Wesley Dodds

Wesley Dodds is an American vigilante who lead a double-life as the nighttime gas-masked crime-fighter, the Sandman.

History
Wesley Dodds was the name of the first person in the DC universe to be known as the Sandman.

Between the two World Wars, when Morpheus was imprisoned on Earth, the universe sought a replacement to fill the void left by Morpheus. Wesley was imparted with some of Dream's power, and a result suffered insomnia from prophetic dreams of criminal activities and the vision of Morpheus. To quell this, Wesley created the identity of "the Sandman" based on Morpheus' image: he wore a green suit, fedora, and gas mask, and utilized a tranquilizer gun emitting a sleeping gas to subdue criminals haunting his dreams. Dodds built a laboratory in his townhouse basement, there he studied herbalism, developing a formula for sedative and hypnotic gasses. He bought several kinds of gas masks and created the identity of "the Sandman" for himself, and pursued the criminals that haunted his dreams. His dreams often compelled him to pursue the most violent of criminals.

He started out as a "mystery man" in the tradition of the Lone Ranger, but eventually developed into a superhero in the tradition of Batman. He was a founder of the Justice Society of America.

Wesley met socialite, Dian Belmont, at a ball and the two became lovers. Eventually, she discovered his dual life. At first she had trouble with his role, but she soon accepted it and partnered him in his mission by providing information, and serving as a "get away driver". Theirs was a lifelong partnership.

As one of the people with whom Dream interacted, Wesley, an old man, was allowed to attend The Wake, where Wesley gave a eulogy that his rich lifetime was thanks to his and the late dream-lord's connection.

Appearance
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Relationships
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Behind the Scenes

 * The Sandman appeared in Adventure Comics #40 (July 1939) through #102 (Feb 1946). Wesley was the first to take up the "Sandman" title in DC's Golden Age. When writing for the Sandman series, whose own protagonist, Dream, was also known as the "Sandman", Neil Gaiman revived the character in a brief role as a way to connect both characters.