Dream (DC)
Dream is a comic character who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Morpheus was one of the Endless where he came into existence once sentient lifeforms capable of dreaming appeared in the universe. (The Sandman v2 #1)
Dream took Abel, the first murder victim, away from his sister Death and offered him a place in the Dreaming. He made Abel a storyteller and gave him the House of Secrets to live in. When Abel got lonely, Dream commissioned his brother Cain to join him next door as a storyteller in the House of Mystery. (Sandman v2 #40) It was noted that around 80,000 years ago that Despair was murdered leading to Dream and the Endless went to the necropolis to put her body to rest. The necropolitans had long lost their passion for their job, and didn’t know about the necropolis’ arrangement with the Endless, so they laughed at them when they asked for Despair’s cerements and the book of rituals. The Endless revoked the necropolis’ charter, causing it to be destroyed. The village of Litharge was granted a charter by the Endless and became the new necropolis. (Sandman v2 #55) Around 10,000 years ago, Dream in the guise Kai’ckul appeared to Nada, the queen of a wondrous African city. She fell in love with him, and went to the Dreaming to see him again. They both knew there would be terrible consequences if a mortal fell in love with one of the Endless, but they gave in to their desires. The next morning Nada’s kingdom was destroyed, and she killed herself because she felt she was responsible. Kai’ckul appeared to her soul and told her he would make her queen of the Dreaming. She refused, and out of pride Kai’ckul condemned Nada to Hell. (Sandman v2 #9)
In 6. A.D., as a favor to the Roman god Terminus, Dream came to emperor Augustus in a dream. Augustus saw two futures for Rome, one in which the whole world would be under Rome’s banner and last thousands of years, and another in which the Roman empire would die after a few hundred years. He wanted the latter, but was afraid of the Roman gods learning of his plans. Dream advised him to give up being emperor for one day and disguise himself as a beggar in the streets. Augustus took his advice, and while the gods were not watching over him he formulated his plan to stop Roman expansion. (Sandman v2 #30) In the late 700s, Haroun al Raschid in Baghdad summoned Dream to the waking world by threatening to unleash the djinns of the Globe of Suleiman. Dream disliked being called in such a manner and took away the Globe. Raschid told Dream that Baghdad had become a city of magic and wonders, but he sensed that it would not last, so he asked Dream to take Baghdad into the Dreaming. Dream agreed, and put the dream of Baghdad city of wonders in a bottle. In the waking world Baghdad transformed from a magic city into a prosperous yet ordinary one, with Raschid and all of the residents unawae of what it once had been, except in legend. (Sandman v2 #50)
In 1389, Death convinced Dream to visit a tavern to see humanity on their own terms. In the tavern they overheard Hob Gadling say that death was a fool’s game and that he had no intention of dying. Dream and Death agreed to make him immortal, and Dream told Hob he’d meet him in the same tavern one hundred years hence. (Sandman v2 #13) Later, in 1489, Dream met with Hob Gadling, who asked if he’d made a deal with the devil to live so long. Dream told him he had not, and that he was simply interested in Hob. Death would not touch Hob unless he desired it. They agreed to meet again in another hundred years. By 1589 Dream met with Hob Gadling at their tavern, and Hob told Dream life was great now that he’d acquired a fortune. Dream saw Will Shaxberd at the tavern, and promised him unlimited inspiration in writing his plays if Will created new dreams to spur on the minds of men. (Sandman v2 #13) In 1593, as part of William Shakespeare’s contract with Dream he wrote the first of two plays specifically for the Dream King, A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Dream and the emissaries of Faerie were the audience for Will’s first performance of the play. Dream told the court of Faerie that this was his payment for all the diversion they’d offered him in the past. Although their time on Earth was over humanity would remember them through Will’s play. (Sandman v2 #19)
Dream noted Lucien sneaking Vassily of the People through the Dreaming. Lucien admitted that he had lost one of his books from the library of dreams, and Vassily was the current owner. Vassily promised Lucien his book back if he was taken to the bedroom of a duke’s daughter, the object of his desire. Dream took over, showing Vassily to the young lady’s room. Once Vassily saw her, it was enough for him, some wishes are best left unfulfilled. Dream invited Vassily to join him and Lucien for dinner in the Dreaming. (Sandman v2 #38) In 1689, Dream met with Hob Gadling at their tavern, and Hob had fallen into poverty and despair. Dream asked if he wished for death, but Hob replied that he still had so much to live for. (Sandman v2 #13) Around 300 years ago, Dream and the Corinthian met Destruction. Destruction showed him the Invisible College and hinted that he was planning on splitting away from the rest of the Endless. (Sandman v2 #44) By 1695, Destruction called a family meeting of the Endless, and announced to Dream and the rest of his family that he was abandoning his duties as one of the Endless and taking his leave of them for good. (Sandman v2 #47) In 1789, Dream met with Hob Gadling at their tavern, where Lady Constantine and her thugs ambushed them. Rumors of their centennial meetings had spread, and she believed they were the Devil and the Wandering Jew. She intended to kidnap them and learn what she could from them, but Dream put her thugs to sleep and put Constantine in a dreamlike state where she was haunted by those whose lives she’d sacrificed to advance her own agendas. (Sandman v2 #13)
The Sandman
On the night of June 10th, 1916, British occultist Roderick Burgess and his Order of Ancient Mysteries accidentally summoned Dream while trying to summon and imprison Death. Drained from a recent odyssey, Dream was no match for Burgess, who stole his ruby, helm and pouch and held him captive in a crystal prison in the basement of his house in Wych Cross. Burgess hoped Dream could be coerced into setting up a trap for his sister, but Dream refused to speak to him.
In this time, he remained a captive of a group of occultists led by Burgess. Summoned during a failed ritual intended to capture Death, Dream was imprisoned inside a glass sphere for decades, unable to interact with the world. During this time, the absence of the Lord of Dreams caused chaos across the globe—people suffered from waking nightmares, unending sleep, or an inability to dream at all. Dream himself remained silent and watchful, refusing to speak or respond to his captors, waiting for the moment when he could reclaim his freedom (Sandman v2 #1) Dream finally escaped captivity after Burgess’s wards weakened. He reclaimed his helm, pouch of sand, and ruby—artifacts essential to his dominion—by tracking them across the waking world. His activities included summoning nightmares to his side and traveling through both dream and waking realms. He punished those who had taken advantage of his absence, such as Alex Burgess, whom he cursed with an eternal waking nightmare. His actions were precise and deliberate, focused entirely on restoring his power and authority as ruler of the Dreaming. (Sandman v2 #2) Dream’s activities centered on recovering his pouch of sand from the possession of John Constantine. He confronted Constantine and forced him to accompany him in reclaiming the artifact. Their search led them into a tragic encounter with Constantine’s former lover Rachel, whose life had been destroyed by her dependence on Dream’s sand. Dream showed little outward emotion but demonstrated mercy by granting Rachel a peaceful passing, using his power to ease her pain. This marked one of the first instances where Dream’s authority was balanced with compassion, highlighting the weight of his role in managing the lives tied to dreams (Sandman v2 #3)
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Dream of the Endless was depicted as a tall, gaunt figure with pale skin, dark disheveled hair, and eyes resembling pools of darkness that occasionally reflected stars. He wore dark robes that flowed around him like shadows, giving him a spectral presence. His visage evoked an otherworldly quality, both regal and alien. (Sandman v2 #1)
In personality, Dream was solemn, brooding, and intensely duty-bound. His first appearances emphasized his silence, patience, and sense of responsibility, even after decades of imprisonment. He exhibited an aloof demeanor, rarely showing direct emotion, though his actions reflected deep concern for the order of dreams and, by extension, humanity. He was uncompromising toward those who defied him yet capable of acts of compassion, as shown in his handling of Rachel’s suffering. This blend of severity and reluctant kindness defined his early characterization. (Sandman v2 #3)
Among all the Endless, save perhaps Destiny, he was most conscious of his responsibilities and the most meticulous in their execution.
Morpheus was noted for being the child of Time. (Sandman: Overture v1 #4) Meanwhile, his mother was said to had been Night. (Sandman: Overture v1 #5)
Powers and abilities
Morpheus was one of the Endless that were anthropomorphic personifications of concepts which in his case was that of dreams. Dream’s nature was not that of a mortal but as one of the Endless, personifications of universal forces. In his case, he was the embodiment of dreams, stories, and imagination itself. His physiology granted him immortality, invulnerability to mortal harm, and mastery over the Dreaming, a realm where he shaped landscapes, nightmares, and fantasies. Even in weakened form after captivity, he commanded illusions, invoked sleep, and manipulated the boundaries between reality and dream. His existence was inseparably tied to the realm he ruled, making him both an entity of immense power and one bound by the responsibilities of his station. (The Sandman v2 #1)
Such was his power that he had absolute control over sleep, dreams, nightmares, and even insomnia. (The Sandman v2 #1) It was shown that he could curse mortals with 'eternal waking' causing them to become trapped in an endless loop of awaking from a nightmare. (The Sandman v2 #1)
He can travel instantly to the Dreaming, and anywhere in the mortal realm that people dream. He can easily enter and transit most magical realms as well, such as Hell. (The Sandman v2 #4)
Within the Dreaming, he could effortlessly alter reality on a universal scale. (The Sandman v2 #2)
Among the vestments of Dream included:
- Helm of Dreams :
- Dreamstone :
- Sand Pouch :
If an Endless was destroyed, their personality and powers were instantly transmitted to another person who must then become the new embodiment of that aspect. (The Sandman v2 #70)
Notes
- Dream was created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg where he made his first appearance in The Sandman v2 #1 (January, 1989).
In other media
Television
Audio Books
Appearances
- The Sandman v2: (1989)
- JLA v1:
- Dark Nights: Metal v1:
External Links
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