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* [[American Gods]]: The mythological creatures that appeared in Season Of Mists like Bast, Odin, and Loki are the same as the ones who appeared in American Gods. Also, it's been speculated that Delirium of the Endless makes a cameo. And by default, [[Anansi Boys]] is connected as well.
** More like America-based avatars of them. The Bast in The Sandman is in Egypt, the Odin is in Asgard, and the Loki is under the world missing his eyes.
** American Gods was released between The Wake and Endless Nights. So its events could be related to why Delirium went crazier just before Going Inside.
** Highly unlikely, given that in [[American Gods]] {{spoiler|Thor}} killed himself in the 1920's and in [[The Sandman]] he's alive in the (1980's) present.
*** Um. No. It's pretty likely. In the epilogue, {{spoiler|Shadow meets with another Odin, the one in Iceland, and it's pretty strongly implied that the American Gods were only echoes. While the American Thor (presumably named "Mr. Thursday") died, the originally is likely still alive in one of the Scandinavian countries.}}
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* Alas, this one is easily defused when you remember that several of the machinations for his suicide were set up before "Brief Lives", ot the point of BL itself being part of them. See Below.
** It may have been that her realm was only too dangerous for him because of the weird 'sanity seizure' moment she was having. (After all, sane people presumably enter Delirium's realm for brief moments when ill or on drug trips.) This idea might be backed up by Delirium's threat that she could drive Morpheus mad while he was in her realm--simply being there wasn't damaging, but it did make him vulnerable. And if Delirium wasn't in full control of her actions, she might destroy the mind of anyone who entered.
*** This troper always figured that the implication was that Dream was ''always'' crazy. He does rather come off that way.
== Volume 10 fucked up the world and everything that followed was a mass hallucination. ==
Everyone in the world was, simultaneously, put to sleep to attend the Sandman's funeral. No one controlled the weapons systems, vehicles, power supplies, nuclear reactors or anything else. This resulted in a motherfucking nuclear apocalypse and the world became an uninhabitable piece of shit. Sandman's survivors decided to resurrect everyone who died in the chaos and create a hallucination where everyone would think he lived a normal happy life.
* It's entirely possible that they only fell asleep for a split second-- which can seem considerably longer.
* Given the odd way time passes in dreams, there's really no need to assume that everyone in the world is asleep at the same time, nor do we need to assume people are "put to sleep" in any unusual, supernatural way. It could be that as everyone falls asleep naturally, they go to attend the wake, which exists in dreamtime, outside normal time. That way everyone can be there at once, but not asleep at once.
** Especially when you start to take into account time zones.
** People are definitely not all asleep at once in the real world- when Alex wakes up, Paul is awake and has been all day, having spent it at Jack's funeral.
* And regardless, even if everyone fell asleep simultaneously, nothing like the above would take place. Nuclear weapons need to be actively launched, and untended nuclear plants just shut down in a few hours. By far the largest issue would be all the airplanes in the air - any close to their destinations would be doomed to crash. Those with long distance ahead might be fine, thanks to the autopilots.
* It's also explicitly stated that everybody attends the funeral when they next fall asleep, made possible due to the reality-distorting power of the Endless in general and Dream in particular.
* Hold on, does everybody alive at the time of the funeral attend, or everybody across all of time? I thought the latter, with all the implied non-simultaneity that requires.
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* Sorry, doesn't work. It's explicitly said at least once that the current Despair was "split off" from Desire -- that's why they're so close. Unless you think Desire killed the first Despair -- which isn't entirely impossible, but then she ought to be tormented by the Kindly Ones.
** Yes, but the murderer would have probably been one who ''desired'' to rid the world of despair and in that sense is one of desires creations.
* I just though they were twins, born at the same time - and that means the primal form of them, not just the aspects that we see. Though I can't see Desire being in any state of punishment, or "taking the rest of eternity to die" - s/he seems to be enjoying itself quite nicely.
** Also, this Despair has expressed admiration for the first Despair, and even fear about the task of filling her shoes. Even if the murderer had since realized the importance of despair and accepted it, one would think this statement (one of very few moments when someone refers to the first Despair) would be tinged with personal regret. And again, this Despair loves her work, sees beauty and wonder in suffering.
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A careful re-reading of ''The Sandman'' seems to indicate that from a certain point in Volume 1 - whether it be his imprisonment, his escape, or even just his viewing the ruined palace - Morpheus began subconsciously plotting his own death, down to the smallest details. Why? Because he failed. In such a tremendous failure, he recognised his inability to perform and automatically began preparing for his death and replacement with a better model. When you look at the series like this, you recognise hundreds of hints throughout as indication - his laughing at the idea of a human replacement for The Sandman in "The Doll's House", his hiring of Lucifer to help burn away Daniel Hall's immortality, his goading of Destruction & Desire over Emperor Joshua Norton in "Fables and Reflections". It could even be shown that he purposefully engaged in his love affair with Thessaly and all along knew that it would end in tears, purely because that would be the catalyst that would force him to think going to look for Destruction would be a good idea.
* Not to mention that Thessaly's magic circle in ''The Kindly Ones'' kept Dream from being able to save his own life. If he hadn't had the love affair with her, she wouldn't have done that to him.
* The Joshua Norton story happened before he was imprisoned, so it probably wasn't part of his planning.
** However, Thessaly appears to have done the magic circle ritual merely to get out of a debt with the Three Ladies a little more life, and she was upset with Lyta Hall after it all went down. And Morpheus appeared to have been completely ignorant of where Daniel was - it does not appear that he hired Loki and Puck to steal the child (not Lucifer). It may have been entirely unconscious though. He is the lord of the unconscious, after all...
== Morpheus was dead all along. ==
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== The killer of the first Despair was Superman. ==
Okay, it's one thats been trucking around for a while but considering that the first Despair inspired the creation (and destruction) of Krypton, in order to create a being that would be alone to mourn, to remember, to despair. This plan backfired on an epic scale, beccause despairing isn't exactly something that Superman does. After he found out, he somehow managed to kill the first Despair. Although the exact punishment for killing a member of the Endless isn't specific, Daniel told Lyta Hall that the killer of the first despair would take forever to die. Sounds about right.
* It sounded more like an eternity of ''torment'' instead of mere immortality, which really doesn't fit Superman's existence. And Superman doesn't kill, and appeared in the Dreaming during the Wake with none of this mentioned.
* Reasoning for and reasoning against here:
** Against: Despair I is already dead by ancient times on Earth. Way before Superman in every continuity could kill Despair I without resorting to time travel.
** For: Time travel? Not unheard of. Also, think of Superman's fate. He is hope. Hope that is the last of his world to live. Hope that is the last of Earth to live, in time. The last of the mortals to likely live, only to die when the last yellow star dies. To see the changing of times through dark ages and golden ages. To either sucumb to despair or become the unreachable symbol of hope that will lead others to despair that they can't match.
* Of course Despair's plan backfired. Despair's plans always backfire. If Despair succeeded at anything, she/he/it would begin to lose reasons to despair. Also, consider that the Endless each define their opposites, and hope is very much the opposite of despair - Superman was not merely defined but created by his particular Endless...
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== [[Lobo]] is to Destruction what [[Sandman Mystery Theatre|Wesley Dodds]] is to Dream. ==
It's stated that before Lobo came along, Czarnia was a peaceful planet & no real explanation is given for his violent tendencies. When Destruction quit his job, the universe still needed somebody to serve as the embodiment of destruction, a position Lobo is only too happy to fill.
** From the Lucifer series, it looks like Fenris (the wolf) is that embodiment - he pretty much says so himself, and has all the requisite powers (can destroy absolutely anything in the universe, can manifest as anything destructive, etc.)
** Fenris seems to be all about entropy, while Destruction is about reaction and change - the nuclear reaction that keeps the stars going is under his power, for example.
== The Corinthian can echolocate. ==
* How else can you get around in permanent [[Sunglasses
** Magic?
*** Magic. And being [[Nightmare Fuel|fucking terrifying.]]
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* Attempt 1: The dream stone that gradually weakened him on use. Perhaps to the point that it would either leave him effectively a powerless mortal or trap him forever inside of it removing him from power in a similar manner as Destruction.
** Daniel might currently be powered by his dream stone, the lesser of all of them. He has said he'll one day smash it. Possibly removing Dream from power again?
*** Actually, smashing the stone would simply release the power held in it, making it an integral part of Dream once more (the same thing that happened when Dee shattered the original ruby).
*** But, it was Morpheus who made the stone. It is also possible the power would attempt to return to him. Failing that, would become diffused throughout the universe.
* A Change of Plans: Getting caught and imprisoned. It was a trial period as much as Morpheus could directly allow to see what a universe without A Dream would be like. One could argue that after this attempt he decided, at least subconsciously, that a replacement to at least ween the Universe off of Dream would be needed. See sub-WMG of Attempt 1.
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* Attempt 3: The fight with Dee, Doctor Destiny. The quest till then was Dream having fun, getting out to the world after boredom. Think of it as a post-failed suicide high. Getting the bag of dust was easy. The high begins wearing off as he heads to Hell, but exists. He is glad to have it two of his icons back. Then he encounters a surprise. Someone who could fill in for him as a substitute if he loses, if he dies, Dee. Due to Dee's smashing of the Dream Stone Morpheus effectively couldn't lose at that point.
** Substitue? Hardly. Dreams Substitute would need to be someone who wouldn't use the power to kill everyone--ie, not a psychopath like Dee. Dee's use of the ruby effectively rules him out.
** Look at Desire's and Despair's actions. Look at Endless Waking and the first Corinthian. Dream wasn't upset at the first because he was a killer, but he became a mundane piece of trite horror. He lead his followers to live more in delusions and madness closer to that of Delirium's realm than to either accept reality or dream of being higher. Dream is effectively amoral until he began to change, and in the end you either change or die. Pre-changed Dream, which this early Morpheus might still qualify as, would have likely glossed that over as an early power rush.
* Attempt X: Morpheus' final fate.
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== Delirium was once Delight, and still is from time to time ==
* Since obviously happiness and delight do still exist in the world, then depending on the state of the majority, delirium flips between personas accordingly. If the world is in a particularly bad state, then Delirium is just that, however should the majority of the population become happier, Delirium flips right back around to Delight again.
** Alternately, because the world is in such a crappy state (third world countries being the majority, %10 of the world controlling %90 of the wealth, environmental damage, etc.), Delight changed her nature to better reflect/provide happiness: the only people who can be really happy considering the state of things must be deluding themselves.
*** Planet Earth is just a small part of the provice of the Endless, and they also define ther opposites - Death defines life, Destruction defines creation...That people are sad shouldn't in itself do anything to the concept of the Delight. In any case, the Endless aren't suspectible to people's beliefs like gods are.
== Destruction's departure and Delight's change to Delirium were both caused by the death of the first Despair. ==
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== Death is kinda pissed about [[Blackest Night]]. ==
* Having to see some wannabe proclaim himself to be the embodiment of death while everybody else keeps getting killed and revived has to at least strike a nerve for her.
** Jossed: She doesn't really care. It happens, she was busy, really sorry.
*** Where was this jossing- one of the comics, [[Word of God]], or what?
*** Action Comics, number eight-ninety-something, Lex Luthor has a near-Death experience.
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== The Seven Dwarfs were based off the Endless. ==
* I can match Dream and Sleepy, Destiny and Doc, Delirium and Dopey, Grumpy and Desire,... If anyone comes up with more/betterer matches, go for it.
** Death is Happy, Despair is Sneezy and Destruction is Bashful?
** Sounds good!
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== The other former raven still in the Dreaming. ==
* Lucien is one, though he no longer recalls. Dream specifically mentions another is present, but no one is ever explicitly stated so.
** This troper's favored candidate is the Corinthian, who is the only character in the series to directly compare himself to Matthew, and who does indeed have a fondness for eyes. The Corinthian is also pointedly spared annihilation, so that a piece of himself might be used and remade later. Two others of Dream's creations get remade after their deaths, but without such: Merv Pumpkinhead, and Fiddler's Green. Both very clearly remember their former lives, and are the same entity, which implies that the Corinthian is significantly different from a normal dream, even beyond being one of Morpheus' favorites.
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== Delirium was a ''lot'' stronger in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s than she is now ==
Either as a result of, or as a ''cause'' of, what we know as the [[Silver Age]].
== The first Despair was killed by Batman. ==
Who knows the context of this event, but clearly it led to the circumstances described in Neil Gaiman's ''[[Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?]]'', where we learn that whenever Batman dies, he is reborn to become Batman again in a different universe, always doomed to experience the death of his parents and the following torment of his life in trying to exert justice that never sticks because of [[Joker Immunity]]. Wouldn't that be perfect punishment for the killer of Despair?
== Black Hand is to Death as Wesley Dodds is to Dream. ==
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Wild Mass Guessing/Comics]]
[[Category:The Sandman]]▼
[[Category:WMG]]
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