Sleepwalker (comics)

Sleepwalker
Sleepwalker. Art by Scott Kolins.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Sleepwalker #1 (June 1991)
Created by	Bob Budiansky and Bret Blevins
In-story information
Team affiliations	S.H.I.E.L.D. Secret Defenders Sleepwalkers Mindscape Operation: Lightning Storm
Notable aliases	Sleepy
Abilities	Superhuman strength, durability and visual acuity Enhanced speed, agility, stamina and reflexes Flotation-like flight Substance altering eyebeams Immunity to sleep Resistance to mental attacks Use of Imaginator device Infinity circuit enhancement

Sleepwalker is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Bob Budiansky and Bret Blevins, he first appeared in Sleepwalker #1 (June 1991). The character is named after his race and is the star of a self-titled comic book which ran for 33 issues, from June 1991 to February 1994, with one Holiday Special. All but two of the issues were written by Budiansky, with Tom Brevoort and Mike Kanterovich writing the Holiday Special and one fill-in issue. Dan Slott also contributed a humorous side story in issue #25.

Creation

Bob Budiansky spoke on the creation of the character saying,

"The idea what would become Sleepwalker first sparked within me during one of the weekly editorial meetings I attended when I was a Marvel editor and which were chaired by former Marvel Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter... Among the things talked about was how, in the real world, Superman would be treated by the nations of earth if he actually existed. He said that rather than being welcomed by most nations of the earth as a hero because of his good deeds and good looks, nations would instead unite to figure out how to defend themselves against and, if necessary, defeat this near-omnipotent alien being... And so the thought occurred to me that simply because Superman happens to look like the stereotypical all-American male of that era, people have no hesitation to accept him as the hero he is despite the fact that it's common knowledge he's an alien. But what if he is still heroic and looks like a true alien - a creature that doesn't look like us, and, in fact, appears repellant to us? How would humans react to him if that's how Superman looks? So Sleepwalker began as the anti-Superman, instead of an alien who just happens to look like the perfect human. I made him an alien who is a green-skinned bug-eyed monster, at least to our eyes. And he's heroic. At first, I wanted to name my character Alien. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Alien was a poor choice because it had already been used for the 1979 movie of the same name, which is probably the reason others mistakenly think I came up with the [Sleepwalker] idea in the 1970s".

In regard to his idea of the concept of Sleepwalker, Budiansky stated "I came up with the name Sleepwalker and tied his origin and abilities to dreams, which was an interest of mine. Instead of coming from an alien planet, like Superman, Sleepwalker would come from an alien dimension. I began writing the backstory for Sleepwalker and sketching out his look probably around 1989".

Publication history

A second Sleepwalker character was planned to receive a self-titled series by Robert Kirkman in 2004, but instead debuted in the 2004 Epic Anthology, which was cancelled after one issue. The original Sleepwalker's next appearance was in Marvel Team-Up vol. 3 #15, nearly a decade after his original cancellation.

At the end of 2018, a four-issue Sleepwalker miniseries was released as a tie-in to the Infinity Wars event. The series is written by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims, with artwork by Todd Nauck.

In 2017, Rich Johnston of Bleeding Cool addressed persistent rumors that Marvel editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco had described Sleepwalker as "Sandman done right". After researching the phrase, the most Johnston was able to find was "mention of a press release that described [Sleepwalker] as 'Sandman done the Marvel way;'" however, this was "only a reference, never an actual quoted piece". Johnston posited that the rumor's source may have been a parody of earlier Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter.

Fictional character biography

The Sleepwalkers are entities from the Mindscape, a dimension that borders on the minds of all living things, and work to protect the world from the dangerous creatures that inhabit it. One Sleepwalker was trapped in the mind of college student Rick Sheridan by his archenemy Cobweb. He is able to communicate with Rick via dreams and can manifest in the real world while he sleeps. Furthermore, his real name is unpronounceable by humans, so he is simply known as Sleepwalker to avoid confusion.

Rick and Sleepwalker eventually worked out an understanding, allowing the latter to fight crime and various injustices. This was not easy, as Sleepwalker's appearance caused fear among regular people.

With Spider-Man, Sleepwalker battled Kingpin and Crimewave. With Darkhawk, Deathlok, Moon Knight, and the Squadron Supreme, he attempted to stop Eon's body from invading Earth's Universe. He also battled the Chain Gang. With Deathlok's help, he rescued Alyssa Conover and a number of other innocent people from being experimented on by the mysterious Mr. FX. He fought Nightmare, and then battled Spectra. Alongside Mister Fantastic and the Thing, he battled the Thought Police. Alongside Darkhawk and Spider-Man, Sleepwalker saved Portal from the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. He also battled various supernatural menaces, including a demonic genie known as Mr. Jyn and the spirit of a traumatized young man that had gained superhuman powers and became obsessed with recreating the scene of his mother's murder.

Sleepwalker is one of the few entities who remember the events of The Infinity Gauntlet storyline. Sleepwalker spent most of it fighting the villains called the Chain Gang and rescuing people from natural disasters. However, Nebula turned back time, neutralizing what he had gone through. He considers his vague memories to be just a dream.

Sleepwalker played an important role in the Infinity War, helping to defeat the Magus by channeling mental powers from Professor X, Jean Grey, Psylocke and Moondragon through Rick Sheridan's mind. He also contributed to the battle against the evil clones of the superheroes Beast, Firestar and Daredevil. Part of the fight against the evil doubles involved Sleepwalker impersonating his own evil clone.

In the "Infinity Crusade" storyline, Sleepwalker is brainwashed by the Goddess and taken to her version of Counter-Earth. During the battle between the Goddess's forces and the rest of Earth's heroes, Sleepwalker subdues Darkhawk and the Human Torch by dragging them into the water with his shape-changing powers.

Sleepwalker exchanged bodies with Rick Sheridan and battled Cobweb, the Chain Gang, 8-Ball, and Hobgoblin. Later in the series, Sleepwalker is revealed to supposedly be the lead scout for the Mindspawn, an invading force from the Mindscape. However, in actuality, Cobweb had put in motion a complicated plot to invade the Earth and disrupt Rick's relationship with Sleepwalker. This involves disguising his minions as members of Sleepwalker's race and framing his archenemy as their leader. The plot is only partially successful; Sleepwalker and the Avengers thwart the initial attack, although Sleepwalker's reputation was ruined in the process. Many people still mistakenly believe that Sleepwalker's race planned to invade and conquer the Earth and that Sleepwalker was a scout for them.

During the confrontation, Sleepwalker pretended to destroy Rick's mind as a means of protecting him from Cobweb's minions. Unfortunately, the authorities retrieved the "mindrake" weapon Sleepwalker had used to store Rick's mind, preventing the alien from recovering it, also gathering up one of Cobweb's demons that was left behind after the Avengers drove them away. The demon and the mindrake were both taken to a federal prison and research facility where serial killer Jeremy Roscoe was also being held as part of a psychiatric experiment. Roscoe escaped from the prison hospital and fused with the demon, transforming into a nightmarish creature called Psyko. The monster began spreading mass insanity across New York, until Sleepwalker managed to defeat him and retrieve the mindrake Psyko had taken with him.

Later, Sleepwalker thwarts Cobweb's second attack and banishes his archenemy once and for all, before seemingly dying to save Rick Sheridan's life. However, Sleepwalker would later turn up alive and still trapped in Rick's mind.

Sleepwalker eventually gains the ability to interact with the real world again. He is seen investigating the after-effects of an explosion caused by the villainous Ringmaster. He had attempted to become more involved in the situation but was foiled by Rick's sleeping schedule.

Sleepwalker is seen as having become a registered superhuman under the Initiative after Alyssa Conover's death in an auto accident. He then appears alongside Machine Man and Agent Sum as a member of Ms. Marvel's Operation: Lightning Storm.

During the Fantastic Four's confrontation with the Quiet Man, they recruited Sleepwalker's assistance to neutralize the threat posed by the heroes from Counter-Earth, reasoning that Sleepwalker was particularly suited to advise them on it, since Counter-Earth was Franklin Richards' dream. During his time on Counter-Earth, Sleepwalker noted that none of its inhabitants had souls, allowing the FF to freely kill them.

Sleepwalker had made limited appearances in modern comics. He received a self-titled miniseries that was a tie-in to the Infinity Wars event, and has had supporting roles in Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur and Hellcat.

Powers and abilities

Sleepwalker possesses superhuman physical abilities and flight, as well as a "warp gaze" that enables him to modify the shape and physical characteristics of other objects in his line of sight. He avoids using it on living beings as it would cause immense pain.

As an alien resident of the Mindscape, Sleepwalker has exceptional visual abilities, being able to see over a much farther distance than an average human and sense energy trails. Due to his bond with Rick Sheridan, Sleepwalker shares a mental link with him and must periodically return to his mind to survive. He can also enhance psychic abilities and possesses a limited resistance to them.

Sleepwalker used the Imaginator, an amulet-like device that can teleport himself and others, before it was stolen by Cobweb. After recovering the Imaginator, Sleepwalker was forced to use it to exile him far from Earth.

In Infinity Wars, Sleepwalker discovers that he can harness the power of the Infinity Gems without having to use them directly.

Enemies

Sleepwalker possessed a colorful gallery of mostly original villains, with a new one introduced each issue during the title's beginnings. They include:

• Jeff Hagees / 8-Ball: A criminal who based his costume and equipment on the game of pool.
• Nelson Gruber / Bookworm: An angry social misfit who, after an encounter with Sleepwalker, gained the ability to channel energy from the Mindscape into creations of whatever he read. He used his abilities to get revenge on his tormentors.
• Chain Gang: Four convicted felons linked together in a chain gang who escaped during the upheavals caused by the Infinity Gauntlet, gaining superhuman powers that lasted only as long as they stayed chained together. It consists of Master Link (Willis Hayworth), Missing Link (Ray Morgan), Uplink (Hector Fuentes), and Weak Link (Ernest Mills).
• Mr. FX: A mysterious special effects designer who was known for his stunningly lifelike displays, which he achieved by kidnapping people and imprisoning them within specially designed costumes.
• Nightmare: Sleepwalker faced off against this living embodiment of bad dreams, usually a Doctor Strange villain. Nightmare promised the reward of sending Sleepwalker back to his home realm, but Sleepwalker fought back when Nightmare threatened Rick Sheridan.
• Selena Slate / Spectra: The assistant of a scientist who was studying the properties of a strange diamond, and planned to steal it and split the proceeds with her junkie boyfriend. After being imbued with the diamond's powers, she gained the ability to manipulate multicolored lights with various effects.
• Mr. Jyn: A demonic genie who tricked humans into letting him manifest on Earth by pretending to serve them, even as he manipulated them into letting him cause mayhem until he would be released.
• Edward "Eddie" Cicala: A young boy traumatized by his father murdering his mother, who became catatonic before his mind made contact with a malign energy force from the Mindscape, which allowed him to possess others.
• Cobweb: Sleepwalker's nemesis, a demon of the Mindscape who can cause madness in others. Cobweb trapped Sleepwalker in Rick Sheridan's mind as part of a plot to invade Earth without being thwarted by his enemy.
• Felicity Hopkins / Lullaby: A teenage mutant who can place others in zombie-like trances through song.
• Carl Wilkinson / Crimewave: A crime boss who plotted to embarrass the Kingpin and replace him as the top crime lord on the East Coast, by capturing Spider-Man.
• Thought Police: A special team of government agents assembled to capture Sleepwalker, led by the obsessed Agent Tolliver Smith.
• Jeremy Roscoe / Psyko: A human serial killer who became fused with a monster from the Mindscape and transformed into a hideous creature with warping powers similar to Sleepwalker's and the additional power to cause insanity.

Other versions

Marvel Team-Up: League of Losers

An alternate universe variant of Sleepwalker appears in Marvel Team-Up (vol. 3) as a member of the "League of Losers" alongside Darkhawk, Dagger, Araña, X-23, Gravity, and Terror.

Marvel Zombies: Dead Days

An alternate universe variant of Sleepwalker from Earth-2149 makes a cameo appearance in Marvel Zombies: Dead Days.

Ultimate Sleepwalker

An alternate universe variant of the Sleepwalkers from Earth-1610 appear in Ultimate X-Men #89.

In other media

Sleepwalker appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes #11.

Collected editions

Title	Material collected	Published date	ISBN
Infinity Wars: Sleepwalker	Infinity Wars: Sleepwalker #1-4, Sleepwalker #1	March 2019	978-1302915841

External links

• Sleepwalker at the Marvel Universe
• Characters from the Sleepwalker series at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe
• Sleepwalker on Marvel Database, a Marvel Comics wiki