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| Watcher | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Watchers depicted in artwork for the cover ofOriginal Sin # 8 (September 2014,Marvel Comics) Art by Julian Totino Tedesco | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Fantastic Four #13 (April1963) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Jack Kirby |
| Characteristics | |
| Notable members | Uatu Aron |
| Inherent abilities | Superhuman strength, intellect, stamina, durability and longevity Energy and molecular manipulation Psionic powers Teleportation |
TheWatchers are a race offictionalextraterrestrials appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. They are commonly depicted as all-powerful beings who watch over the fictional multiverses and the stories that take place in them, and are not allowed to interact with other characters, though they have done so on several occasions, when the situation demanded it. Created byStan Lee andJack Kirby, the first Watcher to appear in the comics—namedUatu—debuted inFantastic Four #13 (April 1963).[1]
The Watchers have been featured in several forms of media outside of comics. In theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), they first appeared in the filmGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017);Uatu (voiced byJeffrey Wright) has a main role in theDisney+ series,What If...? (2021).
The Watchers are one of the oldest species in the multiverse and are committed to observing and compiling knowledge on all aspects of the universe. This policy of total non-interference came into existence due to a former, well-meant attempt by the Watchers to bestow advanced knowledge on the Prosilicans, who used the nuclear technology gained to create weapons and destroy themselves. When the Watchers returned to Prosilicus, the survivors blamed them for causing the catastrophe by giving the Prosilicans nuclear technology before they were ready for it. The Watchers then took a vow never to interfere with other civilizations.[2][3]
Despite this, the Watcher Uatu has revealed himself to thesuperhero team theFantastic Four, telling them of his race.[4] In his first appearance, he made them battle theRed Ghost and his Super-Apes for control of theMoon. He complimented Reed Richards and claimed he would go to a more distant part of the galaxy to observe humanity.[5] He aids them on several occasions against global threats such as theMolecule Man,[6]Galactus,[7][8] and theOvermind.[9] TheLeader discovered his existence and tracked him to his world. He transported theHulk there to get the Ultimate Machine, which contains all the information in the Universe. The Hulk battled theAmphibious Qnax, who had also been sent to recover the machine. The Watcher transported them away from his machines to battle, and when the Hulk won, he transported Qnax back to his homeworld. He then took the Hulk back to his base, where the Hulk took the Machine despite the Watcher's warnings. The Leader transported him back to Earth and tried to use the device. However, the tremendous amount of knowledge proved too much for the Leader. He collapsed to the ground, unmoving, and the Hulk assumed that he died of shock.[10] When the Hulk tried to use the machine himself, Uatu allowed him to hear the voice ofRick Jones, after which the Hulk removed the device. The Watcher then transported the Ultimate Machine back to his planet.[11] After blatant interference with the mission of the Kree soldierMar-Vell, Uatu is put on trial by his own race, but is released on the provision that he never directly interfere again.[12]
Uatu is later banished by his race for aiding the Fantastic Four against the threat of his rogue nephew,Aron, the Renegade Watcher, who tries to destroy the universe.[13] TheDreaming Celestial later scans Uatu and learns the Watcher has broken his pact of non-interference almost 400 times.[14] The Celestial also reveals the Watchers, like the Celestials themselves, are servants of a concept calledFulcrum, with apparent consequences for interference.[14] Despite this, the other Watchers have interfered in other civilizations' events, though rarely, notably when the world-ending robot Omegex approached the Milky Way and they deemed it dangerous enough to act directly against it.
There is also atongue-in-cheek, splintered-off faction of Watchers that call themselvesThe Critics, who not only observe events, but also givedramatic critique as they take place. The only known Critic looks similar to other Watchers, but wears a mustache,goatee, darksunglasses, and, rather thantoga, dresses in atweedsport coat.[15]
WhenNova briefly visits Uatu and witnesses him watching various alternate realities, he learns that Uatu's father was the Watcher who originally gave nuclear technology to the Prosilicans, with Uatu's search of parallel universes being motivated by the desire to find the one world where his father's act of charity was proved to be the right thing to do.[16] Three of Uatu's brothers and sisters broke their non-interference vow by judging Nick Fury and fusing what's left of Uatu with Nick Fury making him a Human/Watcher hybrid that they chained to a rock.[17][18]
When the Unseen summons Blink to him and tells her of things going on in the greater Multiverse, terrible creatures that are destroying time, space and dimension, and tells her that she is chosen by the device to act as protector of the very fabric of the Multiverse. This interference in the timestream causes a faction of Watchers to assault him with the objective of ending his involvement even if it means the end of the Multiverse.[19]
The Watchers are cosmic beings, who possess the innate ability to achieve virtually any effect desired, including augmenting personal attributes, time and space manipulation, molecular manipulation, energy projection, and a range of mental powers. They also have access to highly advanced technology.[citation needed]
In the alternate reality ofEarth X (Earth-9997), the Watchers are slaves of theCelestials. As punishment for their non-interference during the birth of their arch-enemyGalactus, the Celestials force the Watchers to observe the impregnation of newly-formed planets with their Celestial eggs and the eventual birth of the Celestial within, which ultimately destroys that planet.[39]
In theUltimate Marvelalternate universe limited seriesUltimate Origins, the Watchers are depicted as machines that speak through a human host (Sue Storm). They chooseRick Jones as their "herald" to help humans survive an "upcoming crisis".[40]
In theWhat If comics, the Watcher Uatu often observes how key events from theEarth-616 Marvel Universe differed in alternate universes and speculates on the related consequences.[41]
The Watchers appear in media set in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU):
Uatu appears inMarvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced byPhil LaMarr.
The Watcher is the title of a web series that runs on Marvel's official YouTube page, hosted and written by Lorraine Cink, which features news about Marvel comics, film, television, and toys.
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