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marvel cinematic universe - If Odin lost the Tesseract, why couldn't Heimdall tell him where it was?


From the MCU we learn that Asgardians live a lot longer than humans. Loki mentions it to be something like 3000 years on average. So it's safe to say that all the Asgardians we see in the first Thor movie were alive during world war 2, when HYDRA used the Tesseract to power their weapons. Couldn't Heimdall see what was happening and alert Odin that an EXTREMELY powerful artefact (which he lost) is in the possession of humans? Furthermore, why didn't the Asgardian army intervene? There was an INFINITY STONE in play!!! When does Odin think it appropriate to send his army? 'Cause at that time the Bifrost wasn't broken like in the first Avengers movie where he could have sent in his army to fight the Chitauri.



Answer



TL;DR: It doesn't work like that - Heimdall is not aware of everything going on at all times. He must actively look or listen for something to notice it.


You are under the false assumption that Heimdall is always aware of everything going on at all times, which is simply not the way his abilities work. Rather, Heimdall has the ability to see and/or hear anything within The Nine Realms when he focuses on it.


Heimdall's role within the Asgardian pantheon is The Bifrost Guardian. Essentially, he is the guy who guards the Rainbow Bridge, which is basically the front door to Asgard. To make him a more efficient guardsman, Odin bestowed upon him the gift of sight, meaning the ability to see any threat before it reaches Asgard. Given that Heimdall has failed in his role on at least two occasions, we know that neither he nor his sight is infallible.



To answer your question more specifically, we know that the MCU version of Heimdall must indeed focus his attention on something or someone to see what they're up to. We see this aspect of his abilities in Thor: The Dark World:



THOR: [laughs] Perhaps. How fare the stars?



HEIMDALL: Still shining. From here I can see nine realms and ten trillion souls.


[Heimdall drives his sword into the control panel in the center of the observatory. He looks to Thor.]


HEIMDALL: You recall what I told you of the Convergence?


THOR: Yes. The alignment of the worlds. It approaches, doesn’t it?


HEIMDALL: The universe hasn’t seen this marvel since before my watch began. Few can sense it, even fewer can see it. But while it’s effects can be dangerous, it is truly beautiful.


THOR: [gazes at the stars] I see nothing.


HEIMDALL: Or perhaps, that is not the beauty you seek?


THOR: [laughs for a moment] How is she?


HEIMDALL: She’s quite clever, your mortal. She doesn’t know it yet, but she studies the Convergence as well. [Turns his gaze out towards some distant sight] Even... [stares into nothing]


THOR: What?



HEIMDALL: I can’t see her.



In regards to the Tesseract, Heimdall has no reason to focus his attention on it. As far as the Asgardians know, the Tesseract is safely hidden away in a monastery on Midgard - the same place it's been for the past thousand years or more.


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