CAIN

Real Name: Cain

Class: Dream

Occupation: Caretaker, storyteller

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: Abel (brother), Eve (cousin)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Kentucky, The House of Mystery, The Dreaming

First Appearance: House of Mystery I #175 (July-August, 1968)

Powers: Cain was immortal and unaging, and possessed extraordinary cunning as well as a sadistic streak. He had the mark of God on him, and anyone harming him would receive the vengeance of God sevenfold. Cain had an extraordinary imagination and a gift for storytelling. 

History: The Biblical Cain and Abel were brothers born to Adam and Eve.

(Saga of the Swamp Thing #33 (fb, BTS), Sandman II #9, 22 (fb, BTS)) - Cain and Abel made sacrifices to the Creator, who found Abel’s sacrifice more to his liking. Cain killed his brother, becoming the first murderer. The Creator put his mark on Cain, he would be avenged sevenfold if anyone harmed him. The Creator then sent him to the land of Nod.

(Who's Who In The DC Universe #1) - Dream of the Endless resurrected the dreams of Cain and Abel and made them caretakers and storytellers of the Dreaming. Cain was given the House of Mystery, which existed in both Kentucky and The Dreaming. Cain  and devoted himself to telling stories that explored mysteries

(Sandman II #9) - <10,000 years ago> Cain killed Abel after another argument about the sacrifices they offered God so long ago.

(Sandman II #7) - Cain, Abel and Gregory hid under a bed when Dream’s battle against Dr. Destiny raged through the Dreaming.

(Sandman II #22) - Dream sent Cain to Hell to announce his upcoming visit to the realm to Lucifer. Dream knew that Cain was the only emissary he could send, because the mark the Creator put on Cain’s forehead would prevent Lucifer from killing him. Cain did his job, but suffered pain and humiliation at Lucifer’s hand before he was allowed to return to the Dreaming.

(Sandman II #24) - Cain and Lucien welcomed Dream back from Hell. He told them he failed to save Nada from Hell, and refused to talk about what happened at any great length.

(Sandman II #26) - Can and Abel performed a “magic act” for the emissaries of various pantheons seeking control of Hell that were having a banquet at Dream’s castle. The act consisted of Cain cutting Abel in half and running him through a meat grinder.

(Sandman II #64) - Cain and other Dreams attended the funeral of the Grypon, one of Dream’s gatekeepers that had been killed by the Kindly Ones.

(Dreaming #1, 2) - Cain told Abel he was looking well, too well in fact, and insinuated that he'd like to smash his head in. Abel blubbered that he hadn't given away any secrets or mysteries, but Cain beheaded him anyway, saying he was bored of sting to rationality. Goldie and Cain's gargoyle Gregory dragged Abel back to the House of Secrets and watched over him until he was healed. Goldie was traumatized, but Abel assured her that it wasn't so bad, and after millennia he was used to being brutally murdered by his brother. In a fit Goldie confronted Cain and spat fire at him. Cain visited Abel demanding an explanation for what he considered an unprovoked attack, and Abel told him that Goldie wished his brother would treat him better. Cain was prepared to kill his brother again to maintain the status quo, but both Goldie and Gregory stopped him. Goldie couldn't stand seeing her friend hurt, and ran away. Abel asked Cain for help, and Cain admitted that he knew nothing about Goldie. He'd bought her egg when the Sandman was gone from the Dreaming, and the realm was a mess. The egg seemed to have a will of its' own, and wanted to belong to Abel. At Abel's suggestion they consulted Lucien's dream library to learn more about golden gargoyles. Lucien remarked that there was precious little information, and the topic was rarely pursued. He'd only met one other person seeking to research golden gargoyles, and they were quite limbless. He pulled the one book he had, which hinted that golden gargoyles guarded places of secrets like gargoyles did, but only more so. Lucien was horrified to find that someone had ripped out most of the pages referencing golden gargoyles, and the brothers took their leave. Abel suggested they talk to Eve, and Cain begrudgingly agreed. They told her their story, and her curiosity piqued when they mentioned the limbless man. He was now going by the name of Tempto, but he was once the serpent that tempted Eve, and she knew he'd destroy Goldie for the sake of spiting something good. The brothers got a lead at the Labyrinth grill, the last place Goldie was seen, and made their way tothe Dream Exchange, where people could buy shares of the dreams of their choosing. Cain surmised that Tempto wanted someplace lawless, and bought shares in Terra Incognita. They met the captain of the Flying Dutchman, who agreed to take them to Goldie if Cain played him in a few rounds of chess. It turned out that the captain hadn't seen Tempto in decades, and had deceived the brothers to relieve his boredom on the Dutchman. Cain blamed Abel, and tossed him overboard, drowning him. Cain complained to Gregory, who dragged him to Davy Jones Locker. Cain found that Abel had many friends among the dead, including those drowned at sea that resided in the locker. Cain hated how confident and at peace Abel was while dead, and threatened him, but Abel's friends made him back off, and Abel told him it would be best if he stepped aside until Abel was alive again. Once alive Abel used info from the Davy Jones crew to find the part of Incognita Goldie was last seen. The brothers discovered vast archaeological ruins, and came upon a monumental statue in Cain's image.

(Dreaming #3) - Cain remembered that he supposedly founded the first city after killing Abel and being sent to Nod. He also read that he had a son, Enoch, who ruled until the Tower of Babel was built, but he was unsure if these Biblical stories were really something that occurred. Abel was delighted at the prospect of having a nephew, but Cain told him it was irrelevant. Tempto took Goldie to the garden of Eden, and he convinced her to modify the story so there never was a fall of man. The garden was a paradise again, with Eve restored to Adam, although she was none too happy about it. Goldie sensed the wrongness of the situation, and restored the story to normal. Eve told Cain and Abel that golden gargoyles guarded all the stories, especially the old ones that bound together the Dreaming and the waking world. She showed Goldie and the brothers the bones of Goldie's predecessor, telling them that she should have hatched and taught Goldie, but Dream's absence changed things. Despite Abel's objections, Eve told him Goldie had to remain to grow into being the guardian she was destined to be. Abel was in abject misery, so Cain gave him fruit from the trees of life and knowledge that he'd snuck out of the garden. They were invaluable, but Abel was still moping, and asked Cain to kill him. Cain thought it most unusual to be ordered around by his brother, but complied, and Abel died with a smile on his face. In death Abel got a chance to visit Goldie the guardian.

(Dreaming #5) - Architect Brian Salmon met some faeries on midsummer eve, and they enchanted him with the ability to dream of his true love. In his dreams he met Cain, who introduced him to the dreaming woman he was destined to be with. He sent them off on a gondala ride, and when Brian asked if it was safe, Cain replied that true love never was. Abel swam by, and warned Brian that he was sleeping in one of the soft places, where time ran differently. Cain screamed at Abel, telling him that soft places were a mystery. The dream woman woke up, and Brian lamented that he never got her name. Cain replied that life wasn't fair.

(Dreaming #6) - The current era of the USA ended, and Destiny took back the seal of the eye in the pyramid he'd once bestowed to Thomas Jefferson to usher in the creation of the nation. Destiny bestowed it on Cain, as a mystery it was rightfully his now.

Comments: Created by Je Orlando, Bob Haney & Jack Sparling

Abel received profiles in Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #4 and Who's Who In The DC Universe #1.

There was a pin-up of Cain in DCU Holiday Bash #3 and Vertigo Gallery: Dreams and Nightmares #1.

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