Spectator to the Emperors' spectacles. As a child I looked at superheroes and how they fit in their worlds... and like lots of children dreamed what it would be like to be the hero saving the day, overcoming the challenges, facing the bad guys of the world and triumphing. But of all the superheroes and all the comics and cartoons and stories I read, the one character I could relate to was not a super hero, but someone on the sidelines. There is a character in Marvel's Universe named Uatu, also known as The Watcher, an interesting character that showed up in several different comic storylines.
The Watcher basically watched, it's what his species did, it's what they had chosen to do. But this particular watcher liked to meddle, not a lot, but just a little bit here and there... effectively tampering with what he was watching. Something that his species deemed wrong... I've never been able to decide which side I agree with, I like both arguments. I digress...
I often relate to this character in my interest of just watching as life goes by. In my head I refer to myself as a voyeur of life... I like to watch people live, animals live, plants live, the stars live... life is just so fascinating. I think that if I was to choose my own heaven/afterlife/the great beyond, that I would die and then be given a rocking chair that I could sit in and watch the entire universe as it lives. Something to think about.
The other aspect of The Watcher that appealed to me, was that Marvel had a comic series called What If... that explored parallel realities. This was another spark in defining my personal philosophies on life, existence and universe... I feel that there is no reason why there has to be just one linear existence with no possibility of any other. Also, I completely blame this particular series of comics for my unending use of "..." in everything I ever type, write or pen... I digress again...
Lastly, one of my favourite comics was Marvel Teamup #127. It's too difficult to explain why it affected me so much, I'm not entirely certain myself... but it was a comic that, unlike most, made me think about life, philosophy and what it means to be real. It features Spidey teaming up with Uatu. Neat story, I wish I could find it online, but alas, that is not meant to be... Oddly, I got this comic years before I started collecting comics religiously, and I believe I was destined to find it. I have it kept away with my other comics, gathering dust and gaining in value... but it's monetary value could never compare to what it did for a little boy. It made him think.
Exeunt.
