Illuminati? Incursions? We answer your Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness questions

Warning: This article contains spoilers about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a blast and a half, but the plot is so fast-moving (and throws so many different high concepts at the viewer) that it can be easy to feel a little lost once the spectacle is over. Questions like "who are the Illuminati?" and "what exactly are 'incursions?'" may be rattling around in your head after seeing the latest MCU film. Don't worry, we have answers!

Who are the Illuminati?

As seen in Multiverse of Madness, the Illuminati are a group of superheroes that protect one of the parallel Earths in the titular multiverse. However, it's not accurate to say that they are that universe's equivalent of the Avengers; the names are different for a reason. Befitting their title, the Illuminati are a secret cabal of superpowered beings, not a public-facing team.

The comic version of the Illuminati was originally created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist David Finch in the pages of their New Avengers, before the group's backstory was expanded in the New Avengers: Illuminati miniseries. Like the big-screen version, the comic Illuminati typically consists of members who each represent the different spheres of the Marvel Universe.

The original lineup consisted of Iron Man (representing the Avengers), Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic (the Fantastic Four), Professor X (mutants), Black Bolt (Inhumans), Namor the Sub-Mariner (Atlantis), and Doctor Strange (magic). As you'll see, Multiverse of Madness comes close to recreating that lineup thanks to John Krasinki's Reed Richards, Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier, and Anson Mount's Black Bolt. Even that world's Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) was a former member until he was executed and succeeded by Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) as Sorcerer Supreme. Hayley Atwell's Captain Carter and Lashana Lynch's Captain Marvel are new (but very sensible) additions and definitely help with the gender balance. Since Namor has yet to appear in the MCU, it makes sense that he wasn't involved.

After all, the lineup of the comic Illuminati changed slightly over the years (sometimes Black Panther or Captain America join for brief periods), but their mission remained constant: Without the knowledge of their fellow superheroes, the Illuminati take it upon themselves to handle dangerous threats (like the Kree-Skull conflict, or the interdimensional being known as the Beyonder) before they become planetary crises.

When writer Jonathan Hickman reunited the Illuminati in his 2013 New Avengers reboot, he presented them with their biggest problem yet: Incursions. Which brings us to the next big question…

What are incursions?

Unfortunately, the Marvel multiverse is not just an excuse to meet parallel versions of heroes we know and love. It also comes with dangers. As conceived by Hickman in his New Avengers run leading up to the 2015 Secret Wars event comic, incursions occur when two parallel universes collide — with Earth as the focal point. This involves the extremely strange visual of another Earth appearing in the sky.

If this collision is not prevented, both universes are destroyed. The simplest method of prevention is to destroy one of the Earths before they can collide, thus saving both universes at the cost of a few billion human lives. It's quite the lose-lose situation.

Our favorite Marvel heroes are, of course, averse to taking life under any circumstances. In Hickman's comics, the Illuminati tried several different methods for preventing incursions without destroying other Earths — including assembling the Infinity Gauntlet and using its power to push a parallel Earth back.

Although it's a little hard to wrap your head around given the movie's pace, this seems to have been what disgraced the Stephen Strange of Earth-838 in Multiverse of Madness. In order to achieve the power needed to defeat their world's Thanos, he caused an incursion — and in order to save his world, he destroyed the other one. The Illuminati held him responsible for those billions of deaths, and that's why they executed him.

At the end of Multiverse of Madness, America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) is safe and the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) is defeated — but the post-credits scene makes clear that the incursion problem is not solved yet. This will all be important stuff to keep in mind going forward.

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