Netflix The Sandman sticks close to the original comic book stories by Neil Gaiman, adapting the main events of Preludes and Nocturnes and The Dolls House, the first two big chapters in the epic saga of the Endless. The first of these storylines follows Dream, or Morpheus (Tom Sturridge), one of the Endless, as he looks for his tools, magic artifacts holding a parcel of his power. But what are Dream’s tools? Why does Morpheus need them? And how did they get lost?
The story of The Sandman starts as a group of cultists performs a ritual to ensnare Death, one of Dream’s sisters. The cultists want absolute control over Death to become immortals. Unfortunately, their ritual doesn’t work quite as expected, and they end up putting Dream inside a cage. The physical barriers of his prison prevent Dream from walking away from his cell, while a series of runes inscribed on the ground contains his power to walk through the Dreaming, the dimension where we all go when we close our eyes. To make matters more humiliating for one of the Endless, the cultists also steal Morpheus' three sigils of power: the Pouch of Dream Sand, Dream’s Helm, and the Dreamstone ruby.
Morpheus remains trapped for many decades, waiting for the right opportunity to get his revenge on his captors. However, in the meanwhile, Dream’s tools trade hands multiple times, being taken by powerful beings or lost in the hands of poor mortals. Once he finally escapes, Morpheus needs to track down these tools to regain his power. As it turns out, each tool contains a fragment of Morpheus' essence, and after decades of imprisonment, the King of Dreams needs to become whole again if he wishes to repair the Dreaming and capture escaped Nightmares.
The Pouch of Dream Sand
The first magical tool in Morpheus's arsenal is the pouch of Dream Sand. The brown purse looks like a regular bag, filled to the brink with sand. However, the sand inside is never depleted, giving its wearer an infinite supply of Dream Sand. With this sand, Morpheus can force any living being into a slumber and transport them to the Dreaming, where they meet Dreams and Nightmares. The Dream Sand can also be used to curse mortals with eternal nightmares, making the pouch a dangerous tool. Morpheus also uses the Dream Sand to transport to any realm instantly, allowing the King of Dreams to magically teleport himself and others to any place on Earth, the Dreaming, or beyond.
Since the Dream Sand carries a part of Morpheus himself, the pouch also works as a magnet for Dreams and Nightmares. That’s why it’s dangerous for humans to get in touch with this tool, as they can become psychic food for creatures coming from the Dreaming. In Preludes and Nocturnes, Morpheus needs to team up with DC’s supernatural investigator John Constantine to find his pouch of Dream Sand, stolen by a drug-addicted who gets more than she bargained for. Netflix’s The Sandman stars Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine, a genre-bent version of the same character with looser ties to the DC canon.
Dream’s Helm
The Dream’s Helm is Morpheus' highest symbol of authority. Made of pure dream matter and sculpted from the bones of a dead god Morpheus has trapped forever inside the Dreaming, the helm is the perfect reminder of how powerful the Endless genuinely are. That’s why Dream always wears his helm into battle or on diplomatic missions. The Helm also protects Morpheus while he navigates the dimensions around the Dreaming while looking for his enemies.
Fans might be quick to notice that Dream’s Helm is shaped after a gas mask, which directly correlates with the DC comic book history. Gaiman wrote The Sandman as part of the bigger DC comic book universe, where a vigilante named Wesley Dodds already existed and used the moniker "Sandman." Wesley used a gas mask to protect himself from the sleep gas he used to knock down criminals, which explains his curious look. While retconning Sandman’s story, Gaiman described in his comic books how Wesley was inspired by the original Dream right after Morpheus was captured and imprisoned. So, DC’s Sandman vigilante is just a result of the universe trying to adjust to one of the Endless being trapped for many decades.
In Preludes and Nocturnes, Morpheus finds out his Helm was given to a demon in exchange for a protection amulet. So, Morpheus needs to travel to Hell and negotiate the recovery of his Helm with one of the rulers of the fiery dimension, Lucifer, the fallen angel. In Netflix's live-action adaptation, Lucifer is played by Gwendoline Christie.
The Dreamstone
Morpheus's most powerful tool ever created is the Dreamstone, a glowing ruby that holds the ability to build dreams, bring them into reality, and even control other people by altering their hopes and imagination. In the comic books, the Dreamstone was used by a scientist named John Dee, who wanted to harness the powers of dreams to reshape the world according to his will. That led him to become the Justice League villain Doctor Destiny, who almost got what he wanted before being defeated and locked down in Arkham Asylum.
When Morpheus escapes his prison and tracks down the Dreamstone, he discovers that Doctor Destiny changed the ruby’s properties to only answer the villain’s command. What’s worse is that the Dreamstone can now absorb Morpheus’ powers, becoming an even more powerful artifact. In the comic books, John Dee also escapes Arkham Asylum just as Morpheus is looking for the Dreamstone, becoming the biggest villain of the Preludes and Nocturnes storyline. Originally, Morpheus can only survive his encounter with Doctor Destiny because the villain decides to break the Dreamstone, believing it to be Morpheus’ power source. However, the ruby actually held a big chunky of Dream’s essence, and after it’s broken, Morpheus recovers all the power he once separated from himself.
Netflix’s The Sandman stars David Thewlis as a version of John Dee — and while the series tries to avoid issues by striving further away from the bigger DC universe, the villain is still a powerful enemy Morpheus needs to take down to recover his tools and rebuild the Dreaming.
The Sandman will premiere August 5 on Netflix.