Netflix’s The Sandman has proven to be another major fantasy hit for the streaming giant as audiences around the world are lapping up its expansive and engrossing mythology. And at the heart of The Sandman‘s mythos, as created by Neil Gaiman in his seminal DC/Vertigo comic book series, are the Endless.
A family of seven immortal entities, described as above even the gods, the Endless are anthropomorphic representations of universal concepts. Specifically, they comprise Dream, Death, Destiny, Desire, Despair, Destruction, and Delirium (previously Delight). As old as the universe itself, the Endless are easily among the most powerful beings in DC lore.
This begs the question, then: does the Marvel universe have its own equivalent of the Endless? As any superhero fan will tell you, Marvel and DC characters don’t tend to be analogues of each other, so there’s no direct counterparts to each of the Endless in the Marvel mythology. However, the House of Ideas does have its own cosmic family that shares some similarities with the Distinguished Competition’s Endless.
Meet the Cosmic Compass
First of all, there are certain Marvel characters who have similar names to those of DC’s Endless. Like mutant supervillain Destiny, the fear lord D’Spayre, or Nightmare, king of the Nightmare world. However, despite their nominal connections, these characters don’t really have all that in common with Dream and his siblings.
Instead, to find Marvel’s answer to the Endless we have to look elsewhere. Enter the Cosmic Compass. As their collective name suggests, the Cosmic Compass numbers four. Four siblings, two embodying life and existence and the other two personifying death and destruction, who exist together to provide universal balance. The four points of the Compass are Eternity, his sister Infinity, Death, and her brother Oblivion.
Much like the Endless, these abstract cosmic entities were created at the dawn of the universe and have a complicated family dynamic. Infinity and Oblivion have a bitter rivalry, once playing out their epic conflict through their chosen avatars, Maelstrom and Quasar. On the other hand, Oblivion is very close to Death, with the pair sometimes considered to be two halves of the same being. Eternity, meanwhile, once abducted Death, thereby making all living things immortal. It was only thanks to Deadpool that Death was freed and normal service resumed.
Galactus is sometimes considered to be an honorary member of the family as the Devourer of Worlds has been viewed as the middle point between Eternity and Death, providing his own important role in balancing the universe. According to other accounts, Galactus is essentially a child of Eternity, created by him to oppose his own opposite, Abraxas.
Who is more powerful — the Endless or the Cosmic Compass?
Seeing as the Cosmic Compass are essentially Marvel’s version of the Endless, you might be wondering: which of the two phenomenally powerful families is more impressive than the other? In some ways, this is a tricky one to answer. While the Endless are the creations of Neil Gaiman and therefore have had a consistent characterization, the rules and depiction of the Cosmic Compass has evolved over the years so it’s difficult to provide a definitive declaration on their power levels.
Nonetheless, it’s probably fair to say that the Endless are more powerful. As seen in The Sandman, the Endless are much more tangible beings with the ability to interfere with reality as they see fit, for better or worse. The Compass, meanwhile, are abstract entities who notably rarely speak and traditionally operate through avatars. Eternity, for example, only presents himself in the comics when a great danger to its existence emerges.
In the hierarchy of power in Marvel lore, the Cosmic Compass are also in a firm second place behind the Living Tribunal. Eternity and his siblings have multiversal counterparts like everyone else, but the Living Tribunal is a singular being who answers only to The One Above All (God of the Marvel universe). Over in DC land, the Endless are similarly unique and, in terms of cosmic entities, they stand only below The Presence (God of the DC multiverse).
With Eternity recently making his live-action debut in Thor: Love and Thunder, it’s possible the other members of the Cosmic Compass could follow him into the MCU soon, too. As for right now, though, it’s The Sandman‘s Endless who are ruling the screen.
