The Sandman has just arrived on Netflix and the series draws inspiration from the comics of the same name. In the original source material, John Dee is known as Doctor Destiny, a supervillain. Express.co.uk has all you need to know about the TV series adaptation of the character.
Who is John Dee in The Sandman?
Johnny (played by David Thewlis) is first introduced as a baby in the Netflix fantasy drama.
He is the son of Sir Roderick Burgess (Charles Dance) and Ethel Cripps (Joely Richardson/Niamh Walsh).
Ethel stole Dream’s (Tom Sturridge) ruby when she left Roderick, but her son stole it from her when he was older.
The ruby’s power drove him mad and he ended up in a mental health unit, which his mother visited.
In the series, he explained he was able to alter the ruby’s power, so it only answered to him.
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Throughout the episodes, he uses the ruby to try and bring ‘truth’ to the world.
In the iconic diner episode, he used his powers to make the customers express how they really felt about each other.
This led to everyone taking their own lives as they could not stand what they heard.
Later, John was offered help by a woman who gave him a lift to where the ruby was being kept.
She almost called the police after finding out he had killed people in the past.
Because he had abused the gemstone’s powers, it weakened his body and mind.
He may have had extraordinary powers but his sanity suffered as a result.
Dream and John ended up in a fight and John ended up destroying the ruby in the hope Dream would die as a result.
Instead, the destruction released all the power Dream had poured into it, which helped revitalise Morpheus to his most powerful form.
Dream then sent Dee back to Arkham Asylum.
In the series, Dream was seen putting John into a deep sleep and returning him to the same asylum.
He told John to sleep well, and it is presumed the antagonist is still in this helpless state when the series ends.
With this in mind, it seems the series stayed true to the comics when it came to John’s storyline.
Actor David Thewlis is known for his role as Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter films.
He also starred in Naked and Landscapers.
The Sandman is on Netflix now