Hot off the heels of the massive success of Loki and Black Widow, the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to make headlines with the first episode of What If…?, now available on Disney Plus. The very first animated series in MCU history explores the newly introduced Marvel multiverse, depicting alternate timelines where the familiar events of the MCU movies played out very differently.
Episode 1 of What If…? depicts another possibility for the story of Captain America: The First Avenger, showing what would have happened if Peggy Carter became a shield-wielding super soldier instead of her love interest Steve Rogers. But while Captain Carter and her adventures are the main focus of the episode, the What If…? premiere also introduces another major player in the Marvel multiverse. The character in question is, of course, the mysterious voice who narrates the episode: the being known only as the Watcher.
RELATED: What If…? Episode 1 Review
A first-time viewer might dismiss the Watcher — voiced by Jeffrey Wright, star of Casino Royale and Westworld, not to mention the future Commissioner Gordon — as an omniscient narrator and little more. His voice only appears at the beginning and end of the episode, not unlike Rod Serling in an episode of The Twilight Zone. However, comments from the series’ creators indicate that the Watcher may be taking a more significant role in the narrative of the series going forward, playing a direct part in the story instead of just narrating from the background. So if the Watcher is indeed going to be a major presence in the MCU going forward, it’ll be important for all fans to know exactly what his story is.
The Watcher, also known as Uatu, was originally created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in The Fantastic Four #13, all the way back in April 1963. He was first encountered by the Fantastic Four when they traveled to the moon to fight the Soviet supervillain called the Red Ghost and his team of Super-Apes — a typical adventure for the FF back in the Lee-Kirby era, as outlandish as it sounds. The Watcher introduced himself as an immortal alien who observed humanity from the moon, chronicling human history as part of his species’ goal to record all knowledge in the multiverse.
The Watchers, a species of big-headed, toga-wearing beings, all possess vast cosmic powers that allow them to peer into any reality in the multiverse and bend space, time, and reality to their will. However, the Watchers have all taken a vow since ancient times to never interfere with the course of history, lest they inadvertently change things for the worse. As such, the Watchers are forever fated to always observe but never interfere.
If that previous description of big-headed, toga-wearing aliens sounds familiar, there’s a good reason for that — the Watchers have already made an in-person appearance in the MCU, long before What If…? was even announced. A group of Watchers showed up briefly in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, listening to the late great Stan Lee ramble on about his various cameos in past MCU films. This short scene confirmed a long-held fan theory that Lee’s various cameo appearances in the MCU were all the same man, and that he was intentionally following the heroes to report on them for the Watchers.
As for Uatu himself, the main Watcher of the Marvel Universe, his presence in What If…? is no coincidence. What If was originally the title of an anthology comic series that ran from 1977 to 1984. Much like the MCU series, it was dedicated to exploring alternate realities where familiar stories went very differently — like “What If Spider-Man Had Rescued Gwen Stacy?” or even “What If Jane Foster Had Found the Hammer of Thor?”, predicting a storyline that would occur in the main Marvel Universe decades later. And like the new animated series, the Watcher appeared in every issue to narrate the story, serving as the reader’s guide to the infinite possibilities of the Marvel multiverse.
Of course, the Watcher is much more than a mere anthology comic host — he’s an iconic supporting character with a major place in Marvel history. Despite his oath to never interfere, Uatu’s sense of compassion has led him to rebel against his orders on numerous occasions. He’s often provided aid to the heroes of the Marvel Universe in any way he can besides directly using his powers to fight alongside them. Going back to Lee and Kirby’s Fantastic Four run, “The Galactus Trilogy”, the three-issue arc that introduced the titular devourer of worlds to the Marvel Universe, featured the Watcher traveling to Earth to warn the Fantastic Four of Galactus’ impending arrival.
And that was just the start of the Watcher’s long history of aiding Earth’s heroes. It remains to be seen what sort of role the Watcher will play in the MCU, or even if he’ll appear outside of What If…? in future movies or shows. But one thing is clear — introducing a character with such a long and storied history into the Marvel Cinematic Universe means that fans can likely expect big things from Uatu the Watcher.
MORE: What If…?: The Premiere's Best Performance Wasn't From A Marvel Regular