If the concept were to be applied to just the X-Teams and related characters, what 6 would you select to make up this version?

The team would be designed to covertly guide the X-men and the mutant cause as a whole.

Namor, Cyclops,Professor Xavier, Beast,Storm, Emma Frost

This is based only on Uncanny, X-men, and Astonishing. I have not read that much of the other titles

Emma Frost is only there because i had to pick a 6th

• Cyclops
• Emma Frost
• Magneto
• Doctor Nemisis
• Forge
• Cable

I thought about Storm, but honestly she wouldn't have any of what BP's Illuminati is doing so I can't see her putting up with an X-Man version. Beast is such a cluster f__k I have no idea where he stands, and Kitty wouldn't have any of that sh!t either.

Magneto, Xavier, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Beast, and Storm

• Professor X
• Magneto
• Namor
• Beast
• Cyclops
• Emma Frost

I was going to put Wolverine, but I think he's on enough teams...

Cyclops (Time)

Magneto (Power)

Magik (Soul)

Forge (Space)

Cypher (Reality)

Rachel (Mind)

I'd have my Illuminati consist of only women:

Storm

Kitty Pryde

Emma Frost

Cecilia Reyes

Dani Moonstar

Sage

I'd have at least one representative from each of the X factions, including Uncanny Avengers coz having insight into the Avengers wld be useful.

Uncanny - CYCLOPS (because he's Cyclops!)

WATXM - BEAST (though wolverine is an avenger too... he's still mostly more thug than thinker)

Cable's X-Force - DR NEMESIS (the guy who will offer a "second opinion")

X-Force - STORM (because she's Storm!)

Uncanny Avengers - SUNFIRE (One of "The Twelve")

X-Factor - LAYLA MILLER (because she knows stuff)

Other considerations: Magneto, Emma Frost, Prof X (when he returns), Sebastian Shaw & Namor.

Namor he gets his seat

.Magik because she is the best spellcaster they have.

Scott, Beast and Storm. Frost assuming she still has his telepathy. Forge or Nemesis to get some more brain power.

Cyclops

Magneto

Namor

Emma

Magik

Cable/Sage

All of them have been put in positions of leadership (ruler of Atlantis, Limbo, White Queen , Brotherhood of Mutants, etc....)

All of them have the ego's to think they can handle this type of responsibility

All of them have no problems making tough decisions, everyone here is a risk taker.

All of them are Amoral enough and manipulative enough to actually like the idea of being in a group like this. (just like the real group these guys won't have any problems mind wiping guys like Cap if they think it needs to be done)

It wouldn't be in character for the more noble x-men to be on this team, ( Storm, Kitty, etc..) the other more amoral characters like gambit and logan lack the gravitas or the regal nature to be on this team. imo...

I would go with strategists and people with above-average intelligence.

• Cyclops
• Emma Frost
• Magneto
• Doctor Nemesis
• Sage
• Charles Xavier

Basically, any of these people could (and in some cases, have) developed protocols to eliminate any of the most powerful mutants and could conceivably pull it off without much effort on their part.

@chiq said:

It wouldn't be in character for the more noble x-men to be on this team, ( Storm, Kitty, etc..) the other more amoral characters like gambit and logan lack the gravitas or the regal nature to be on this team. imo...

I don't agree with some of your choices, but I agree that it's against character for some of the X-Men to be able to pull this off. I don't see Storm, Logan or Kitty being able to do whatever is necessary to achieve a long-term strategic goal - most of them are rather short-term in their thinking and don't really make power plays. Being a power player doesn't necessarily align with being powerful.

@slimlim said:

I'd have at least one representative from each of the X factions, including Uncanny Avengers coz having insight into the Avengers wld be useful.

Uncanny - CYCLOPS (because he's Cyclops!)

WATXM - BEAST (though wolverine is an avenger too... he's still mostly more thug than thinker)

Cable's X-Force - DR NEMESIS (the guy who will offer a "second opinion")

X-Force - STORM (because she's Storm!)

Uncanny Avengers - SUNFIRE (One of "The Twelve")

X-Factor - LAYLA MILLER (because she knows stuff)

Other considerations: Magneto, Emma Frost, Prof X (when he returns), Sebastian Shaw & Namor.

She'd actually be an indispensable member to this sort of team. Yeah.

• Layla Miller
• Sage - another invaluable asset, although she's not to be trusted.
• Emma Frost
• Psylocke
• Storm - because everyone forgot that she took control over the Destiny's Diaries situation.
• Blindfold - she also knows things.

Yeah, all female. We don't need angsty/domineering testosterone dragging this team of enigmatic universe savers down. Of all the men listed, Nemesis looks like he's only been chosen for the snark factor, and with Frost providing that in spades (to a degree now that Bendis' got control over her) and Sage to compensate for smarts, he's quite redundant. I don't see what he can actually add. Magneto's catching Alzheimer's (see UXM #1 for more info), Cyclops is bossy and a bigmouth, and guyz, Xavier's dead. Yeah, dead.

Sage

Magneto

Namor

Emma Frost

Cyclops

Beast

completely forgot about Magneto!so i would pick him instead of Emma

and way to go! spoiler alert! i did not read Uncanny X-men #1 yet it just came in the mail today.

i know Xavier is dead but if he wasn't!

i picked beast and storm to balance it out, so that they do not step out of line. Thinking back i now am unsure of Storm but don't know who else to pick. I don't think Emma deserves a spot.

Cyclops - Power

Storm - Soul

Legion - Reality

Sage - Space

Cable - Time

Butterfly (Layla Miller) - Mind

Xavier leading but in secret as he is really alive he tapped into the Phoenix force making everyone believe he was dead & used a clone to replace his dead body

Xavier

Magneto

Storm

Namor

Beast

Cyclops

Cyclops (he's the mutant leader)... With the reality gem. Emma Frost (White Queen, strong telepath and one of the richest women on earth)... With the mind gem. Magneto(he's the leader of the Brotherhood and Master of Magnetism, damn it!)... With the space gem. Namor(ruler of Atlantis, he deserves this place)... With the power gem. Magik(ruler of Limbo, she's the Doctor Strange of this team).... With the soul gem. Beast(he's one of the smartest men on earth and he's both an Avenger and an X-Men)... With the time gem(coz he seems to like playing with time lol).

I don't think an all X-Men Illuminati would be good at all - if I did do one though it'd be: Cyclops, Cable, Havok, Rachel & X-Man.

Yes, an all-Summers Illuminati. Why?

Well... where would the mutant race be w/o the Summers'? :) Seriously though, between the five of them there's tons of leadership as well as knowledge and experience w/ time travel, the cosmos, telepathy, strategy, etc.

And it'd give poor X-Man something to do. I debated putting Hope in his place, but she's still a bit too immature to handle Illuminati-level situations.

The Summers Clan - your best X-Men centric Illuminati!

I have to admit I am quite surprised at some of the suggestions given, while I was sure certain characters would dominate the majority of the lists (Cyclops) I really did not expect to see others at all (Dr Nemesis). I'll give my version as well as comments on some I left out.

Note: I am assuming some characters will not be written terribly in these choices, as currently written I'm not sure I could pick six that qualified.

1 - Cyclops

I am including Cyclops for all the obvious reasons, as well as assuming that once the schism is finally ended Marvel will not continue to write him into so many forced confrontations. He has been the X-Men field leader practically forever and when he is no longer destined to be Wolverines foil for story line reasons I'm sure he will be shown in a light that makes this all but a given.

2 - Storm

Yes she has been forced into the backseat but the recent writing teams, but as I stated that Cyclops has been the field leader forever, she has always been the one filling in for him when not available as well as doing a very fine job for the most part as the number two. In any scenario where Cyclops and Wolverine finally sit at a table and work out their issues to make the end of the schism possible, Storm will be behind and mediating it. Scott and Logan may be in charge right now, But Ororo may be the most respected of the three currently.

3 - Beast

Fills the intellectual role as well as having the respect and like of practically the entire X-teams. With the death of Nightcrawler (who I would have put in the group) he can arguably be called the soul of the X-Men. Yes he has been shown as a hypocrite recently, but has any X-character not been shown out of character badly?

4 - Moonstar

Everyone seems to forget that she has led the junior teams for a long time (New Mutants) and has been a part of training the new crop of X-kids since the onset. While the writers never seem to know what to do with her and she spends a lot of time in the background, she brings the perspective of the second generation of the X-Men, and has worked with and taught all generations. Cannonball has also been a leader but does not have the teaching credentials or IMO demeanor for the position, he likes being in the field.

5 - Emma Frost

This would be Jean's seat if she were alive, but since Marvel is a tease Emma will have to take it. At this point i think while she is disliked by many of the X-Men she has been on their side long enough to take out the mistrust factor. She brings the perspective of a former villain, as well as an associate of most of their existing enemies to the table. Emma will challenge the group to consider options some of the kinder members would overlook.

6 - Justice

Here is my wildcard, the one no one saw coming. Vance has spent most of his career associated with the New Warriors and Avengers and has had little to no involvement with the X-teams outside of a few X-Force crossovers. Why you ask does he belong here? Because he is not a product of Xavier, and like Emma can offer a perspective the other cannot. The X-Men have mostly been a very closed social group and they need someone who has lived and worked outside the family and has the experience that comes with it. In every appearance he is almost universally liked and respected from Captain America to Cable.

My Omissions:

Xavier - He is currently dead and while I know that is temporary in Marvel I am not including anyone unless they are alive at the time of this post.

Magneto - I never saw his being with the X-Men as anything but temporary, so I am not including him.

Namor - He is an arrogant bully who i simply cannot take seriously as any kind of leader, his current involvement with the X-Men is forced.

Sage / Butterfly - These two are so on the outskirts of the X-Men, I could see them as advisers but not being accepted at the table

Cable - Way too much of a loose cannon who does his own thing and not a team player

Legion - No way anyone trusts him enough right now

@Brazen_Intellect: Layla maybe, but where Sage is concerned, it depends on who's at the table.

@AgeofHurricane said:

@Brazen_Intellect: Layla maybe, but where Sage is concerned, it depends on who's at the table.

I don't think you could get any 6 X-characters to agree on Sage, she was but in limbo before she could interact much with the majority of the teams, most are likely still wary of her.

@PhoenixoftheTides said:

@chiq said:

It wouldn't be in character for the more noble x-men to be on this team, ( Storm, Kitty, etc..) the other more amoral characters like gambit and logan lack the gravitas or the regal nature to be on this team. imo...

I don't agree with some of your choices, but I agree that it's against character for some of the X-Men to be able to pull this off. I don't see Storm, Logan or Kitty being able to do whatever is necessary to achieve a long-term strategic goal - most of them are rather short-term in their thinking and don't really make power plays. Being a power player doesn't necessarily align with being powerful.

Yeah, that's what I was looking for. People who are Machiavellian. Characters who are manipulative long term planners and strategists who aren't afraid to use people to achieve the greater good.( At least from their point of view)

if Xavier was alive, he would be at the top of my list. (using danger, being part of the Illuminati, etc..) lol We do agree on the most of them, I picked Namor because he already has the experience being a part of the real team. I picked Magik because she already manipulated the x-men (Scott included) when she wanted to destroy the elder gods. That took long term planning (time travel across different time lines even) to accomplish her vendetta and she manipulated her brother into becoming the Juggernaut to teach him a lesson she thought he needed to learn. ( I guess it can be argued that Illyana might be a little nutty to be trusted w/ the gem though)

Beast might be another fine choice, he has the brain power and he has been mucking around with the time stream in All new to further his goals.

I actually never intended to include the Gems as part of the discussion, this was more about who would be the six to best represent and direct the X-Men of today.

For those who want to include it feel free but I will not likely comment on that portion.

• Lilandra of the Shi'ar: I know she's dead but really how long will that last. Mutants in outer space
• Cylcops: I know he's evil but how long will that last. Leader of X-men
• Layla Miller: She knows stuff
• Beast: Been on practically every team (X and otherwise)
• Cable: X leader. Knows time travel and other dimensions

@Brazen_Intellect said:

@AgeofHurricane said:

@Brazen_Intellect: Layla maybe, but where Sage is concerned, it depends on who's at the table.

I don't think you could get any 6 X-characters to agree on Sage, she was but in limbo before she could interact much with the majority of the teams, most are likely still wary of her.

Intentional "limbo", she was spying on, at the time, the X-Men's greatest adversaries, the Hellfire Club. Claremont kept her there and brought her out when he thought fit, into the X-Treme X-Men, from there she grew to fame and managed to interact with most of the Top Tiers like Storm, Wolverine, Beast and Frost most importantly, to an extent. I'm pretty sure the majority know who she is as well as what exactly she'd bring to a team like this, as obscure as she may be.

@papad1992: Interesting solution, an all female cast that is. How come (curious)?

@MSzekeresh said:

• Lilandra of the Shi'ar: I know she's dead but really how long will that last. Mutants in outer space
• Cylcops: I know he's evil but how long will that last. Leader of X-men
• Layla Miller: She knows stuff
• Beast: Been on practically every team (X and otherwise)
• Cable: X leader. Knows time travel and other dimensions

Lilandra - No way, her loyalty rests with the Shiar ad not the X-Men or their cause, her past actions have shown this over and over.

@AgeofHurricane said:

@Brazen_Intellect said:

@AgeofHurricane said:

@Brazen_Intellect: Layla maybe, but where Sage is concerned, it depends on who's at the table.

I don't think you could get any 6 X-characters to agree on Sage, she was but in limbo before she could interact much with the majority of the teams, most are likely still wary of her.

Intentional "limbo", she was spying on, at the time, the X-Men's greatest adversaries, the Hellfire Club. Claremont kept her there and brought her out when he thought fit, into the X-Treme X-Men, from there she grew to fame and managed to interact with most of the Top Tiers like Storm, Wolverine, Beast and Frost most importantly, to an extent. I'm pretty sure the majority know who she is as well as what exactly she'd bring to a team like this, as obscure as she may be.

From the readers viewpoint I can see what your saying, but from the characters POV I'm not so sure. If we are only looking at qualifications she deserves to be in the discussion for sure, but the outsider factor works against her as they are many others who are also very qualified and do not suffer from her marginal status in comparison.

If I expanded from 6 to 8 she makes my team for sure, I just can't fit her in my 6.

@Brazen_Intellect said:

@MSzekeresh said:

• Lilandra of the Shi'ar: I know she's dead but really how long will that last. Mutants in outer space

Lilandra - No way, her loyalty rests with the Shiar ad not the X-Men or their cause, her past actions have shown this over and over.

Might be cool if Lilandra starts plotting to use Earths' mutants as her own personal Imperial Guard. Using the seeds of the Eternals as a recruitment pool. This would work more for her if she went down the villain track, though.

@Brazen_Intellect said:

@MSzekeresh said:

• Lilandra of the Shi'ar: I know she's dead but really how long will that last. Mutants in outer space
• Cylcops: I know he's evil but how long will that last. Leader of X-men
• Layla Miller: She knows stuff
• Beast: Been on practically every team (X and otherwise)
• Cable: X leader. Knows time travel and other dimensions

Lilandra - No way, her loyalty rests with the Shiar ad not the X-Men or their cause, her past actions have shown this over and over.

@AgeofHurricane said:

@Brazen_Intellect said:

@AgeofHurricane said:

@Brazen_Intellect: Layla maybe, but where Sage is concerned, it depends on who's at the table.

I don't think you could get any 6 X-characters to agree on Sage, she was but in limbo before she could interact much with the majority of the teams, most are likely still wary of her.

Intentional "limbo", she was spying on, at the time, the X-Men's greatest adversaries, the Hellfire Club. Claremont kept her there and brought her out when he thought fit, into the X-Treme X-Men, from there she grew to fame and managed to interact with most of the Top Tiers like Storm, Wolverine, Beast and Frost most importantly, to an extent. I'm pretty sure the majority know who she is as well as what exactly she'd bring to a team like this, as obscure as she may be.

From the readers viewpoint I can see what your saying, but from the characters POV I'm not so sure. If we are only looking at qualifications she deserves to be in the discussion for sure, but the outsider factor works against her as they are many others who are also very qualified and do not suffer from her marginal status in comparison.

If I expanded from 6 to 8 she makes my team for sure, I just can't fit her in my 6.

Mm. I see your point. Quite right.

Storm, Psylocke, Apocalypse, Magneto, Professor X, Penance.

@jhazzroucher said:

Storm, Psylocke, Apocalypse, Magneto, Professor X, Penance.

Psylocke - I really do not see her even wanting to be part of a group like this. Betsy takes leadership only when she is forced to, it's not really her thing.

Penance - I know this is a fav of yours but outside of former Gen X students no one has any clue who this is and would not even make the top 100 list based on the lack of involvement with the X-Men.

@Brazen_Intellect said:

My Omissions:

Xavier - He is currently dead and while I know that is temporary in Marvel I am not including anyone unless they are alive at the time of this post.

Magneto - I never saw his being with the X-Men as anything but temporary, so I am not including him.

Namor - He is an arrogant bully who i simply cannot take seriously as any kind of leader, his current involvement with the X-Men is forced.

Sage / Butterfly - These two are so on the outskirts of the X-Men, I could see them as advisers but not being accepted at the table

Cable - Way too much of a loose cannon who does his own thing and not a team player

Legion - No way anyone trusts him enough right now

About Namor, I think you may be forgetting how many actual leaders really are arrogant bullies.. but, more to the point, I don't know how much Namor's alliances actually lie with the fate of mutant kind, verses his own priorities. His allegiance to the X-men seemed to be more of a mutually beneficial nature, than that he really gave a toss about mutants more than any other humans.

Otherwise, these are all really good points, so I'm changing my list to this:

I'd say

Beast, Kitty Pryde, Cypher, Magneto, M & Danger

My picks read as the Ladies of the Hellfire Club:
 
Frost 
Selene 
Pryor
Margali Szardos
Irene Adler
Tessa
 
Oddly, half are currently dead.  Again.

Trying to not include any Avengers or anyone who is already on the New Avenger's Illuminati team.

Cyclops - Strategist, is already on board with the whole working in the background in secrecy thing.

Magneto - Makes sense, considering he has a strong opinion on the mutant situation, and his opinion on the direction of the mutant race has always been strong, and so should be considered, unless you want Schism II

Layla Miller - She knows stuff. Her place is immediately justified.

Forge - The Tony-Stark equivalent. Someone in this team needs actual brains, right?

Dr Nemesis - A Reed Richards counterpart? Sure, why not.

Cable - We need a time-travel specialist, I wouldve said Bishop, but last I remembered, he went bat-crazy.

@satyrgod said:

My picks read as the Ladies of the Hellfire Club: Frost Selene Pryor Margali Szardos Irene Adler Tessa Oddly, half are currently dead. Again.

If Destiny was still alive, she would be an awesome pick! I'd love love to read her in this kind of role.

<3 <3 <3

@chasereis said:

@papad1992: Interesting solution, an all female cast that is. How come (curious)?

The female members of the X-Men have more power and command compared to the men. They are all just so diverse that it would work.