Tuesday, February 21, 2012

WATCHMEN-TOO: John Douglas relaunches THE SQUID




John says: Engineered from the cloned brain of a telepath, The Squid isthe centerpiece in Adrian Veidt’s plan to save the world from itself.

Within the tank, The Squid grows, reaching self-awarenessand begins to develop its burgeoning psychic powers.  The Squid learns Veidt is planning toteleport it into the heart of New York City, killing millions, with the hopeof preventing World War III and saving billions.  The Squid is to be the savior of mankind, a role it gradually accepts.

Using its growing psychic abilities, The Squid begins to direct Veidt's geneticists how to build a better monster and correcting any errors they make.  It also telepathically suggests to Veidt how best to carry out his plans, as well as people who may stand in his way--and how he may have to deal with those people.

John Douglas doodles and draws (mostly) comic book relatedstuff at johndouglasart.blogspot.com and figurative art at mostlyartysomewhatfarty.blogspot.com

The Squid was created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

4 comments:

  1. I dig this idea. Could make for a really nice one shot. If the squid is reading minds, it knows that what they plan to do will not only kill it, but millions of innocent people. Seeing it come to terms with that via inner monologue would be a fascinating little story. It'd essentially be examining the psychology of a suicide bomber through a science fiction lens: Someone convinced that killing themselves and a crowd of innocence is for the greater good.

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    1. Hello Joshua! :-) Thanks for the kind words. You pretty much nailed it as far as what I envisioned for the story: growing self-awareness of the plan, initial horror, gradual acceptance, to true-believer. I **NEVER** thought to attach the words "suicide bomber" to the Squid's mission, even though that is exactly what it would be (I still have trouble thinking of it in those terms given my intense repugnance to the concept, but you are correct the more I think of it). Even though everything remains the same in the story, it puts a very different spin on it to my mind.

      Also, just to tie everything up in a nice, little bow: part of ending to the story would involve The Squid using the time-traveling particles, Tachyons, to send a telepathic message to Veidt back in time, giving him the idea to build the Squid in the first place. The Squid also suggests that The Comedian will have to be killed when he finds out about it, which starts "The Watchmen" storyline going in the first place.

      Yes, I've given this one a little too much thought... :-)

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  2. This is a much better idea than anything DC have come up with for their presequels; not only is it funny and irreverent, but you could -- as is discussed above -- get a strong, meaningful story out of it too.

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