The Endless Siblings That Are Missing From Netflix's The Sandman
This article contains spoilers for "The Sandman" comic book series.
Neil Gaiman's comic book series "The Sandman" is expansive, spanning over 75 comic issues and several spin-offs. It would be impossible to introduce every character from this massive universe in the first 10 episodes of a television adaptation, although the Netflix series certainly managed to include quite a few of them.
In the first season of "The Sandman," fans were introduced to The Endless: seven eternal beings who exist because the concepts they represent also exist. The seven siblings are Dream, Despair, Desire, Death, Destruction, Delirium, and Destiny, and "The Sandman" comics eventually show them all in some manner, but the Netflix series has only revealed the first four. Dream (Tom Sturridge), Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), Desire (Mason Alexander Park), and Despair (Donna Preston) all got a chance to shine in live action, but what about the rest of the Endless? Who are the remaining three siblings, and who the heck is "The Prodigal?"
For more information on the other three Endless, let's look to the comics, where their various exploits are printed for all to see. And while we're at it, let's look at some of the actors who could bring these characters to life.
Destruction
"The Prodigal," referenced by Desire in their machinations against Dream in the first season of the Netflix series, is Destruction, the middle child of the Endless. Stuck square between the elder Endless of Dream, Destiny, and Death and the younger Endless of Desire, Despair, and Delirium, he's sort of left to his own devices. He's called "The Prodigal" because, like the biblical prodigal son, Destruction has abandoned his family. Sometime in the 1700s, Destruction decided that he had enough of being the personification of destruction, and he wanted to go do some creating. He went off to find himself and figure things out, learning to play instruments and paint. Abandoning his post didn't mean that things stopped being destroyed, of course; he just no longer had any control or influence over how those things happened.
In the comics, Destruction is depicted as a burly red-haired man with a trimmed beard and mustache. He eventually appears in the arc "Brief Lives," when Dream and the youngest Endless sibling, Delirium, go looking for him after centuries away. He's often found with his closest companion, a talking dog named Barnabas.
If Netflix's "The Sandman" makes it as far as "Brief Lives," which is the seventh volume out of 10, they will need to find a Destruction. Two potential candidates to play the middle child of the Endless are Mike Colter and Jon Bernthal. Both have previously worked with Netflix (Colter as "Luke Cage" and Bernthal as Punisher in "Daredevil"), both have imposing physiques that mirror Destruction's, and both carry a kind of sweet sadness that would translate well to a demolition deity who's gone looking for spiritual reflection. It's a nuanced part, but either of them could knock it out of the park.
Destiny
The oldest of all of the Endless is Destiny, who personifies and controls the fate of the universe. Well, "controls" might be a little too strong of a word, because Destiny is more of a watcher than an active participant in existence. He is depicted as a very old, blind man in long, flowing robes that change between muted browns, purples, and grays. He is chained to a book that contains the story of everything that ever was or ever will be, though the book's pages can shift as events change the course of destiny.
Destiny doesn't appear often in "The Sandman" comic series, and when he does it's usually because his siblings came looking for him, not the other way around. He's an elusive figure who would probably rather be left alone, and who can blame him? It would be difficult knowing everything that will ever possibly happen; it's like having to worry about sharing spoilers for all of reality.
Destiny first appears in the comics in issue #7, though he does not appear in the first season of the Netflix series because his role in that story is so minor that it was cut. He plays a larger role during "Brief Lives," as Dream and Delirium ask him for help in finding Destruction. If the series gets there, Willem Dafoe, who recently played a seer in "The Northman," would be a perfect Destiny. Just imagine his gravelly voice reading from the book of everything as he chastises his siblings. Perfection.
Delirium
The only remaining member of the Endless is the youngest — the baby sister Delirium. When the universe was coming into being and the first creatures experienced joy, she was born as Delight. Due to a mysterious event that none of the other Endless will talk about at length, Delight became Delirium and her happiness turned to madness. She's the ultimate manic pixie dream girl, a petite teen with multi-colored hair that changes colors and styles at a whim, eclectic clothing, and split-colored eyes. She appreciates the whimsy in all things and uses her powers to create things like telephone pole flavored ice cream, much to the annoyance of some of her more serious-minded siblings. Her love for her brother Destruction and her desire to find him, however, makes her one of the most important characters in the entire series.
Few people could portray chaotic sweetness personified quite like Elsie Fisher. The actor, who blew critics and audiences away with her performance in Bo Burnham's "Eighth Grade," is both a terrific performer and the embodiment of chaos on her Twitter account. She would be the ideal Delirium, mixing sweetness and sass in equal measure. Fisher fans can see her next in "My Best Friend's Exorcism," based on the horror novel by Grady Hendrix and coming to Prime Video on September 30, 2022.
"The Sandman" season 1 is now streaming on Netflix.