The Endless are a group of beings who embody various aspects of the universe in the DC comic book series The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman. They are thought to be some of the most powerful (or at least influential) beings in the Sandman universe, and play a central role throughout the series, Dream being the main protagonist. The current DC Comics logo, adopted in May 2005. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Cover of The Sandman #1, by Dave McKean. ... Neil Gaiman (November 2004) Neil Richard Gaiman () (born November 10, 1960 in Portchester, England) is the author of numerous science fiction and fantasy works, including many comic books. ... Cover of The Sandman #1, by Dave McKean. ... The protagonist is the central figure of a story, and is often referred to as a storys main character. ...

The Endless are a dysfunctional family of seven siblings. They all have white skin (though Destruction, Delirium and Destiny tend to be much less pale) and most have black hair, but their appearances and personalities vary wildly beyond that. They have some degree of control over the concepts they represent, but, like the gods of Sandman, they are also shaped and influenced by the subconscious expectations and beliefs of mankind. In particular, Dream's appearance varies wildly based on who is observing him. Family dysfunction can be any circumstance that interferes with healthy family functioning. ... This article is about deities or gods from a non-monotheistic perspective. ...

Functions and domains

The Endless spend most of their time fulfilling their functions: in Death's case, by infusing life in newborns and leading the souls of the dead away to their destinations; in Dream's case, by overseeing the Dreaming and regulating dreams and inspiration; and so on. However, some of the Endless are more dedicated to their tasks than others. The younger Endless (especially Desire) are known to play games with mortal lives, and one of the Endless, Destruction (often called "The Prodigal"), abandoned his duties altogether. When this happens, apparently that aspect of existence just becomes totally random and arbitrary, rather than being supervised by any individual. However, if an Endless dies, he or she will be replaced by another individual assuming the same role.

Each of the Endless has a realm, a place of uncertain location, geography, geometry and physics in which they are absolutely sovereign. The Endless are generally uncomfortable in each other's realms, and do not travel between them unless they absolutely have to. Death is the exception, as she goes wherever she needs to. Within their realm, each member of the Endless has a gallery. In the gallery hang picture frames containing symbols of the other Endless, or sigils. Holding one of the sigils and calling for the one it represents is a way for the Endless to contact each other. Destiny is also able to call his siblings with his gallery of paintings of each of them. An example of a sigil. ...

It has been speculated within the series that, in addition to overseeing their own sphere of influence, the Endless also define the opposite of the concepts they represent. This dualistic aspect of the Endless has been confirmed at least in the case of Death, who not only ends lives but also begins them. It has also been supported by Destruction's interest (though perhaps not skill) in many creative pasttimes, including art, poetry and cooking, though this may be a recent attempt on Destruction's part to rebel against his own nature rather than an inherent part of his role and function.

If this trait extends to the other Endless as well, then Delirium may also define sanity, Despair happiness, Desire fulfillment (or perhaps contempt or apathy), Destiny freedom, and Dream reality. This belief rests on a notion of Gaiman's that contrast and limitations are necessary for anything to be considered valuable: without death, life's beauty would be ignored and squandered; without unhappiness, happiness would be meaningless; without madness, there would be no sanity to speak of.

Origin

The origin and exact nature of the Endless is unknown, and few hints are ever given in the series as to exactly why the Endless exist.

The Endless are as old as the concepts that they represent, and although exact ages for any of them are unavailable (only relative ones are), they are known to have at least existed for far longer than life on earth have. This is possible because of the existence of many advanced alien civilizations from long before the creation of the earth in the Sandman's universe (and DC Comics continuity in general) that many advanced alien civilizations existed long before the earth did. The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared setting where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. ...

One of the only references to any sort of parentage for the Endless is in The Sandman #70, where some sentience in the Necropolis Letharge that guards the symbols of each of the Endless wails "like a mother sorrowing for her departed child." The significance of the Necropolis to the Endless remains one of the largest mysteries of the series.

The Endless

The Endless are not known to have names(except in the case of Dream, who collects them). They are instead known by their respective function, but it's implied that their function needn't define them. The Endless are, in order of age (though Desire and Despair are twins):

• Destiny: A blind man dressed in grey or brown robes who carries a large book with him. The book is chained to him, or he is chained to the book, and within the book is written the entire sum of existence, past, present and future. Destiny seems the most possessed by his function and responsiblities of any of the Endless, rarely demonstrating much personality, and he more often observes events than causes them. His symbol is his book.

• Death: A spunky, attractive, level-headed goth girl wearing an ankh (representing life) and often marked with a spiral Eye of Horus tattoo under one of her eyes. She prefers to dress and act casually, and is on better terms with Dream than any of the other Endless. Her symbol is the ankh.

• Dream: A tall, pale man with wild dark blue-black hair who tends to dress in a shapeless purple cloak. His eyes are pools of shadows with glimmers of light within. He is known by many names, most commonly "Morpheus." He has a long history of insensitivity towards others, and throughout The Sandman he must come to deal with his past cruelties. He is very concerned with fulfilling his responsibilities. His symbol is his dream-helm.

• Daniel: Following the death of the original Dream in The Kindly Ones, the child of Lyta Hall, Daniel, transforms into a white-clad, white-haired, white-skinned version of Dream and assumes that role in the Endless.

• Destruction: A very large, robust man with red hair and a beard in the past, though he has none presently. He abandoned his responsibilities as an Endless several hundred years ago, causing much conflict between him and his siblings. He has a passion for creative and constructive endeavors, but little talent. His symbol is the sword. There is some question as to whether or not he is still Destruction after abandoning his realm, and he is most often referred to as "the Prodigal" or "Brother."

• Desire: A beautiful, slim, androgynous, and pale Endless with a cruel streak and a long-standing rivalry with Dream. His/her symbol is a heart shape. Although Desires is Despair's twin, in a sense he is older than Despair; this specific incarnation of Despair is the youngest of the endless (until Daniel's ascension) due to the original Despair's death under unknown circumstances.

• Despair: An obese, short, nude, greyish Endless with irregularly-shaped teeth and a quietly intelligent, dully cold manner. She has a habit of carving her flesh with a hooked ring that she wears. This hooked ring is also her symbol.

• Delirium: A young girl whose form changes the most frequently of any of the Endless, based on the random fluxations of her temperament. She tends to have wild and colorful hair and eccentric, mismatched clothes. Her only permanent defining characteristic is that one of her eyes is green and the other blue, but even those sometimes switch between left and right. She was once Delight, but some traumatic event caused her to shift into her current role. Her symbol is an abstract, shapeless blob of colors.

Destiny is one of the Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaimans comic book series, The Sandman. ... Death is a fictional character from the DC comic book series, The Sandman (1988 - 1996). ... The ankh (pronounced ahnk) was the Egyptian hieroglyphic character that stood for the word ʿnḫ, which means life). ... Hieroglyphic version of the Eye of Horus The Eye of Horus (originally, The Eye of Ra) is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection and power, from the diety Horus or Ra. ... Cover of The Sandman #1, by Dave McKean. ... Daniel is a fictional character in the Sandman comic book series by Neil Gaiman. ... The Kindly Ones (1996) is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. ... Fury is the name of two DC Comics superheroines with a rather convoluted history. ... Destruction is one of the Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaimans comic book series The Sandman. ... Desire is one of the Endless, a fictional character from Neil Gaimans comic book series, The Sandman. ... The traditional heart shape appears on a 1910 St. ... Daniel is a fictional character in the Sandman comic book series by Neil Gaiman. ... Despair is one of the Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaimans comic book series, The Sandman. ... Delirium amid fish Delirium is one of the Endless, fictional characters from Neil Gaimans comic book series The Sandman. ...

See also

• Characters of The Sandman
• Endless Nights