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| Death of the Endless | |
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.jpg) Death, as seen in promotional art forDeath: The Time of Your Life #1 (April 1996). Art byChris Bachalo. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | The Sandman vol. 2, #8 (August 1989) |
| Created by | Neil Gaiman (writer) Mike Dringenberg (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Team affiliations | The Endless |
Death of the Endless is afictional character, apersonification of death who appears inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. She first appeared inThe Sandman vol. 2, #8 (August 1989) and was created byNeil Gaiman andMike Dringenberg.[1]
In theDC Universe continuity, Death is both the end of life and apsychopomp. Like most personifications of death, Death meets with the recently deceased and guides them into their new existence. Unlike most personifications of death, she also visits people as they are born, according toDestruction in theSandman Special: The Song of Orpheus. Evidently, only she seems to remember these encounters. In the special issue, it is also revealed that Death was known inancient Greece asTeleute.
Physically, Death is also opposite to the traditional western culture personification of death, the Grim Reaper. InThe Sandman, Death instead appears as an attractive, palegoth girl dressed in casual clothes — often a black top and jeans. She also wears a silverankh on a chain around her neck, and has a marking similar to theeye of Horus around her right eye.[2] She is pleasant, kind, down-to-earth, perky, and has been a nurturing figure for both incarnations ofDream. This irony has helped make Death one of the most popular characters fromSandman. Death was named the fifteenth greatest comic book character byEmpire.[3]
Kat Dennings voices the character inAudible'sThe Sandman (2019), whileKirby[a] portrays the character in theNetflix seriesThe Sandman (2022-2025) andDead Boy Detectives (2024).[5][6]
Other personifications of Death have appeared in the DC Universe. InCaptain Atom #42 Death appears alongsideBlack Racer of theNew Gods andNekron (a being embodying the will of "The Black", the solitude and peace death represents fromGreen Lantern). The story stated that all three were equal, representing different aspects of death. Gaiman has denied this, however, and his stories make it clear that Death of the Endless is the ultimate personification of Death. It might be assumed, however, Nekron, the Racer, and theBlack Flash are connected to her in some way. Alternatively, there may be multiple avatars or gods of Death in the DC universe, besides those claiming to be Death.Blackest Night has resolved this apparent contradiction or ambiguity, with Nekron no longer being referred to as an aspect of death but instead as a construct formed of darkness in response to the emerging light of the emotional spectrum.
A more traditional version of Death, a skeleton in a bluish or purplish cloak, appeared as a host in such DC titles asWeird Mystery Tales,House of Secrets,Ghosts,Weird War Tales (including being in the story in issue #94),DC Comics Presents #29, etc.Weird War Tales typically featured Death as a skeleton in some sort of military uniform relevant to the era and locality of the war depicted. This character appeared as recently asElvira'sHouse of Mystery #2 (February 1986). How thispre-Crisis Death relates to Gaiman's Death, if at all, is unclear, although her older brotherDestiny appeared with the character,[7] and both Deaths have appeared with incarnations ofSuperman. Superman referred to the earlier Death with the term "Grim Reaper", so perhaps that could be regarded as a distinct character. However, in the pages ofWeird War Tales, he called himself "Death".[8] He also appeared whenWeird War Tales was published under the Vertigo imprint and in the 2010Weird War Talesone-shot.
Death first appeared as a woman inThe Witching Hour #56 (July 1975) in a tale told by Mordred (written byCarl Wessler and illustrated byRuben Yandoc). She was depicted with short, curly, red-blonde hair, and was a rival for two men's affections. Both men die in successive car accidents.
InSwamp Thing vol. 2, #6, ThePhantom Stranger met Death in the form of a middle-aged gentleman, possibly inspired byDeath Takes a Holiday. In the story, a young woman, Margaret "Maggie" Brennan, had what should have been a minor head injury and at one glimpse of Death chose to become Death's bride. As someone newly dead herself, she taught Death that he needs to show compassion for the newly dead to allay their fears. He takes her advice and they both serve as aspects of Death. This version of Death was created byMike W. Barr andDan Spiegle. Maggie is blonde and bears only minor physical resemblance to Gaiman and Dringenberg's version, though her compassionate nature is a similarity. InThe Spectre (vol. 2), The Phantom Stranger himself appeared to be the only psychopomp in the DC Universe.
The current incarnation of Death first appeared in the final chapter ofSandman's first story arcPreludes and Nocturnes, "The Sound of Her Wings", (issue #8) where she gave Dream direction and a degree of understanding. Death instantly became very popular with readers, and she appears at least briefly in each of the nine subsequent story arcs. However, Gaiman attempted to entice and tease readers by rationing out the number of appearances from Dream's family, so Death did not appear as frequently as one might expect for such a popular character. At the end of the ninth Sandman story arcThe Kindly Ones, there is a lengthy and noteworthy appearance from Death, in which she finally brings her brother peace.
According to Gaiman, the initial visual design of Death was based on a friend of Dringenberg's named Cinamon Hadley.[9] FromThe Sandman Companion:
Death is the only major character whose visuals didn't spring from me; that credit goes to Mike Dringenberg. In my original Sandman outline, I suggested Death look like rock starNico in 1968, with the perfect cheekbones and perfect face she has on the cover of herChelsea Girl album.But Mike Dringenberg had his own ideas, so he sent me a drawing based on a woman he knew named Cinamon Hadley[10] — the drawing that was later printed in Sandman 11 — and I looked at it and had the immediate reaction of, "Wow. That's really cool". Later that day,Dave McKean and I went to dinner inChelsea at the My Old Dutch Pancake House and the waitress who served us was a kind of vision. She was American, had long black hair, was dressed entirely in black — black jeans, T-shirt, etc. — and wore a big silverankh on a silver necklace. And she looked exactly like Mike Dringenberg's drawing of Death.
Hadley died from colon cancer at the age of 48 on January 6, 2018.[11][12]
McKean also used a series of professional English models for representations of Death on covers ofSandman.[13]
Despite some rumors, Death is not based on Gaiman's friendTori Amos.[14]
Death is the second eldest ofthe Endless,[15] a family of beings thatpersonify natural forces.[2] Death is an incomprehensibly powerful entity having been shown (in a flashback inBrief Lives) to be virtually omniscient and able to intimidate the Furies, who show no fear of the other Endless, simply by raising her voice inThe Kindly Ones. The witch Thessaly mentions that Death is the only one of the Endless who is bound by no rules, supported in Dream's portion ofEndless Nights in which she briefly makes an appearance at a conference designed to set functions for entities and leaves before it begins. In addition, it is mentioned inBrief Lives that she is the only one of the Endless who may survive the end of this incarnation of the universe. Death's realm - called "The Sunless Lands" - is not portrayed in detail in the series, except for a brief scene in her "house" in theSandman Special,Song ofOrpheus, and later inThe Books of Magic series. This is where she keeps her floppy hat collection, hergoldfish Slim and Wandsworth and possibly her gallery. A brief glimpse of her realm can also be seen inThe Little Endless Storybook, when Barnabas visits her, although this time in her "apartment suite".
One day every century, Death is forced to live out the last day of a random person, to understand the value of the life she takes. At the end ofDeath: The High Cost of Living her Endless self briefly converses with her mortal self.
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Death is an immortal being of virtual omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence. She is not a god of death or agent of it, but Death itself: the end of life. As for the end of her role, Death has said: "When the last living thing dies, my job will be finished. I'll put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights, and lock the universe behind me when I leave".
Death is also capable of preventing aging and death if she chooses. In the Middle Ages, Death overheard a man claim he would not accept dying; she gave him that wish, while asking Dream to meet him once every century to see if he was ready to die.
Death appeared inCaptain Atom #42-43 (June–July 1990), alongside theBlack Racer as one of several aspects of Death in the DC Universe. Gaiman reportedly took issue with this depiction, feeling that portraying her as merely an aspect of death diminished her importance.[16] Other DC Universe comics that feature Death include the satiricalAmbush Bug Nothing Special one-shot (Sep. 1992), and a cameo in the equally satiricalLobo comic bookLobo's Back #3 (Oct. 1992), in which she slaps Lobo for getting fresh with her. She observes the destruction of the Earth inLegion of Super-Heroes vol. 4 #38 (Dec. 1992).
Death's popularity saw her spun off into two solominiseries,Death: The High Cost of Living (1993), andDeath: The Time of Your Life (1996). Both were written by Gaiman and illustrated byChris Bachalo, and dealt with Death's encounters with various mortals.Death: The High Cost of Living became the first comic released under the newly instigatedVertigo branding in 1993, at which pointThe Sandman also moved from the DC to Vertigo imprint. A third miniseries,The Girl who Would Be Death byCaitlín R. Kiernan, was about a girl who purchased an ankh stolen from Death and tried to become her. Death is never actually seen in the series, but she speaks and acts in the third and fourth issues of the four-issue series.
In 2003, themanga-stylegraphic novelDeath: At Death's Door portrayed Death's activities during the fourth Sandman story arcSeason of Mists. It was written and illustrated byJill Thompson, and the format proved popular enough for Thompson to produce the similarly manga-influenced follow-upDead Boy Detectives, featuring minorSandman characters, and "featuring a cameo by Death".[17]
A one-shot issue titledDeath Gallery (1994) was released as one of several art showcase comics from DC Comics spotlighting various Sandman characters released between 1994 and 1995. TheDeath Gallery featured representations of Death by more than thirty comics artists, including a rough sketch by Gaiman himself. InEndless Nights (2003) Gaiman shows Death several billion years ago, with a markedly different personality — forbidding and joyless.
She also appears inThe Books of Magic (first volume, 1991, also written by Gaiman) at the very end of time, where her function is to set things in order and close the universe down. She meetsTimothy Hunter andMister E there after Mister E has taken Timothy all the way to the end of time, because only there can he kill Timothy without fear of interference. Death stops the murder on the grounds that "I took both of you billions of years ago". She sends Timothy back home, but forces Mister E to return the hard way.[18]John Ney Rieber included her inThe Books of Magic (vol. 2 #3-4), in which she lets Timothy Hunter hang out at her house and hold her teddy bear, Cavendish, while he is recovering from the venom of theManticore. Hunter later encounters Death walking in the rain inThe Books of Magic #25, and there was later an arc about her inHunter: The Age of Magic. InHellblazer #120, Death appears briefly in a pub filled with ghosts.
She also appeared in Mike Carey'sLucifer series when the eponymous main character was wounded and nearly died. Initially it appears that Death has actually arrived for Lucifer, but in fact she is there forElaine Belloc who dies (temporarily) saving Lucifer's life. Death admits she has arrived a little early and takes the opportunity to talk to Lucifer who is currently trapped between life and death.
InMadame Xanadu, the title character calls out to her while chained up and denied access to her youth potions during theFrench Revolution. As she is a survivor from the days ofKing Arthur, she grows very old very quickly without them. She summons Death and reads her own cards, interpreting her Death card as predictive of her future destiny on earth. Death is so amused by this interpretation that she grants Madame Xanadu immortality, revocable any time Xanadu wishes.[19] Death appeared inAction Comics #894, which was written byPaul Cornell. Gaiman helped write Death's dialogue to ensure that her characterization remained consistent withThe Sandman.[16][20] In the story, while searching for ablackpower ring, Lex Luthor encounters her.[21] She appears again in issue #900 and inThe Flash (vol. 3) #6, part of theBrightest Day crossover.
In theAIDS-awareness eight-page comicDeath Talks About Life by Gaiman and McKean (which was first included in various Vertigo titles, and later released as a stand-alone giveaway pamphlet), Death demonstrates safe sex by placing acondom on abanana held byJohn Constantine. Lightening the impact of the underlying message, she informs the reader that when one is through with the demonstration, "you can eat the banana".[22] This was used in high school health classes and is also reprinted as an addendum to theDeath: The High Cost of Living trade paperback.
This version of Death also made a cameo appearance in the crossover specialAvengers/JLA #2. She is represented in theGrandmaster's home base, alongsideDeadman,Hela and the purple-robed version ofDeath native to theMarvel Universe, which, as the plots of other crossover comics have hinged upon, exists in the same continuum offictional universes as DC's. Marvel's version of Death appears alternatively as a coldly beautiful woman in a purple robe or a walking skeleton (sometimes male and sometimes female in form, depending upon the context).
She made an appearance in the Marvel Universe, at the wedding ofRick Jones andMarlo Chandler inThe Incredible Hulk #418. She gifts the couple a hair brush (a pun referring to the phrase 'a brush with death'), and when Marlo asks if they have met, she answers "Briefly.", since Marlo was dead fromThe Incredible Hulk #398 until #400. She then leaves to evadeThanos. This appearance formed the basis of major storylines involving Marlo becomingDeath/Death taking Marlo's form, in particular "Chaos War" andBen Reilly: The Scarlet Spider.
Death appears inDC Showcase: Death, voiced byJamie Chung.[24]
Death appears in theAudible adaptation ofThe Sandman, voiced byKat Dennings.
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