History Characters / TheSandman1989TheEndless

* CloudCuckoolandersMinder: It's implied that he often does this with Delirium. In his ''Endless Nights'' story, he's constantly at her side; when protagonist Rachel comes across Delirium alone, the younger entity remarks that her other siblings have asked Destruction to keep an eye on her while she recovers from her recent imprisonment in her own realm. Even when he can't physically be with her, Destruction sends Barnabas, his talking dog, to watch Delirium in his stead.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/endless_7.png]]

* TheScottishTrope: Except for Delirium, his siblings hardly ever refer to him as "Destruction", simply as "the Prodigal" or "our lost brother". This is because the Endless' names describe their domains and functions, which Destruction has abandoned without passing the mantle to another aspect of himself. Ergo, he should no longer be referred to as "Destruction". When Delirium continues to use the name, it's because she's hoping he'll return to them.

Dream of the Endless. The Sandman. The Lord Shaper. Dream Weaver. Oneiros (a few of '''[[IHaveManyNames many]]''' names he's acquired). The personification of dreams and creativity, and his realm helps shape its opposite -- reality. Like all Endless, he can change his appearance. While he is always male, people may see him differently, usually as a member of their own ethnic group, their own race (in the case of Fairies), or their own species, (e.g. cats). Note that this is not always a physical change: different characters observing him at once may perceive different forms (Martian Manhunter and Scott Free for example), implying that he primarily exists as part of the mind. The third of the Endless.

* TheNthDoctor: When one dies, a different aspect of their essence is reborn to take on their role. The new incarnation possesses all of its predecessor's memories and is, for all intents and purposes, the same being, but possesses a very different point of view, personality, and priorities for how it fulfills its duties.

* NotQuiteTheAlmighty: They're not gods (they're far more powerful than most any god), but the principle is the same, as they are still lesser beings to their parents Night and Time, along with DC Comics' {{God}} in the Presence. Lucifer is more of a gray area, but he's at least comparable to them in power.

* TheGrimReaper: She ''was'' grim once, [[PerkyGoth but got over it]]. As for the reaper part, she complains to her brother Destiny that "next you'll be wanting me to carry a scythe!" According to [[WordOfGod Word of Gaiman]] in response to ''ComicBook/CaptainAtom'' #41 claiming she's a mere aspect of death, she's actually ''the'' Grim Reaper, the one who even the other Grim Reapers in the mainline DCU like [[ComicBook/NewGods the Black Racer]], [[ComicBook/TheFlash the Black Flash]], and [[ComicBook/GreenLantern Nekron]] will be collected by when their time ends. This, however, has not appeared in any issue of the comics, not even Gaiman's comics.

* TopGod: [[WordOfGod According to Neil Gaiman]], despite what ''ComicBook/CaptainAtom'' #41 says, she's the top god to the other [[GodOfTheDead Gods of the Dead]] in DC, being there to collect ''them'' when their existence ends. Not that this appears in the comics, of course.

* AnythingThatMoves: And some things that do not. Desire, after all, is hardly bound to something as simplistic as "gender".

** The Endless cannot end a mortal's life (barring Death and her duties) unless they become a direct threat to them.

** Spilling family blood undoes whatever protections their status grants them against other cosmic entities. [[spoiler:When Dream fulfills his promise to his son Orpheus and ends his cursed existence, this gives the Kindly Ones free rein to wreak havoc and drive him to his death when Hippolyta summons them, and nothing can stop them, even when Lyta wants them to stop (though a warning from Death will give them pause)]].

*** Later on, when a strip club is destroyed by Ishtar's suicide (a result of the aforementioned advice Morpheus and Delirium ignored), Desire loans Ishtar's friend and the only survivor, Tiffany, their trench coat and a few words of sympathy.

* YouCantFightFate: He believes this. Considering who he is, it's kind of a given, but it even applies to him -- it should be noted that the text almost always refers to Destiny being chained to his book, and not the other way round (even if it ''is'' mentioned, as in ''Endless Nights'', it's as an alternative, along the lines of "he is chained to his book, or it is chained to him").

*** Later on, when a strip club is destroyed by Ishtar's suicide (a result of Morpheus and Delirium ignoring Desire's advice), Desire loans Ishtar's friend and the only survivor, Tiffany, their trench coat and a few words of sympathy.

*** Later on, when a strip club is destroyed by the Ishtar's suicide, Desire loans Ishtar's friend and the only survivor, Tiffany, their trench coat and a few words of sympathy.

** In one issue in which [[ItMakesSenseInContext a strip club is destroyed by the suicide of a goddess,]] Desire loans the stripper that is the only survivor their trench coat and a few words of sympathy.
** They rescue Delirium from an embarrassing situation early in ''Brief Lives'', taking her somewhere safe and offering insensitive but reasonable advice that Delirium admittedly fails to heed.

* ArcSymbol: Each of them has a sigil that represents their office. Each of their unique domains has a copy of the others' sigils, and holding that copy while stating the owner's name serves as a summoning call. Destiny's symbol is his Book; Death's is an Egyptian ankh; Dream's is a dream-helm made from a dead god's skull; Destruction's is a sword; Desire's is a heart-shaped glass; Despair's is a hooked ring; and Delirium's is a blob of rainbow colors (as Delight, it was a flower).

* YouCantFightFate: He believes this. Considering who he is, it's kind of a given, but it even applies to him -- it should be noted that the text always refers to Destiny being chained to his book, and not the other way round.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/endless7.jpg]]

* TheGrimReaper: She ''was'' grim once, [[PerkyGoth but got over it]]. As for the reaper part, she complains to her brother Destiny that "next you'll be wanting me to carry a scythe!" According to [[WordOfGod Word of Gaiman]] in response to ''ComicBook/CaptainAtom'' #41 claiming she's a mere aspect of death, she's actually ''the'' Grim Reaper, the one who even the other Grim Reapers in the mainline DCU like [[ComicBook/NewGods the Black Racer]], [[ComicBook/TheFlash the Black Flash]], and [[ComicBook/GreenLantern Nekron]] will be collected by when their time ends.

* TopGod: [[WordOfGod According to Neil Gaiman]], despite what ''ComicBook/CaptainAtom'' #41 says, she's the top god to the other [[GodOfTheDead Gods of the Dead]] in DC, being there to collect ''them'' when their existence ends.

Destiny is the only one of the Endless not created by Creator/NeilGaiman (he was a horror anthology host from the '70s).

* NotQuiteTheAlmighty: They're not gods (they're far more powerful than most any god), but the principle is the same, as they are still lesser beings to their parents of Night and Time, along with DC Comics' {{God}} in the Presence. Lucifer is more of a gray area, but he's at least comparable to them in power.

!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JamesMcAvoy ([[AudioPlay/TheSandman2020 Audible Audiobook]]), Jason Forbes (Audible audiobook, African form), Tom Sturridge ([[Series/TheSandman2022 Netflix series]])

!!!'''Played By:''' Justin Vivian Bond ([[AudioPlay/TheSandman2020 Audible Audiobook]]), Mason Alexander Park ([[Series/TheSandman2022 Netflix series]])

!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MiriamMargolyes ([[AudioPlay/TheSandman2020 Audible Audiobook]]), Donna Preston ([[Series/TheSandman2022 Netflix series]])

* BigScrewedUpFamily: They're the most powerful group of individuals in the DC Multiverse, but they're also pretty dang messed up, even if they all do care for each other. Destiny is aloof and detached, [[spoiler:Death has to live with the fact that she will eventually claim all of her siblings and will eventually become the last thing to exist when the universe ends,]] Dream is overly-dramatic and self-centered, Destruction has severed all ties to the rest of them (causing shared guilt between all of them), Desire is vindictive, Despair is masochistic [[spoiler:and is just a replacement for their ''actual'' murdered sister,]] Delirium (the baby of the family) is suffering from ''some'' horrifying trauma that changed her very nature that not even Destiny (who is supposed to be TheOmniscient) is aware of and requires constant supervision, [[spoiler:and their parents (Time and Night) are separated and aloof to their children.]] Put them all in a room and watch their dysfunction unravel each other, and by extension the world around them.