Dreaming (DC)
The Dreaming is a dimension that features in DC Comics.
Contents |
History
The Dreaming was an other-dimensional realm that encompassed the dreams of living beings and was overseen by Dream of the Endless. Upon establishing the Dreaming, Morpheus created a number of tools to administer the realm. (Sandman v2 #2)
After his imprisonment, the realm began to suffer as it began to decay and crumble without its creator. The process was slow at first as Dreamworld came to transmute over the course of a century. (Sandman v2 #2)
On the night of June 10th, 1916, British occultist Roderick Burgess and his cult accidentally summoned Dream/Morpheus while trying to summon and imprison his sister Death. Dream was weak, so Burgess stole his ruby, helm, and pouch and held him captive in a crystal prison in the basement of his house for years. On September 14th, 1988, one of the guards fell asleep on duty, allowing Morpheus to tap into the power of dreams and make his escape from his prison. He returned to the Dreaming, which was in ruin after his hundred years of absence. So Morpheus vowed to reclaim his fallen kingdom by reclaiming his tools, and right the wrongs that occurred while he was imprisoned. Later, with his powers and tools restored, Morpheus began rebuilding his kingdom. (Sandman v2 #1)
At the House of Mystery, he first came upon Abel and Cain where he them for their letters of conscription. The papers that bear his signature provide just enough power to give Dream a bit more strength. His vitality improves enough so that he can send his essence into the Dreamworld. In the Dreamworld, Morpheus journeys beyond the Gates of Horn and Ivory to the steps of his castle. The castle had fallen into a state of severe dilapidation since he had been gone. Lucien the librarian comes out and tells Morpheus about what has been going on in the Dreaming since he had been away. Morpheus visits the three witches known as the Hecateae. He needs information regarding his tools of office. The witches tell him that each one of them will answer one question, but only one per witch. These are the rules. Dream asks his questions, but the Hecateae deliberately give him misleading answers. However, he does discover where his articles may be found. His pouch of sand was last seen in the hands of a hedge mage named John Constantine. His helm was given to a demon in 1930 by Ruthven Sykes and his ruby was last seen in the presence of a League of Justice. Dream thanks these "weird sisters" and goes off to reclaim his belongings, deciding to start with Constantine.(Sandman v2 #2)
Several years ago, a sleep research project was conducted at U.C.L.A. by Dr. Garrett Sanford where techniques were devised to monitor brain activity. Student assistants were used as guinea pigs in what was deemed a revolutionary process to read the dreams of those in a sleep state. Dr. Sanford's experiments drew the attention of the U.S. military who immediately escorted him to Washington. Taken to the Walter Reed Hospital, he was brought to a comatose patient named John Q. Public who had been in a sleep state for 48 hours with no cure being devised by medical science at the time. The U.S. military had brought Sanford's dream monitoring device and looked to integrate it into their own Operation Sandman. This project had been devised both as a means of helping those trapped in these deep comas and as a tool to ensure the nation's security. Equipping a suit, Dr. Sandford made a crossover into the dream dimension where he battled a 'nightmare' that was responsible for leaving John Q. Public in this state. However, the crossover was a one-way journey for Garrett Sanford with Operation Sandman sending his dream monitor to support him as there was no way for him to return to the physical world. Though a success, Operation Sandman was declared top-secret and Dr. Garrett Sanford's disappearance was to remain 'unsolved'. Meanwhile, in the dream dimension, Sanford came to take the name 'Sandman' which he named after both the project and after an old superhero. (Wonder Woman v1 #300)
Following Morpheus' disappearance, Brute and Glob found themselves at a loose end and created a realm of their own called the 'Dream Stream' that existed in the unconscious mind of a young boy named Jed. They came to draw a scientist named Garrett Sanford into the dream and making him believe he was a superhero called the Sandman and that they were his servants. When Sanford died, they replaced him as the Sandman with the disembodied spirit of Hector Hall, formerly the Silver Scarab. Eventually, Morpheus returned to punish his wayward servants and Brute were returned to the Dreaming. (Sandman v2 #12)
The Flash Barry Allen at one point had to enter the dream of his ailing wife Iris West to save her from a dream of Death. (The Flash v1 #175)
The parasitic Starro came to cause the inhabitants of North America to fall into a catastrophic sleep that became an epidemic. The JLA groups at the Justice League Watchtower where they meet Sandman who explains that an ancient power has come to Earth to pillage its resources. He offers to take several of the heroes into the Dreaming to see if they can fulfill the dreams of a little boy who remembers them when the rest of the world has fallen under the thrall of this alien creature. In the Dreaming, Superman is remembered by the child Mikey Haney and calls to him for help but he and Wonder Woman have lost their powers, so they must rely on Green Lantern Kyle Rayner to use his 'wishing ring' to guide them. (JLA v1 #22)
Overview
In appearance, the Dreaming was a metaphysical plane of symbol, belief, and imagination that is ever-changing. The inhabitants of the Dreaming are called dreams and nightmares, often they are gods, myths, and even ordinary human beings who later became dreams.
It was known by other names including the Dreamworld, Dreamtime and as the Unconscious. The Dreaming was as much a part of Dream of the Endless as he was of it. The realm was said to be infinite though bounded on every side and outside of it there was only infinite dust as well as dark. The realm possessed old laws with all the beings within it bound by them and having to confirm to them. (Sandman v2 #2)
Morpheus has been described as an incarnation of The Dreaming and there's a direct relation between both beings, as such, it accommodates to Dream's wishes and it is what he wants it to be, it's also affected by his feelings and condition, that's why when he was imprisoned, The Dreaming was collapsing as he was. Morpheus can also create portals to The Dreaming in the waking world and portals in the Dreaming to the waking world; he can cross between both worlds; he can create and destroy beings or places.
Locations within the Dreaming included:
- Gates of Horn and Ivory : a doorway leading to Dream’s Castle that was carved by Morpheus when the world was young and order was needed. (Sandman v2 #2)
- Fiddler's Green :
- House of Mystery :
- House of Secrets :
- Eve's Cave :
- Ghost Castle :
The Dreaming was inhabited by dreams, nightmares, places and other entities. According to a census taken by Lucien, the Dreaming's librarian, there were about eleven thousand and sixty-two creatures living in the dreaming, however, the amount is constantly changing for some of them are destroyed and others created.
There were a number of tools created by Dream to administer the realm which included:
- Pouch of Sand : (Sandman v2 #2)
- Dream’s Helm : (Sandman v2 #2)
- Dreamstone : (Sandman v2 #2)
The Dreaming can be affected by many factors, but one of the more dangerous was a vortex. A vortex was a real person who somehow becomes the center of The Dreaming and capable of destroying the barriers between dreams making it gather into one, which eventually collapses upon itself and damages The Dreaming beyond repair.
Inhabitants
- Morpheus : Dream of the Endless was the founder and creator of the Dreaming where he ruled as its monarch. (Sandman v2 #2)
- Lucien :
- Abel :
- Cain :
- Corinthian : a nightmare creature living in the guise of man, with jaws in place of eyes, the Corinthian was "A nightmare created to be the darkness and the fear of darkness in every human heart. A black mirror made to reflect everything about itself that humanity will not confront." Discovered by Morpheus in 1990 at a convention for serial killers, the Corinthian was declared a failure for not living up to his potential for creating fear and was uncreate. (Sandman v2 #14)
- Brute :
- Fiddler's Green :
- Merv Pumpkinhead :
- Fashion Thing :
- Matthew the Raven :
Notes
- The Dreaming was created by Neil Gaiman where it made its first appearance in Sandman v2 #2 (February, 1989).
- The Dreaming received an entry in Who's Who in the DC Universe v1 #15 (January, 1992).
In other media
Television
- In Supergirl, a Dream Realm appeared in the setting of the live-action television series set in the Arrowverse in the episode "Nightmare in National City". It was the source of power for the Naltorian Dreamers. When the Dorians invaded the temple of the Oracle of Delphi in 1100 BC, the Oracle hid the Dream Totem in the safest place she could think which was within the Dream Realm.
- In The Sandman, the Dreaming appeared in the setting of the live-action Netflix adaptation. After 100 years away due to being captured by mortals, Morpheus returned to The Dreaming to learn that it had been falling apart and decaying in his absence. Not only that, but some of the dreams and nightmares abandoned their posts as well. Some went looking for him, while others thought he had left them, as he wouldn't be the first Endless to do so. Dream insisted that wasn't the case and that he intended to bring everyone back. However, doing so proved more difficult than he initially imagined, as he was too weak to reconstruct his domain without his tools, which were stolen. And so, Morpheus called upon The Fates to learn the location of his sand pouch, helm, and ruby. Due to the emergence of a Dream Vortex, who was brining down the walls between dreams, The Dreaming began to experience seismic activity and damage, which Morpheus tracked down to Hector and Lyta, who had not only reunited in The Dreaming, but conceived a child as well. Dream returned Hector to his appointed place before informing Lyta that he would allow her to keep the baby for the time being, but due to the nature of its conception, one day, he would come for it.
Audio Books
- In The Sandman, the Dreaming appeared in the setting of the audio book adaptation of the comic.
Appearances
- Sandman v2: (1989)
External Links
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