In the
Marvel Universe, a race is dedicated to watching humanity's - and other races' - every move without interfering, only to monitor the existence of life in the universe.
They are the
Watchers, cosmic guards who hold all the knowledge of history. And among the most famous of them is the
Watcher of Earth: Uatu.
In the comics, Uatu watches from afar as the publisher's most meaningful events unfold. He was present in several landmark events in Earth's history, from the arrival of
Galactus to the
Superhuman Civil War.
What if...?, the new animated series from Marvel Studios exclusive to Disney+, shows a glimpse into different realities of the multiverse.
Each story is told from
Uatu, The Watcher's point of view, the mysterious cosmic entity with a particular interest in the alternate histories of the MCU's main heroes.
In the movies, he may be a key piece to understanding Doctor Strange's insanity from
Doctor Strange 2: Into the Multiverse of Madness and how Jane Foster assumes the mantle of Goddess of Thunder in
Thor: Love and Thunder.
Check out the fundamental facts to help you better understand Uatu!
Who is the Uatu, The Watcher?
Uatu comes from a very ancient race, commonly known as the Watchers. They came from a very advanced society, and for a time, believed that their goal was to roam the universe, helping less advanced societies find evolution through technology.
Everything changed when
Ikor, one of the race representatives, ended up giving technology to a planet called
Prosilicus, which was used to create nuclear weapons and mass destructing devices.
This caused the Watchers to adopt a vow to keep an eye on civilizations, but without interfering.
Uatu was then assigned to watch over Earth.
His first encounter with humans occurred in 1602 when a future version of
Captain America was sent into the past, creating several ruptures in space-time. Acting against the vow of his race, he interfered, restoring reality.
Many years later, he appears in a
Fantastic Four adventure on the moon. From then on, he had several secondary appearances, always seen on the set as a silent observer during significant events that would completely change the history of humankind.
Uatu, The Watcher First Appearance
Created by the most incredible comic book duo of all-time -
Stan Lee and J
ack Kirby - the enigmatic Uatu first appeared in April 1963, in
Fantastic Four #13, in a story involving the team facing the evil
Red Ghost.
As time went by, the character had a consistent presence in the team's magazines. Eventually, Uatu starred in his own title - The
What If...? comic book series, where several events are recreated differently.
Each issue explored a different story, always investigating how the situation would develop if a small change were made to the main Marvel stories.
For example, some of the more
famous titles are: What would happen if the Avengers had never existed? What would happen if Jane Foster had found the hammer? What would happen if the Hulk had Bruce Banner's intelligence?
Base on the Moon
When he was assigned as a
Watcher on Earth, Uatu had to find a base to establish himself from where he could observe all events from a distance. So he settled in the
Blue Area of the Moon, a part of the satellite where the air is breathable.
The
Kree created the base when the alien race came to Earth to experiment on humans - who would later become the
Inhumans. This area was also where
Attilan - the moon base of the Inhumans - was set up, although they and Uatu barely met.
How Many Times Has Uatu Interfered on Earth?
When
Tiamut scanned Uatu in
Eternals #5, he found that Uatu broke the rules
337 times to help the Earthlings. This is because Uatu believed in
Otmu's philosophy, which said that the simple act of observing is already an interference in itself.
So, since doing nothing or doing something would have consequences, Uatu always chose to do the right thing. From this belief, he began to help humanity occasionally, even if this pitted him directly against other Watchers.
His most popular interference happened when
Galactus decided to invade Earth. He not only tried to hide the planet but actively worked with the
Fantastic Four to prevent the end of his sector.
In other situations, where the planet would not be in danger of destruction, he just watched - as in
Civil War and A
vengers vs. X-Men.
Uatu's Trial
After years of a risky lifestyle, Uatu was judged by his own people. The last straw was when he physically opposed Captain Mar-vell, defending the interests of the
Lunatic Legion, a faction of
Kree who lived on his side of the moon.
He pleaded innocence, explaining the contradiction of the prevailing system that Otmu's philosophy exposed. Moreover, the actions and emotions he saw among the Earthlings eventually influenced him.
In the end, he rethinks his attitudes and is released, vowing never again to interfere in mediocre matters, a promise which he obviously did not keep.
Who killed the Uatu, The Watcher?
In the
Original Sin saga, the Watchman met his ultimate end.
The heroes of Earth were called to the Blue Area of the Moon, where
Uatu lived, and found him dead, with a giant gunshot wound in his head and his two eyes gouged out. An investigation began to determine the guilty party.
Uatu's eyes were used by the villainous
Orb to reveal several secrets on Earth - secrets that had only been observed by the Watcher. It was later discovered that Uatu's killer was the original
Nick Fury, following an attack by several villains on the Watcher's base on the Moon.
After being revealed as the assassin at the saga's end,
Nick Fury told his motives: a group of villains had attacked
Uatu and removed one of his eyes. To find out who the culprit was, he needed to pluck out the Watcher's other eye - even to prevent one of his secrets from leaking out.
However, the Watchmen were not kind to the spy. To punish him for Uatu's death and fill the gap left by the Watcher on Earth, they turned
Nick Fury into the new Watcher. Taking on the name
Unseen, he took Uatu's place, watching major events on Earth.
This arc was the trigger for
Jane Foster's transformation into
Thor. After discovering the dirt on the universe, Fury told a dark secret in Odinson's ear that made him feel unworthy to carry the
Mjolnir, leaving the way clear for
Mighty Thor to emerge.
The heroine will make her debut in
Thor: Love and Thunder, but the Watcher's influence should change in the movies.
Uatu's Powers and Abilities
Like other Watchers, Uatu has several superhuman abilities at his disposal, starting with
telepathy, which can be combined to expand other powers mentally.
Uatu can also turn
invisible, generate illusions, and alter his size. He also needs
immortality to watch all the events of existence, but his body was not invulnerable and could be killed by unnatural causes.
Not to mention the ability to control
time and
space. Uatu can teleport, travel through time, create force fields, fly, and manipulate
energy. On top of all this, their cosmic senses are super keen to let nothing slip by in the universe.
Uatu in The Game World
In the games, the Watcher appears as in the comics - as an active observer, watching Earth from a distance. Because of this, he was always portrayed as a non-playable character since it made no sense to make him in any other way.
He appeared in several games.
Spider-Man for PlayStation was the first. Later, he appeared in the animations of
Marvel Ultimate Alliance, the extinct
Marvel Heroes, and as an NPC in
Super Hero Suad Online and
Avengers: Battle for Earth.
Uatu in TV and Cinema
Uatu has appeared in several animated series on television, notably the 90s series
Fantastic Four,
X-Men,
The Incredible Hulk, and
Silver Surfer. In addition, he was in
Super Hero Squad Show and
Avengers Assemble.
In theaters, we saw the Watcher in a few scenes from
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - although we're not sure if one of them was Uatu.
However, Uatu is present in the first animated series of Marvel's Cinematic Universe,
What If...?, dubbed by Jeffrey Wright.
