Eternal and master of dreams: what are the powers of Sandman?

Eternal and master of dreams

An entity, an idea, a metaphysical principle embodied in an anthropomorphic form: this is Dream, or Morpheus, the protagonist of The Sandman, which by its very essence as an Eternal is endowed with great powers. As a good protagonist of the DC comics and, now, also of the Netflix TV series The Sandman, although not a superhero in the strict sense of the term, Dream possesses characteristics that make it particularly powerful (and dangerous, for those who dare to go against it). We have seen how Dream possesses magical objects that can help him perform his feats, yet as the Eternal his abilities go beyond what merely a physical means can offer.

Bearer of many names how many are the incarnations of the dream in the different ancient cultures (for example Morpheus, Kaic'kul, etc.), the protagonist of Sandman is not a real divinity, despite being immortal. While the gods, in fact, base their existence and their power on the intensity of the faith that men place in them, the Eternals as a Dream (which are 7 in total) operate regardless of whether individuals believe in They. They are ancestral principles that make up the very essence of the universe, such as death, desire or despair (and, as anyone who has read the comics knows, also destiny, destruction and delirium). And as such, they have immeasurable powers, which make them part of the life of men and therefore, in certain cases, at their service. But what are the specific powers of Dream?



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• Traveling between dreams and dimensions

• Altering reality and perception

• Extensive knowledge

Controlling dreams and nightmares

Needless to say, Morpheus can control men's dreams and nightmares. The question, however, is not that simple. The Eternal protagonist of Sandman can, first of all, shape the shape of dreams and nightmares in his Dream Kingdom and give them the appearance that his creativity indicates, so that they can then live in the dream world of individuals. We see this power at work in the pages of the comic, but we have a more detailed sequence of it in the live action series The Sandman, when Dream is confronted with three suggestive and disturbing figures "under construction". On the other hand, if we think of Crete, The Corinthian or The Sailors' Paradise, we can have a complete view of the "works" completed by Morpheus.

Traveling among dreams and dimensions

He who controls dreams can also enter and travel between them. On the other hand, Dream itself claims to possess this ability in the pages of Neil Gaiman's comics:

I am a passenger. Journey aboard your dreams.

Among the powers of Sandman there is therefore also that of moving through the dream world, from dream to dream, also managing to land in this way in the waking world, even appearing in the physical place where it is located. individual who is currently dreaming. Traveling from the Dream Kingdom to the waking world and vice versa is not the only power that allows Morpheus to move from one place to another. In fact, he also possesses the ability to land in other kingdoms belonging to different dimensions: this is the case, for example, of the journey he makes to Hell, in the company of the trusted crow Matthew, in the episode A Hope in Hell.

Altering reality and perception

Guardian and creator of dreams, Morpheus, as we have seen, can forge their form in his Dream Kingdom, but in his internal can also alter its reality. Sandman's powers allow him to modify the visible and the invisible within the territories that are his domain in the dream world, building landscapes, buildings, creatures. Making changes to the waking world is instead a more limited power, however we saw in the episode 24 Hours how this is possible through the Dream ruby. This ruby, in the hands of the criminal named John Dee, allows the latter to alter the perception of individuals by forcing them to stop lying, throwing the whole world into chaos.





We know, however, that Dream can certainly act towards altering the perception of mortals, by intervening on their conscience: this happens for example in the episode Collectors, in which the Eternal, in front of the audience of serial killers present at the "Cereal Convention, ”speaks to their minds, causing them to understand their own meanness. He acts in such a way as to confront them with reality, to the point that some of them, once they understand their despicable nature, commit suicide.

A vast knowledge

In his Dream Kingdom, Morpheus also has a literally… infinite library. It contains all the books that have ever been written in the history of the world, but also entire volumes that contain the dream records of all mortals. It goes without saying that the volumes contained in this vast library may still be incomplete, as they are waiting to be filled with the stories yet to be written, the dreams and nightmares yet to be experienced.

Among the powers of Sandman , knowledge is undoubtedly a gift that allows him to have at his disposal also countless information on the mortal individuals he crosses along his path. Thanks to his immortality, Sogno really has all the time in the world available to consult his immense library, thanks also to the help of his trusted and wise librarian Lucienne. Through his volumes he can therefore learn the stories of each one: we have proof of this in the episode The Noise of his Wings, when we listen to Morpheus briefly tell the sad story of a prostitute called meanly by all "Hospital", forced to prostitute herself to cope with his innumerable difficulties.





Let's not forget, moreover, that Morpheus is also the repository of the imagination: dreams and fantasy are in fact closely linked and therefore a source of inspiration for artists. Dreaming, however, is often also equivalent to hoping. In A Hope in Hell Dream takes the "form" of hope itself during his duel against Lucifer Morningstar, arguing that even dreams, as a source of hope, have power in Hell: on the other hand, they allow souls you are damned to constantly dream of paradise.

Immortality

As the same appellation of Eternal says, Dream can neither grow old nor die. Even if his incarnation were to be killed, it is the very concept of dream that is immortal, as a metaphysical principle inherent in the very essence of the universe. Morpheus is therefore an incarnation of the concept of dreams, imagination and hope, of the dream world that lives in the sleep of mortals and has operated in the universe since the dawn of time. It is therefore a very ancient entity, which has gone through countless eras, arriving today in the transposition of the live action Netflix.