Uatu

Uatu, often simply known as The Watcher, is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and designed by artist Jack Kirby, he first appeared in The Fantastic Four #13 (April 1963).

He is a member of the Watchers, an extraterrestrial species who in the distant past stationed themselves across space to monitor the activities of other species. Uatu is the Watcher assigned to observe Earth and its solar system.

Publication history

The character first appeared without a name in Fantastic Four #13 (Apr 1963), and periodically reappeared in that title. He then starred in "Tales of the Watcher", a backup feature that ran in Tales of Suspense #49-58 (Jan 1964-Oct 1965), Silver Surfer #1-7 (Aug 1968-Aug 1969) and Marvel Super-Heroes #23 (Nov 1969). His origin was revealed in Tales of Suspense #52-53 (Apr-May 1964), and his name was revealed in Captain Marvel vol 1 #39 (Jul 1975).

The character has made many cameo appearances across the Marvel Universe since his debut, including Avengers,^[1] Uncanny X-Men,^[2] Hulk,^[3] Silver Surfer, Quasar,^[4] and Marvel Point One. He acts as the narrator in Marvel's What If? title.

In the 2014 "Original Sin" storyline, the character is murdered, sparking a hunt for his murderer. The core miniseries of that storyline is written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by Mike Deodato.^[5]

Fictional character biography

The Watchers are among the oldest and most advanced beings in the cosmos. Eons ago, they sought to spread their knowledge to benefit the lesser races of the Universe. Their first attempt, on the planet Prosilicus, included sharing nuclear technology. When the Watchers returned to Prosilicus, they found the natives had all but destroyed themselves in a nuclear war. The Watchers blamed themselves for the catastrophe and vowed to never again meddle in the affairs of other races.^[6] Instead, they passively observe and record events for those who will come after the universe ends.^[7]

Uatu is the Watcher assigned to watch over Earth from his home in the Blue Area of the Moon. He is an altruist and has bent or violated his oath on numerous occasions in order to aid humanity. He revealed himself to the Fantastic Four when they discovered his home, telling them he would leave the Moon to observe humanity from a more distant area.^[8]

He proceeded to violate his oath several more times to aid the Fantastic Four.^[9][10][11] His most notable transgression was in Fantastic Four #48, in which he tried, and failed, to prevent the Silver Surfer from bringing the world-devourer Galactus to the Earth.^[12]

For his continuous disregard for the Watchers' mission, Uatu is once placed on trial by the Watchers. He is found guilty, but is released on his own recognizance.^[13]

When the Shi'ar seek to prosecute Mister Fantastic for saving Galactus' life, Uatu serves as his lawyer and receives help from Odin, Eternity, and even Galactus himself to explain that Galactus is part of the universe's balance.^[14] Uatu is removed from his duty as Watcher of the Earth, but he returns to observe the world of which he has become so fond.^[15] During the GLX-Mas Special, Uatu appears in Wisconsin, after Squirrel Girl and her sidekick Tippy Toe defeat Thanos. He confirms that the Thanos she defeated was real, not a clone or copy.^[16] Uatu is present when the Dreaming Celestial awakens, but he turns away, unwilling to watch.^[17] After scanning him, the Dreaming Celestial reveals Uatu has broken his pact of non-interference almost 400 times.^[18]

Uatu later arrived in Death Valley to watch the battle between Hulk and Red Hulk only to be ambushed and knocked out by Red Hulk.^[19]

Upon sensing the Red Hole of Dargala about to make a new Omegex, Uatu saw to it that its next target was Red Hulk in hopes that Red Hulk would be able to defeat it.^[20]

Since these events, Uatu has restricted himself to appearing to observe particularly cosmic events in the Marvel Universe, such as visiting the heroes prior to the vote on the Superhuman Registration Act, the final battle of the "Secret Invasion" storyline, and the Hood's acquisition of the Infinity Gems, reflecting during these appearances that he cannot do any more or he may be taken from Earth altogether.

Uatu later visited Red Hulk at the time when he was on an asteroid helping Thor to close a black hole. He does tell Red Hulk of his imposing doom, but cannot describe due to the Watchers' vow to not interfere.^[21] Uatu then watched Red Hulk fail at jumping across other asteroids until he was rescued by Thor.^[22] Uatu temporarily abandoned his post to travel to the Red Hole of Dargala. His absence was noticed by the other Watchers who sent the Watcher Uravo to find him. After being unable to find him, Uravo informed Yruku and the other Watchers that he thinks Uatu has become unhinged ever since Red Hulk attacked and absorbed some of his powers.^[23] When Uravo finally caught up to Uatu at the Red Hole of Dargala, Uatu tells Uravo that they shouldn't have come together. They witnessed Omegex emerge from the Red Hole of Dargala as it heads towards Earth to target Red Hulk.^[24] Uatu and Uravo later tracked Omegex's trail as it gets closer to Earth.^[25]

During the Fear Itself storyline, Uatu appeared next to Odin as Thor assists the Avengers. Aware that Uatu is there to witness the rise of the Serpent's daughter Skadi, Odin called Uatu a "titanic mute baby too dumb to be of use." Uatu later left while Odin kept boasting about himself.^[26]

Uatu later watched Red Hulk's fight with Omegex. Noticing Uatu, Red Hulk shouts to him that he finally got his closure. Upon Red Hulk regressing back to Thunderbolt Ross, Uatu watches as Omegex ceased to exist upon it being unable to find Red Hulk.^[27]

Iron Man later encountered Uatu upon his return from space as Uatu shows him the corpse of the Living Tribunal on the Moon.^[28]

Hoping to procreate, Uatu began seeing the Watcher Ulana who moved in with him. After an unrevealed amount of time, Ulana became pregnant.^[29]

Original Sin and Death

The 2014 "Original Sin" storyline reveals that Uatu's father was the Watcher who originally gave nuclear technology to the Prosilicans, and that Uatu's observation of parallel universes is motivated by a desire to find the one world where his father's act of charity was proved to be the right thing to do.^[30] In the beginning of the story, Uatu is murdered, and his eyes are gouged out, setting off a search by the Avengers and their allies for his killer.^[31] It is discovered that Uatu was killed by giant, gamma-irradiated bullets, as were a number of various giant monsters discovered by the Avengers' investigation in outer space, beneath the Earth's surface and in other dimensions.^[32] Nick Fury eventually reveals that he has spent decades in a secret one-man mission to single-handedly confront and kill alien, subterranean and extradimensional beings that threaten the Earth, and that with the Infinity Formula having depleted from his body, he has experienced rapid aging and wishes one of the superhuman investigators who have confronted him to take his place before his imminent death.^[33] It is shown in flashback that weeks before Uatu's death, he came to witness Fury as his Infinity Formula began to fail,^[34] with subsequent flashbacks revealing that the Orb, Dr. Midas, and Exterminatrix attacked Uatu and took one of his eyes, although Uatu survived the injury he received from Orb. Fury arrives soon after to talk to Uatu,^[35] but Uatu refused to identify his attacker and share the location of his missing eye due to it risking his oath. As Uatu begins to gather his power for an apparent attack, Fury kills him in self-defense, taking the other eye as he realizes that Uatu "records" everything he watches in his eyes. Following a fight with Orb that blew up Uatu's house, Fury subsequently inherits Uatu's power and position after using the power of one of Uatu's eyes to kill Doctor Midas and becomes known as "The Unseen" chained and watching events unfold on Earth while the Orb merges with Uatu's other eye that appears on his chest. From a distance, a teary-eyed Ulana said goodbye to Uatu even though his body has not been found.^[36]

Powers and abilities

As a member of the race of Watchers, Uatu possesses vast psionic abilities which have been further developed through training. These abilities include flight, telepathy, energy-manipulation powers, power-negating force-field projection, illusion casting, the ability to psionically alter his appearance at will, and highly advanced cosmic senses allowing him to be aware of countless events of Earth. His superhumanly complex intelligence enables him to monitor activities throughout Earth's solar system simultaneously. Uatu can convert his body into an unknown form of energy while still retaining his sentience for travel through hyperspace, and then return to his physical form. Bolstered by treatment with "delta-rays", Uatu possesses virtual immortality, although he can die by losing the will to live. He has shown he is able to transport himself and others through time,^[37] and in one issue he claims he can send someone to Limbo.^[38]

Watchers can augment their strength with cosmic psionic energy if they choose to; however, they tend to minimize their physical activities. The 1985 edition of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe compared Uatu's scale of power to that of Galactus, the Stranger, Odin, and Zeus.

Uatu received a highly extensive education in his youth on his home world. He has devoted himself to the study of Earth's solar system and its sentient beings for millions of years. His home on the Blue Area of the Moon contains an enormous array of weaponry, artifacts, and technology created by various alien races from throughout the universe.

Uatu also studies the Earths of alternate realities. With permission from the Timekeepers, he possesses a portal through which he can observe alternate realities. He has acquired extraordinary knowledge of the history of both the sentient beings on "mainstream" Earth and the numerous alternate Earths.

Other versions

• In the alternate universe of the 1999 miniseries Earth X, Uatu is portrayed as a cold, nihilistic manipulator who feels no empathy for the people of Earth whom he watches. This is partially because of the fact that he has been blinded by an earthling, Black Bolt, and partially because the planet he's watching is nothing but the primal cocoon of an unborn Celestial, and the humans inhabiting it are mere "antibodies", a natural line of defense for constant menaces. Also, Uatu (who watches the events on Earth from a base on the moon) is the original inspiration for the Egyptian moon god Khonshu.
• The 2003 mini-series Marvel 1602 reveals that, although The Fantastic Four #13 was the first time he broke his oath, the anomalous appearance of Marvel's superheroes more than 300 years early — speculated by Uatu to be the result of the universe trying to create the means to save itself from a temporal anomaly — forced him to severely bend his oath by communicating with the 1602 version of Doctor Strange prior to the latter's death. Uatu's deal with Strange prevented Strange from telling anyone else about the danger facing the world while he lived while allowing him to communicate that knowledge with others after his physical body's demise. As a result, he must maintain a pocket universe containing the 1602 world within himself. The Overmind of the Watchers notes that, as much as they are ashamed of him, they are proud of him for saving the multiverse.^[39]
• At the end of the main story in each issue of the 2008 miniseries Marvel Apes, a gorilla version of the Watcher can be seen telling stories from the past and trying to get around to a story of the "Marvel Apes Age". In issue #2, he becomes drunk after drinking an "Ultimate Nullifier", which he claims is like a martini, only mixed with "Kirby Dots". In his drunken state, he complains about how boring it is to watch everything all the time. He also reveals that he is infatuated with the ape version of the Wasp. In his drunken ranting, he goes so far as to ask the reader if they "wanna make out", then after realizing what he has said, apologizes and tries to explain himself. He usually tells stories that entertain him, such as the story of giant cowboy rat men and homosexual cowboy-apes, or the story of how Odin sentenced the Thorangutang to learn humility by becoming a doctor in the upbeat, rich city of Manhattan.
• In the 2009 miniseries Marvel Zombies Return, a version of Uatu witnesses the Zombie Spider-Man's arrival in his universe. After being horrified by the nature of the infection, he decides to travel to other universes to warn others of the infection, but the zombie Giant-Man appears and bites off Uatu's head, planning to use his communicator to traverse the multiverse and satiate his hunger.^[40] At the end of the series, Uatu returns stating he was pure energy, and thus could not be infected by the virus. With Giant-Man unable to master his technology before Spider-Man found a means of destroying most of the zombies, Uatu then proceeds to trap the last zombie, the Sentry, in a time-loop paradox by sending him back in time to Earth-2149, starting the entire Marvel Zombies Saga from the beginning and keeping the zombie infection contained in these two realities so that it will 'devour itself'. He eventually congratulated the Sandman for his help; Flint Marko had destroyed all the other mobile zombies by dispersing a nanite cure devised by Spider-Man.^[41]
• In the alternate MC-2 Universe, Uatu made several appearances regarding its last two mini-series, Last Hero Standing and Last Planet Standing. In the former, he briefly related the history of the MC-Universe; in the latter he died while standing in the way of Galactus and his herald.
• In the reality seen in the 2004 miniseries Powerless, reality is turned upside down and is told from the point of view of psychiatrist William Watts, who in the very end is revealed to be the Powerless version of Uatu. Watts encounters non-powered versions of Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Daredevil, who face problems similar to their super-powered counterparts from Earth-616. Just as in Earth-616, Uatu finds that he cannot remain detached and watch as his patients' lives are ruined, and tries to come to their aid,^[42] but like his original incarnation, he never acts directly, instead inspiring and guiding the heroes. He even watches the city using a telescope, before the last panel revelation that he is Uatu.
• The Ultimate Marvel version of Uatu is not a person, but a highly advanced alien computer that observes everything. Ultimate Watcher resembles a stone totem of sorts with a glowing red eye. It is able to manifest in many locations at once. It has been observing Earth for some time and was present when Captain America received his powers.^[43] However, it appears that there is more than one Watcher in the Ultimate universe, for in Ultimate X-Men #96 Jean Grey attempts to find heaven to resurrect her father, only to be stopped by a Silver Surfer that is stationed in front of thousands of Watchers in a hive colony.^[44]
• In the comics story Scarlet Traces: The Great Game, he is shown in a cave drawing on Mars as one of the original inhabitants of the Moon, along with the Selenites from The First Men in the Moon.

In other media

Television

• Uatu made two appearances in the 1967 Fantastic Four animated series, voiced by Paul Frees.
• Uatu the Watcher appeared in the "Incredible Hulk" segment of the animated series The Marvel Super Heroes.
• Uatu made a cameo appearance in the X-Men animated series, in the episode "Dark Phoenix: Part 3".
• Uatu made an appearance in the 1994 Fantastic Four animated series, voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.
• Uatu made appearances on the Silver Surfer animated series, voiced by Dennis Akayama in his first appearance, and Colin Fox in his second appearance.
• Uatu appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episodes "Tremble at the Might of... MODOK" and "This Al Dente Earth", voiced by Dave Boat.^[45]
• Uatu the Watcher appears in the Robot Chicken episode "Tapping a Hero", voiced by Tom Root. In the "Superheroes Tonight" segment, Uatu is arrested for "watching" girls in a YWCA locker room.
• In the Titan Maximum episode "Dirty Lansbury", Uatu is parodied as the "Peeper" (voiced by Seth Green).
• Uatu appears in the Avengers Assemble voiced by Clancy Brown. He makes a cameo in the episode "Hulk's Day Out", as a friend of the Hulk where they watch a baseball game from Uatu's lair. He makes a full appearance in season 2 episode titled "Thanos Rising" when Thanos arrives at his lair and throws Uatu towards Avengers Tower. During the fight against Thanos at the Blue Area of the Moon, Uatu allows the Avengers to use his lair to find out what they need to know about Thanos. When Hawkeye asks if Uatu would have a problem with it, Uatu quotes "I can only observe." In the episode "Avengers World," Uatu the Watcher watches the fight between the Avengers and the Black Order. When Thanos notices him, he tells Uatu to move as he starts absorbing energy from Uatu's computers.
• Uatu appears in the Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. episode "The Trouble with Machines", voiced by Clancy Brown.^[46]

Video games

• Uatu shows up in the What If...? mode of the PlayStation Spider-Man video game, voiced by Laurence Fishburne.
• Uatu is featured in the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance video game, voiced by Phil LaMarr. Although retaining his vow of non-interference, he breaks this vow when Doctor Doom acquires the power of Odin, using his powers to save the heroes facing Doom and provide them with vital information about how to create a device that will enable them to draw off enough of Doom's power to defeat him. When on Atillan, Uatu will bring up the Watchers' history with the inhabitants of Prosilicus, and reveals that he has been suspended for helping the heroes. Uatu's voice is heard in the finale when he tells the players the different outcomes to specific side-missions.
• Uatu makes an appearance in the opening cinematic of Marvel Heroes, voiced by Vic Mignogna. Besides his narration, Uatu is seen trying to convince Doctor Doom from using the Cosmic Cube's powers.
• Uatu is currently appearing in Super Hero Squad Online. He is the one who collects the fractals in the game.
• Uatu serves as the narrator for Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth, voiced by Steven Blum.

Books

• Uatu appears at the conclusion of the X-Men/Star Trek crossover novel Planet X written by Michael Jan Friedman, in which he speaks with Q regarding his role in the X-Men's recent trip to the Enterprise-E to assist that ship's crew with a crisis.

Webcomic

• Uatu was parodied in the webcomic PvP, coming down to Earth to observe the trial of the lawsuit put forth by Marvel Comics against the creators of City of Heroes (in a rather annoying fashion). In the end of the storyline (when the judge declares a mistrial), Uatu appears one last time to show the outcome of the case: Galactus devouring Earth.

Toys and collectibles

• In 2004 Bowen Designs released a bust sculpture of Uatu sculpted and designed by the Kucharek Brothers.This is the first time a Watcher has been made into a sculpted dimensional product.

References

External links

• Uatu the Watcher at Marvel.com
• Uatu the Watcher at Marvel Appendix
• 1 of 2 comic strips featuring Uatu on pvponline.com
• 2 of 2 comic strips featuring Uatu on pvponline.com

Jack Kirby
Bibliography
Marvel Comics	2001: A Space Odyssey Adam Warlock Amazing Adventures Astonishing Tales Avengers Black Panther Captain America Devil Dinosaur Dr. Druid Eternals Fantastic Four Mister Fantastic Invisible Woman Human Torch Thing Galactus Hank Pym Hercules Hulk Inhumans Black Bolt Medusa Karnak Triton Crystal Lockjaw Maximus the Mad Iron Man Jasper Sitwell Journey into Mystery Ka-Zar Machine Man Moon-Boy Nick Fury Peggy Carter Sharon Carter Silver Surfer Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Izzy Cohen Dum Dum Dugan Gabe Jones Junior Juniper Dino Manelli Rebel Ralston Happy Sam Sawyer Tales of Suspense Tales to Astonish Thor Uatu Wasp X-Men Professor X Cyclops Marvel Girl Beast Angel Iceman Zabu
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Other	Black Magic Boys' Ranch Captain 3-D Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers Destroyer Duck The Double Life of Private Strong Fighting American The Fly Jack Kirby's Galactic Bounty Hunters The Kirbyverse Secret City Saga Silver Star Sky Masters Young Love Young Romance
Television work	Goldie Gold and Action Jack Mister T Thundarr the Barbarian
Related articles	Kirby Krackle Stan Lee Joe Simon Mainline Publications
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