The ending of ‘Sandman’ left open the possibility of continuing the plot, which is based on the story created by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics and Vertigo.
There are several unanswered questions and plot twists in the first season, including the identity of the Eternals’ mysterious prodigal brother.
In the series, Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) and Desire (Mason Alexander Park) compare the 100-year absence of Morpheus (Tom Sturridge) to the disappearance of another of their brothers, but never say his name.
Within the Sandman universe there are seven Eternals, but only four of them have been shown on screen: Morpheus / Dream, Death, Desire and Despair, although there were also references to Destiny and Delirium. This means that the seventh member is missing.
Who is the missing brother in ‘Sandman’?
In the series you can see that each brother has a room with signs or artifacts of power from each of the Eternals, but there is an empty space where the prodigal brother’s sword should be.
The mysterious brother of the Eternals was the fourth born, after Morpheus and before Lust. He is called Catastrophe and, as his name suggests, he is the anthropomorphic representation of the forces of destruction and change in the universe.
The others refer to him as a ‘prodigal’ who left his post and even after years and years of absence they still wait for him, meaning he is one of the most powerful Eternals.
Although he represents destruction, this Eternal’s personality is good and he has a passion for changing and creating things, even if he is not very skilled at doing them.
As in the series, in the comic book story Destruction abandons his kingdom and responsibilities to disappear without warning. His absence occurs before Morpheus is imprisoned on Earth, in 1700.
Doom disappears because he has a premonition of how humanity’s rapid technological and scientific advances will cause more destruction than expected, and he wants no part of it.
When will the prodigal brother appear in ‘Sandman’?
In the “Sandman” comics, Destruction’s identity is also kept hidden for a while, until in “Brief Lives” Morpheus and Delirium find him living in the real world under the name Olethros.
As the Netflix series adapted the first two volumes of the comic in its first season, called “Preludes and Nocturnes” and “The Doll’s House,” Destruction’s appearance would not appear until a hypothetical third or fourth season.
In the printed story, Destruction’s appearance is that of a tall, heavyset man with red hair and a beard. In fact, he resembles the actor Brian Blessed, since the writer Neil Gaiman based the character on him.
This was confirmed by the author on February 27, 2022 on Twitter. He asked fans who they would take for “Sandman” in other seasons, and when one user suggested a young Brian Blessed as Destruction, Gaiman replied that he was inspired by him for the comic.