Ozymandias

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Lore & Background

Adrian Veidt was born in 1939, the son of wealthy German-American immigrant parents. As a child, he deliberately hid his high intelligence by achieving average marks. After his parents' deaths, he inherited their fortune at age seventeen but gave it all to charity, wanting to make something of himself on his own. He embarked on a vision quest following the route of his childhood idol Alexander the Great. During an excursion into the Middle East, Veidt consumed a ball of hashish and saw visions of the past. Finishing his travels in Egypt, he realized Alexander was a pale imitation of Ramesses II, who became his new hero. Returning to the US, he trained himself to peak physical condition, becoming a world-class gymnast. At age 19, he named himself Ozymandias (the Greek name for Ramesses II) and became a costumed vigilante, earning a reputation as "the smartest man on the planet" and using his physical skills to non-violently incapacitate opponents. He debuted in early 1958 by exposing a drug ring in New York City. In 1966, he was invited by Captain Metropolis to become a member of the Crimebusters, but the group never came to fruition due to the Comedian's breaking up of the meeting. At that moment, Veidt began to believe superheroics were not enough to save the world and began plotting a method that could. Two years before costumed heroes were banned by the Keene Act, Veidt revealed his secret identity, retired from superheroism and marketed his image. He became very wealthy and was known as a great humanitarian, using this to bankroll his secret scheme of creating a catastrophic event to deceive the world into uniting against a common enemy and thus avert nuclear war. Upon completion of his project, Veidt planned to murder all of his unwitting accomplices and arrange the psychological deterioration and self-exile of Doctor Manhattan. Fellow vigilante Edward Blake, a.k.a. the Comedian, stumbled upon Veidt's plans, leading Veidt to hire a hitman to murder the Comedian, setting off the chain of events told in the story of Watchmen.

In Their Own Story

Veidt is first seen when Rorschach visits him to get his opinion on Blake's murder and to warn about a possible serial killer targeting superheroes. Rorschach is unconvinced of Veidt's theory that Blake was assassinated by a bitter arch-rival. Veidt attends Blake's funeral, at which he reminisces about the failed Crimebusters meeting. Later, Veidt narrowly escapes an assassination attempt that leaves his assistant dead; the would-be assassin dies from an unseen cyanide capsule before Veidt can interrogate him. Rorschach and Nite Owl deduce that Veidt is behind the whole plot after they link one of Veidt's shell companies to a plot to discredit Manhattan. The duo realize that Veidt exposed Manhattan's former lover, colleagues, and an enemy to radiation and deliberately monitored them for cancer, so Manhattan would flee Earth out of either guilt or public enmity. When Rorschach and Nite Owl arrive at Veidt's Antarctic retreat, he easily overpowers both of them and explains his plan: teleport a biologically-engineered, telepathic creature to New York which would kill millions and convince the world that they were under extraterrestrial attack. The US and the Soviet Union, on the brink of nuclear confrontation, would then join forces against the supposed alien invaders. He also admits to framing Manhattan, killing the Comedian, framing Rorschach for the murder of Moloch, and staging the attempt on taking his own life. When asked when he planned to execute his scheme, Veidt reveals that he had already done so 35 minutes earlier. When Doctor Manhattan and Silk Spectre confront Veidt, he attempts to disintegrate Manhattan in the intrinsic field subtractor while sacrificing his genetically-altered pet lynx Bubastis, but Doctor Manhattan reforms himself. Silk Spectre attempts to shoot him, but he catches the bullet and knocks her out. Realizing that exposing Veidt's plan will undo the nascent world peace, most heroes agree to remain silent. Rorschach, a moral absolutist, prepares to reveal Veidt's plan but ultimately lets Manhattan kill him. Before Manhattan leaves to create life in another galaxy, Veidt asks if he "did the right thing in the end." Manhattan replies that "nothing ever ends," leaving Veidt in doubt about how long the peace will last. Unknown to Veidt, Rorschach has previously mailed a journal detailing his findings to a New York newspaper; the editors' decision on whether or not to publish is not revealed. Seven years later, in Doomsday Clock, Rorschach's journal is released to the public and Veidt becomes a fugitive. Having purportedly been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, and knowing his plan has failed, Veidt recruits a man bearing the Rorschach moniker and has him break Erika Manson (Marionette) and Marcos Maez (Mime) out of prison. He also cloned Bubastis from salvaged DNA to help find Doctor Manhattan. Using the Owlship, Veidt and his group travel to the DC Universe just as nuclear war breaks out on their Earth. After research, Veidt goes to Metropolis to ask Lex Luthor to join his quest but is confronted by the Comedian, who has been transported to the DC Universe by Manhattan. The Comedian turns out to be evenly matched with Veidt, forcing him to retreat. Veidt falls twenty stories and is hospitalized with minor injuries but escapes. Upon returning to the Owlship, Veidt is confronted by Batman, who has read the original Rorschach's journal. Batman accuses Veidt of murdering millions as part of a delusional hero syndrome, and Veidt criticizes Batman for ignoring social problems. A struggle ensues, leading to Batman falling out of the Owlship into a mob of anti-hero protestors. With his pet lynx (a clone of Bubastis) and the Lantern Battery, Veidt travels to Manhattan's location at the Joker's lair. Using Bubastis to summon Manhattan, Manhattan refuses to return to their world and reveals that Veidt lied to Rorschach about having cancer. Rorschach punches Veidt and flees. Veidt returns to the Owlship, attacks Saturn Girl and Johnny, and declares he can save everyone. He uses Bubastis' energy to cause an explosion in Moscow, framing Superman and Firestorm. Most of Earth's superheroes go to Mars to confront Manhattan, who defeats them. Manhattan returns to Earth and confronts Superman, who eventually convinces Manhattan to use his powers for the greater good and return to the Watchmen universe to save his Earth. Veidt reveals his plan was to engineer the confrontation between Manhattan and Superman, guessing only Superman could change Manhattan's mind. Veidt is shot by the Comedian, but Rorschach stops the bleeding so Veidt can face prosecution. Rorschach and Veidt are teleported by Doctor Manhattan back to the Watchmen universe, where Veidt is imprisoned for his crimes.

Reader's Guide

Adrian Veidt is a complex anti-hero whose arc explores the terrifying potential of absolute intellect without moral constraints. As Ozymandias, he possesses no superpowers but relies on his genius-level intelligence, peak physical conditioning, and mastery of martial arts to dominate any situation. His defining moment occurs when he executes a plan to fake an alien invasion in New York City. By killing hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians with a bio-weapon disguised as an extraterrestrial attack, he forces the superpowers of Earth to unite against a common enemy, effectively preventing nuclear war. Veidt's character arc concludes with him accepting that his actions have damned his soul but saved humanity. He retreats to Antarctica, living in self-imposed exile while watching over the peace he bought at such a horrific cost, embodying the story's central question of whether the ends ever truly justify the means.

Did You Know?

• Adrian Veidt was born in 1939, the son of wealthy German-American immigrant parents.
• He named himself Ozymandias after the Greek name for Ramesses II, inspired by the poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley.
• Veidt debuted as a costumed vigilante in early 1958 by exposing a drug ring in New York City.
• He personally murdered the Comedian after the Comedian stumbled upon his plans.
• Veidt's plan involved teleporting a biologically-engineered, telepathic creature to New York that killed millions to fake an alien attack.