Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato Jr. have a big event laid out in front of them starting in May and it all revolves around the death of Uatu, The Watcher. Fans of the character might wonder how he didn’t see his death coming but we’ve already learned that he isn’t as all -seeing as was once believed. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, writer Jason Aaron talks about the upcoming series, ‘Original Sin’, and what impact Uatu’s death will have on the Marvel Universe.

Normally, Uatu’s occasional appearance during large events, and even rarer interferences, don’t bring him into the limelight, but this eight-issue event is going to bring The Watcher to the forefront of the Marvel Universe in a way that “What If?”, “What The?”  has never been done before. At least his murder is going to bring him to the forefront, that is.

Apparently this story has been mentioned around the Marvel offices for awhile, so there was a lot of input on what they wanted to do with it. According to Aaron:

‘”Original Sin’ was floating around for a while, Ed was attached to it at one point. Some time last year it was floating around again, and I just kind of reached out and grabbed it. On one hand [‘Original Sin’s’] a crime story — it’s a murder mystery — but played out on very much a cosmic scale….the book has all the big characters, the A-listers, but also I get to play with some characters who don’t normally find themselves at the center of Marvel events. We see characters like Punisher, Ant-Man, Emma Frost and Black Panther all playing a big role.”

I can see a few of them fitting quite easily here but The Punisher?

Still the most interesting character that they are going to insert is Nick Fury. Yes, the original Nick Fury is coming back and has a big part in this story. As Aaron reveals, “He sort of becomes the Marvel version of a homicide detective for the sake of this story. He’s leading the investigation.” Which is fitting that he would be in charge of any investigation, but it almost feels strange that he’d be in charge of this one in particular.

A lot is going to happen  over the 8 books:

“It’s a big story, there are definite acts involved, so other than expecting a murder mystery, there are surprises and revelations along the way. Things take some unexpected turns, and the book opens, of course, with the murder of The Watcher — that’s what sets everything into motion — but that won’t be the only murder you’ll see over the course of the book.”

That begs the question of who else are we going to see die?

With The Watcher dead, though, what about everything he’s observed over the years? That’s the big twist according to Aaron:

“He doesn’t just see the big, grand moments — it’s not just the moments when Galactus shows up — he sees the little moments, too. He sees the way the Marvel Universe has changed through its history. What happens when all those secrets are suddenly up for grabs? If someone’s killed The Watcher and stolen them, what does that mean for the Marvel Universe?

Right there is a great reason as to why Nick Fury might just be so interested in tracking down the Watcher’s killer. The ultimate secret treasure trove. What will that mean when suddenly so many secrets are now out in the open?

One of the main issues people have complained about in Marvel events over the past few years are the tie-in stories. Either they are weak, don’t mesh well, or written in too different of a style. Aaron has heard all that and said:

“Coming into something like this, one of the worries is always a book like this, an event like this, is going to be judged in part based on all those different stories. You don’t want it to be judged by the weakest of the tie-ins. You don’t want things that are tie-ins for the sake of boosting your numbers; that’s just a story that doesn’t really have anything to say. We’ve been very conscious with that with this book, and making sure that if we’re going to do a tie-in, let’s make sure there’s a valid reason for it and a real story to tell. “

This is some of the best news I’ve read in ages for a large event. If it proves true, I hope it ends up being a guideline that is followed for years to come.

While I was initially not sure how interested I would be in an event where the main issue was The Watcher being killed, this interview has actually changed all that. I am now looking forward to this series more than almost anything else from Marvel in 2014! (Aside from perhaps Peter Parker’s return.)

You can read the full interview over at Comic Book Resources