Enter The Sandman

Before the days of iron suits, there was The Sandman. Before the days of speeding red men or web-slinging youths, there was Sandman. Before the days of Pakistani prodigies and hell-cruising vigilantes, there was The Sandman. Today he is a figment of a lost age, but for this week's Z-Lister, we explore the Golden Age noir crime fighter, The Sandman.

Not to be confused with Neil Gaiman's graphic novel of the same name, The Sandman was created by Gardner Fox and Bert Christman in "Adventure Comics #40" in 1939. Wesley Dodds was often portrayed as a man of mystery, a figure in a trench coat and gas mask who stuck an eerie uneasiness into the hearts of criminals. Beneath this persona of The Sandman, Dodds had a loyal love interest named Dian Belmont who-unlike many female supporting characters at the time-was not treated as a damsel in distress, but was rather treated as his equal and a ally who helped him solve crimes. Dian may unknowingly be one of the driving forces behind strong female characters in comics today. Dodds himself may have been creepy to villains, but he was still a mere man, suffering from gunshot wounds occasionally, but continuing to fight regardless. His hobbies included writing, reading, poetry, philosophy and origami, when he wasn't busting faces. Additionally, Dodds was one of the few comic book superheroes who was not super strong and depended more on his iconic weapon, The Gas Gun. Dodds designed this gun to expel special gas that'd man victims tell the truth and fall asleep, hence why he wore a gas mask.

The gas did eventually effect Dodds, possibly by it becoming exposed on his suit. The effects of the gas gave Dodds dreams of crimes, crimes that would be left unresolved if he didn't stop them before they happened. Using his prophetic dreams Dodds became an effective crime fighter, but the origin of this power was a mystery until decades later readers would learn an entity named Dream (from Neil Gaiman's Sandman) met Dodds in the dreamscape and gave him these special abilities. When Dodds eventually grew old and died, he passed these powers onto Sanderson Hawkins.

Who is Sanderson Hawkins? Well, in 1941 when the comics industry was changing its pace, writers decided to dress Wesley in a yellow and purple spandex costume and give him a sidekick, Sandy The Golden Boy, AKA Sanderson Hawkins who was Dian's nephew. Sandy was the victim of Dodds' experimental Silicon Gun and he was given the ability to turn into a sand-like substance. These powers eventually went away when Sandy reached adulthood, and when Dodds died of age he passed the Sandman mantle onto Sandy, who redesigned the costume to use gas guns, grappling guns, and gas-expelling gloves.

I really love old noir crime fighters like Sandman, heroes who bare nothing but a single weapon and their wit are always appealing to follow. Sure he went through an awkward spandex phase, but the original Sandman will always be a standing figure of the Golden Age of comic books. I know he's reappeared in The New 52's "Earth 2", but that version tries to modernize Sandman, and I believe that in this characters case he is best shown as a mystery man of the late 30's. But that's Sandman, an old school crime fighter who aided in the evolution of night-walking vigilantes. You know like Ba-Ow! Who threw that bat-shaped object at me!?

Thanks for reading!

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