Featuring: Watcher
Release: February 11, 1964
Cover: May 1964
12 cents
Story plot by: Stan Lee
Script + art by: Larry Lieber
Inking by: Paul Reinman
Lettering by: Art Simek
5 pages
I learned this series existed relatively late in my Marvel reading. I’d gotten it into my head that I wanted every Marvel comic some 20 years ago and got to work. But it took time to even develop a good catalogue of what that meant. I had read the old Iron Man and Silver stories in the Essential volumes Marvel put out, but didn’t realize at the time about the Watcher backups not reprinted in those volumes.
As the internet took shape, and comic experts put forth their knowledge, I could borrow from that work to get a sense of the complete list. I meticulously studied the UHBMCC and MCP to find every Marvel Universe comic there was, including the oddities, like this short-lived series of Watcher tales.
My enthusiasm went through a bit of a roller coaster ride. I’d always loved the Watcher from his appearances in What If…? and was excited to learn he had solo adventures. Enthusiasm high. Then I learned the solo adventures were just a light wrapper around other stories he would narrate. Enthusiasm waned. Then I learned some of these stories were reprints of older stories with the Watcher parts added in. Further waning. But then I learned there were a few stories (like this one) which did feature the Watcher in his own adventures. Enthusiasm rising. And then I learned that we would learn the origin of the Watchers. Enthusiasm at its height.
What tragedy at the dawn of time caused this ancient race of immortals to take such a dark vow, to spend eternity observing the events of the cosmos without interference? I was excited to find out.
Then I read it. Enthusiasm has reached equilibrium. It doesn’t help to read so many of these Watcher stories and similar sci/fi tales in close proximity. A very large number of them have the moral that we should end the threat of nuclear war. While I agree, and appreciate that it was on people’s minds a lot back then, it really is overdone in these pages. And then to learn that’s the origin of the Watchers…
We begin with the Watcher making the choice he always makes, to watch a dying patient die and choose not to help, even though he could save the man’s life. He proceeds to explain why.
The Watcher refers to us as “lesser beings”. No offense taken.
His people once shared nuclear secrets with another race, who did with the knowledge what humanity has done and set on a path toward self-destruction.
It’s understandable that would inspire some level of cosmic guilt, but my expectations for this story were maybe a little higher than it could reach. I’d been a Watcher fan for 20 years before finally tracking down a reprint of this story.
Part of my concern is that I like to think the very advanced Watchers have more innovative energy ideas than nuclear power. I don’t believe that’s the pinnacle of energy production civilization can hope to achieve.
Now, it’s pretty clear what the Watchers did wrong here… and it wasn’t the fact that they did anything. The Watcher talks about how advanced his people were at the beginning of the tale. But before he mentions their scientific prowess, he mentions the lack of war, of crime, of theft. He talks about how evolved their ethics are.
Yet, when it comes time to share knowledge, they share their scientific knowledge, but not their ethical knowledge. That’s what they should dedicate themselves to: spreading their humanist wisdom through the galaxies, and then their scientific wisdom.
Instead, they learned the wrong lesson and decided to just stop doing anything ever. Maybe they’re not as wise and evolved as the Watcher suggests.
We also note the mistake appears to have been made by exactly four people. It’s not clear why the entire populace should share in their eternal penance.
The character of Emnu is interesting. Ikor, father of the Watcher we know, is generous, while Emnu is selfish. Emnu opposed helping the Prosilicans for selfish reasons. However, it turned out Emnu was right. There’s an ethical contrast between the two. From a deontological perspective, Ikor is the better man, for his motives were rooted in what is righteous. But from a consequentialist perspective, Emnu was correct, though for the wrong reasons. What matters more? Intent or consequence?
We have been referring to the race of beings as the Watchers as that is how they are now known. Presumably they had a different name for themselves at the time of this story, but we are not told it. We meet four Watchers in this tale. Two are named, but not the one who is the star of this series. We still only know him as the Watcher.
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 57/100
Significance: ★★★★☆
Except for the first page, the scans are taken from a reprint in Marvel Collectors’ Item Classics #9 (1967).
You can find the story through Kindle.
Characters:
- Watcher
- Ikor
- Emnu
Story notes:
- Story takes place aeons before the birth of our world.
- Watchers dwelled in floating cities. No war, no crime, no dishonesty, no theft.
- Delta-ray baths secret to immortality.
- Watcher, his father Ikor, and Emnu all on high world council.
- Watchers absorb cosmic anti-matter isotopes to transform themselves into living energy and fly through space very fast.
- Took months to reach Prosilicus, home of Prosilicans.
- Watchers suggest nuclear energy to operate planes, heat cities, and cure disease.
- Watchers visit multi-dimensional eclipse which only occurs once every billion years, two different dimensions of time and space passing each other.
- Emnu agrees he is selfish and Ikor generous, but notes generosity was the problem here.
#179 story in reading order
Next: Journey Into Mystery #104
Previous: Tales of Suspense #53
