The Watcher is dead.
His secrets are stolen.
Two teams of Marvel’s greatest heroes are on the case.
Original Sin is a cosmic level detective story with major implications for the Marvel Universe.
Writer Jason Aaron and artist Mike Deodato tell an 8-part mystery of who killed one of the most iconic characters in the Marvel Universe.
Aaron, Executive Editor Tom Brevoort and Editor-In-Chief Axel Alonso revealed new details about the 8-part mystery and shared new art in a Marvel liveblog. Here are the major highlights:
The Story:
“When the heroes find the Watcher’s body on the moon, his eyes are gone. Nobody is sure initially what that means, but we learn that the Watcher’s eyes are the secret to unlocking everything he has seen over the years. Whoever holds those eyes is able to basically explode a bomb full of secrets.” Aaron.
“This is the ultimate NSA leak. This guy knows where bodies are buried we didn’t even know were buried. These secrets are potentially in thew wrong hands.”
“These are personal stories about how revelations will affect who these heroes and villains are.” Brevoort.
“Original Sin is a murder mystery that spans the Marvel Universe. These heroes will leave no stone unturned as they search for answers. The main series tells one complete story.” Alonso.
Tie-Ins to Marvel books:
“In one story, Captain America will learn that somebody close to him has tampered with his memories, with his mind. It will have a seismic effect on his relationships with those around him.”
“In the world of Spider-Man, we will learn that somebody else was bitten by the same radioactive spider that led to the origin of Spidey.” Brevoort.
“All of the Original Sin tie-ins will be important. That will change the lives of the characters for the foreseeable future with long-term, potentially permanent ramifications.”
“There will be at least one instance where we learn that two characters have interacted in a way we never knew about, and it will change how they interact going forward.” Alonso.
“No mainstay of the Marvel Universe will be left untouched by Original Sin and the secrets revealed.” Brevoort.
A Tale of Two Detective Teams:
“There are two investigations going on in Original Sin. You’ve got the public one headed by Captain America and the Avengers with Nick Fury. There’s also a clandestine operation with characters like the Black Panther and Moon Knight. This is not the first time this killer has struck. You don’t kill the Watcher your first time out.”
“We go into the depths of the planet, into space and to other dimensions. That’s been the most fun for me. The mini-buddy cop movie with Dr. Strange and the Punisher. Moon Knight and Gamora together. Ant-Man and Emma Frost.”
“This cast was assembled for very specific reasons. You’ll see there’s not a lot of overlap in area of expertise.” Aaron.
“The playing field is completely altered in issue #2. Suddenly characters at the forefront get involved in their own personal concerns. The investigation gets thrown.”
It’s the classic Spider-Man story of ‘I need to fight Doc Ock, but Aunt May needs her heart pills’ for everybody.” Brevoort.
Art by A Fan-Favorite Avengers Star:
“Mike Deodato is bringing extra game to this. He’s adding a noir, almost Steranko take. It feels heavy and shadowy and mysterious. It’s not like any of these that we’ve done before.” Brevoort.
Origin of Original Sin:
“At one point Ed Brubaker was going to tackle this story, and placed the first seeds in Marvel Point One. It’s kept coming up, waiting for somebody to grab it. The more we talked about a cosmic murder mystery, the more it grabbed me.” Aaron.
“The core idea of Original Sin has been kicking around at least since Fear Itself, and if I remember correctly, the initial seed came from Allan Heinberg (Young Avengers)” Brevoort.
“The Watcher being the one to be killed came from Ed Brubaker.” Brevoort.
“Whereas the seeds for this story were on the table a long time ago, they didn’t really come alive until somebody owned them, and that’s Jason.” Alonso.
We discussed Original Sin at my very first retreat as Editor-in-Chief, and almost did it then before landing on AvX.” Alonso.
Final Thoughts:
“It’s a murder mystery, but there’s a huge fight scene in issue #1 and an even bigger one in issue #2.”
“It won’t be a fun-fest, but it will be a thrill ride.”
“Some characters will become aware of some of the secrets. Not all will become aware of all. The secrets don’t just affect the heroes either.”
“It’s not impossible that even after Original Sin is finished, secrets will still keep coming out in the years to come.” Brevoort.
Original Sin #0 by Mark Waid and Jim Cheung is a prologue coming in April.
Original Sin #1 by Aaron and Deodato arrives in May and runs though August.
By Editor