Occupation: God of dreams

Legal Status: Citizen of Olympus

Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of Morpheus except as a mythological character.

Other Aliases: None known

Place of Birth: possibly Olympus

Marital Status: Single

Known Relatives: Hypnos (father, alias Somnus), Pasithea (mother), Phantasos, Icelos (brothers), other brothers (names unrevealed), Thanatos, Charon (uncles), Nemesis (aunt), Erebus (grandfather), Nyx (grandmother), 

Group Affiliations: The Gods of Olympus, The Oneiroi

Base of Operations: Olympus

First Appearance: (name only) Dr. Strange II #51

History: Morpheus is a member of an extra-dimensional race of beings known as the Olympians who were worshipped as gods by the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The Olympians gods are ruled by Zeus, the king of the Olympian Gods, who overthrew the previous generation of the Olympian gods known as the Titans. Several of the Titans who had sided with Zeus were allowed to hold on to their worshippers after the Olympians seized Olympus. Morpheus is not a member of either the Titans or the Olympians but just may be part of a much older generation possibly identified by the Romans as the Numina who were more abstract beings than the Titans or the Olympians. According to Hesiod, the Numina were descended from two primeval beings named Erebus and Nyx who were born from Chaos, who may be a much older deity or another name of the Demiurge who sired all of Earth's gods. Erebus and Nyx sired several deities including Aether and Hemera who are considered parents of Gaea, the primeval mother goddess, who sired all the later gods of Earth. However, this account may be in error since one account identifies Gaea as one of the Elder Gods who predates even the Numina.

After Zeus conquered Olympus, several of the Numina were accepted as gods in the Olympian pantheon. Thanatos, the god of death, became vizier and advisor to Hades, god of the dead, Charon became responsible for ferrying the dead across the River Styx  into the Underworld and Nemesis became goddess of retribution for Zeus. Morpheus was born one of several sons of Hypnos and Pasithea, one of the Graces, but not much of his life or worship is known. He is considered one of the Oneiroi or gods of dream, sons of Hypnos whose purpose is to guide the dreams of mortals. Mostly identified as a metaphor for dreams by poets and writers, Morpheus seems to be a minor deity in the Olympian hierarchy.

In modern years, Morpheus seems to have been confused or mistaken for a being calling himself the Sandman, one of an extra-dimensional race of beings native known to mystics as the Endless. Claiming to be Morpheus, the Sandman has visited Earth on several occasions and is believed to be the true father of the Thracian prince known as Orpheus, who was one of the Argonauts. His purpose is to protect the dreams of living things, but his connection to Morpheus is unrevealed.

As a god, Morpheus is known to surrender mystical energies involving sleep and dreams to Earthly sorcerers who know how to call upon him, such as Stephen Strange. He also acts behind the scenes of human events, guiding mortals to reach their fullest potential or creating warnings upon those heading toward their personal destruction. He is sometimes called upon by mortal psychics seeking psychic information beyond their own mental powers. 

Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 425 lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

Strength Level: Morpheus possesses superhuman strength enabling her to lift (press) 30 tons under optimal conditions.

Known Superhuman Powers: Morpheus possesses the conventional physical attributes of the Olympian gods. Like all Olympian Gods, he is immortal; he has aged at an extremely slow rate since reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means. He is immune to all Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. If he were somehow wounded, his godly life force would enable him to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of his bodily molecules to cause her a physical death. Even then, it might be possible for a god of significant power, such as Zeus, Poseidon or Apollo, or for a number of Olympian gods of equal power working together to revive him. Morpheus also possesses superhuman strength and his Olympian metabolism provides him with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities. (Olympian flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the superhuman strength and weight of the Olympian Gods.)

Morpheus possesses mystical abilities of an undefined nature which are almost entirely focused on the ability to induce sleep and cause others to have dreams and visions of his design. He uses a powder created from poppy seeds to induce sleep much like that used by his father, but Morpheus can create added enchantments that can create images of his design in the mind of person he is entrancing. The powder is only a medium and eventually vanishes into ethereal energy once it has passed on its mystical attributes. Effectively negating the conscious mind's ability to create images, this spell allows Morpheus to establish a pseudo-hypnotic/telepathic link where Morpheus can install mental images of his creation. To the observer, Morpheus can appear on the dream plane as a host or a person which Morpheus has taken from the subject's memories. In this seemingly reality, Morpheus can control and manipulate everything the observer experiences, creating realistic and sometimes tactile images, events and visions which often escalate into nightmare proportions with accompanying physical characteristics, such as rapid pulse and heightened heartbeat. This link is broken once the subject awakens. After which, upon waking, his subjects are often subconsciously affected by the images which they experienced or  obsessed with to the the exclusion of nearly everything else.

Morpheus is also able to mystically render himself invisible and immaterial to other beings except the gods, but this may actually be his true form. In fact, he can transform himself into this state at a moments notice to render himself unnoticed. However, this ability is powerless against beings of exceptional mental and mystical prowess, such as Merlin and Doctor Strange.

Abilities: Morpheus is a highly charismatic and suggestive person whose soft voice and charm allows him to charm virtually any person.

Comments: Morpheus has only been identified by name in Marvel Comics; he makes an appearance in Who's Who in the DC Universe II #4, but his actual first appearance is unrevealed.

Clarifications: Morpheus is not to be confused with:

• Morpheus, Robert Markham, mental patient at Seaview Medical Research, @ Moon Knight I #2
• Morpheus, operative of the Zion Movement in an alternate future of Earth, @ "The Matrix" motion picture (2005) 
• The Sandman, extra-dimensional denizen of the Dream Dimension, @ Sandman II #1

Last updated: 10/02/11