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Cabal (comics)

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The Cabal
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceSecret Invasion #8 (January 2009)
Created byBrian Michael Bendis (writer)
Leinil Francis Yu (artist)
In-story information
Member(s)Current members:
Namor
Thanos
Maximus
Terrax
Corvus Glaive
Proxima Midnight
Black Swan
Maker
Former members:
Norman Osborn
The Hood
Taskmaster
White Queen
Doctor Doom
Loki

The Cabal is a secret society of supervillains and antiheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A villainous counterpart to the Illuminati, the group was formed in the "Dark Reign" storyline shortly after the "Secret Invasion" event.

Publication history

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The Cabal first appeared in Secret Invasion #8 and was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu.[1]

Fictional team history

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During a presentation shown by Bendis during the 2008 convention season, a picture was made public of a second Illuminati group consisting of villains and former villains.[2] Presented in the same pose as the cover of Illuminati #1, this group was revealed to include Namor, Doctor Doom, Emma Frost, Loki, The Hood, and Norman Osborn. Namor is revealed to be affiliated with two different Illuminati groups simultaneously allied with both heroes and villains.

Uncanny X-Men writer Matt Fraction mentioned in an interview that the Uncanny X-Men annual in January would explain how Frost was invited into the team.[3] Loki was revealed to have dealings with Doom in the pages of Thor, and Namor was shown to have formed an alliance with Doom at the end of his last limited series. Namor had previously been aligned with Doom in the 1970s series Super-Villain Team-Up. A past connection between Frost and Namor was presented in Uncanny X-Men Annual #2, where it was revealed that Frost and Namor shared a brief romance while attempting to recruit Namor into the Hellfire Club as the new White King.

The group, referred as the Cabal in certain interviews[4] and in Marvel Spotlight: Dark Reign, first appeared at the ending of Secret Invasion #8 when Osborn greets the villains after gaining control of the Fifty State Initiative program.[5]

The Cabal parallels the original Illuminati and Bendis has said "[t]he idea was, in the original pitch, that there was a secret group, a cabal, that got put together that was the mirror image of the Illuminati, with five or six characters who almost mirrored the other group."[5]

  • Norman Osborn, like Tony Stark (now a fugitive from the law and having lost his company, his morale and his friends), is a human entrepreneur who works with the government. Norman also has a mysterious, powerful ally backing him up in case of betrayal, later revealed to be the Void.[6]
  • Doctor Doom represents the scientific side of the Marvel Universe, like his longtime rival Mister Fantastic.
  • Emma Frost serves as the telepathic mutant representative, like Professor X before her. Unlike the rest of the Cabal, Frost's motives for joining the Cabal can be seen as righteous, due to her desire to forge an alliance with Osborn that will protect mutantkind from governmental tyranny.
  • Loki is the Norse god of mischief, whose mastery of sorcery mirrors Doctor Strange's. Loki is a prominent member of a superhuman community outside of society, the Asgardians (the Norse Gods).
  • The Hood mirrors Black Bolt, a hero-king in charge of a group of powerful outsiders. He also represents the criminal element of society. His link to Dormammu also places him in the mirror side of Doctor Strange. The Hood is now shown to be superior to Strange, as said by Strange himself when the two struggled.
  • Namor has served in both groups; he is also the subject of dual alliances within the Cabal to potentially bring down Osborn, having made side deals with Frost and Doom to aid them if they ever should move against Osborn.

Dark Reign

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The Cabal are acknowledged by other villains as an extremely powerful group - even Dracula himself sought an agreement from Doom that the Cabal would allow him to conquer the United Kingdom without interference.[7] However, Doom betrays Dracula and free his captive, Meggan.

The Cabal ultimately falls apart due to conflict between its members.[8][9][10][11] Osborn, the Hood, and Taskmaster are apprehended, Frost and Namor rejoin the X-Men, Loki's body is destroyed, and Doom remains ruler of Latveria.

The New Cabal

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During the reborn Illuminati's quest to save Earth from the incursions, the moral cost begins to overwhelm the members, except Namor. When the Illuminati decides to give up, Namor forms a new Cabal alongside Thanos, Maximus, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, Terrax, and Black Swan to destroy alternate earths and prevent incursions.[12] When the final incursion occurs, the Cabal escape in a specially-designed life-pod.[13][14]

Alternate versions

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An alternate universe variant of the Cabal from Earth-2099 appear in Marvel 2099, consisting of Norman Osborn, Bruto Olafsen, Manfredi, Chief Woland, Crossbones, and Carnage.[15]

In other media

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Television

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Two incarnations of the Cabal appear in Avengers Assemble.[16]

Video games

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Miscellaneous

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The Cabal appears in the comic book prequel for Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, consisting of Doctor Doom, Magneto, MODOK, the Super-Skrull, and Taskmaster as well as Capcom characters Albert Wesker and Akuma.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ DeFalco, Tom; Sanderson, Peter; Brevoort, Tom; Teitelbaum, Michael; Wallace, Daniel; Darling, Andrew; Forbeck, Matt; Cowsill, Alan; Bray, Adam (2019). The Marvel Encyclopedia. DK Publishing. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
  2. ^ Albums PhotoBucket
  3. ^ Ekstrom, Steve (November 3, 2008). "Matt Fraction on Uncanny X-Men: Madelyne and More". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on November 17, 2008.
  4. ^ Richards, Dave (January 6, 2009). "THE OSBORN SUPREMACY: Black Panther". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Rogers, Vaneta (December 5, 2008). "Brian Bendis - Wrapping it All Up & Starting Dark Reign". Newsarama. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008.
  6. ^ Dark Avengers #15 (May 2010)
  7. ^ Captain Britain and MI13 #13 (July 2009)
  8. ^ Mighty Avengers #24 (June 2009)
  9. ^ Mighty Avengers #32 (February 2010)
  10. ^ Strom, Marc (June 3, 2009). "Dark X-Men Dossiers: Emma Frost". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
  11. ^ Richards, Dave (May 18, 2010). "STORMING HEAVEN: "Siege" #4". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on May 20, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  12. ^ New Avengers (vol. 3) #23 (October 2014)
  13. ^ Secret Wars #1 (July 2015)
  14. ^ Secret Wars #3 (August 2015)
  15. ^ Spider-Man 2099: Exodus #4 (September 2022)
  16. ^ Ching, Albert (May 23, 2013). "Quesada, More Talk AVENGERS ASSEMBLE Animated Series". Newsarama. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013.
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