Death
- "You get what everyone gets... you get a lifetime."
- --Death
Real Name: Death
Nicknames: Dee-Dee; the Grim Reaper
Former Aliases: No known former aliases
Other Current Aliases: H'ronmeer (See Notes)
Status
Occupation: Death is the personification of death and—because the Endless also represent the opposite of that which they personify - life.
Legal Status: None
Identity: Secret; the general populace of Earth is unaware of the personification of death.
Marital Status: Single
Group Affiliation: The Endless
Base of Operations: The Afterlife; the Dreaming
Origin
Death is the second oldest of the Endless, archetypical beings of certain concepts (Desire, Delirium, Dream, etc.) She is the most cheerful of the Endless, often being the mediator in conflicts between her siblings. Although she is only second oldest, she will be the only one left at the end of the universe, "setting up the chairs and turning out the lights".
Place of Birth: Place of birth unknown
Known Relatives: Dream (brother); Delirium (sister); Destiny (brother); Destruction (brother); Desire (brother/sister); Despair (sister); Daniel Hall (brother; Dream reincarnated); Rose Walker (niece, deceased); Margaret Brennan (Bride); See Notes concerning extended family members.
First Appearance: Sandman (Volume 2) #8
History
First Appearance
Death first appeared in the comic Sandman, with her brother Morpheus (Dream), trying to break him out of his recent depression. Ever since her first appearance, Death became one of the most popular Sandman characters, eclipsing even Dream.
Death on Earth
Being Death, she is everywhere on Earth at any moment, but not in a form visible to humans, usually. However, about once a century, Death takes a mortal form in order to understand her charges on Earth. It is unknown whether or not she does this on other worlds also.
Characteristics
Height: x'xx"
Weight: xxx lbs (xxx kg)
Eyes: Eye colour unknown
Hair: Black
Skin: White
Unusual Features: No unusual features
Powers
Known Powers:
Gift of Death: has the power to free the soul of a body and send a soul to his appropriate destination (usually an afterlife or reincarnation). Death often leaves this task to various Death Gods like Hela or Hades or Oblivion's agents Deathurge and Doorman. For Death Gods or demons to claim a soul instead of Death herself, they usually have to have a valid claim on the soul; either a contract or the deceased worshipped the Death God's pantheon. The exact nature of the relationship between Death Gods and Death itself is unknown.
Gift of Life: Death apparently is also there at the time of ones birth and can in infuse a body with life. She commonly does this at the time of birth or at certain times to give another a second chance (reincarnation) the criteria for the latter is not known.
Omnipresence: Being Death, she is everywhere on Earth at any moment, but not in a form visible to humans, usually.
Shapeshifting: Morpheus could change his appearance and clothing.
Teleportation: She can travel instantly anywhere in the mortal realm that people die and live, and, so long as she shows proper respect, she can easily enter and transit most magical realms too.
Invulnerable: Her physical form is immune to mundane attacks - only magic can affect her, as her body is just one more illusion.
Known Abilities: No known abilities.
Strength Level: Strength level unknown
Miscellaneous
Equipment: Ankh necklace
Transportation: No known transportation.
Weapons: No known weapons.
Notes
- The concept and personality of death was developed by writer Neil Gaiman.
The Egyptian Ankh; Death's chosen sigil
- When Death's brother, Dream, died, his essence was reincarnated into the body of his own son, Daniel. Physically, Daniel is the child of former Infinity, Inc. members Lyta and Hector Hall. Due to the existential nature of Daniel's conception, this makes Lyta and Hector part of the Endless' extended family. Through them, other "distant" cousins include: Fury (Helena Kosmatos), Hawkman (Carter Hall), Hawkgirl (Shiera Sanders Hall), Hawkgirl (Kendra Saunders) and Speed Saunders. Hawkman and Hawkgirl have been reincarnated countless times over the millennia, adding to the ever-growing list of "family" members.
- Death's sibling, Desire, sired a baby on Unity Kincaid during Morpheus's imprisonment. The resulting child, Miranda Walker, her daughter Rose Walker,and her son Jeb Walker are Death's neice, grand-niece, and grand-nephew respectively.
- Dream fathered a child on the Muse Calliope. This child, Orpheus, is Death's nephew. She is the one who allowed him within Hades' realm.
Dee-Dee
- It has been illustrated that many members of The Endless take on different forms and personas depending upon the sensibilities of those within their presence. For example, Morpheus is also known as L'zorl - the God of Dreams, to the people of ancient Mars. The Martian God of death is a being known as H'ronmeer. It stands to reason then that H'ronmeer is actually just an alternate reprsentation of Death. [1]
- In a Pre-Vertigo story, Death once took the form of a distinguished middle-aged gentleman. As a man, Death developed an appreciation for human grief through the recently deceased Margaret Brennan. Death took Brennan as "his" bride. [2]
Trivia
- Death made a cameo appearance in issue #418 of Marvel Comics' Incredible Hulk comic title. Two of the Hulk's supporting characters, Rick Jones and Marlo Chandler were getting married, and Death arrived at the wedding reception where she gave Marlo a hair-brush as a wedding gift. In a previous storyline, Marlo was killed and brought back to life, so the gift was intended as a tongue-in-cheek reference to her "brush with death". [3]
Recommended Readings
- Death: The High Cost of Living #1-4
- Death: The Time of Your Life #3
- Sandman (Volume 2) #8
Related Articles
See Also
- Character Gallery: Death (New Earth)
- Fan-Art Gallery: Death (New Earth)
- Appearances of Death (New Earth)
- Quotations by Death (New Earth)
External Links
References
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