Original Sin

Original Sin is a Marvel Comics event storyline published in 2014. Written by Jason Aaron and illustrated primarily by Mike Deodato, it combines a murder mystery, superhero investigation, cosmic science fiction, and revelations about the hidden histories of Marvel characters. The central incident is the killing of Uatu, the Watcher assigned to observe Earth. Uatu is discovered dead on the Moon with his eyes removed, transforming the investigation into a search for both his murderer and the secrets contained in his stolen eyes. The story begins when Sam Alexander, the young hero Nova, visits Uatu at the Watcher's lunar base. Uatu explains aspects of the Watchers' history and reveals that Sam's missing father, Jesse Alexander, is alive. Soon afterward, Uatu senses an approaching threat and confronts an unseen attacker before the lunar base is destroyed. On Earth, Captain America, Wolverine, Black Widow, Thor, Nick Fury, and other heroes respond to the discovery of Uatu's corpse. Because the Watcher had observed events across many worlds, his death threatens to expose dangerous information and suggests that the killer may have been seeking access to his archive. Several investigative teams pursue separate leads. Black Panther, Emma Frost, and Ant-Man investigate enormous dead creatures beneath Earth. Moon Knight, Winter Soldier, and Gamora follow a trail through deep space. Doctor Strange and the Punisher investigate another dimension. Their discoveries indicate that powerful beings had been killed with gamma-irradiated ammunition. Meanwhile, the villains Orb, Doctor Midas, and Exterminatrix exploit the situation. Orb possesses one of Uatu's eyes, and when its power is activated, heroes and villains are confronted with hidden knowledge about themselves and others. The investigation eventually reveals that the apparent mastermind directing the heroes is an elderly Nick Fury. Fury explains that, beginning in 1958, he secretly defended Earth from extraterrestrial, subterranean, and extradimensional threats. The monsters found by the investigators were among the dangers he had eliminated without the knowledge of the Army, CIA, or S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury killed Uatu after the Watcher refused to identify the people who had attacked him, invoking the Watchers' oath of non-interference. Fury believed that Uatu's remaining eye contained the information necessary to stop the thieves before they could use the Watcher's weapons and knowledge against Earth. The climax takes place on the Moon, where Fury confronts Doctor Midas, who is absorbing power from Uatu's remains. Fury overloads Midas with the energy of the Watcher's eye, apparently sacrificing himself. He later emerges alive but transformed into the Unseen, a new observer of Earth. The Winter Soldier assumes Fury's former covert role as the Man on the Wall. The event also generates significant character developments in tie-in stories, including the discovery that Cindy Moon was bitten by the same spider as Peter Parker and becomes Silk, revelations concerning the origins of the Hulk and Iron Man's role in the gamma-bomb incident, and the disclosure that Angela is Thor and Loki's sister. Original Sin functioned as both a line-wide crossover and a publishing label for connected miniseries and tie-ins. Its principal commercial offering was serialized superhero fiction rather than a conventional consumer product, and its continuing influence comes from the status changes and continuity revelations it introduced into Marvel's shared universe.

Original Sin was conceived by writer Jason Aaron and artist Mike Deodato as a story in which multiple groups of heroes would investigate the murder of Uatu the Watcher. The premise allowed the event to operate on several levels: it was a whodunit involving a dead cosmic observer, a superhero team-up story, and a mechanism for exposing secrets that Marvel characters had kept from one another. The main storyline opens at Uatu's lunar base. Sam Alexander encounters the Watcher and learns more about the origin of the Watchers, including the controversial act by Uatu's father of giving nuclear technology to the Prosilicans. Uatu also tells Sam that his father Jesse is alive. Shortly afterward, Uatu is attacked and killed. His base is destroyed, his eyes are removed, and his weapons and surveillance equipment are stolen. The discovery of his corpse draws in prominent Avengers and allied heroes, while Nick Fury assumes operational control of the crime scene. The investigation is divided among teams. Black Panther, Emma Frost, and Ant-Man explore a subterranean graveyard of giant creatures. Moon Knight, Gamora, and the Winter Soldier investigate threats in space. Doctor Strange and the Punisher pursue evidence in an extradimensional environment. Their findings connect the deaths to unusual gamma-irradiated bullets and imply that Uatu had been observing a larger pattern of killings. At the same time, Orb and Doctor Midas seek to exploit the Watcher's remains, while one of Uatu's eyes begins revealing private knowledge to those exposed to it. The event's central reversal is the discovery that the hidden informant guiding Black Panther and the other teams is the real Nick Fury. Fury had secretly acted for decades as Earth's defender, continuing the work of Woodrow McCord after encountering an alien invasion in 1958. Operating outside official institutions, he neutralized threats that ranged from extraterrestrial forces to subterranean monsters and beings from other dimensions. The corpses found by the heroes were evidence of this concealed campaign. Fury admits that he killed Uatu. The Watcher had been attacked by Orb and Midas but refused to identify the attackers because of the Watchers' non-interference oath. Fury therefore took Uatu's remaining eye after killing him, believing it was the only way to discover the criminals' identities and prevent them from using the Watcher's armory. Fury's physical decline is attributed to the depletion of the Infinity Formula, and he attempts to identify a successor from among the assembled heroes. The final confrontation pits Fury and his Life Model Decoys against the heroes, Orb, and Doctor Midas. Midas has absorbed power from Uatu's remains, but Fury forces him to absorb the energy of the Watcher's eye, overloading and killing him. Fury appears to die as well, then returns as the Unseen after absorbing Uatu's powers. In a related transfer of covert responsibility, the Winter Soldier becomes the new Man on the Wall. The tie-ins broaden the event's consequences. The Amazing Spider-Man issues reveal Cindy Moon, later known as Silk, and connect her origin to Peter Parker's spider bite. The Hulk and Iron Man chapters revisit the gamma-bomb experiment and expose Tony Stark's previously repressed involvement. Thor-related chapters reveal that Angela is the daughter of Odin and the sister of Thor and Loki, leading to conflict involving Asgard and the realm of Heven. Through these stories, Original Sin became a vehicle for continuity changes beyond its central murder mystery.

• 2014

  Marvel launches Original Sin

  [1]Original Sin (comics)en.wikipedia.org

  Marvel publishes the crossover storyline created by Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato, focusing on Uatu the Watcher's murder.

• 2014

  Uatu's death triggers the investigation

  [1]Original Sin (comics)en.wikipedia.org

  Heroes discover the Watcher dead on the Moon with his eyes removed and organize several investigative teams.

• 2014

  Nick Fury becomes the Unseen

  [1]Original Sin (comics)en.wikipedia.org

  After defeating Doctor Midas and absorbing Uatu's power, Fury assumes a new role as Earth's observer.

• 2014

  The Winter Soldier becomes Man on the Wall

  [1]Original Sin (comics)en.wikipedia.org

  The Winter Soldier takes over Nick Fury's covert planetary-defense mantle.

A major Marvel superhero crossover built around a cosmic murder mystery, investigative team-ups, and revelations about characters' concealed histories.

• Crossover comic-book storyline · 2014

  Original Sin

  The principal Marvel event follows Avengers and allied heroes investigating Uatu the Watcher's murder. Its plot combines cosmic mystery, covert history, villainous exploitation of Uatu's remains, and revelations about Nick Fury's secret career. The storyline culminates in Fury's transformation into the Unseen and supports numerous tie-in narratives.

• Tie-in comic books · 2014

  Original Sin tie-ins

  Connected issues explore consequences of Uatu's eye revealing hidden information. Major threads include Peter Parker's discovery of Cindy Moon and the emergence of Silk, the Hulk and Iron Man's confrontation over the gamma bomb, and Thor's discovery that Angela is his sister.

• 2014

  Marvel structures the event around distributed investigationsStrategy

  Background

  The creative team designed Original Sin as a crossover in which different hero groups investigate different aspects of Uatu's murder.

  Action taken

  Marvel divided the narrative among the main event and multiple tie-in series, allowing separate investigations to converge in the finale.

  Aftermath

  The structure supported several simultaneous character revelations and extended the storyline across Marvel's shared universe.

  Source

• 2014

  Marvel changes Nick Fury's roleOther

  Background

  The story reveals that the elderly Nick Fury secretly killed Uatu and had spent decades defending Earth from hidden threats.

  Action taken

  After absorbing Uatu's power, Fury becomes the Unseen, while the Winter Soldier assumes the Man on the Wall position.

  Aftermath

  The event permanently reframes Fury's covert history and creates new status-quo roles for Fury and the Winter Soldier.

  Source

1. 1Original Sin (comics)en.wikipedia.org