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"You get life, and breath, a world to walk and a path through the world--and the free will to wander the world as you choose."


Destruction is the fourth eldest of the Endless. To the ancient Greeks, he was known as Olethros. When the universe began, he was formed as the anthropomorphic personification of destruction and creation. He is the only one of the Endless to abandon his realm and responsibilities, and so his siblings often referred to him as The Prodigal.

His realm, now abandoned, is known as The Fulcrum, which exists in a constant state of mid-explosion and is empty, except for a large black sword.[1] Since he abandoned his realm, the galleries of his siblings have a blank place where his sigil, a sword, once was.[2] In his travels, he was accompanied by a talking dog, Barnabas. Barnabas was later given to his sister, Delirium.

History[]

Destruction of the Endless came into existence shortly after the creation of the universe, following his older siblings Destiny, Death, and Dream.

Like his siblings, Destruction is neither a living being nor a god. He is the embodiment of destruction itself, the greatest instrument of change, fulfilling his purpose to destroy in order that new things may be created. He is Dream’s immediate younger sibling but is in many ways wiser and more aware of the Endless' place in the universe. He often fulfilled the role of big brother, he stopped arguments, comforted those during their change, and showered Despair with his affection.

Abdicating[]

When Destruction saw the mind of man turn toward science, he foresaw the inevitable use of science as a tool for destruction on a planetary scale. Not wanting to be responsible for such massive devastation, even obliteration, Destruction abandoned his realm and his responsibilities sometime after 1718.

The reason for this was the onset of the human Age of Reason, which would eventually culminate in the invention of the atomic bomb. Specifically, Newton's theory that light and matter are inter-convertible, which first appeared in Newton's Third Book of Opticks in 1718. Destruction was unwilling to be responsible for the destruction this would cause and therefore left the family. He did not cease to exist as the active aspect of Destruction, he simply stopped directing the affairs over which he has control.

On the Run[]

Destruction features most prominently in Brief Lives, in which his siblings Morpheus and Delirium set out to track him down. When they finally meet, they talk at cross-purposes; Destruction's choice of path baffles, and to some degree infuriates Morpheus, while Destruction finds it hard to comprehend Morpheus' position, and focuses on trying to impart to him some wisdom on the necessity of change and self-knowledge.

Delirium just wants her brother back; she is reliant on her siblings for support, particularly her elder brothers. In the end, Destruction simply leaves, packing his sword and his scrying pool into a bundle, stepping into the sky, and vanishing.[3]

Appearance[]

Destruction 2

Destruction is often depicted as a very tall, muscular, red-haired and bearded man. He has taken to wearing his hair in a ponytail.

In appearances set in earlier centuries, he is often depicted wearing military gear, such as a musketeer's uniform, or plate armor, though in more recent times he is shown in colorful casual clothes.

When Delirium and Morpheus encounter him in the seventh collection of issues in the series, Brief Lives, he has taken to wearing his hair in a ponytail.

Destruction resembles his father the most of all the siblings.

Personality[]

Destruction prefers to think of himself as the personification of change; a warrior poet, he likes to try his hand at creating various forms of art, none of which are very good, and things that he is involved with never seem to work out properly. Apart from Death, Destruction is the friendliest and most personable of all the Endless. Before he left, he was the peacemaker of the family, the one who got along with everyone. Some of other Endless seem to hold him in contempt for abandoning his duties to varying degrees. Destruction himself, however, bears them no ill-will, and regrets abandoning his family, but left as a matter of conscience.

Destruction is self-obsessed in the most positive sense of that term; after giving up his responsibilities he concentrates instead on attempting to learn about his own nature and exert control over it. This is manifested in his deliberate attempt to subvert his own essential nature and create instead of destroying; he is shown at various points writing indifferent poetry - Barnabas' critique of which, "Well, at least it wasn't long", painting an indifferent picture, which Barnabas summed up, "I thought you were colorblind,"  a sculpture which Barnabas referred to as "...that thing you left in the garden," cooking a meal left untouched by those for whom it was intended, and brewing Greek coffee which Delirium samples and returns the opinion of "Yeeuchh." Several characters refer to him as being a terrible artist.

Ironically, Destruction does not have complete reign over his own domain. As he says, destruction did not stop, it was merely no longer his fault. His point is shown in the spin-off series, Lucifer, which includes the character Fenrir, who is described as the act of destruction itself. Though not said, it has been postulated that this is the manifestation of Destruction's realm. As an aspect of change, the search for Destruction also foreshadows the eventual downfall and replacement of his brother, Dream. It was Destruction, in fact, who told Orpheus that Death had a way for him to visit the Underworld, which set off the chain of events leading to Dream's destruction.

In a story in Endless Nights set billions of years before the events of the Sandman Series, Destruction is shown as being vastly different. Destruction is depicted as being nervous and stuttering in stark contrast to the jocular and eloquent Destruction in the main series, just as Delirium was once Delight.

Powers and Abilities[]

Powers[]

  • Personification of Destruction: One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings, Destruction is both lord and personification of all destruction and creation. He has power over the action and process of destroying as well as the act of making, inventing, or producing.
    • Omnipresence: Being Destruction, he is everywhere on Earth at any moment, but not in a form visible to humans, usually.
    • Shape shifting: Destruction could change his appearance and clothing.
    • Teleportation: He can travel instantly anywhere in the mortal realm that people die and live, and, so long as he shows proper respect, he can easily enter and transit most magical realms too.
    • Immortality: Destruction was ageless and virtually immortal.
    • Magic: Nigh-Omnipotent mastery of magic.
    • Destruction field projection : Could create a blast that could destroy everything.
    • Destruction empowerment : He can draw strength from destruction, his powers are beyond limitless.
    • Nigh - omnipotent : As a member of the Endless family, he is nigh omnipotent.
    • Nigh - Absolute Invulnerability : Destruction possess god-like durability and invulnerability. He cannot be killed, hurt, or injured by any normal means of destruction or weaponry.
    • Energy Manipulation & Absorption: Destruction can manipulate & absorb energy around him at will.
    • Nigh - Omniscience : destruction also possess greater knowledge and awareness of the universe.
    • Immeasurable strength Destruction has limitless physical strength. He could destroy a large asteroid with his one finger, and can lift the largest mountain with his hand.
    • Supernatural wisdom : Destruction has unlimited wisdom, and limitless intelligence.
    • Powerful hand to hand combatant : Destruction possesses a vast knowledge of combat styles and fighting techniques from all of creation.
    • Reality & Matter Manipulation : He can manipulate and change, reality and matter at will.
    • Spatial Manipulation: As shown from him assisting his nephew Orpheus, Destruction was able to transport him into his elder sister Death’s Realm by creating an explosion like portal.

Weaknesses[]

  • Ancient Rules: Despite his great powers, Destruction, like the rest of the Endless, was bound to a complex set of rules and customs.
    • One which requires he not to spill the blood of family or he is no longer protected as the personification of Destruction from other Personifications
    • Another is that he cannot fall in love with a mortal or the mortal's downfall is assured.

Behind the Scenes[]

  • Destruction's appearance is vaguely akin to actor Brian Blessed. Neil Gaiman had mentioned once that he would like Blessed to play Destruction in the event of a Sandman movie.
  • Destruction's speech bubbles have an extra-thick border. Aside from that, though, they look no different from the human characters' speech bubbles, highlighting the fact that he, along with Death, is the most human of the Endless.
  • Destruction's realm was not portrayed in the Sandman series. It wasn't until The Dreaming that his realm, The Fulcrum, is shown.

References[]

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