Earth X #0 (1999)

On Earth many years into the future, the former superhero and android Aaron Stack, better known as the "Machine Man", lives a quiet life in emulation of his "father" and creator Abel Stack. Aaron's peaceful existence is interrupted only by the appearance of a black doorway, which has haunted him throughout his life. The doorway appears once more, now offering to share with Aaron the truth of humanity and its ultimate destiny. Unable to resist the temptation of knowledge, Aaron touches the doorway and is transported far away, with his human exterior stripped away to reveal the machine underneath. Shocked and distraught at losing his face, Aaron is shocked to learn that he is on the Moon. Spotting what appeared to be buildings in the distance, Aaron begins exploring, unaware that a figure is watching him from afar. Discovering the Watcher's Citadel, Aaron enters and is greeted by Uatu the Watcher, who appears on a massive screen in the center of the room. The Watcher, who insists on referring to Aaron by his model number "X-51", explains that he has brought him to the Moon to assume the role of the new Watcher. Using his equipment, he shows Aaron the origins of the world as it now exists. Milennia ago, the Celestials, godlike beings from outer space, arrived on Earth to shape the planet in their image. They carved out a piece of the planet to create the Moon, brought about the extinction of the dinosaurs, and captured early man, experimenting on him to create new races. The first race, the Deviants, were deemed a failure, as they had been designed with too much aggression, causing them to rebel almost immediately. The second race, the Eternals, were more stable, and made into the planet's first protectors. Up The Eternals settled upon the mountaintops and were worshipped as gods by the humans who lived in the valleys below, while the Deviants lived beneath the valleys, enslaving all they encountered and becoming the origins of mankind's stories of devils and demons. Upon witnessing the Celestials, X-51 describes them as breathtaking, to Uatu's disappointment. When X-51 questioned whether those actually worshipped as gods, like Thor, were frauds, Uatu explains that the Celestials were not the only life form from the stars to visit Earth. The Kree, an alien nation locked in war with the alien Skrulls, also came to Earth hoping to find fodder for their armies. Using the Terrigen Mist as a catalyst to trigger the seeds implanted within humanity by the Celestials they created the Inhumans. The Inhumans also rebelled against their creators and constructed the hidden city of Attilan. When X-51 points out that Uatu has yet to show him anything that truly has to do with humanity, Uatu counters that the purpose of humanity does not begin to manifest itself until the arrival of the Fourth Host of Celestials. He goes on to explain that 25 000 years ago, the Deviants enslaved all of humanity, endangering the species alltogether. Deeming this unacceptable, the Second Host of Celestials returned to destroy the Deviant Empire, causing the sinking of Atlantis. Withnessing the destruction caused by the Celestials causes X-51 to call them evil, which Uatu quickly dismisses, deriding good and evil as human inventions to explain what is beyond human understanding. 1000 years ago, the Third Host arrived to strike an agreement with all those who would lay claim to humanity; the various alien beings animated by myths who now were worshipped as gods. They agreed that neither the gods nor the Celestials would interfere in the affairs of humanity, with the gods oblivious to the fact that the Celestial seeds in humanity would eventually allow them to grow beyond the gods. Uatu explains that he has seen nations rise and fall, heroes born and die, and when X-51 asks how he can sleep at night, he responds that Watchers do not sleep nor shed tears for fallen heroes. He declares that there is no good, no evil, only change. He confesses to luring X-51 there under false pretenses, and goes on to explain that it was not until the 20th century that the seeds dormant in humanity began to germinate, in part due to the strain of World War II. The development of the atom bomb further sped up this evolution, and more and more superhumans began to emerge as external forces triggered the seeds dormant within them. In time, mutations began to occur naturally, leading to the rise of mutantkind, the first of whom was Namor the Submariner, whom Uatu devotes particular attention to, describing him as the "pendulum that swings between the polarities of Deviant and Eternal". As more and more superhumans emerge on the Earth, roughly divided into groups of heroes and villains, Uatu describes the arrival of Galactus, hesitantly revealing his role in stopping him from consuming the Earth. Uatu reveals that the Fourth Host of Celestials arrived shortly after the creation of Adam Warlock, decreeing that mankind was progressing as planned. Uatu ends his story by revealing that he has been blinded after being caught unawares and appeals to X-51 to aid him as the new Watcher, declaring that what is about to happen must be catalogued. When X-51 deduces that the Celestial seeds have been implanted in the entirety of the planet's population, a satisfied Uatu tells him that they have already begun to transform the planet, and that the destiny of mankind was determined long ago.