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Last Updated on Sunday, February 08, 2004
HistoryWesley Dodds was most likely born in the early 1910s to wealthy investor
Edward Dodds and his wife, Marina. In 1917, when he was still a child, his
mother died under unrevealed circumstances. Little is known of Dodds's early
life, save that he spent part of his youth in the Far East and learned Oriental
herbalism, martial arts, and origami. It is known that he is well-traveled,
ranging from Europe to the South Seas. After college and his father's death,
Dodds became the manager of a vast estate and an investor in his own right.
Sometime before 1938, Dodds became plagued by extremely vivid dreams of criminal
activitiesÑdreams that would not allow him rest. Dodds used his fortune to
finance a lab and developed a formula for a sedative and hypnotic gasses. He
then bought several kinds of gas masks and set up an identity for himself, the
Sandman, in which to pursue the criminals that haunted his dreams. In an early
case, he encountered Lee Travis, a college chum, in his guise of the Crimson
Avenger. The two initially fought but eventually joined forces against the
Phantom of the Fair, who haunted the 1938 World's Fair. Travis gave Dodds a gun
design that the Sandman ultimately perfected as his gas gun (Secret Origins
vol. 2 #7). The Sandman then started his career in earnest, first confronting
the Tarantula, a serial murderer (Adventure Comics #40, Sandman
Mystery Theatre #1-4). Later that year, Dodds met socialite Dian Belmont, daughter of District Attorney Larry Belmont, at local ball (Sandman Mystery Theatre #1, Adventure Comics #47). The two became lovers and, by year's end, Dodds had shared the knowledge of his dual life with her (Sandman Mystery Theatre #24). The Sandman's dreams often compelled him to pursue the most violent of criminals, such as the Scorpion (Sandman Mystery Theatre # 17-20), Dr. Death (Sandman Mystery Theatre #21-24), and the Butcher (Sandman Mystery Theatre #25-28). Each time, he left the defeated criminal with a poem enclosed in a bit of origami. A common one read: There is no land beyond the law Where tyrants rule with unshakable power! 'Tis but a dream from which the evil wake To face their fate, their terrifying hour! In late 1940, the Sandman was selected by Doctor Fate to join the struggle against Nazi invasion forces at Dover, England, alongside several other American mystery-men. The culmination of this encounter was the formation of the Justice Society of America, of which the Sandman was a charter member. In mid-1941, he also took part in the case in which the JSA prevented Ian Karkull from murdering individuals destined to occupy the White House over the next 50 years. The culmination of this case was the destruction of Karkull and the exposure of the assembled heroes to the chronal energy stored in Karkull's body. As a result, the Sandman has aged much more slowly than normal humans (All-Star Squadron Annual #3). In late 1941, during a time when Dodds was away on business, Dian Belmont
disguised herself as the Sandman and pursued some local Nazi agents in New York
City. As she raced toward them in her car, shots were fired and forced her to
crash. Belmont was seriously injured minutes before the Sandman himself arrived
on the scene. Belmont was later reported dead In December 1941, the Sandman was captured by Per Degaton along with the
other active JSAers, plus Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Robin. Their
rescue led to the formation of the All-Star Squadron, of which the Sandman was
an active member (All-Star Squadron #1-3). The Sandman was active as a
member of the JSA until mid-1945 (All-Star Comics #22). By this point,
Dodds was beginning to show signs of familial heart disease; his first attack
had precipitated his scaled-back activities and resignation from the JSA active
duty roster (revealed in America vs. the Justice Society #3). In the 1960s, the Sandman emerged from retirement (Justice League of America #47) wearing the original gas mask and trench coat garb on his early days, to prevent himself from being reminded of Sandy's fate. The Sandman was semi-active as a member of the Justice Society. In the mid-1970s, an interruption in the gas sedation of Sandy allowed him to escape his chamber. Sandy's silicoid body was now sensitive to seismic variation in the earth, and an impending earthquake had driven him on a rampage because of the intense pain the seismic variations generated in him. The combined might of the JLA and JSA subdued Sandy, and he revealed that he was not only lucid, but also had been conscious for all the years that the Sandman had kept him imprisoned (Justice League of America #113). Sandy then was sent to series of research labs and hospitals in an attempt to find a treatment for his condition. The Sandman was nearly crushed by the shame of his pride and ignorance in not seeking other help for Sandy, and retired some time later. During this time, the weight of his guilt (and the probable loss of the intense dreams that drove his early career) led Dodds to seek psychiatric help from Dr. Raymond Baxter. With Baxter's help, Dodds was able to forget that he had ever been the Sandman. He spent years in blissful forgetfulness, until a gangster named "Snooze" Simpson sought revenge on the Sandman, with knowledge of Dodds obtained from Baxter's daughter. A pre-programmed code phrase, "Sandy Hawkins," reawakened Dodds's knowledge of his heroic identity. Simpson and his gang were sent back to jail, and the Sandman returned to his costumed activities (DC Comics Presents #42). Some weeks later, the Sandman discovered that a disgruntled former scientist (now known as the Shatterer) had kidnapped Sandy from the research facility where he had been under observation. The Shatterer was using his own technology and the seismic "focusing" properties of Sandy's silicoid body to generate enormous seismic currents and wreak vengeance on his former colleagues. Using a carbon-based ray similar to the silicon-based ray that originally transformed him, the Sandman reverted Sandy to his carbon based form. The Shatterer was enraged at the loss of this resource, but a final seismic tremor in Sandy's body opened the ground beneath the Shatterer and then closed it upon him when he fell inside. The Shatterer presumably died as a result. Because his silicoid body had been immune to aging, Sandy was the same age he had been when he was originally transformed. Together Sandy and the Sandman resumed a life of at least semi-active crime-fighting (DC Comics Presents #47). The Sandman has a medical history of cardiovascular disease; as a result, he suffered a stroke in the early 1980s (revealed in Infinity Inc. #1). Although this stroke forced the Sandman to restrict his activities, he participated to a limited degree in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and joined the rest of the JSA in Limbo as they fought to forestall Ragnarok (Last Days of the Justice Society #1). When the JSA returned from Limbo, Dodds had another stroke (Justice Society of America #1). The Sandman recovered in time to stop the murder of a visiting dignitary in the same hospital (Justice Society of America #6). He later returned to a quiet life, where it was revealed that the dreams of his early career had ceased to plague him (Spectre vol. 3 #20). The Sandman joined the JSA in its assault on Extant during Zero Hour. Along with the rest of the JSA, he was aged to extreme senescence (Zero Hour #3). He did, however, survive Zero Hour, and made a recent appearance at the Wake of Morpheus (Sandman: The Wake). Although in advanced old age, Wesley Dodds still ventures occasionally into the spotlight. Most recently he has joined the son of Ted Knight (Starman) in resolving the murder of a New York socialite, John Blaine (Starman vol. 2 #20-23). The adventure reawakened in Dodds the desire to have more than a quiet retired life. He and Dian liquidated their assets and resolved to the spend their last days traveling the world one last time (Starman vol. 2 #30). Dian Belmont died shortly after their arrival in the Orient, presumably from cancer or some other chronic disease affected the elderly. Shortly thereafter, Wesley Dodds became aware of a growing mystic threat, a being known as the Dark Lord who would attempt to prevent the arrival of Dr. Fate in the land of the living. Working hastily, he contacted old acquaintance Speed Saunders and arranged for the protection of the 3 infants selected as potential hosts. When Dodds was finally confronted with the Dark Lord in Tibet, he took his own like rather than allow the mage to pry the information on the infants from his mind (JSA Secret Files #1). He was laid to rest alongside Dian at the mystery-man cemetary known as Valhalla (JSA #1). Powers/SkillsThe Sandman's powers depend on chemical weaponry of his own design and a gas gun given to him by Lee Travis, the Crimson Avenger. The weapons tend to be various forms of anesthetics and sedatives that render his victims unconscious or at least immobile. These were disguised in various compartments of his uniform. Weaknesses/LimitationsThe Sandman, like many of his comrades, was limited to his weaponry. Without it, he was as defenseless as any other human of his age and condition. Principal Adversaries
Golden Age Appearances
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(All-Star
Squadron #18), but it was later discovered that she had survived (Starman
vol. 2 #20). Nevertheless, shortly afterward, the Sandman began to sport a new
gold and purple costume, one he bought for a costume ball earlier (Sandman
Mystery Theatre #29) but which had been modified by Belmont. He also took
over the guardianship of Dian's nephew, Sandy Hawkins (Adventure Comics
#69), who became his costumed sidekick as Sandy the Golden Boy. 
