Tom Sturridge in The Sandman – Picture: Netflix / Warner Bros. Television
Last year, The Sandman it was one of Netflix’s biggest releases that led to it getting a new season order. Given the nature of the show (and season 2 isn’t called season 2 yet), we expect several stories from the comics to be adapted. We have chosen five comics from The Sandman universe we’d like to see in season 2 or beyond.
In the first season, The Sandman covered the first two and a half volumes of the comic series. For reference, there are ten volumes in the main comic series, one prequel story, and numerous spin-off titles in the larger ‘Sandman Universe’.
Sandman is rich with incredible unique stories. Look no further than the bonus episode, «A Dream of a Thousand Cats/Calliope.»
There are many more where that came from. With the show’s official return, let’s look at five stories we might see in the future.
1. Tales in the sand
Expected in the second season.
season one of The Sandman made fun of some of Dream’s past relationships. From Calliope to Nada, she’s pretty terrible with them. “Tales in the Sand” delves into her relationship with Nada, which is something of a fairy tale… but also reaffirms that Morpheus’s love life is an absolute disaster.
“Tales in the Sand” was a surprising omission from the first season of the show. In the comics, the story is told in the first issue of the «Dollhouse» story arc. The show decided to shelve him in the first season, so we’ll almost certainly see him in the next batch of episodes.
The problem takes place in ancient Africa, where Nada is the ruler of a beautiful city of glass.
She has everything she could want, except someone to love. All of that changes when one night a mysterious stranger (who is Dream of the Endless) walks into town. She fell in love with him. However, when she looks for him in the morning, he is gone.
He then travels far and wide to find it. Without going too far into spoiler territory, Nada is concerned after learning that she has fallen in love with one of the Endless and tries to escape the relationship. When she refuses to join Morpheus as her queen, he condemns her to hell for all eternity. Oh! The Netflix show teases their relationship as Morpheus enters Hell in search of his missing helm. Do you remember this scene?
«You still don’t love me?»
«Yes. I still love you. But I still haven’t forgiven you. #The Sandman pic.twitter.com/XAimBM1Jw0
— The Sandman | Fan Page (@SandmanNews) December 8, 2022
2. The Season of Fog, Episode 4
Expected in the second season.
After Lucifer Morningstar leaves Hell in Season of Mists, the dead begin to wander the Waking World. This story follows Charles Rowland, a boy who lives alone at St. Hilarion’s boarding school during school holidays.
With the return of the dead, suddenly the abandoned school is filled with old students, long dead. Even the former director Parkinson (who served from 1901 to 1916) resumed his duties. Parkinson is cruel, making dead children bathe in the school pond; and since they are all dead, he does not feed them. As a result, Charles, the only child alive, sneaks into the kitchens to feed himself. After being caught by a group of thugs, Charles is severely injured.
Fortunately, he is rescued by Edwin Paine, another former student, who takes him to the attics so he can recuperate. However, with his injuries too severe, Charles falls into delirium and ultimately death. When Death comes to take him to the afterlife, he refuses to leave without Paine. Death is too busy to argue, so he leaves Charles and Edwin to wander the world.
This issue was the basis for a four-issue miniseries, «Dead Boy Detectives,» written by Ed Brubaker. Plus, there’s even an upcoming live-action TV show in the works. The show recently switched from HBO Max to Netflix. Maybe a crossover The Sandman it could happen!
Tom Sturridge in The Sandman Season 1 – Picture: Netflix
3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Expected in the second season.
«A Midsummer Night’s Dream» was the only comic to win the prestigious World Fantasy Award. This story takes place in the first season of The Sandman, in episode 6, «The Sound of Her Wings», during the epic saga between Morpheus and Hob Gadling, the man who wants to live together.
During his encounters with Hob, in a century, Morpheus overhears he William Shakespeare from across the bar as he is laughed at for his poor pursuits in writing great plays. Believing Shakespeare’s intentions, Morpheus pulls him aside and apparently makes a deal with him. He gives Shakespeare the chance to have his words remembered forever, in exchange for two plays on dreams.
«Would you write great plays? Would you create new dreams to stimulate the minds of men?»
— Morpheus to William Shakespeare, #The Sandman @neilhimself pic.twitter.com/Z95xGiGTn0
— The Sandman | Fan Page (@SandmanNews) September 14, 2022
Later, in «A Midsummer Night’s Dream», Morpheus once again meets Shakespeare and sees the first performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. However, there is a twist. Morpheus invites the fairy people, including many of the characters in the play, as the audience for the performance. After all, there are no better critics.
The idea of this story is great and it is an absolute joy to read. It is one of the most iconic themes of The Sandman. Seeing it translated to the screen will surely be very special.
4. The Song of Orpheus
It will most likely be adapted if Sandman is renewed beyond the second season.
Image: DC Comics
Throughout his entire career, The Sandman has numerous masterful themes; be it telling stories of dark horror (24/7), tales of historical importance (Men or Good Fortune) or retellings of legendary myths. There are several examples of the latter, but the 1991 special, «The Song of Orpheus» is among the best.
The theme is a retelling of the myth of the same name. In the story, the Endless gather for the wedding of Dream’s son Orpheus and Eurydice. Disaster strikes when a snake bites Eurydice and kills her. Of course, Orpheus’s aunt is Death, and he begs her to bring him back to life, but she can’t. Instead, she directs him to the gates of the underworld, where she can go to retrieve it. Grief-stricken, that’s where he’s headed.
Once in the underworld, Hades and Persephone agrees to their request to bring Eurydice back to life… but they present a challenge. Eurydice will quietly follow him back into the world, and he must not look back, lest she return to the Underworld.
This number perfectly intertwines the Greek myth with the Sandman universe. And it’s also perfectly accessible for fans unfamiliar with Greek mythology. The artwork by Sam Keith and Mike Drigenberg is exceptional. The prospect of seeing him come to life on the show is very appealing. If Netflix needs any reason to continue renewing the show, this is it. It’s themes like this, seamlessly weaving myth and legend into its narrative, that make The Sandman one of the greatest comic book series of all time.
5. Facade
It could be adapted in the second season.
This is the only number in the entire Sandman saga in which Dream does not appear, but the story does not suffer. The premise of this issue is quite simple: Urania Blackwell, a metamorphosis, wants to die. But she can’t no matter how many times she tries. Her superpowers save her every time.
Urania lives a reclusive life after retiring as a spy for the United States government. On the rare occasions that she leaves the house, such as when hers’ former colleague and friend Dalla invites her to dinner, she wears face masks to conceal herself and wears metallic hair. After being embarrassed in an Italian restaurant (her mask of hers melts), she becomes hell-bent on finding a way to kill herself. This summons Death of the Endless, who offers advice on how to kill her.
Facade is one of my favorite themes in the series. Ponder deep philosophical questions related to mortality. Gaiman’s way of taking forgotten characters from DC canon and bringing them into Sandman is second to none. Element Girl has been a part of the DC Comics universe since the ’60s.
I really hope the show explores Element Girl in the next few episodes. Until now, writers have tackled everything from the comics with terrifying precision. People even call Netflix’s Sandman one of the best adaptations of all time! As a live-action episode, Facade could do very well. It could expand on Urania’s past, delivering a really deep and thoughtful story. Plus, we could all use to see more of The Death of Kirby Howell-Baptiste, right?
The inclusion of this story is probably due, of course, to copyright. Element Girl is a long-standing DC Comics character, having existed long before the Sandman comic books. If the show continues to release bonus episodes, as it didn’t with Calliope/A Midsummer Night’s Dream — Façade is a story we need to see!
What stories would you like to see adapted in a new season of The Sandman? Let us know in the comments.