The Sandman Omnibus Vol. 1

Dream arrives at the door of Cain and Abel, asking for help. Taking revenge on Alex took the last of Dream’s strength, so he needs something he created so he can absorb its power and return to the dream realm. Cain and Abel give him two signed documents Dream provided them when they came to the Dreaming. Dream returns to his castle, and Lucien the librarian greets him. Dream sees that in his absence his kingdom has fallen to ruin, and Lucien fills him in on all the events that have occurred since Dream has been gone. Dream summons the three fates, who go by many names, to help him find his three lost tools. He learns that his pouch was last owned by an Englishman named John Constantine; his helmet was traded to a demon and is in Hell; and the amulet was passed down from a mother to her son, who then used it for nefarious activities and caused him to be captured by members of the Justice League (Batman and Green Lantern specifically are pictured). Dream decides to begin by seeking out John Constantine. Meanwhile, Abel adopts a baby gargoyle. 

The issue opens with a scene describing a woman who seems to be afflicted with the gruesome side effects of an addiction to the sand in Dream’s pouch, which sits at her bedside. John Constantine wakes and goes to a diner, where he meets an old woman named Mad Hettie. She tells him the Sandman has returned. Later that night, a thief tries to sneak into the house shown at the beginning of the story with the lady with the addiction to Dream’s sand. The burglar enters the house and is caught up in a series of powerful dreams.

Days later, Dream arrives at Constantine’s home looking for his pouch of sand. Together they go through a storage locker searching for it, and Constantine realizes that it’s likely with an old girlfriend named Rachel. They drive to her house and discover the thief unconscious; Dream tells Constantine the man is “being eaten by dreams” (87). They discover stray dreams controlling the house, and Dream sends them away. Constantine and Dream discover Rachel, who is being kept alive by the dreams. Dream takes his pouch back and puts her in a happy dream world before she dies.

In search of his next item, Dream goes into Hell and meets Lucifer, who is now co-ruling Hell as part of a triumvirate. Along the way, Dream meets an old love imprisoned there, and when she asks if he loves her, he tells her he does, but he has still not forgiven her, so he will not free her. Lucifer summons all the demons of Hell, and Dream identifies the one with his helmet. The demon and Dream compete in front of an audience in a contest of transformation, each opponent stating that they are something that will defeat the other. Dream wins by becoming hope after the demon turns into the darkness of anti-life. Dream claims his helmet and thanks Lucifer and his co-rulers for being honorable. Lucifer rebuffs Dream and asks him why the million demons collected there should let him leave, reminding him that Dream has no power in Hell. Dream concedes that perhaps he personally has no power in Hell, but dreams are the foundation of Hell since there would be no Hell if those condemned there were not able to dream of Heaven. The demons then go silent and let him walk out of Hell unbothered. Lucifer vows to get revenge.

A brief epilogue shows John Dee being told his mother has died and she has bequeathed him an amulet that looks like an eyeball. 

John Dee, known also as Doctor Destiny, escapes from Arkham Asylum. On his way out, he bumps into The Scarecrow from the Batman comics, who asks John his plan. John tells him that his mother left him her amulet of protection, which allows him to escape the asylum to retrieve the ruby she left him at another location. His plan is to get the ruby and use it to make everyone in the world insane so they will make him their king. If this doesn’t work, then he will destroy the world instead. He forces a young woman to take him to his ruby at gunpoint. Elsewhere, Scott Free of the Justice League of America wakes to see Dream, looking for his ruby necklace. Scott tracks down its last known use to Doctor Destiny. They go see Martian Manhunter, the only remaining member of the old JLA, who sends them to a storage unit. Dream passes through the dreams of others to get to the right town.

John converses with the woman in the car, who treats him kindly and gives him a warm coat. He explains to her how the ruby both controls dreams and brings them into the waking world. He also explains how he altered the ruby—which isn’t actually a ruby but a piece of solidified dream—so no one could use it but him. Meanwhile, Dream has arrived at the storage unit first; however, the ruby has an unexpected effect and drains him of his power. Despite the woman’s kindness John shoots her before going inside the storage building. John senses that the stone is somehow more powerful and sends the ruby’s power into the world. He then goes to a diner where he tells the waitress he’d like some coffee while he waits for the end of the world.

In the diner, an assortment of characters cross paths while John drinks coffee alone. The waitress, Bette, reflects on each individual’s story. John uses the ruby’s power to keep them all from leaving the diner. He puts dreams into their minds while the world outside descends into madness. The people in the diner begin to worship John, mutilating themselves and fulfilling whatever twisted wishes John may want to see them act out. By the end of the day, everyone in the diner is dead. Dream arrives to challenge John.

Dream confronts John, who is using Dream’s ruby to inflict madness and violence on the world. Dream challenges John to battle in the dreamworld, and they compete with dream illusions while people around the world succumb to John’s power. Finally, Dream begs John to stop hurting the world, and John crushes the ruby, believing it to be the source of Dream’s life. However, they’re both surprised to learn that what he’s really done is restored Dream’s power to its full potential. Dream returns John to Arkham, and the world sleeps deeply and will wake to normalcy in the morning.