Build Your HeroClix Dream Team With The Sandman

Welcome to the table,

When I was a little kid, I delighted at collecting DC Comics Cosmic Teams Skybox trading cards from 1993. The cards had beautiful, brightly colored art and tons of characters that I had never seen. Occasionally, there would be a run of cards that, when sat side-by-side, made a larger picture showcasing the vast webwork of players in the DC Universe at that time. While there were ring-slinging Green Lanterns, caped crusaders from Gotham and beyond — and the seemingly world’s greatest heroes from Earth and the cosmos beyond — I found myself, even at a young age, being fascinated by the magically inclined entities that inhabited a space mostly dominated by spandex and super suits.

These images showcased the brilliant work of Chris Bachalo and instantly captivated me. There was this normal-looking kid named Tim Hunter wandering through this magical and somewhat sinister space. There was a strange smoking man I would learn was John Constantine, the grinning wizard at the end of time and rude boy in his own right. Tucked behind these figures with shadow-shrouded eyes, there was someone whose large hair and ivory skin peeked out at me hauntingly from the space beyond spaces.

Soon, I would learn that this gothic, punk-looking personification was known as The Sandman. Not the gasmask-wearing pulp hero I had discovered on other cards, he was a human in a costume, this was something more, something timeless, something without end. The black-robed figure with hollow eyes lit with pinpricks that danced like stars was Morpheus, aka Dream of the Endless, and lord of the slumbering realms.

I returned to Morpheus in my teens and read all of Sandman multiple times over. I was fascinated by the foundational powers that were contained in those pages. In a world where men dressed as bats could fight god-like beings from long-destroyed worlds, Morpheus was something even more powerful — beyond godhood — almost an existential architect at the center of all things. I have a vast library of comics spanning decades and various publishers but my love for those Vertigo books of things beyond the “realms of man” are always worth a re-read and never disappoint. Currently, my home has four versions of the collected stories along with a mostly complete single-issue run. My Sandman books are always close at hand.

In recent years, we were thrilled to see Sandman become a show on Netflix, supervised by the creator himself, Neil Gaiman. After seeing the wonders he worked with Good Omens, I was fully locked in and ready for a Sandman series that captured the strange bittersweet magics of the books. I was not disappointed in the slightest as the adaptation proved to be a spectacular representation of stories that are like comfort food to me on this journey we call life.

It seems every few years I am gifted with some new way to enjoy Sandman and that sentiment is what has led me to why we are all here at this article.

My pals at WizKids announced today that they will be releasing a new entry in the HeroClix Iconix series.

DC HeroClix Iconix: The Sandman is coming in early 2025! 

This is huge news for a number of reasons. Not only is the talented team over at WizKids putting such an iconic character and his amazing accessories into a small playable package, but this is the first time in 22 years that The Sandman is featured in the HeroClix game system. What’s really cool: you are not just getting Morpheus and his character card, but you also get Dream’s Helm, the Pouch of Sand, and his ruby Dreamstone — all with their object cards as well.

The Helm first appears in The Sandman #1: “Sleep of the Just” and serves as The Sandman’s sigil, his armor, and an icon of his station as the lord of dreams.

The ruby Dreamstone is also a brilliant addition to this collection as it is a focus, a container of a portion of his power, and a symbol of his station to all those who know the worlds of magic within the DC Universe.

The Pouch of Sand is such a brilliant addition to this set as it is another object of office for the Sandman. The sand it contains seemingly never runs out and in Morpheus’s hands it can be used as a conduit of his godlike powers. With it, he can put others to sleep, form portals, and conjure things into existence.

It’s really rad to see such an iconic character I love so much join the ranks of the other icons in a game I am such a huge fan of. Now armed with the The Sandman, HeroClix players can really make a “Dream Team” — or just snag this offering to add to their collection as it will look stunning on the shelf.  The DC HeroClix Iconix: The Sandman should be available for preorder now and will be released nationwide in January 2025 at local game stores and on Shop WizKids.

Until next time, I can’t wait to see what HeroClix is going to come up with next, I dare say the possibilities are … Endless.