Warning: contains a preview for Reckoning War: Trial of the Watcher #1!
Once considered to be benevolent guardians and observers of the Marvel Universe, the Watchers are revealing themselves as way less enlightened than they pretend. While a cosmic-scale conflict that they are responsible for, the Reckoning War, is erupting all across the universe, the Watchers are completely ignoring it to focus on putting one of their own, Utatu, on trial, as shown in a preview for Reckoning War: Trial of the Watcher #1 - by Dan Slott and Javier Rodrìguez - shared by Marvel Comics.
The Watchers are one of the oldest races in the universe. Eons ago their species was known as the Luminous, and they tried to use their vast knowledge and power to help other species develop, visiting other planets and sharing their gifts with the inhabitants. One of the first species to receive the Luminous' "gifts" were the Prosilicans, who used the Watchers' technology to become ruthless conquerors and wage war on the rest of the universe. A coalition was formed to stop them, and in the final battle, a weapon of mass destruction was unleashed, turning nine-tenths of the universe into a toxic wasteland. Swayed by a sense of guilt for causing such a disaster, the Watchers erected a barrier around what was left of the universe, sealing the Prosilicans outside, and taking an oath to never interfere again with other species. The Prosilicans, however, survived. Now known as the Reckoning, they have declared war on the universe and are ready to destroy it to enact their revenge.
Uatu, who has always been the most compassionate of his species, has tried to warn the other Watchers, calling for a great assembly on their home planet. Uatu believes that non-interference is no longer enough: the Reckoning are the Watchers' responsibility, and the Watchers need to deal with them, even at the cost of breaking their oath and going to war. However, his brothers and sisters are too concerned with the old ways. After many millennia of keeping their oath, this is the primary concern for the other Watchers, to the point that they are completely ignoring the Reckoning War while the greatest danger, in their eyes, is Uatu himself. Earth's Watcher has broken his oath many times, swayed by his love for the human race, and it's time to make him pay. The Watchers' non-interference clearly doesn't apply to their own, and their efforts may rob Earth's heroes of the one ally who could help them defeat this incredibly powerful new threat.
The Watchers have apprehended Uatu and strapped him to a machine that will show him all instances in which he has broken his oath and interfered in the lives of mortals. It will also show how futile his actions were, as it's presenting a reality in which Uatu never warned the Fantastic Four of the threat of Galactus (his most famous violation of the Watchers' code), but apparently Earth survived nonetheless. What is most absurd in this situation is that Uatu's fellow Watchers are completely ignoring the actions and the threat posed by the Reckoning, thus failing in their duty to observe important events, and what is more important than the potential annihilation of the universe?
Uatu's trial only proves that the Watchers have done nothing to expiate their ancient sin. They are still hypocrites, too engrossed in their alleged superiority to worry about the pain and suffering that is unfolding around them. If Uatu is unable to persuade his fellow Watchers to intervene, it will be up to the heroes to stop the Reckoning War before it can destroy the universe. Trial of the Watcher #1 will be available from March 16.