We are the american dreamers, driving down the holy road to true knowledge that's paved with blood and gold. And across the length and breadth of this fair country, we are killing people. We don't do it to make a living, we don't do it for revenge. Because you are special people. Very special people. We don't kill people anonymously -- poisoning their aspirin, putting shards of glass in baby food. We don't drive cars onto crowded sidewalks. We don't carry guns into burger joints and blastaway until a swat team spatters our brains all over the french fries. We do not murder for a profit. We do not murder for governments, or for hire. We kill to kill. We are entrepreneurs in an expanding field. We are gladiators, and we are soldiers of fortune, and we are swashbucklers and heroes and kings of the night. We are the living. And that's a triumph. Our triumph, and our glory. 
- — The Corinthian src
The Corinthian was a failed experiment in terror, created by Morpheus, aka The Sandman.
History
First Corinthian
A nightmare creature living in the guise of man, with jaws in place of eyes, the Corinthian was "A nightmare created to be the darkness and the fear of darkness in every human heart. A black mirror made to reflect everything about itself that humanity will not confront." Discovered by Morpheus in 1990 at a convention for serial killers, the Corinthian was declared a failure for not living up to his potential for creating fear and was uncreate.[6]
Second Corinthian
The Corinthian was recreated by Dream in order to help him confront the Kindly Ones. His task was to recover Daniel from Loki, and return him to the Dreaming.[7]
With time, this Corinthian also proved to be unstable, as he persecuted without the permission of Dream, the humans Gabriel Ashe and Echo, who were in a killing spree with the same M.O. of the first Corinthian, resulting in the death of both and Matthew the Raven. Dream did not uncreated him this time, though, but send him into the waking world as a human to learn about human suffering. His replacement was Echo as the third Corinthian.[8]
As a blue-eyed human man, he resided in Bangkok, Thailand, called himself 'Alex Corinth', and fell in love with a transvestite man called Sila Duriyanga. His happiness was not meant to be, as Sila died while the Corinthian confronted a cult of Kali.[9] With this, the Corinthian learned about human suffering.
Dream called the Corinthian back into the Dreaming to confront Echo, who was calling herself Dread of the Endless at the moment and was causing a civil war in the Dreaming. He stalled the nightmare enough time until Cain stopped her. Later the Corinthian was re-established in his position as Nightmare until today.[10]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
The Corinthian's true face
- Nightmarish Physiology: As a nightmare, the Corinthian has an array of abilities granted by his creator, Dream.
- Dream Reality Alteration: The Corinthian has the ability to alter the dreams to create terror in the dreamer.
- Fear Projection: As a nightmare, the Corinthian can call forth various forms of fear.
- Immortality
- Divination[11]
- Fangs: The Corinthian has a pair of mouths in place of his eyes, these mouths can speak and posses teeth strong enough to bite a man's fingers off.[12]
Abilities
Weaknesses
- Ancient Rules: As all inhabitants of the realms, the Corinthian is bound to old rules.[citation needed]
Notes
- The Corinthian is homosexual, as stated by Neil Gaiman in the The Sandman Companion, wherein the first Corinthian consumed eyes only of boys, and the second Corinthian had a male consort named Sila Duriyanga, and also told Echo that he preferred her when he was a boy when he saw her resurrected as a woman in the Dreaming.[citation needed]
Related
- 47 Appearances of Corinthian (New Earth)
- 3 Images featuring Corinthian (New Earth)
- 9 Quotations by or about Corinthian (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Corinthian (New Earth)
Footnotes
This character exists under the Vertigo Imprint which is intended for Mature Readers.Their continuity takes place within the context of Vertigo titles although they may cross over into regular DC continuity.