by personal jealousy and resentment for Strange as a person. He insists Strange be kept locked up until a verdict can be reached even when it's clear that the rest of the Illuminati have been killed by Wanda, and after being goaded by Strange he simply makes the unilateral decision to murder him while he is defenseless.
- Green and Mean: Just like his Earth-616 counterpart, this Mordo wears a green robe and has an aggressive personality.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: Unlike his Sacred Timeline counterpart, this Variant of Mordo fights with a magical sword rather the Staff of the Living Tribunal, and he's part of a team of super-heroes. How heroic he truly is is debatable, though.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Mordo greets Strange with a hug and calls him "brother", suggesting that Mordo and his Strange were very close. Then again if Strange's taunts were at all on the money...
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Doctor Strange manages to neutralize his magical powers by using one of the magic-nullifying handcuffs he received when Mordo brought him to the Illuminati Headquarters after drugging him.
- Karma Houdini: Baron Mordo is undoubtedly the worst member of the Illuminati, as he tried to kill a handcuffed and defenseless Stephen Strange, and is even implied to have deliberately arranged the death of his predecessor to take his place. And yet, he's the only one of them not to be killed during the events of Multiverse of Madness.
- Klingon Promotion: Strange accuses Mordo of having a hand in 838-Strange's corruption and execution by the Illuminati during the Infinity War, so he could become the new Sorcerer Supreme. Mordo's anger at the accusation and eagerness to execute him seems to imply that Strange was right, but we never find out for sure.
- Kung-Fu Wizard: Just like his counterpart from the Sacred Timeline, the Earth-838 version of Mordo is shown to be very skilled in martial arts in addition to magic.
- Large Ham: Much like his Earth-616 counterpart, he has his moments.
- Loophole Abuse: Mordo votes to execute Strange just before Wanda begins her rampage through the Illuminati HQ. The other members of the group rightly decide she's the greater threat, and go to fight her before casting their votes on what to do with Strange, while Mordo remains to guard him. When Wanda kills the other 5 members of the Illuminati, Mordo declares that his vote is now "unanimous" and prepares to kill Doctor Strange.
- Magical Weapon: The sword he uses is entirely composed of his magic, therefore the blade vanishes when Doctor Strange puts a magic-nullifying cuff on his hand.
- Man Hug: When Doctor Strange arrives at the Earth-838 New York Sanctum, Baron Mordo greets him by doing this, much to his confusion.
- Mr. Exposition: He is the one who explains to Doctor Strange and America Chavez what Dreamwalking is and what the Book of Vishanti is able to do. Later, he also introduces the members of the Illuminati to Strange and explains who each of them are.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Exploited by Doctor Strange, who goads Baron Mordo into attacking him with a sword so that he'll accidentally break his handcuffs and free one of his hands, allowing him to escape.
- "Not So Different" Remark: When Stephen Strange calls him out for drugging his tea, Baron Mordo smugly remarks that he would have done the same in his place.Baron Mordo: I only acted, as you would.
- Oh, Crap!: He has a startled look on his face when Doctor Strange manages to attach the magic-nullifying handcuff to his hand during their fight, which causes the blade of his magical sword to disappear.
- Oh, My Gods!: While having tea with Doctor Strange, Baron Mordo says "Thank the Stars" that America Chavez managed to save him from Wanda Maximoff by sending him across the Multiverse.
- Power Glows: Similar to the Staff of the Living Tribunal in the Sacred Timeline, the blade of Baron Mordo's magical sword glows when he uses it in combat.
- Pride: He'd much rather one-up Strange than admitting that the impending doom presented by Strange may be true.
- Scary Black Man: At first, this version of Mordo comes across as a pretty friendly guy, but he eventually reveals himself to be just as dangerous and threatening as his Sacred Timeline counterpart, being more than willing to drug Doctor Strange and try to kill him with a sword while he's defenseless.
- Screaming Warrior: Baron Mordo screams at the top of his lungs as he jumps on Doctor Strange in order to kill him with his sword after having been infuriated by his insinuations,
- Secretly Selfish: Implied. Unlike the rest of the Illuminati members, Mordo is primarily focused on containing and executing 616 Doctor Strange, and he reacts with great vitriol when the former accuses him of wanting him dead so he could claim the title of Sorcerer Supreme for himself.
- Skewed Priorities: He insists on guarding a restrained Strange while Wanda breaches the Illuminati Headquarters and massacres the other council members.
- Slipping a Mickey: He puts sedative drugs in the tea that he serves to Doctor Strange and America Chavez so that he can capture them and bring them to the Illuminati Headquarters.
- Sole Survivor: He's the only member of the Illuminati who isn't killed by Wanda when she attacks their headquarters, mostly because he's the only one who doesn't directly confront her.
- Spectacular Spinning: He does a few spins as he dodges Strange's attempt to trip him during their fight.
- Team Member in the Adaptation: Baron Mordo was never a member of the Illuminati in the comics.
- Thwarted Coup de Grâce: Just as Baron Mordo has pinned Doctor Strange against a wall and is about to strike him with his magical sword, the latter unexpectedly puts a magic-nullifying cuff on his hand, causing his blade to disappear.
- Token Evil Teammate: While the other members of The Illuminati are at least willing to hear Strange out before deciding on what to do with him, Mordo makes it clear that he is dead set on executing him. He's more than willing to carry this out on a defenseless Strange once it is clear the remaining members have been killed by Wanda, rationalizing it as him making a 'Unanimous' decision in their absence.
- Token Wizard: After the death of his universe's Doctor Strange, Baron Mordo took his place as the sole sorcerer among the Illuminati.
- Tom the Dark Lord: While this Mordo seems nobler than his 616-counterpart, Strange is still flabbergasted to learn that the fearsome sorcerer's first name is something as mundane as Karl.
- Tricked-Out Shoes: Like his Sacred Timeline counterpart, Baron Mordo is in possession of the Vaulting Boots of Valtorr. During his fight against Doctor Strange, Mordo uses the Boots at one point to propel himself at high speed towards his opponent and strike him with his magical sword, sending him flying into a wall.
- Truer to the Text: When compared to the Mordo of the Sacred Timeline. Whereas that version of Mordo was portrayed as a conflicted, sympathetic deuteragonist in the previous film, this Mordo feigns friendliness with Strange only to be easily goaded into trying to kill him once they are left alone together, after Strange taunts him with the knowledge of his own Mordo - that he was resentful of Strange's status, that he was an opportunist that only became Sorcerer Supreme after his own Strange died, and that he's a coward that would send his own comrades to die rather than waste a chance to gloat at an alternate, defenseless Strange. Interestingly, this implies that the Sacred Timeline Mordo was like this all along.
- Weapon Twirling: After slamming Doctor Strange into a wall, Baron Mordo makes his sword twirl in his hand before walking up to him to finish him off.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: He is last seen trapped at the bottom of a hole in the Illuminati council chamber with a magic-nullifying handcuff on his wrist. We don't know if he managed to get free, or what he is up to now that he's the only member of the Illuminati still alive.
- Would Hit a Girl: He drugs America Chavez, who's only an adolescent, so that he can bring her to the Illuminati Headquarters to stand trial.
- Would Hurt a Child: He is perfectly willing to drug the young America Chavez in order to capture her and bring her to the Illuminati Headquarters, where he knows full well that she will potentially be executed to prevent an Incursion.
Captain Carter
See her page
Black Bolt
Blackagar Boltagon / Black Bolt
"I'm sorry."
Species: Inhuman
Citizenship: Attilan
Portrayed By: Anson Mount
Appearances: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
For tropes related to the Sacred Timeline Counterpart, see MCU: Inhumans.
The Blackagar Boltagon of Earth-838, who is a member of the Illuminati.
- Alliterative Name: Blackagar Boltagon.
- Alternate Self: To the Black Bolt of the Sacred Timeline, coming from a universe where him and his fellow Inhumans came to prevalence as heroes and a society, and participated in their own war against Thanos.
- Apologetic Attacker: His only words in the movie are an "I'm sorry" to his universe's Doctor Strange used as his execution.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Gets his head imploded by his own ability.
- Dead Alternate Counterpart: His head explodes thanks to Wanda, whereas the MCU Black Bolt is last seen alive.
- Death by Irony: Black Bolt rarely speaks due to the certainty that doing so would kill someone. When he's left physically unable to speak, it ends up killing him.
- Facial Horror: Wanda seals Black Bolt's mouth shut, causing his powers to backlash and implode his skull, leaving the gory remains sliding down the back of his cowl, with his eyes and nose bleeding as he dies.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: The realization that Wanda removed his mouth makes him panic and he accidentally screams, killing him.
- Not So Stoic:
- His expression becomes visibly pensive when the Illuminati reveals the truth about what happened to their Doctor Strange, even averting his eyes from the Stephen they're presiding over out of shame. Which is understandable, since he was the one given the grim task of killing theirs.
- When Wanda magically removes his mouth, Black Bolt's subtle smugness gives way to utter panic as he realizes what's happening.
- Point of Divergence: Unlike his counterpart on Earth-199999, this Black Bolt became far more involved in the events of his world to the point of fighting Thanos and joining a team including his Earth's other heroes.
- The Quiet One: Justified, as if Black Bolt were to talk at all, it could potentially kill everyone in the room. The one time he does speak, it's to partially apologize to his universe's Stephen Strange as he's destroying him.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Black Bolt is both king of the Inhumans and an active superhero, having fought against Thanos and being willing to do the same with the Scarlet Witch.
- Sacrificial Lion: His shocking, violent, and sudden death indicates that the Illuminati are not long for the world when the Scarlet Witch is fully unleashed.
- Shoot the Dog: It's Black Bolt who regretfully kills his universe's Doctor Strange when the Illuminati concludes that he should die. He's willing to do the same to Wanda, but she doesn't give him the chance.
- Super-Scream: As per usual, he takes this trope and exaggerates it, with a single two-word sentence pretty much atomizing Supreme Strange.
- Sympathetic Murderer: He's the one who goes through with executing 838-Strange, but makes it clear to the man that he genuinely regrets having to do so.
- Stephen Ulysses Perhero: His real name is Blackagar Boltagon. Our Strange hangs a lampshade on this.
- Take That, Audience!: Doctor Strange mocking his outfit may be a subtle jab at comic book fans who criticize the movies for not replicating the looks of superheroes' suits from graphic novels (never mind that many of them would look downright silly in a live-action movie).
- Tempting Fate: When Reed explains that Black Bolt can destroy Wanda with a single word, Black Bolt has a confident smile on his face. Wanda quite literally wipes it off.
- Too Powerful to Live: Of the Illuminati members, he was the one who posed the biggest threat to Wanda thanks to his devastatingly powerful voice. So of course he's the first one she kills. It doesn't help that Reed had informed Wanda of the danger he posed in a vain attempt to get her to surrender.
- Truer to the Text: He wears his classic comic book outfit here, tuning fork and all, which Strange mocks.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: As he's careful to not speak unless he has to, the audience doesn't get to learn much about him before he's killed by Wanda.
- Wipe That Smile Off Your Face: After being told how his power works, Wanda uses her magic to remove his mouth.
- The Worf Effect: The most powerful of the Illuminati. Wanda's quick and easy dispatch of him signals how bad things are about to go.
- Your Head Asplode: Wanda preventing him from completing his shout causes his head to implode rather than explode, but the end result is largely the same.
Captain Marvel
Maria Rambeau / Captain Marvel
Click here to see her going Binary
Species: Enhanced human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Lashana Lynch
Appearances: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
The Maria Rambeau of Earth-838, who became Captain Marvel instead of Carol Danvers, and is a member of the Illuminati.
- Action Girl: She has a one-on-one fight with Wanda in the Illuminati HQ.
- Adaptational Jerkass: She has a far more arrogant and stoic attitude in contrast to her Sacred Timeline Counterpart. Part of it could be she doesn't seem to have a daughter here.
- Alternate Self: To the Maria Rambeau of the Sacred Timeline.
- Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome: She gained the powers of Captain Marvel whereas her Sacred Timeline counterpart was a normal human until her death.
- Black Dude Dies First: Defied. Out of the four Illuminati members who confront 838-Wanda (controlled by the Scarlet Witch's Dreamwalking), she is the one who puts up the most resistance and dies last. Ironically, it was instead Black Bolt (the one with "black" in his alias) that bites it first.
- Blood Knight: Implied. After Wanda has brutally murdered Black Bolt and Reed Richards in front of them, Captain Carter looks suitably horrified, but Maria almost looks excited about the fight to come.
- Captain Superhero: In this universe, she's Captain Marvel.
- Composite Character: Of Maria Rambeau and her daughter in the comics, who was the first female character to assume the mantle of Captain Marvel. The MCU version of Monica goes by a later alias in the comics, Spectrum.
- Curb Stomp Cushion: Maria is the only one of the Illuminati to put up any kind of fight against Wanda, to the point that the otherwise unstoppable Scarlet Witch needs to put some real effort into defeating her. In the end, though, she's killed without doing any significant damage to Wanda.
- Dead-Hand Shot: After Wanda drops a statue on her, the camera then focuses on her lifeless hand to confirm her death.
- De-power: Implied to be the case in Wanda's fight, in which being crushed under a falling statue is enough to kill her despite other iterations of Captain Marvel being able to take a far greater amount of punishment. During the fight, she progressively loses her Binary energy, and being Brought Down to Normal is the only way that something like that could have killed her.
- Glowing Eyes: Her eyes glow golden when she goes Binary during her fight with Wanda.
- Hero of Another Story: Unlike the other members of the Illuminati, Maria's backstory in becoming Captain Marvel and becoming part of the Illuminati has not been shown to the audience in any previous film/TV outing, with viewers being left to assume that she had a similar backstory to Carol's in this universe.
- Mythology Gag: Maria's Captain Marvel suit seems to be predominantly black with white accents—an inverted nod to comics Monica Rambeau's Captain Marvel and Spectrum suits (which tend to balance out the colors).
- Not So Stoic: Despite her amoral and condescending attitude towards Earth-199999 Strange when she discusses what happened to their own Doctor Strange, Charle Xavier's flashback shows that she was Trying Not to Cry during Black Bolt's execution of him.
- Smug Super: Out of all the members of the Illuminati she is this, showing the most arrogance in regards to Strange's warnings. While she does last the longest of any of her comrades in a fight with Wanda, Maria still loses both the battle and her life.
- Squashed Flat: Twice! First up against a wall, which she comes back from by going Binary, and then when a massive statue falls upon her, which does her in.
- Team Member in the Adaptation: Captain Marvel was never a member of the Illuminati in the comics, much less the current holder of the title, Maria Rambeau.
- The Worf Effect: While Wanda whupping the Illuminati's collective asses was an example of this in itself, her easy defeat of a character known to be Nigh-Invulnerable fully showed just how much of a threat she really was.
- Underestimating Badassery: While she puts up the best fight out of any of the Illuminati, Maria severely underestimated how dangerous the Scarlet Witch was.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: She's the Illuminati who posed the most resistance to Wanda and gets killed last (among those who faced Wanda), but that's still not saying much.
- Your Little Dismissive Diminutive: Her choice of words in referring to Wanda as Dr. Strange's "little witch" speaks volumes in how much Maria underestimates her.
Mr. Fantastic
Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic
"I have children of my own, I understand your pain."
Species: Enhanced human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: John Krasinski
Appearances: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
The Mr. Fantastic of Earth-838, who is a member of the Fantastic Four and the Illuminati.
- Action Dad: Mentions to Wanda that he has children of his own to sympathize with her. She callously states that they'll be fine with their mother.
- Actually Pretty Funny: He has a little chuckle when our Stephen Strange quips that the name of his team, the Fantastic Four, sounds like a pop group from The '60s.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Despite still showing spades of arrogance and is really fond of himself as his entrance after being announced as "smartest man alive" shows, he acts really kind and understanding towards both Strange and Wanda. He even empathizes with Wanda over having kids. That behaviour is in contrast to the Jerkass with No Social Skills he's often portrayed as in the comics.
- Adaptation Personality Change: This version of Reed shows little sign of his classic counterpart's stubbornness and tendency to use big words, and is shown to be much nicer and more polite than his comic self is shown to be.
- Alliterative Name: Reed Richards.
- Blue Is Heroic: Reed is one of the more selfless members of the Illuminati and the color of his suit is primarily blue.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Wanda turns him into the Rubber Man equivalent of blue string cheese, starting with his limbs, and ending with his head exploding.
- Defiant to the End: Though his superpowers are nowhere near the caliber of his fellow Illuminati members, he's the one nearest Wanda when she brutally murders Black Bolt, and immediately attempt to throw a punch at her, which gets him killed almost instantly.
- Don't Make Me Destroy You: In an attempt to reason with her, Reed tells Wanda that Black Bolt can destroy her with a single word, clearly hoping that the threat will convince her to stand down. The Illuminati does avoid needing to kill Wanda... because she kills all of them first.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Mr. Fantastic appears in the MCU's Multiverse before his mainstream counterpart appears in the MCU proper. This leaves him the only member of the Illuminati to be a completely new face, as all but Xavier have known MCU counterparts while Xavier is played by his longtime actor from the X-Men Film Series.
- Hero of Another Story: Reed is implied to be a seasoned superhero on Earth-838, having helped form the Fantastic Four in his universe, participated in fighting Thanos and is revealed to have children of his own with another woman.
- Informed Ability: Reed is introduced as "smartest man alive" by Baron Mordo. That's keeping him in line with his comic counterpart, but he never does anything scientific or otherwise brilliant that would show is. In fact, he actually is the one who reveals to Wanda how to defeat Black Bolt.
- Idiot Ball: Seriously, Mr. Richards, did you really just tell the insane reality-warping psychopath about Black Bolt's powers? And then you had to reach out your hand to physically grab her, thus leading to your demise?
- Mr. Exposition: While all of his teammates (save Black Bolt, for obvious reasons) are this to varying degrees, Mr. Fantastic stands out for explaining the concept of incursions to Doctor Strange, hinting at things to come.
- Mythology Gag: Mentions having children, referring to Franklin and Valeria Richards. The teleportation device he uses to make his entrance with is also a dead-ringer for the Time Platform, the go-to method of transport for his Arch-Nemesis Doctor Doom, and eventually, his descendant Kang the Conqueror. You can even see it being used again by the Council of Kangs in Quantumania.
- Nice Guy: He's pleasant enough to Doctor Strange, and he tries to talk down Wanda by offering his sympathy. Unfortunately, it falls on deaf ears.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Reed tries to reason with Wanda before violence becomes necessary, even mentioning his own children to empathize with her and trying to convince her to stand down so Black Bolt won't have to kill her. Reed's compassion is rewarded with Black Bolt and Reed himself dying gruesomely.
- Rubber Man: He's able to stretch his limbs to an unnatural degree. Unfortunately, we only see this when he lands in front of Wanda to block her path, stretches his arm to subdue her, and finally when she shreds him to bits.
- Saying Too Much: For someone so smart, Reed makes the mistake of telling Wanda what Black Bolt can do and this gets the Inhuman quickly killed.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He doesn't have much screen time before Wanda kills him.
- World's Smartest Man: Introduced as such by Mordo.
Professor X
Professor Charles Xavier / Professor X
"We will see what kind of Doctor Strange you are."
Species: Human mutant
Citizenship: British-American
Portrayed By: Patrick Stewart
Appearances: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
"We should tell him the truth."
The Charles Xavier of Earth-838, who is a member of the X-Men and is The Leader of the Illuminati.
- Adaptational Badass: Downplayed. Professor X rarely participated in a fight in the comics outside of a few exceptions, as his status as a wheelchair-bound Non-Action Guy severely limited what he could do on a battlefield. This counterpart of Charles is heavily implied to have fought against Thanos himself and was successful in killing him alongside the Illuminati. He also briefly manages to breach the Scarlet Witch's mind when she breaks into the Illuminati headquarters but doesn't last long before she takes him out.
- Adaptational Nationality: Professor X is fully American in the comics, but this iteration speaks with an English accent, so he's either British note or British-American note
- Battle in the Center of the Mind: Charles enters Earth-838 Wanda's mind in an attempt to break her Sacred Timeline counterpart's control over her, which is symbolized by him trying to help her out of the rubble she's trapped in. Unfortunately, he doesn't get very far before he meets his end.
- Chrome Dome Psi: He's bald and has psychic powers.
- Composite Character: Although he is an exact match of the X-Men: The Animated Series Xavier wardrobe-wise and is accompanied by that series' theme tune, he's played by one of his actors from the X-Men Film Series, and further references that version of Xavier by using the signature "Just because someone stumbles and loses their way, doesn't mean they are lost forever." quote from X-Men: Days of Future Past.
- Early-Bird Cameo: While it isn't the first time Stewart plays a version of this character this is the first time Professor X appears in an MCU-property, which means like with Mr. Fantastic being featured in a multiversal version before appearing in the MCU's main continuity.
- Gold-Colored Superiority: He uses a floating golden-yellow hoverchair and is the leader of the Illuminati.
- Handicapped Badass: He's paraplegic, but was apparently there on Titan, fighting Thanos in his universe.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Unlike the rest of the Illuminati, who accomplish precisely jack-shit when they battle against Wanda, Charles actually does manage to stall her just long enough for Christine to break America out of the cell and escape. Unlike the others, his death at least wasn't in vain.
- Hypocrite: Charles tries to discourage Baron Mordo from executing Doctor Strange right away, as he notes that someone isn't lost forever just because they stumble and lose their way. This is even though Charles willingly chose to execute his own version of Strange, precisely because he stumbled and lost his way.note
- Mythology Gag:
- His golden floating wheelchair is very similar to the one used in X-Men: The Animated Series. As he appears, the theme of the '90s cartoon can be heard playing.
- When opposing his fellow Illuminati members in judging Strange as the greatest threat to the multiverse, he quotes a line from X-Men: Days of Future Past which he said to successfully embolden his younger self to save their collective future.Professor X: Just because someone stumbles and loses their way, doesn't mean they are lost forever.
- He uses his powers to try to calm a young girl with psychic abilities heavily associated with the color red, not unlike what he did with Jean Grey in both X-Men: The Last Stand and Dark Phoenix. Like in the former, it costs him his life.
- Neck Snap: How Wanda's psychic attack manifests in the real world.
- Nice Guy: Like Mr. Fantastic, he's the most compassionate and understanding of the Illuminati, willing to give Stephen the benefit of the doubt and trying (but failing) to subdue Wanda relatively peacefully.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Tries to save 838-Wanda in 616-Wanda's mindscape, but in the process leaves him vulnerable to 616-Wanda twisting his neck like a bottle cap.
- Not Disabled in VR: He enters into a Battle in the Center of the Mind with Wanda and is able to walk in the Mental World.
- Off with His Head!: When he's trying to psychically link with Earth-838 Wanda, her dark counterpart doesn't just break his neck — she tears his head clean off of his shoulders in the process.
- Old Superhero: He's visibly much older than the version from X-Men Film Series, and appears to also be the oldest member of the Illuminati. Despite his advanced age, Charles was involved in fighting the Thanos of his world, even traveling to Titan to do so.
- Only Sane Man: He's the only member of the Illuminati who takes Strange's warning of the Scarlet Witch seriously and even decides to help Strange. Not that it keeps him from dying...
- Patrick Stewart Speech: Complete with the character's actor when he makes a statement about how people are not lost forever even after they have stumbled and lost their way.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: The most sympathetic of the Illuminati to Strange's plight, advocating telling him the truth about why he's been brought before them, and being willing to believe the best of him.
- Token Good Teammate: The only member of the Illuminati openly willing to consider that our Strange is better than "their" Strange, trusting him enough to offer the Book of Vishanti to help him. The vision he shows Sacred Timeline Strange also implies that Charles was good friends with his own counterpart of the good doctor, outright telling Stephen that he'll miss him before Black Bolt kills him.
- Vocal Evolution: This being a different character, Patrick Stewart mixes things up from his longtime portrayal in the X-Men Film Series, sporting a more prominent British accent and an elderly quaver (regaining a more powerful voice, along with the use of his legs, in Wanda's Mental World).
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He doesn't last long before the Sacred Timeline version of Wanda snaps his neck while he was attempting a Battle in the Center of the Mind to free Earth-838 Wanda.
Supreme Strange
See his page
Dr. Christine Palmer
Dr. Christine Palmer
Species: Human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Rachel McAdams
Appearances: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
The Christine Palmer of Earth-838, who works as a scientist for the Baxter Foundation, and by extension The Illuminati.
- Action Survivor: She's not an expert combatant but she still successfully defended Sacred Timeline Strange from the Souls of the Damned.
- Adaptational Intelligence: Not only does she still have medical knowledge, but she's apparently also a scientist meaning she has knowledge beyond nursing like her comic self or being a surgeon like her Earth-199999 self.
- Adaptational Job Change: Her comic self was a nurse while her Sacred Timeline self was a surgeon, and while this version still has medical knowledge she's also a scientist in this universe.
- Alternate Self: To the Christine Palmer of the Sacred Timeline.
- Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome: This version of her became a very accomplished lead scientist of inter-dimensional travel while still retaining her medical skills.
- Doppelgänger Replacement Love Interest: Subverted. She's introduced midway through Multiverse of Madness and gets lots of Ship Tease with Sacred Timeline Strange after her main timeline counterpart got married to another man in the film's opening scene. But, ultimately, they leave each other on a caring note and get some closure for their respective loves without having any romance themselves.
- Fiery Redhead: She's more feisty than the Christine Palmer of the Sacred Timeline. Fittingly, her hair is a more vibrant shade of red than Sacred Timeline Christine's.
- Science Wizard: She was able to combine a magical artifact (Sands of Nisanti) with advanced technology to create restraints capable of neutralizing the abilities of someone of Doctor Strange's level.
Ultron Sentries
See Ultron's page
Other Heroes
Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch
See her page
Tony Stark / Iron Man
See his page
Fantastic Four, Inhumans & X-Men
Fantastic Four, Inhumans & X-Men
Appearances: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (mentioned)
Two teams of superheroes and one secret group of ultraterrestrials who existed alongside the Avengers, and are led by Mr Fantastic, Black Bolt and Professor X respectively.
- Adapted Out: Inverted as on Earth-838 the X-Men and the Fantastic Four were seemingly just as active as the Avengers, despite no indication of them existing in the Sacred Timeline.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear why the Illuminati had to be formed to fight Thanos if these three groups already existed. It's possible that like the Avengers they disbanded due to the creation of the Ultron Sentries, though given that they were mentioned by name, that seems unlikely.
- The Ghost: The three groups are only mentioned, and while it can be assumed the Fantastic Four membership is the same as in the comics, it's unclear who is part of the X-Men, or what other Inhumans exist here.
- Hero of Another Story: The Fantastic Four, Inhumans and X-Men clearly have had some adventures under their belt (Mr. Fantastic in particular reveals that he's had two children with his wife), but we have no idea what any of these adventures could be about.
- Point of Divergence: While the Inhumans were established to exist in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Attilan Inhumans including Black Bolt appeared in Inhumans, they are not as involved in events as the Inhumans of Earth-838 seemingly are.
Threats
Thanos
See his page
Other Citizens
Billy and Tommy Maximoff
Billy and Tommy Maximoff
Species: Human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Julian Hilliard and Jett Klyne
Appearances: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Wanda Maximoff's children on Earth-838.
- Adaptational Wimp: Neither of them seem to have powers like their comic and Sacred Timeline selves.
- Alternate Self: To the Billy and Tommy of the Sacred Timeline. While those iterations of Billy and Tommy were a mental construct made from Wanda's magic, these two are (Maybe) fully human.
- Ambiguous Situation: How exactly did they come to be? (since they did not survive the end of Westview's warped reality on Earth-199999) Did Earth-838 Wanda go through a similar Westview situation and find a way to have them survive? Or did she conceive them naturally with someone (likely not Vision)? And do they have powers like their Sacred Timeline counterparts?
- Disappeared Dad: Their father, whether that's Vision or someone else, isn't mentioned or shown.
- Sweet Tooth: As is to be expected from young kids, they love ice cream.
- Trademark Favorite Food: They really like ice cream, enough to sing a song about how they promise to be good if Wanda lets them get some more.
Pizza Poppa Vendor
Pizza Poppa Vendor
"Pizza Poppa always gets paid."
Species: Human
Citizenship: American
Portrayed By: Bruce Campbell
Appearances: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
A street vendor of ball-shaped pizzas known as "Pizza Poppa". America Chavez and Doctor Strange bump into him shortly after arriving in his universe.
- Actor Allusion: This wouldn't be the first time a Bruce Campbell character got his hand cursed to punch him in the face.
- Ambiguous Situation: According to Campbell himself, Pizza Poppa is the same character as his cameos in the Spider-Man Trilogy (retroactively making those three cameos the same person). If true however, whether that means Pizza Poppa is an Alternate Self or is a Dimension Traveller from Earth-96823 remains unknown.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: The first character in the MCU to do so, excitedly yelling "It's over!" to the audience once the curse on his hand is lifted.
- Butt-Monkey: He ends up causing comical amounts of harm to himself after being on the bad end of one of Doctor Strange's spells. Strange expected that he'd hit himself for three weeks, although it graciously appears to have been a shorter amount of time.
- The Cameo: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness being a Sam Raimi movie, a cameo from his famous Evil Dead collaborator and friend Bruce Campbell was expected.
- Evil Hand: Strange curses his hand to have it punch his own face repeatedly (allegedly for three weeks). The poor man's ordeal stops in The Stinger. This is both Self-Referential Humor and an Actor Allusion to Evil Dead 2.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Rude as he is, he's right that America Chavez took food without paying for it. If he'd been more reasonable instead of insulting Strange as well, Strange might not have cursed him to start beating himself up.
- Mobile Kiosk: He has a mobile cart for his pizza balls business.
- No Name Given: He's never named onscreen.
