The Endless are a family of cosmic beings who appear in American comic books published by DC Comics.
This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. (March 2011) |
The members of the family are: Death, Delirium, Desire, Despair, Destiny, Destruction and Dream.
The Endless | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | The Sandman vol. 2, #1 (January 1989) |
Created by | Neil Gaiman |
In-story information | |
Member(s) | Destiny Death Dream Destruction Desire Despair Delirium |
The Endless characters were created by Neil Gaiman and first appeared in the comic book series The Sandman (1989–1996). They embody forces of nature in the DC Universe. They are depicted as among the most powerful beings in the setting, distinct from most gods, as gods are created by mortal belief. Dream is the protagonist of The Sandman series, but all the Endless play major roles in it.
The Endless are a dysfunctional family of seven siblings. They appear in different forms but are most often depicted as having very white skin and black hair, with the exception of redheads Delirium and Destruction. Their appearance often changes to fit the expectations of those they meet or the situation they are in.
In the comic book, The Endless spend most of their time fulfilling their functions as embodiments of natural forces. For example, Death leads the souls of the dead away from the realm of the living, while Dream oversees the realm of dreams, nightmares and imagination. One notable facet of their depiction is that none of them are "representations" or "personifications" of their function, they simply are their function; as Sto-Oa says of Death in Endless Nights, "She is Death, just as he is Dream, and that one is Desire." In The Sandman (vol. 2) #48, Destruction gives a further description of the Endless:
The Endless are merely patterns. The Endless are ideas. The Endless are wave functions. The Endless are repeating motifs. The Endless are echoes of darkness, and nothing more... And even our existences are brief and bounded. None of us will last longer than this version of the Universe.
As portrayed, some Endless are more committed to their work than others. The younger Endless, particularly Desire, are known to mess with mortal life. Destruction, also known as "The Prodigal," abandoned his duty entirely.
If one of the Endless is destroyed, they are replaced by another part of their duty; however, this does not happen if they are just absent or inactive. In such instances, the element of existence supervised by that member of the Endless becomes more unpredictable and chaotic. During this period, the Universe may seek to replace that member by putting some of their essence into a mortal, as it did with Wesley Dodds, who got a fragment of Dream's soul while Dream was imprisoned.
Each of the Endless has a realm in which they are sovereign. Within their realm, all members of the Endless have a gallery containing symbols, or sigils, of the other Endless. The Endless may contact each other by holding the appropriate sigil and calling for that member of the Endless. Destiny is also able to summon his siblings by using his gallery of portraits, whether they want it or not (as seen in The Sandman: Overture).
As portrayed, The Endless, in addition to monitoring their area of influence, assist to define their opposites. This dualistic feature of the Endless has been affirmed by Death, who is present at both the beginning and conclusion of every existence. Destruction enjoys creative activities like painting, poetry, and cookery. Dream appears to have the ability to modify reality, as demonstrated in The Sandman (vol. 2) #18, A Dream of a Thousand Cats, in which a great number of beings dream of an alternate universe and create it. Delirium also has some bizarre logic that only she understands, yet it helps her to grasp things that others do not.
According to the Sandman Overture in the comic, certain Endless can fool others and briefly use their skills through deceit or specialized reasoning. Dream, for example, was able to save the departed Prez from Boss Smiley, but Death was unable to do so since Dream is also the Prince of Stories, giving him some authority over the afterlife. Desire was capable of impersonating Dream (The Dream of Cats), resulting in the creation of a dream Vessel allegedly built by Dream. It was convincing enough to deceive Destiny and Dream, but not Delirium.
The exact limits of the powers the Endless may use are subject to debate but are set by rules (such as Dream being forbidden to kill dreamers unless they become a vortex, in which case killing becomes an obligation). It is unknown if the Endless are capable of using their powers on those more powerful or more ancient than they are; when at one point Dream heads into Hell to rescue a former lover of his, he admits that his power will allow him entrance, but that he does not know if he would be able to defeat Lucifer, who is a former archangel created by The Presence (the DC comics analogue of God).
In the comic, The Endless are as ancient as the ideals they symbolize. The Endless are claimed to predate fairies, gods, angels, and other supernatural entities. Their precise ages in years are unclear, although they are believed to have existed long before life on Earth; Destruction claims in Brief Lives that he has done his responsibilities for 10 billion years (not including the prior three centuries).
In The Sandman (vol. 2) #5, "Passengers", Dream is recognized by the Martian Manhunter as the dream god on ancient Mars, as well as in the Endless Nights chapter "Dream: The Heart of the Star", which takes place before our Sun's planets have "awakened" with life. Dream states in The Sandman (vol. 2) #16 that once another world was lost to a vortex. Death has claimed that she was there when the first living thing stirred, and Destiny has said that Dream gave the Earth itself the fond dream of being able to support life. Dream, according to Abel, was created shortly after Death, as living things are born before they can dream.
One of the few mentions to Endless paternity comes in The Sandman (vol. 2) #70, where some sentience in the Necropolis Litharge that protects the emblems of each Endless weeps "like a mother mourning for her departed child." The Endless' father is Time, and their mother is Night, as revealed in The Sandman: Overture #5. Night is joined by Dusk, who was characterized by illustrator J. H. Williams III as Dream's "distant sister," however Neil Gaiman has stated that this was only J. H. Williams III's speculation and there is nothing in canon that shows she is connected to them. The screenplay solely refers to her as an attendant. Time and Night are not on good terms, according to The Sandman: Overture.
The Endless are not known to have proper names, although Dream has a habit of collecting different names for himself. They are each known by their respective function.
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