Sleepwalker (comics)

Sleepwalker
Sleepwalker. Art by Scott Kolins.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Sleepwalker #1 (June 1991)
Created by	Bob Budiansky
In-story information
Team affiliations	S.H.I.E.L.D. Secret Defenders Sleepwalkers Mindscape Operation: Lightning Storm
Notable aliases	Sleepy
Abilities	Superhuman strength, durability and visual acuity Enhanced speed, agility, stamina and reflexes Floatation-like flight Substance altering eyebeams Immunity to sleep Resistance to mental attacks Formerly: Use of Imaginator device

Sleepwalker is a Marvel Comics character created by Bob Budiansky. He is named after his race, and is the star of a self-titled comic book which ran for 33 issues from June 1991 to February 1994, with one Holiday Special. All but two of the issues were written by Budiansky, with Tom Brevoort and Mike Kanterovich writing the Holiday Special and one fill-in issue. Dan Slott also contributed a humorous side story in issue #25.

Budiansky's concept dates to the late 1970s; however, he originally called the character Alien until the Ridley Scott film of the same name was released, at which point he shelved the character.

The character finally saw release in reaction to the DC Comics character Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman.

A second Sleepwalker character was planned to receive a self-titled series by Robert Kirkman in 2004 but instead debuted in the 2004 Epic Anthology, which was canceled after one issue. The original Sleepwalker's next appearance was in Marvel Team-Up #15 nearly a decade after his original cancellation.

The Mindscape is a dimension that borders on the minds of all intelligent beings and living things, inhabited by many strange creatures. Some of them are very dangerous, seeking to invade the sleeping minds of humans. The Sleepwalkers act as guardians to defend these minds and the Mindscape, almost as a sort of "dream police", apprehending such evil creatures. One such Sleepwalker was tricked by his archenemy Cobweb (who like Sleepwalker had a real name that is unpronounceable by humans) into entering the mind of a New York college student named Rick Sheridan and became trapped.

Rick himself is an ordinary human being, majoring in Film Studies as a college student. He lived in a Brooklyn apartment with his dog Rambo, where he worked as a building superintendent, doing maintenance work in exchange for living rent-free. He also earns a living as a part-time job teaching English to immigrants. Rick had an on-again off-again romance with a girl named Alyssa Conover.