We’ve been introduced to some strange characters over the course of the MCU so far. This is a movie franchise that has given us a talking raccoon with a penchant for heavy artillery, a Kiwi-accented rock beast, and a planet who looked like Kurt Russell. But none of us would be prepared for The Watcher’s cousin: The Peeper. He doesn’t get better than that name, either.
Of course, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will give us more from The Watcher – Uatu to his friends – when the What If…? season 2 release date comes around just before Christmas. We’ll be getting all sorts of MCU characters in alternative forms, but we hope The Peeper never makes it across from the pages of Howard the Duck #1, where he recently made his debut.
The Peeper is a similarly all-seeing cosmic being to his cousin and appears in the new one-shot comic to show Howard the Duck alternative versions of his life. But it’s his skin-crawling dialog that has us hoping we never see Peeper in any of the upcoming Marvel movies.
“You’re thinking of my cousin Uatu,” says Peeper when Howard suggests he’s The Watcher. “He has ascended to become the sole Watcher, which means I’m now observing as more of a ‘hobby’… hoping to, you know, make it a career at some point.”
When your toes have uncurled, you might be ready to have a look at this guy. And honestly, we’re never prepared to say we’re scared of Marvel villains again. They don’t come more chilling than this fella.
Have you recovered yet? We’re not sure we have. The Watcher, as voiced by Jeffrey Wright in the MCU, is a regal and authoritative influence across the multiverse. The Peeper has the vibe of a Family Guy character or the uncle everyone tries to stay away from at a wedding.
Of course, this makes him a great fit for a character as bizarre and irreverent as Howard the Duck. Given the fact we haven’t seen Howard in the MCU outside of a few crowd-pleasing cameos, we don’t see Peeper being a big part of Marvel’s Phase 5 or Marvel Phase 6.
Certainly, the return of Marvel series What If…? has been framed as a Christmas treat for superhero fans. It would be less of a treat if The Peeper showed up. We’d probably choke on our leftover roast potatoes.
Of course, there are plenty of ways to cleanse yourself of what we’ve just shown you (sorry about that) thanks to everything that’s new on Disney Plus from Marvel. Most recently, we’ve seen the entire fabric of the multiverse changed by the events of Loki season 2. If you haven’t already watched it, we’d definitely recommend you give it a watch.
You can also use the streamer to watch the Marvel movies in order all over again and experience some of the best movies of recent years. Alternatively, we’ve got guides to new movies like Deadpool 3.
Elsewhere, find out more about the newest MCU adventure with our The Marvels review and read our interview with the producer. We’ve also revealed the one MCU movie Zack Snyder would want to make.