Passengers is issue 5 of the Sandman comic series, created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Keith, and Mike Dringenberg. It was originally released on March 28, 1989.
Synopsis[]
Dr. Destiny escapes from Arkham Asylum with the intention of recovering the ruby he's used previously to fight the Justice League. He does not know that the ruby actually belongs to Morpheus, and the two are set on a collision course.
Summary[]
Around April 1st, 1989, after receiving his late mother's protective amulet, John Dee escapes from Arkham Asylum to find his Materioptikon, Dream's ruby. He kills the guard outside his cell and has a brief conversation with Jonathan Crane, revealing that his plan is to drive the whole world mad. In response to this, Crane assures him that every inmate eventually returns to Arkham. John then hitches a ride with a passing driver, Rosemary. At first, he holds her at gunpoint, but later ends up apologizing and having a rather heartfelt conversation with her. Rosemary gives him her husband's coat, offers him a sandwich and asks about his ordeals, and Dee tells her about the power of the ruby.
Meanwhile, Dream visits Mister Miracle (Scott Free) who has just had a nightmare about his upbringing with Granny Goodness. Knowing from The Fates that the Justice League are the ones to ask about the location of his ruby, Dream demands that Scott find it. Scott recovers the necessary information from the JLA database, but he only learns that at some point the ruby was stored on a now-decommissioned satellite. He decides to bring Morpheus to the Martian Manhunter, J'ohn J'onzz. J'ohn recognizes Morpheus as "Lord L'Zoril", bows to him, and recollects that the stone was placed in a warehouse in Mayhew. Dream leaves, thanking them for the help.
Dream reaches Mayhew first, riding through people's dreams, and retrieves the ruby, but is blasted unconscious. The stone was changed by John Dee to such extent that Dream cannot use the ruby any longer. Dee arrives at the warehouse, thanks Rosemary for the ride and then shoots her in cold blood. He then picks up the ruby and walks into a nearby diner, ordering a coffee while he waits for "the end of the world".
Appearances[]
Featured Characters[]
Supporting Characters[]
Antagonists[]
Other Characters[]
- Jonathan Crane
- Mervyn Pumpkinhead
- Ethel Dee (mentioned only)
Objects[]
Locations[]
Continuity Notes[]
- Most characters in this issue are established characters from the main DC Universe.
- The fact that Scarecrow is preparing an April Fool's prank in this issue helps establish the timeline of the following events.
Trivia[]
- Dee's reaction to learning his driver's name, "Rosemary... That's for remembering...", is a quote from Hamlet.
- The original script featured The Joker in this issue, but in the DC continuity he was presumed dead at the time, so Neil Gaiman had to switch him for Scarecrow.[1]