The Endless (comics)

The Endless
The Endless, as depicted on promotional artwork for The Sandman: Endless Nights (clockwise, from left): Death, Destiny, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Delirium, and Despair. Art by Frank Quitely
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	The Sandman (vol. 2) #1 (January 1989).
Created by	Neil Gaiman
In-story information
Member(s)	Destiny Death Dream Destruction Desire Despair Delirium

The Endless (Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium) are a group of fictional beings appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics imprint Vertigo. The characters embody powerful forces or aspects of the universe in the comic book series The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman. They have existed since the dawn of time and are thought to be among the most powerful beings in the universe. They are distinct from and supposedly more powerful than most gods. Dream is the protagonist of The Sandman series, but all of the Endless play major roles.

The Endless are a somewhat dysfunctional family of seven siblings. They may appear in different forms, but usually have light skin and black hair, with the exception of redheads Destruction and Delirium. Their appearance can change to fit the expectations of others. When asked by Marco Polo if he is always so pale, Dream replies, "That depends on who's watching."

The Endless spend most of their time fulfilling their functions as embodiments of natural forces. For example, Death leads the souls of the dead away from the realm of the living, while Dream oversees the realm of dreams and imagination ("The Dreaming") and regulates dreams and inspiration. One notable facet of their depiction is that none of them are "representations" or "personifications" of their function, they simply are their function; as Sto-Oa says of Death in Endless Nights, "She is Death, just as he is Dream, and that one is Desire." In The Sandman (vol. 2) #48, Destruction gives a further description of the Endless:

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