====== Original Sin ======
===== Part 1: The Dossier: An At-a-Glance Summary =====
  *   **In one bolded sentence, Original Sin is a universe-spanning 2014 Marvel Comics crossover event that begins with the murder of Uatu the Watcher and unravels into a cascade of shocking, character-altering secrets unleashed upon Earth's heroes and villains.**
  *   **Key Takeaways:**
  *  **Role in the Universe:** //Original Sin// serves as a massive retcon engine and status quo shift, using a cosmic murder mystery to forcibly reveal hidden truths about the pasts of major characters, fundamentally changing their understanding of themselves and their histories. Its core theme is that secrets, no matter how deeply buried, will eventually surface with devastating consequences. [[uatu_the_watcher]].
  *  **Primary Impact:** The event's most significant and lasting consequences include the death of Uatu, the transformation of the original [[nick_fury]] into the cosmic entity known as The Unseen, [[thor]] becoming unworthy of Mjolnir (paving the way for Jane Foster's tenure), and the introduction of [[silk|Silk (Cindy Moon)]] into the [[spider-man]] mythos.
  *  **Key Incarnations:** //Original Sin// is a storyline exclusive to the **Earth-616 (Prime Comic Universe)**. It has not been directly adapted into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), though the MCU's version of The Watcher has appeared in the animated series //What If...?//, and themes of devastating secrets being revealed are central to films like //Captain America: The Winter Soldier// and //Captain America: Civil War//.
===== Part 2: Origin and Evolution =====
==== Publication History and Creation ====
The //Original Sin// storyline was announced by Marvel Comics in early 2014 as their major summer crossover event for that year, following the cosmic-scale //Infinity// event of 2013. The central creative team consisted of writer **Jason Aaron** (known for his acclaimed run on //Thor: God of Thunder//) and artist **Mike Deodato Jr.** (a veteran artist known for his gritty and atmospheric style). The series was edited by Tom Brevoort and Axel Alonso.
Marvel's marketing for the event was built around a simple, compelling question: **"Who Shot the Watcher?"** This murder mystery premise was designed to be an accessible entry point for new readers while promising significant revelations for long-time fans. The event was structured as a core 8-issue limited series (plus a prologue Issue #0), which ran from May to September 2014. It was supported by numerous tie-in issues across Marvel's publishing line, each exploring a specific character's "original sin" as it was revealed.
Jason Aaron stated in interviews that his goal was to blend different genres, combining a street-level noir detective story with a high-stakes cosmic epic. He aimed to create an event that had lasting, meaningful consequences for the characters involved, rather than simply returning to the status quo at its conclusion. The event's structure, which involved sending out small, mismatched teams of heroes to investigate different leads, was a deliberate choice to create unique character interactions and dramatic tension.
==== In-Universe Origin Story ====
=== Earth-616 (Prime Comic Universe) ===
The event begins with Uatu, the cosmic being assigned to observe Earth from his base on the Blue Area of the Moon, sensing a dire, unseen threat. He is confronted by unknown assailants, and a battle ensues. Shortly thereafter, Captain America, Wolverine, Black Widow, and Nick Fury are enjoying a quiet moment when Fury is called away on urgent business. Steve Rogers then receives a call from Thor, who has made a grisly discovery on the Moon.
The assembled [[avengers]] arrive at Uatu's citadel to find him dead, seated on his throne with a massive gunshot wound to his head and his famously all-seeing eyes gouged out and stolen. This act of deicide is a profound violation of cosmic law and a catastrophic security breach, as Uatu's eyes contain every secret he has ever witnessed throughout Earth's history.
Before the heroes can formulate a plan, a mysterious, cloaked figure appears. This figure, whose identity is initially unknown, reveals they have a plan to find the killer. They select and teleport away several small, unorthodox teams to investigate different facets of the crime:
  *   **Team Space:** Winter Soldier, Gamora, and Moon Knight.
  *   **Team Mystic:** Doctor Strange and The Punisher.
  *   **Team Ground:** Black Panther, Ant-Man (Scott Lang), and Emma Frost.
These teams are tasked with tracking down leads across the universe, from the center of the Earth to deep space, all while dealing with their own mistrust and conflicting methodologies. Their investigation quickly reveals that several parties are after the Watcher's eyes, including the classic villain Doctor Midas and his daughter Exterminatrix, as well as a D-list villain known as The Orb, who has somehow come into possession of one of the eyes. The true mastermind behind the investigation, however, remains hidden, manipulating events from the shadows.
=== Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) ===
**//Original Sin// has no direct adaptation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.** The core characters, plot points, and consequences of the comic storyline do not exist within the MCU's continuity. The concept of "The Watchers" as a species has been introduced, most notably through the character of The Watcher (voiced by Jeffrey Wright) who serves as the narrator for the animated series //What If...?//. However, this version is presented as a multiversal observer, distinct from the Earth-616 Uatu who was specifically assigned to Earth's solar system.
There are, however, thematic parallels. The MCU often uses the revelation of world-shattering secrets as a major plot driver:
  *   **//Captain America: The Winter Soldier//:** The revelation that [[hydra]] had secretly infiltrated [[shield]] for decades serves a similar function to //Original Sin//'s secrets, shattering the heroes' trust in their institutions and fundamentally altering the world's power structure.
  *   **//Captain America: Civil War//:** Zemo's revelation that a brainwashed Bucky Barnes murdered Tony Stark's parents is a deeply personal "original sin" that acts as the final catalyst for the Avengers' schism.
  *   **//Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2//:** The truth about Ego murdering Peter Quill's mother serves as a devastating personal revelation that redefines Peter's relationship with his father.
An MCU adaptation of //Original Sin// would require significant changes. The role of the original Nick Fury as a secret, aging protector of Earth is not part of the MCU canon, where Samuel L. Jackson's Fury has a much more public (though still clandestine) role. Furthermore, the specific secrets revealed in the comics (Thor's unworthiness, Angela's heritage, etc.) are tied to decades of comic book continuity that do not exist in the films. A potential adaptation would likely need to invent new "sins" relevant to the established MCU timeline and its characters.
===== Part 3: Timeline, Key Turning Points & Aftermath =====
The narrative of //Original Sin// unfolds as a tense whodunit that quickly escalates into a full-blown crisis, with the final act revealing a conspiracy decades in the making.
=== The Investigation: Who Shot the Watcher? ===
The initial investigation is chaotic. The Orb, empowered by one of the Watcher's eyes, unleashes a "truth bomb" on Earth, a psychic shockwave that implants a deep, personal secret into the mind of everyone in its radius. This act sows discord and sends heroes reeling, but it's only a taste of the full power contained within the eyes.
The investigative teams follow their leads:
  *   **Doctor Strange and Punisher** travel through mystical dimensions and other realities, discovering evidence of multiple breaches in Uatu's armory and encountering strange, gamma-irradiated creatures.
  *   **Black Panther's team** travels to the center of the Earth and a subterranean monster metropolis, discovering that the killer used bullets made of an unknown, powerful isotope.
  *   **Winter Soldier's team** travels into deep space, finding the corpse of a massive space creature, a key clue that points toward a killer with incredible power and reach.
Their separate investigations eventually converge on a secret, hidden S.H.I.E.L.D. orbital space station. It is here they are confronted by the mastermind who assembled them: an aged, weary, and dying **Nick Fury**. He reveals a stunning truth: for over half a century, he has been secretly acting as Earth's "Man on the Wall," a clandestine, one-man army single-handedly protecting the planet from cosmic and extradimensional threats that the Avengers never even knew existed. He has committed countless morally questionable acts and assassinations to keep humanity safe, a lifelong "original sin" he has borne alone. He explains he is now dying due to the Infinity Formula in his body failing and that he assembled the heroes to find his replacement.
=== The Revelations: The Sins Unleashed ===
The climax of the story occurs when the heroes confront Nick Fury. During the battle, Doctor Midas and The Orb also arrive, seeking the power of the Watcher for themselves. The Orb gains control of the second eye, and in a moment of overload, its power explodes, unleashing all of Uatu's remaining secrets into the minds of those present. This is the source of the event's most significant revelations:
  *   **Thor's Unworthiness:** Nick Fury whispers an unrevealed secret into Thor's ear.((The secret was later revealed in //The Unworthy Thor// #5 (2017) to be "Gorr was right," a reference to the villain Gorr the God Butcher's belief that gods are selfish and unworthy of mortals' worship. This truth planted a seed of doubt so profound in Thor's soul that he could no longer lift Mjolnir.)) This single moment causes the God of Thunder to drop his hammer, instantly becoming unworthy.
  *   **Captain America's Memory:** Steve Rogers remembers what the [[illuminati]] did to his mind. He recalls their decision to secretly destroy other Earths during the Incursions and how they wiped his memory when he objected, a deep betrayal by his closest friends.
  *   **The Second Spider:** [[spider-man|Peter Parker]] learns that the radioactive spider that bit him also bit another student, a young woman named Cindy Moon, before it died. She was subsequently locked away for years by Ezekiel Sims to protect her from the vampiric Inheritors, a revelation that leads directly to her debut as the hero Silk.
  *   **Hulk and Iron Man:** A tie-in reveals that Tony Stark, while not directly responsible, may have tampered with the Gamma Bomb that created the Hulk, adding a new layer of guilt and conflict to his relationship with Bruce Banner.
  *   **The Tenth Realm:** It is revealed that Angela, a character acquired by Marvel from Image Comics, is actually Aldrif, the long-lost daughter of Odin and Freyja and the sister of Thor and Loki. She was thought killed in a war with the Angels of the "Tenth Realm" of Heven, which Odin then magically sealed off from the other Nine Realms in his grief.
=== The Aftermath: A New Status Quo ===
The final confrontation reveals the complete truth of Uatu's death. Doctor Midas's group attacked Uatu first. Nick Fury arrived to help, but Uatu was mortally wounded. To spare him further pain and to protect his secrets, Fury killed him. He then took one eye, but The Orb and the Exterminatrix ambushed him, gouging out his other eye and stealing Uatu's. The Orb then shot Fury with Uatu's own gun, which triggered the psychic blast that gave him the Watcher's knowledge and ultimately led the heroes to Fury.
In the final battle, Fury unleashes the full power of the Watcher's eye, seemingly vaporizing Doctor Midas. However, the feedback from the cosmic energy appears to kill Fury as well. In reality, the remaining heroes realize the cosmic imbalance left by Uatu's death must be filled.
  *   **The Unseen:** Nick Fury is not truly dead. He is transformed by the Watcher's energies, becoming a new, silent, chained entity. He is now "The Unseen," cursed to forever observe the events of Earth from the Moon, unable to interfere, as punishment for his actions. He becomes Uatu's replacement.
  *   **The Unworthy Thor:** Thor Odinson, unable to lift his hammer, begins a new chapter of his life as simply "Odinson," wielding his axe Jarnbjorn. This directly leads to the 2014 //Thor// series where a new, female hero—later revealed to be [[jane_foster|Jane Foster]]—is found worthy and becomes The Mighty Thor.
  *   **Bucky Barnes, Man on the Wall:** The [[winter_soldier|Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes)]] accepts the burden of becoming the new "Man on the Wall," taking over Fury's former clandestine mission to protect Earth from the shadows.
  *   **The Road to Secret Wars:** Captain America's recovered memories of the Illuminati's betrayal fractures the Avengers, sowing deep mistrust between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. This animosity festers and directly fuels their conflict in the //Time Runs Out// storyline, the immediate prelude to the 2015 //Secret Wars// event.
===== Part 4: Key Characters and Factions =====
==== The Victim and the Killer: Uatu and Nick Fury ====
The central relationship of //Original Sin// is the tragic, symbiotic one between Uatu the Watcher and Nick Fury. **Uatu**, for millennia, was bound by his sacred oath to only observe and never interfere. However, he bent this rule countless times, subtly aiding Earth's heroes, most famously during the coming of [[galactus]]. He was the universe's ultimate secret-keeper.
**Nick Fury**, in parallel, was Earth's ultimate secret-doer. As the "Man on the Wall," he operated completely outside of any government or superhero jurisdiction, committing morally gray acts to neutralize threats before they reached Earth. He was the planet's silent, unseen guardian. In the end, Fury killed Uatu not out of malice, but as a mercy to a dying friend and to prevent his secrets from falling into the wrong hands. His punishment was poetic: the man of action was condemned to become a man of pure observation, inheriting Uatu's burden as The Unseen.
==== The Investigators: The Assembled Heroes ====
The unlikely teams formed by Fury were designed to create friction and showcase diverse skill sets.
  *   **Doctor Strange & The Punisher:** This pairing highlighted the clash between magic and brutal street-level justice. Strange was disgusted by Frank Castle's methods, while Castle was impatient with Strange's mystical approach. Their dynamic provided some of the story's dark humor and philosophical debate.
  *   **Winter Soldier, Gamora & Moon Knight:** This team of anti-heroes and assassins operated with a ruthless efficiency that the more traditional heroes lacked. Bucky's journey in the story was pivotal, as he came to understand and ultimately accept Fury's old role as his own.
  *   **Captain America & The Avengers:** Representing the "official" response, Steve Rogers's group was constantly one step behind Fury's secret teams. Cap's role in the story is one of dawning horror, first at Uatu's murder, and then at the revelation of Fury's secret war and the Illuminati's betrayal.
==== The Antagonists: Doctor Midas, The Orb, and the Exterminatrix ====
While Nick Fury is the story's central figure and killer, the primary antagonists driving the plot are a trio of villains seeking to weaponize the Watcher's power.
  *   **Doctor Midas:** A twisted, radioactive version of King Midas who seeks to absorb any power he can find. He saw the Watcher's citadel as the ultimate prize and instigated the initial attack.
  *   **The Exterminatrix:** Midas's loyal and deadly daughter, who carries out his orders with brutal efficiency.
  *   **The Orb (Parker Robbins):** A low-level villain who gets caught up in events far beyond his control. After absorbing the power of one of Uatu's eyes, he becomes a walking, talking repository of cosmic secrets, driven mad by the knowledge. He is less a master planner and more a chaotic force of nature who accidentally triggers the story's most significant events.
===== Part 5: Core Issues and Tie-In Storylines =====
==== Original Sin (Main Series) ====
The core 8-issue series (plus a #0 issue focusing on Uatu and Sam Alexander/Nova) contains the central murder mystery plot. Written by Jason Aaron with art by Mike Deodato Jr., it follows the investigation from the discovery of Uatu's body to the final confrontation with Nick Fury on his orbital station. This series is where all the major plot points occur: the formation of the teams, the revelation of Fury as the "Man on the Wall," the "truth bomb" explosion, Thor's unworthiness, and Fury's transformation into The Unseen.
==== Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm ====
This five-issue tie-in miniseries, also written by Jason Aaron, directly follows up on the secret revealed to Thor about his long-lost sister. Guided by one of the Watcher's dislodged eyes, Thor and Loki discover the existence of Heven, the Tenth Realm, which Odin magically severed from the World Tree. They journey there and confront the Angels, ultimately finding and battling their sister, Angela. The story ends with Angela learning her true Asgardian heritage and leaving Heven, becoming a wandering figure in the Marvel Universe.
==== Original Sins (Anthology Series) ====
This five-issue anthology companion series explored some of the smaller, more personal secrets that were revealed to various characters. Notable stories included:
  *   The full origin of the new Deathlok, Henry Hayes.
  *   A story revealing how [[howard_the_duck]] possesses a unique ability to understand the secrets of the universe, a burden that drives him to his signature cynical behavior.
  *   A look into the secret past of the Young Avengers' Prodigy.
==== Key Character Tie-Ins (e.g., Hulk vs. Iron Man, Captain America) ====
Many ongoing series at the time featured tie-in arcs exploring their protagonist's specific "sin."
  *   **//Hulk vs. Iron Man//:** This miniseries delved into the revelation that Tony Stark may have had a greater, if indirect, role in the creation of the Hulk, leading to a brutal confrontation between the two old friends.
  *   **//Captain America//:** This tie-in showed Steve Rogers grappling with his restored memories of the Illuminati's betrayal, setting the stage for his future conflicts with Iron Man and Reed Richards.
  *   **//Amazing Spider-Man//:** Peter Parker's discovery of Cindy Moon led him to free her from her bunker. This arc introduces Silk to the world and establishes her complex, pheromone-driven relationship with Peter.
  *   **//Deadpool//:** In a characteristically comedic and tragic tie-in, Deadpool learns that he has a daughter, Eleanor Camacho, from a past relationship.
===== Part 6: Legacy and Adaptations =====
==== The Unseen in Later Comics ====
Nick Fury's transformation into The Unseen was not a temporary plot device. He has reappeared in this form in several major storylines since.
  *   In **//The Unworthy Thor//**, The Unseen is a key character, manipulating events to bring Odinson to the ruins of Old Asgard, where the hammer of the deceased Ultimate Thor has landed. It is here that he finally reveals the secret he whispered to Thor.
  *   During the **//Empyre//** event, The Unseen discovers the origins of the Cotati-Skrull-Kree war, but is unable to warn anyone due to his vow of non-interference. He is eventually wounded by the Cotati, and his "unseen" knowledge is used by the heroes to gain an advantage.
==== Thematic Echoes in Other Media ====
While not a direct adaptation, the core concept of //Original Sin//—a single event that reveals devastating truths—is a powerful storytelling trope seen across various media. Within Marvel's own adaptations, the idea of a "sin" from the past coming back to haunt the present is a recurring theme. The MCU's version of The Watcher in //What If...?// grapples with the same core dilemma as his comic counterpart: when is it right to break an oath of non-interference for the greater good? His decision to intervene and form the Guardians of the Multiverse is a direct violation of his purpose, mirroring Uatu's own history of bending the rules. The event's legacy in the comics remains significant, as it permanently altered several of Marvel's most iconic characters and set the board for the universe-redefining //Secret Wars// of 2015.
===== See Also =====
  * [[uatu_the_watcher]]
  * [[nick_fury]]
  * [[thor]]
  * [[winter_soldier]]
  * [[secret_wars_2015]]
  * [[illuminati]]
  * [[silk]]
===== Notes and Trivia =====
((//Original Sin// #1 was released in May 2014.))
((The specific phrase Nick Fury whispered to Thor was "Gorr was right." This was a closely guarded secret for nearly three years until its reveal in //The Unworthy Thor// #5 in March 2017.))
((The character of Angela was created by Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane for Image Comics' //Spawn// series. After a legal dispute, Gaiman was awarded the rights to the character, who he subsequently sold to Marvel Comics. //Original Sin// served as the vehicle to fully integrate her into the Marvel Universe's cosmology.))
((The concept of Nick Fury as "The Man on the Wall" was created by Jason Aaron for this story, serving as a retcon to explain Fury's long history and his knowledge of cosmic affairs, while also providing a reason for his eventual replacement.))
((Critical reception for //Original Sin// was generally positive, with critics praising its unique genre-blending premise, Mike Deodato Jr.'s art, and the lasting consequences of its plot. Some criticism was aimed at the sheer volume of tie-in issues.))
((The idea of heroes being put on trial or forced to confront their past actions was a recurring theme in Marvel events of this era, including //Avengers vs. X-Men// and //Civil War//.))
((The #0 issue, written by Mark Waid, serves as a poignant character study of Uatu and his relationship with the young hero Sam Alexander (Nova), establishing the emotional stakes before the main story's murder mystery begins.))