What are Dream’s powers and abilities in The Sandman? Explained

One of the most successful Netflix originals in recent years is The Sandman, based on the original DC Comics story of the same name, published from 1989 to 1996. Part of why the series was so successful stems from the decades-long anticipation surrounding its adaptation, with prior significant efforts running into various roadblocks in 1991 and 2016.

Likewise, the news of The Sandman being renewed for a second season was incredibly exciting for both fans of the original comic book series and those whose first exposure to the story was the Netflix original. Part of this stems from how enthralling the titular character is, better known throughout the series as Dream.

With Dream of the Endless being one of the biggest lasting impressions from The Sandman series, fans obviously want to learn everything they can about him and his abilities.

Who The Sandman’s Dream is, explained

As explained in The Sandman, Dream is one of the seven Endless, who are powerful beings older than gods themselves. The Endless are personifications of ideas and concepts tied to life.

Among the Endless, Dream, specifically, went by several names throughout his life, such as Oneiros, Morpheus, and the titular Sandman.

These nicknames were accrued over billions of years, as Dream interacted with various significant historical figures, such as Marco Polo and the Roman Emperor Augustus. Many of the names relate to his powers and abilities, which are also those that he has honed and discovered over the course of his impossibly long life.

Dream’s powers, explained

The most significant of Dream’s powers is his ageless immortality, given his status as an Endless. Likewise, since Dream is the embodiment of dreams, he’ll continue to exist until all life capable of dreaming ceases to exist.

If Dream’s physical form is destroyed, a new aspect and host will rise to replace the original, making it as if the original had never left. His presence can also slow the aging of mortals around him in certain circumstances.

The Sandman sees him further embodying his existence as the personification of dreams via his ability to induce sleep in mortal beings. He can also deliver specific dreams and nightmares to specific people, making for a great non-lethal defense when needed. While its offensive applications are admittedly limited, the apparent lack of duration limit on the power does offer some offensive advantages.

Similarly, Dream can also transport himself and others to different dimensions, as seen in episode 4. By traveling between his realm, the Dreaming, and the Waking World, he’s able to emerge virtually anywhere at any time in any reality. This is achieved via traveling through the dreams of mortal beings that appear in the Dreaming, and then physically manifesting where the mortal’s bodies are in the Waking World.

Dream's powers and abilities as seen in The Sandman are some of the most powerful in fiction (Image via Netflix)

The Dreaming also plays a key role in reality altering, another one of Dream’s powers as seen in The Sandman. He can do this at will within the Dreaming since it’s a part of him that shapes itself according to his desires.

This includes creating objects, wholly independent entities, and more. While the power is admittedly limited in the Waking World, he can use his ruby to alter the minds of others, even if reality itself is out of reach.

One similar ability, which the ruby isn’t needed for, is his acting as a source of great inspiration. His alternate title, Prince of Stories, best shows this, with Dream being able to offer inspiration to mortals through their dreams. A key piece of this ability is his access - via his library - to every story ever made or dreamed of, but not finished, which he can in turn use to offer inspiration to artists via their dreams.

Last but certainly not least, arguably Dream’s greatest ability in The Sandman is his cosmic awareness, giving him a near infinite source of information on any and all sentient beings in the multiverse. With sufficient research time, his aforementioned library (which plays a key role in his cosmic awareness) can teach him almost anything. This also applies to the Waking World to a lesser degree, with Dream able to learn everything about someone by looking at them.

Dream’s powers and abilities, summarized

Essentially, the most significant of Dream’s powers are his omniscience, ability to alter reality, and his ageless immortality. These three combined allow him to be a truly almighty being capable of handling virtually any problem thrown his way.

His ability to travel between dimensions via dreams, as well as the ability to force dreams, nightmares, and sleep onto mortals are also extremely useful. Finally, his ability to act as a source of inspiration to mortals can be instrumental in shaping human history as he specifically desires.