The Trial of the Watcher
It would fall to Steve Englehart to make sense of Uatu's long history of aberrant behavior in a storyline that ran in the first volume of Captain Marvel (35-39, 1974-1975). The former Kree soldier Mar-Vell and Rick Jones (who have been stuck in a complicated time-share arrangement allowing Captain Marvel to exist in our cosmos for three hours at a time) have been targeted by a radical racist Kree faction called the Lunatic Legion. Curiously, the Legion has been permitted by Uatu to use his Blue Area of Earth's moon as a home base. Far more shocking were the actions this Watcher took, including a violent attack on Captain Marvel. When the battle against the Lunatic Legion is over (Mar-Vell wins, obviously), Uatu contacts his people, declares himself unworthy, and prepares to enter a teleportation beam that will bring him home for trial:
Uatu: Yet before I depart, Captain, I must beg your pardon for my actions toward you. / Please forgive me.
Mar-Vell: But I don't even know--
Uatu: It does not matter. I know what I have done--and why. / Farewell... forever.
Rick: Well, don't just stand there, cosmic brain. Help 'im!
Mar-Vell: You're certain, Rick? What about your concert in Denver?
Rick: That's four days off! Just get into that beam! (Captain Marvel 38, "--No Way Out by Englehart, Al Milgrom and Klaus Janson)
This brief dialogue fails to reveal Uatu's motivations, but nonetheless encapsulates the dilemma posed by the Watcher's inclusion in a corporate superhero comic story. Uatu admits his "actions" were wrong, not only because of their consequence for Mar-Vell, but because they were actions, pure and simple. Rick, whose role has always been to spur the more passive, contemplative Mar-Vell into action (Borenstein, Marvel in the 1970s xx), insists that Mar-Vell help the man who had attacked them earlier, while Mar-Vell is equally confused by both Uatu's apology and Rick's call to action. A Watcher should observe and do nothing; Rick, whose status at this point in the story is that of a floating head literally capable only of observing events from the Negative Zone, insists that Mar-Vell leap into a conflict situation without knowing where he is going or why.
Upon their arrival on the Watcher homeworld, Uatu's colleagues are outraged that a "mortal" has hitched a ride and demanded to speak at Earth's Watcher's trial. Imprisoning him in a force field, Ingu the Watcher inadvertently applies his people's creed to Mar-Vell himself: "He must not interfere!" (Captain Marvel 39, "The Trial of the Watcher," by Englehart, Milgrom, and Janson). Mar-Vell breaks free with Rick's help; together they exert the mental effort that allows them to coexist in the positive cosmos for the first time, destroying the force field in the process. This would be a mere plot point (albeit one with significant consequences' for the series' two leads), were it not for the way in which Englehart and his artistic collaborator Al Milgrom have set the scene: when the readers witness this event, they are also watching other observers of Mar-Vell's escape: Aron, a young Watcher with insatiable curiosity, and Mad-Eye, a "seasoned Rackcat.[a tiger-like creature with antlers that emit energy blasts]] Here on the world of the Watchers, all life is peaceful. So Mad-Eye is merely interested...." The appearance of two "small and hairy men" out of a burst of light upsets Mad-Eye:
for the first time since he was a tiny cub Mad-Eye is angry---/and Mad-Eye Attacks!
Captain Marvel protects! [punching Mad-Eye in the snout]
and Aron watches!
This is not the end of either Mad-Eye or Aron. Mad-Eye stalks Mar-Vell in search of revenge, while Aron follows him.
False advertising, but thematically interesting
Most of the issue is devoted to Uatu's trial, and the inclusion of Mad-Eye (who, unsurprisingly, is never seen again after this issue's last pages), is simultaneously a concession to the rules of the superhero genre, a comment on these rules, and the means for reframing the philosophical conflict that is at the heart of the story (as well as the key to Uatu's character). Without Mad-Eye, there would be virtually no action in the entire issue; comics need a fight scene, and Mad-Eye facilitates one. Otherwise, this comic is nothing but dialogue (Englehart's forte, true, but still). Three entire pages are filled up by Emnu, Uatu's accuser (and the main opponent of intervention back in the Watchers' early days), retelling the history of his race along with nearly all the stories featuring Uatu to date. This is extremely helpful to the reader (not to mention the researcher), but it's potential for drama is limited. [1] Mar-Vell refutes Emnu, emphasizing Uatu's benevolence ("except in my case"), but there is little reason to expect his plea on Uatu's behalf to win the day. Fortunately for everyone concerned, Mad-Eye returns, with Aron in tow.
Next: The Virtues of Doing Nothing
Note
[1] In an unusual move, the credits for the issue include Tony Isabella as "Researcher." In these pre-Internet days, Isabella must have been the one who assembled the list of Uatu's appearances.