Before the What if know more about Watcher

The Watchers are a race of extraterrestrials appearing in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are most frequently portrayed as all-powerful beings who watch over the multiverses the stories take place in, and are not barred from interacting with the other characters, although they have done so on several occasions, when the situation demanded it. The Watchers were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, with the first one making his debut in April 1963.

The Watchers have made their appearances in many films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe(MCU), and are set to make an appearance in yet another project that is a part of phase four of the MCU. Read on to know more about them.

ORIGIN IN THE COMICS

The first Watcher to appear in the comics was named Uatu, who made his debut in the April 1963 Fantastic Four #13. In the comics, the Watchers are known to be the oldest species in the universe, and perform the enormous task of observing and compiling knowledge on all aspects of the universe without any interference. The original name for this race has been forgotten; they simply adopted the name after the task that they perform. The policy of non-interference was due to a well-meaning attempt by the Watchers to bestow knowledge on another race which resulted in that race destroying itself. In spite of this, the Watcher Uatu had revealed himself to the superhero team the Fantastic Four, and proceeded to aid them on several occasions against global threats like the Molecule Man, Galactus, and the Over-Mind. After another interference with the mission of the Kree soldier Mar-vell, Uatu was put on trial by his own race, but was subsequently released on the provision that he would never directly interfere again.

He was later banished by his race for having aided the Fantastic Four against the threat of his rogue nephew, Aron, the Renegade Watcher, who tried to destroy the universe. The Dreaming Celestial later scanned Uatu and learned that the Watcher had broken his pact of non-interference almost 400 times. The Celestial had also revealed that the Watchers, like the Celestials themselves, were servants of a concept called Fulcrum, with apparent consequences for their interference.

POWERS AND ABILITIES

Since the Watchers are cosmic beings, they possess the innate ability to achieve almost any effect desired, which include augmenting personal attributes, time and space manipulation, molecular manipulation, energy projection, and a range of mental powers. In addition to this, they also have access to highly advanced technology.

APPEARANCE IN THE MCU

As mentioned before, The Watchers have made a brief appearance in some of the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first movie that they were featured in was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, portrayed by Walt Linscott. The first Watcher to appear in the comics, Uatu will be appearing in the Disney+Hotstar animated series What If...?, voiced by Jeffrey Wright.