"Unable to unite the world by conquest...Alexander's method... I would trick it: Frighten it towards salvation with history's greatest practical joke."
—Adrien Veidt explaining the purpose of the "alien" squid monster and the disaster it caused
The 11/2 Psychic Shockwave (commonly referred to as 11/2), is an man-made catastrophe that occurred on November 2, 1985, in New York City, in which former costumed adventurer and billionaire industrialist Adrian Veidt (Ozymandias) secretly teleported a gigantic, genetically engineered, psychic, squid monster in the middle of Manhattan, resulting in the deaths of millions and horrific images of the creature being telepathically projected into the minds of people across the globe. This was all done to create the illusion that an alien creature from another dimension had invaded our world and posed a serious threat to all the Earth's nations. The "alien" squid monster was itself the final act of a complex and decades-long conspiracy devised by Veidt to prevent the inevitable nuclear apocalypse, unite humanity against a common enemy, and achieve permanent world peace.
Background[]
"Someone has to save the world..."
The origins of the alien invasion hoax lay in the disastrous Crimebusters fiasco of 1966, after Edward Blake (the Comedian) pointed out to Veidt and the rest of his colleagues the absurdity of continuing superheroics when the ever increasing possibility of humanity destroying itself with nuclear war looms over them, predicting Veidt will one day be "the smartest man on the cinder". Determined to avert extinction—and to deny Blake the pleasure of being right—Veidt began meticulously plotting to stage a cataclysmic event, one that could terrify the world into forgetting its petty international squabbles.[1][2]
Veidt started by perfecting the technologies for teleportation and genetic engineering, most of which Doctor Manhattan was unintentionally responsible for creating. In 1970, he purchased a remote island, where he began to stashed a collective of scientists, writers, musicians, and artists (under the false pretenses that they were making a science fiction film), whom he tasked with creating “a monstrous new life form” that could finally scare the entire world into submission and be united against a common (albeit manufactured) enemy. Meanwhile, he cleverly stoked humanity’s fears of an alien invasion by screening retro science-fiction movies at his repertory movie theater, Utopia right across the street from the Institute for Extraspatial Studies, and by planting subliminal messages inside ads for his company’s products.
Veidt’s monster was outfitted with a powerfully augmented brain cloned from that of Robert Deschaines, a medium who’d died of stroke at a young age, and whose decapitated head was stolen from a mortuary. Veidt acquired Deschaines’ brain and had his geneticists transform it into a “psychic resonator”, capable of broadcasting grotesque images and sounds. Most of these images were created by Max Shea, writer of the pirate comic Tales of the Black Freighter and the critically acclaimed Fogdancing who concocted grisly images, like baby squids chewing their way out of their mother’s womb. The squid unleashed this awful mental payload on impact, flooding the minds of everyone in the vicinity.
Events of Watchmen: Eddie Blake's discovery and murder[]
When Blake stumbled upon by chance Veidt’s secret island during one of his covert operations for the U.S. government, Veidt assassinated him soon after returning to New York City in order to keep the alien invasion hoax conspiracy from being exposed, resulting in Rorschach's investigation and the events surrounding it.[3] To ensure the secrecy of his involvement with Blake's Death, he faked his owned assassination attempt on his life and had Rorschach framed for the murder of Edgar Jacobi. He also blew up the ship that was ferrying his monster’s creators back to the mainland.
Veidt's plan was immediately successful in pulling the world back from the brink of war. As the world witnessed the devastation in New York City, the United States and Soviet Union declared it would cease all Cold War hostilities until the new external threat could be assessed and dealt with. Veidt was triumphant, and the utopia he dreamed of would soon finally become a reality.
The former members of the Crimebusters, having uncovered Veidt’s plot in Karnak, and are shocked by its severity and cost of innocent life, but agree that it is necessary to keep the truth of the monster a secret to continue to prevent the nuclear holocaust that so nearly endangered humanity before. Rorschach, however, moved by his sentimentality of absolute justice, refuses to compromise and attempts to return to civilization and spread the word of Veidt’s doings. He is confronted by Doctor Manhattan, who tells him that he cannot allow the truth to get out. Manhattan attempts to reason with Rorschach a final time, but he insists that there is only one way to ensure his silence, and so Manhattan kills him.
Event[]
Just before midnight on November 2, 1985, an enormous tentacled monster appeared suddenly in the heart of New York City. Most of its body materialized inside the Institute for Extraspatial Studies, a research hub for possible extra-dimensional energy sources. The creature’s massive tentacles exploded upon impact, killing it instantly and destroying large portions of the city. Those who weren’t crushed to death by crumbling buildings or falling cephalopod chunks mysteriously collapsed, blood pouring from their ears and eyes due to the massive psychic shockwave generated from within the brain of the squid.[2][4] The Squid dissolved into a watery substance before it could be properly studied. Millions of people died beneath the squid that night.
Aftermath and Effects[]
International Response[]
Glimpses of Adrian Veidt's new utopia.
The monster's appearance and devastation in New York City terrified the governments of the world - believing the monster to be an alien from another dimension or planet, and viewed it as a sign of a possible future invasion from outer space. Most notably the United States and the Soviet Union decided to work together against the new threat, thus ending the Cold War, thereby removing the threat of mankind’s destruction by nuclear war.[4]
Cultural Impact[]
As the world rebuilt itself, fashions and mentalities adapt to the new era with new interest towards space, which is mirrored in fashion and commercial trends, still fueled anew by Veidt Enterprises, which continued with propaganda to perpetuate all this: One popular show is The Outer Limits, and the Cold War-themed candies "Mmeltdowns" are renamed "Sunbursts". The perfume "Nostalgia" is renamed "Millennium," mirroring a new era of hope. The Gunga Diner is replaced by Burgers 'N' Borscht. The cinema "Utopia" is renamed "New Utopia"; one of the theater's first movies is Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice (about an upcoming holocaust and peoples' reactions to it). Also, graffitis with mottos such as "Watch the skies" (in place of the popular slogan "Who Watches the Watchmen?") and "Quantum Jump" can be seen in the streets.[4]
Health Effects[]
Hundreds of thousands of survivors suffered from anxiety and trauma due to being within the radius of the psychic shockwave blast emitted from the monster's brain. Others that survived the attack were driven insane and the impact that the attack had would ultimately cause people worldwide to have nightmares for several years.[4]