‘The Sandman‘ is a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. The first issue was released in January 1989, which continued for 75 issues till March 1996. Since the publication of the comic, fans had been waiting for a live-action adaptation. Several productions for the series were planned back in 1999, but unfortunately, they couldn’t be executed. Netflix finally made this possible when it decided to pick the show.
The series focuses on The Endless who are seven siblings, each with their own unique powers. Through their powers, they play an important role in human society. These seven siblings are Death, Dream, Despair, Delirium, Desire, Destruction, and Destiny.
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What Is The Background Story Of The Endless On Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’?
The Endless each have their own realms on the human planet which they’ve to look after, or in other words, protect. The seven entities embody core concepts of living nature, as is understandable by their names. They’re the children of Mother Night, who symbolize the absolute emptiness that predates creation, and Father Time, who embodies primordial time and existence as a whole.
Their seven children were born as sovereigns and they’re the physical manifestations of the realm they’re from. Should any of The Endless be harmed, their aspect of life will be punctured too. Should any of The Endless be killed, their core aspect of life will outlive them, and create a variant to reign in its place. Here’s a brief overview of the powers of The Endless sibling.
Dream Of The Endless
Dream of The Endless has several names, of which some are Morpheus, the Sandman, or simply Dream. He is the ruler of the realm of dreams, a place where all dreams take place. He controls and influences the dreams of all mortals, and through magic, can alter reality himself, shape-shift, and teleport. ‘The Sandman,‘ follows the story of Morpheus.
Delirium Of The Endless
Delirium reigns in an abstract realm, one which controls both sanity and madness. She too has abilities to teleport and shapeshift, and more often than not, she constantly keeps changing her look according to her mood. These changes can be subtle sometimes, for instance, from changes in eye color to noticeable changes like the transformation of the body.
Desire Of The Endless
Desire, as the word suggests, is the want of something. Desire has mastery over mortals’ feelings of physical and materialistic wants, emotional needs, and feelings of satisfaction. It is famous for being malicious of all The Endless siblings. Desire is androgynous and genderless, appearing in whatever form it pleases to be. It is omnipresent, just like their other siblings, but what makes its presence more challenging is that it often clashes with the Dream.
Despair Of The Endless
The twin sister of Desire, Despair’s realm, is the opposite of that of Desire’s, characterized by a foggy appearance littered with mirrors and rats. She rules over feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and sadness, and makes sure that mortals do not forget the essence of sorrow which, too, helps them grow. As the realms of Despair and Desire are opposite, their physical appearances are opposite too. While Desire is beautiful physically, Despair, on the other hand, is unattractive. In ‘The Sandman,’ she embodies the character of a depressed woman.
Destruction Of The Endless
This sibling of The Endless is an interesting character since he flees his realm and responsibilities. Destruction was the ruler of ruination. Ruin is seen as an end, however, a civilization and change begins only when something ends. Destruction runs away from this very idea of change. Man’s mastery over science, which made him create weapons of mass destruction like atom bombs, made Destruction despondent to a certain point that he didn’t want to continue ruling his realm. Like his other siblings, Destruction too has powers of magic and shape-shifting.
Destiny Of The Endless
Destiny is the personification of fate. He has infinite and unbounded knowledge of everyone’s past, present, and future. His power lies in the fact that he knows the minuscule elements of what makes the universe. Destiny, simply, is the knower of all and everything. Destiny also has a giant book chained to its hand, which includes the information of everyone who has existed.
Death Of The Endless
Death is the eldest sister of Dream. As her name suggests, she’s the physical manifestation of death. She guides every mortal’s journey from death to the afterlife, which is preparing them to accept that they’re not living breathing bodies on Earth anymore. Death loves doing her job. She has the power to spot all the spirits wandering on Earth, and it’s her ultimate decision to either take the spirits or let them roam the world as ghosts. Dream and Death are close, and Death often guides and gives suggestions to Dream.
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