10 Sandman Fates Worse Than Death

10. Being Dream’s Ex

For all his admirable qualities, Dream is truly the worst when it comes to being a romantic partner. Most of the beings he has been intimate with generally hate him by the end of the relationship, with a few coming to blows. In one case, Morpheus’ ego doomed a former love to centuries of imprisonment.

As relayed through an African myth, Nada was the 16-year-old queen of the city where humanity began. Dream took her as a lover, an act that is forbidden for a member of the Endless to do with a mortal. When the sun saw what the pair were doing, it melted her glass kingdom with a giant fireball. Unsure how else to end the relationship, Nada committed suicide.

Dream stopped Nada before she entered the Sunless Lands and offered once again to make her his Queen. She refused and Morpheus condemned her to imprisonment in Hell for centuries. When Dream saw her again in Sandman #4, he said he still loved her but hadn’t forgiven her. It wasn’t until his sister Death chastised him for the imprisonment that the Dream King finally let Nada go and allowed her to be reincarnated into an infant on Earth.