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Spoilers for The Sandman (1989)
The Sandman introduces one of the most fascinating mythologies in fiction. The Endless, beings above even the gods, who embody fundamental concepts. They are not mere caretakers of the concepts, they are the concepts. From oldest to youngest, they are Destiny, Death, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium.
While the Netflix adaptation hasn’t shown every single one of the Endless, they do tease their existence. The dysfunctional family dynamic of these ancient beings are part of what makes The Endless such a fascinating group. Of course, some in the family are way more liked than others.
Dream (Morpheus)
Despite being the main character (or perhaps because of it, in a meta sense), Dream is the most unpopular of the Endless. He’s gloomy and self-centered. While his duty is obviously important, his attitude towards it makes him incredibly abrasive. Even Delirium, in the midst of her aloofness, finds him a bit terrifying.
The driving force of the story is Morpheus realizing just how terrible he has been to the people around him. Not only that, how that abrasiveness has extended to his duties. Over the course of the story, he does start righting the wrongs he has made. Unfortunately for him, there is a lot of bad blood to sift through.
Desire
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The non-binary embodiment of Desire, ironically, isn’t very desirable to their family. They are selfish, manipulative, and self-centered, though that makes perfect sense for them. Desire is inherently selfish, after all. While fundamentally, they are wanted by everyone (being the concept of wanting in the first place), that doesn’t make them “liked”, so to speak.
For one thing, their long-running rivalry with Morpheus is the instigator of much of the conflict in the story. The only sibling who seems to enjoy their company is Despair, an oddly fitting pair, as they are two sides of the same coin. Still, most people who have met Desire face to face find that wanting isn’t quite the same as “liking”.
Destiny
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Destiny is the oldest and most mysterious of the Endless. This even works in a meta sense, as Destiny is the only one of the Endless not to be created by Neil Gaiman. He was already a character from a 70s DC comic, well before Neil Gaiman made The Sandman. Destiny is bound to his book and follows its directions to the letter. Even his every word is written down already.
For that reason, the siblings have a strained relationship with Destiny, but not to the point of animosity like with Dream and Desire. His insistence on predetermination, as well as never really leaving his realm unless something major is affecting the universe, doesn’t leave much room for bonding. Despite that, he is actually the favorite child of Night and Time, an unexpected quality for someone so stoic.
Bonus: Daniel Hall
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Daniel Hall is the second incarnation of Dream of the Endless and is the current Dream of the DC Universe. Despite inheriting all of the memories and powers of his predecessor, Morpheus, Daniel Hall still has a lot to learn about his new post. Still, he’s a much more human force in the Dreaming than Morpheus, which kind of works out in his favor.
For the Endless, it’s hard to gauge how well he’s actually liked. They definitely don’t bear him any ill will like they did with Morpheus. This clean slate means at worst, they treat him with indifference. Of course, Death is more than happy to lend a helping hand to Daniel, and Daniel is immediately open to it, unlike Morpheus.
Despair
Despite being the personification of all grief and sadness in the universe, Despair isn’t actually “disliked” in the traditional sense. While the feelings she holds domain over feel horrible, she does not do it out of any malice. Her post is heavily implied to take a heavy toll on her, and she feels a personal responsibility for how people cope through grief, in her own strange way.
Still, being the embodiment of sadness doesn’t do well at gatherings. The only siblings she has an actual relationship with are Destruction and Desire. Both of her older siblings care for her greatly, but Destruction is the one who understands her plight most. Both of them are fated with “negative” concepts, and it’s a miracle they’re still capable of empathy.
Delirium/Delight
Before she was Delirium, she was Delight. As the baby of the bunch, most of the siblings have a desire to protect her, even if they do so reluctantly. She’s incredibly sweet and was essentially the inverse of Despair, the personification of all positive emotion. However, something happens to her, something that even Destiny does not know, which causes her mind to shatter.
As Delirium, she still retains a lot of her upbeat qualities, but there’s a melancholy edge to them now. Delirium is stranger, more emotive, and at times, vindictive than Delight was. She even rivals Morpheus in terms of punishing mortals. Still, in her rare moments of lucidity, she cares deeply for her siblings, especially Morpheus after he spends time with her.
Destruction
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Destruction may seem like he should be the most abrasive and unlikeable of the Endless. After all, gods of destruction don’t have a good track record in the DC Universe, as the villains Ares and Trigon attest. And yet, Destruction is actually the glue that held all the siblings together, and would often act as a peacekeeper when their spats went out of control.
He holds a lot of disdain for his function, after spending billions of years watching things break down and crumble. In his own way, he wants to find ways to create. He’s not very good at it, because he quite literally embodies the opposite of creation, but it doesn’t stop him from trying. All the siblings (except Desire, who is indifferent), treat him with respect. In particular, Despair and Delirium were heartbroken when he decided to leave the family to find himself.
Death
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Death is without a doubt the most beloved of the Endless, and that’s something she actively worked to become. Billions of years ago, she was as cold and aloof as her older brother, Destiny, performing her function without a care for mortals. However, when one of them vindictively said “how would you feel” in a fit of anger, she realized that she didn’t have to be the way she was.
Every century, an aspect of herself spends a single day as a mortal to stay in touch with the people she visits. Among her siblings, she is the only one respected by all, though admittedly, a lot of that is due to how powerful she is. Despite bearing the most depressing of duties, she greets everyone with a smile. A comforting face in the final moments of life goes a long way.