Who Are The Endless In DC's 'The Sandman' Series?
The Sandman series for Netflix is coming soon and the Neil Gaiman comics that inspired it were a critical and public success in the 90s. Published by the Vertigo Imprint (the area that would now be occupied by DC Black Label and which was the first time a place was given to more adult comics) the comics combined fantasy, mythology, folklore, and elements of horror and gothic literature, but also an extensive gallery of characters with defined and well-developed arcs.
In this way, one could say that The Sandman is the main story of the member of a larger family. The protagonist, who goes by several names: Dream, Sandman, Oniro or Morpheus and many forms, is part of the Eternals. The universe is ruled by them. They have been around as long as living beings have existed and will cease to be when there are no more beings to remember. And they are seven: Desire, Despair, Delirium, Destiny, Destruction, Dream and Death.
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But apart from being transcendental beings, they are also family, with their own conflicts, interests, personalities, and emotions. Each has been alive for eons and mutated throughout history.
Desire is an androgynous figure with short hair, and a slender and tall body. They serve their own interests and are the living embodiment of any desire. Their kingdom is a huge mansion in the shape of their face.
Despair is the twin sister of Desire. She is almost the opposite of her sister. Her figure is almost deformed and shrunken. Her skin is cold and clammy; her eyes are gray. She speaks little and is patient. Her realm is inhospitable, inhabited only by small windows hanging in the void.
Delirium was once Delight, but something happened that made her change. She is the youngest of the Eternals. And her figure is the most changeable, until the point it becomes ideas wrapped in the appearance of flesh. She has one green eye and one blue eye and her realm is the most accessible to beings but all who visit it fail to understand it and are barely able to describe it.
Destiny is the eldest of them all. He wears a robe and a book chained to his arm. He walks through his kingdom, which is a garden of infinite paths, and in the pages of his books is found everything that began to be, is, and will be.
Destruction was the most likeable and beloved of all the Eternals. He was big and rough looking. He left the family long ago and was never heard from again.
Death has a similar appearance to Dream. She has a gothic look, moon-white skin and wears a leather suit. But unlike her brother, she has a special charm and a constant smile. Her kingdom is a mystery.
And the endless one who stars in the main story has many names, among them Dream. He is tall, with jet black hair, white skin and black eyes with starry sparkles. He is meticulous and responsible in his chores. His kingdom has a multitude of facets, hiding places and changing characters.
The story of the Sandman, narrated by Neil Gaiman, begins with a cult wanting to catch Death to get eternal life. They don't succeed. Instead they capture his brother, Morpheus. That causes a cataclysm, in which many people are trapped in a dream world for years while the endless remains locked up. This is how the series of comic books narrated by Neil Gaiman begins.
The world of the Sandman is vast, going back not only to Earth and the present, but also to the distant past and even to other dimensions and planets. There is a diversity of powers, rules and beings that govern its different aspects. But the Eternals were, are and will be the entities that rule everything.
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Written By Alex Leibovich