Wesley Dodds (New Earth)

Dream of the Endless was imprisoned on Earth and prevented from performing his duties. The universe, in an attempt to right itself, put a bit of Dream’s soul into Wesley Dodds. Wesley Dodds was ceaselessly haunted by nightmares and they only abated when he took on the identity of Sandman and began a crusade against crime.

Place of Birth

Manhattan, New York City

Place of Death

Mt. Kailash, Western Tibet

Creators

Gardner Fox, Bert Christman

First appearance

Last appearance

New York World's Fair Comics #1
(April, 1939)

JSA Secret Files and Origins #1
(August, 1999)

There is no land beyond the law where tyrants rule with unshakable power! 'Tis but a dream from which the evil wake to face their fate...their terrifying hour!

-- The Sandman ^{[[ |[src]]]}

History

Wes Dodds as seen in Sandman Mystery Theatre

Dream of the Endless was imprisoned on Earth and prevented from performing his duties. The universe, in an attempt to right itself, put a bit of Dream's soul into Wesley Dodds. Wesley Dodds was ceaselessly haunted by nightmares and they only abated when he took on the identity of Sandman and began a crusade against crime.

Sandman joined the JSA, and during WWII he joined the All-Star Squadron and took on Sandy the Golden Boy as his sidekick.

In Opal City, Sandman and the JSA fought Johnny Sorrow. During the fight Sandman's sidekick Sandy damaged the subspace prototype Sorrow was wearing with his wirepoon, and the villain vanished into thin air.

Sandman the JSA and Scarab came to Sandy's rescue when the lad was kidnapped by Johnny Sorrow. Sorrow opened a gateway to the Subtle Realms and unleashed the King of Tears on Earth, then disappeared. The Spectre devoured the King then cried him out into a vial created by Green Lantern I, trapping the King's essence.

Time Travel

Sandman couldn't sleep, and visited the townhouse where he kept Sandy in a glass cell. He again apologized to the boy for turning him into a monster. The time-traveling Sand, the future version of Sandy, revealed himself to Sandman. He promised Sandman he’d one day find a cure for Sandy’s condition, and told him he had to return to action to stop Per Degaton from altering history and ending the Justice Society legacy. Sand and Sandman met up with the rest of the reformed Justice Society and the time-traveling JSA at the Justice Society brownstone. Hourman informed them Per Degaton was going to assassinate the President. The Justice Society and JSA went to Washington to warn Truman that his life was in danger. Degaton and the Red Morgue attacked Washington, but the teams were ready for him. Degaton used a time-disc to speed up Atom's metabolism and turn him into a nuclear bomb ready to go off. If he exploded millions would die, but J.J. Thunder and Johnny Thunder summoned the Thunderolt to turn Atom back to normal. Sandman and the other heroes defeated Degaton, who fled into the timestream. The resulting time distortion caused Sandman and the other Society members to forget their adventure with the JSA.

Retired

Wesley retired as a mysteyman after suffering a heart attack. He would return to using the Sandman identity years later during semi-regular team-ups of the JSA and JLA.

Sandman and the JSA entered a notional dimension created by Odin that contained a simulation of Ragnarok. As Sandman and the JSA fought in Ragnarok, Odin offered Dream the notional dimension in exchange for the control of Hell, which Dream possessed the key to. Odin pointed out the value of Sandman, who possessed a portion of Dream’s soul. In the end Dream couldn’t give control of Hell to Odin.

Now an elderly man, Wesley retired once more and toured the Far East with Dian Belmont, the love of his life. Wesley was with Dian Bellmont when she passed away.

Death of a Hero

Tibet; Wesley had a prophetic dream predicting his life would soon end. He climbed Mt. Kailash with Speed Saunders, and once they reached the top they contacted the Gray Man. The Gray Man gave them information about where the next Dr. Fate would be born, and Wesley told Speed to pass the information on to his old JSA allies. Mordru then appeared and threatened Wesley with everlasting agony if he didn't reveal what he knew about the coming of the Fate-Child. Wesley jumped off the mountaintop rather than tell Mordru anything. In the last moments before his death Wesley thought about being reunited with Dian Bellmont.

Sandman was buried in Valhalla, a cemetery where many superheroes were laid to rest. Sentinel, Wildcat I, Star-Spangled Kid II, Starman I and VII, Hippolyta, Flash I, Black Canary II, Atom Smasher and Johnny Thunder attended the funeral, and Sandman's former sidekick Sandy read the eulogy.

Return in Spirit

Thunderbolt summoned the spirit of Sandman and several other deceased JSAers to help J.J. Thunder, who was being attacked by Gentleman Ghost and a gang of spirits under the Ghost's control. After defeating the Ghost's underlings, Atom and the others faded back into the ether.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Prophetic Dreams: Due to an encounter with the entity known as Dream, Wesley Dodds possessed the power of prophetic dreaming. His dreams often came to him as cryptic, ambiguous visions, but Wes' keen intellect enabled him to properly interpret them. Through an unknown process, Wes passed on this power to his former ward, Sanderson Hawkins upon the moment of his own death.

Abilities

Criminology: Wesley Dodds possessed a sharp intellect and was a skilled if albeit amateur detective.

Chemistry: He was also a talented chemist, creating the the sand-like substance used to transform Sandy the Golden Boy

Inventor: Wes was also a talented inventor. One of the devices that Wes created was a Silicoid Gun - a weapon ultimately responsible for transforming Sandy the Golden Boy into a Silicon-based lifeform.

As a hobby, Wes enjoyed reading, writing, poetry, origami and philosophy.

Strength level

In the early years of his career, Wesley Dodds possessed the strength level of a man who engaged in moderate regular exercise. By 1942, he realized that the threats he faced demanded more physical discipline, and he became an able-bodied hand-to-hand combatant. As he grew older, his strength level diminished in relative proportion to his age.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

WWI Gas Mask: The Sandman used a World War I era gas mask to protect himself from the effects of his own sleeping gas.

Wirepoon: He also made use of a specially designed wire-poon gun, which fired a length of thin, steel cable.

Transportation

In the early days of his career, the Sandman drove a black 1938 Plymouth Coupe. The car was enhanced with various features to aid Wes in his crusade against crime. Should an adversary attempt to pursue the Sandman, Wes could pull a switch on the dashboard of his car, which released the detachable rear bumper. The interior of the bumper was lined with barbed spikes - ideal for tearing the tires of any vehicle attempting to follow him.

Weapons

Gas Gun: The Sandman's only known weapon was his gas gun, a handheld device fitted with cartridges containing concentrated sleeping gas. Pressing the trigger on the gun released a cloud of green dust rendering all within the Sandman's immediate vicinity unconscious. An upgraded cannister dispenser for the gun was provided for him by his close friend and confidante, Lee Travis. Wes was also known to conceal smaller knockout gas capsules in a hollow heel on his shoe. These proved ideal when placed in situations where his gas gun was not readily available.

Notes

In many of his Golden Age appearances, the Sandman's true name was given as Wes Dodd. In later stories, his surname was firmly established as Dodds

Notable adversaries

Trivia

Although Dian Belmont is often thought of as Wesley Dodds' wife, the two of them have never been married.

In Pre-Crisis continuity, Wesley Dodds is credited with inventing the Ray Gun. He donated a prototype of the weapon to the 1939 New York World's Fair. ^[1]

Links and References

Footnotes

↑ New York World's Fair Comics #1

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Dream of the Endless

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[0] New York World's Fair Comics #1

[1]