You lived what everyone gets, Bernie. You got a lifetime. No more. No less. 
- — Death src
Death of the Endless came into existence shortly before the first lifeforms appeared in the universe. She will function as the concept of death until the very last living thing has died. After that, she was destined to put the universe to rest.
History
80,000 years ago
Death and the Endless went to the necropolis to make the preparations of the wake. The necropolitans had long lost their passion for their job, and didn't know about the necropolis' prior arrangement with the Endless, so they laughed at them when they asked for Despair's cremated remains and the book of rituals. The Endless revoked the necropolis' charter, causing it to be utterly destroyed. The village of Litharge was granted a charter by the Endless and became the new necropolis.
1695
Destruction called a family meeting of the Endless, and announced to Death and the rest of his family that he was abandoning his duties as one of the Endless and taking his leave of them for good.
September, 1859
Dream made a bet with Despair that the power of dreams could save Joshua Norton from despair. He gave Joshua the dream of becoming Norton I, emperor of the United States. Death met with Dream and told him she had her doubts about the morality of what he was doing, especially since the elder members of the Endless usually avoided the games Despair, Desire and Delirium engaged in.[6]
January, 1880
Emperor Norton I died, and Death took him. She told him that she had taken every king, emperor and ruler in history into the afterlife, and of all those she'd met Norton was by far her favorite.[6]
Death spent one day of the century as a mortal, as was her custom. She took the form of a peasant girl and spent the day by the Yangtze River with a young ox driver who told her his grand schemes and plans.
Modern Day
Death met up with her brother Dream and yelled at him for not making contact with her earlier after he'd been released from decades of imprisonment. She told him to stop moping just because he felt purposeless after finishing a trying quest to retrieve his helm, pouch and Dreamstone. Death had him accompany her while she went about her work and ultimately cheered him up a good deal.
Death heard Element Girl crying and walked into her apartment to talk to her. Element Girl hated her life as a metamorph, and asked Death to take her. Death told her she couldn't but since Ra made the metamorphs she advised Element Girl to speak to him, to speak to the sun, and kindly ask him for a merciful end. Element Girl took Death's advice, and Ra took her life. Death kindly wished Element Girl better luck in her next life.[7]
Destiny called a gathering of the Endless, telling them a meeting with the Fates made him aware that he had to convene the family gathering to set in motion a chain of events that would cause change and upheaval. During the course of the conversation Desire got under Dream's skin by reminding him of Nada. Dream was indignant, but Death said she agreed with Desire, sending his lover to Hell for spurning him was an awful thing to do. Dream vowed to make amends by journeying to Hell and saving Nada's soul.
Dream asked for Death's advice on what he should do with Hell. She was confident he'd figure things out, and couldn't stay to chat because she was very busy containing all the souls Lucifer Morningstar freed from Hell when he abdicated his realm.
Death came to take Charles Rowland into the afterlife, but his spirit wouldn't abandon his friend Edwin Paine. Death explained that Paine was already a ghost, one of the souls released from Hell when Lucifer retired. Rowland refused to leave his friend, so Death, who was already completely overworked, allowed Rowland to remain on Earth as a ghost.[8]
Death took Wanda Mann, who was killed when the witch woman Thessaly brought the moon down to the Earth. Before they left for the afterlife she let Wanda wave goodbye to her good friend Barbie.[9]
Death took Bernie Capax, one of Destruction's old friends.[10] When Destruction left the Endless he set up a safeguard that would make it difficult for his family to track him down, and it caused the deaths of several of his friends when Dream and Delirium sought him out.
Dream called Death to the Dreaming for advice after he ended his search for Destruction. Death was angry with him because when Dream refused to continue seeking Destruction he was harsh with Delirium, and as a result she closed off her realm. Death told him she was worried Delirium might leave the Endless like Destruction did, and she advised he apologize to her for being so rude.[11]
On a parallel Earth Death took Prez into the afterlife. Death didn't like the fact that in that world's afterlife Prez would be in the hands of Boss Smiley, so she told Dream of her interest in Prez and asked him to save Prez from Smiley.[12]
Death met Dream and correctly guessed that he'd let things go so far in his battle against the Kindly Ones because he wanted to leave his role as Dream of the Endless, but couldn't abandon his post like Destruction did. The Kindly Ones arrived and Dream allowed them to destroy him in order to save the Dreaming, and so Death took Dream.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Unique Physiology: One of the seven Endless, inconceivably powerful beings, Death is both lord and personification of all death and life, Death meets with the recently deceased and guides them into their new existence. Unlike most personifications of death, she also visits people as they are born. Evidently, only she seems to remember these encounters.
- Nigh-Omnipotence: Death possesses infinite powers unique to itself that other Endless members possess, and even in death there is an infinite power beyond words.
- Gift of Death: Death has the power to free the soul of a body and send a soul to its appropriate destination (usually an afterlife or reincarnation). Death often leaves this task to various Death Gods. For Death Gods or demons to claim a soul instead of Death herself, they usually have to have a valid claim on the soul; either a contract or the deceased worshipped the Death God's pantheon.
- Gift of Life: Death apparently is also there at the time of ones birth and can infuse a body with life. She commonly does this at the time of birth or at certain times to give another a second chance (reincarnation).
- Immortality: Like all Endless, Death can only be hurt by means that it allows. Besides, if an Endless is destroyed, its personality, memories and powers are instantly transmitted to another aspect of herself, who must become the new embodiment of Death of the Endless. And even if Death is somehow destroyed by some very powerful force, she can instantly regain her old form at that moment, and in this way she can be reborn.
- Magic: Death has an limitless magical powers that other Endless members do not have, In short for example- She can create a wide variety of beautiful and terrifying objects and creatures at any time or any moment, Death wants to she can hold some of the universe inside the Multiverse like Ball.
- Metamorphosis
- Omniscience: Death"s mind seems to be an omnipotent goddess who knows everything in general, but most of her mind has the mental power to see one by one how all living beings who die in any universes are reborn.
- Omnipresence
- Teleportation
Notes
- In a Pre-Vertigo story, Death once took the form of a distinguished middle-aged gentleman. As a man, Death developed an appreciation for human grief through the recently deceased Margaret Brennan. Death took Brennan as "his" bride.[13]
- Death is voiced by Kat Dennings in the audio drama adaptation of Sandman (Volume 2).
Related
- 94 Appearances of Death (New Earth)
- 67 Images featuring Death (New Earth)
- 16 Quotations by or about Death (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Death (New Earth)
Footnotes
- ↑ Sandman Special #1
- ↑ Death: The High Cost of Living #1
- ↑ Sandman Presents: Bast #2
- ↑ Sandman Presents: Bast #3
- ↑ Sandman (Volume 2) #48
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sandman (Volume 2) #31
- ↑ Sandman (Volume 2) #20
- ↑ Sandman (Volume 2) #25
- ↑ Sandman (Volume 2) #37
- ↑ Sandman (Volume 2) #43
- ↑ Sandman (Volume 2) #46
- ↑ Sandman (Volume 2) #54
- ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #6
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.