- —Nightmare[src]
Dastardly and scheming, Nightmare is a Fear Lord[19] who rules over the Nightmare World, his own realm within the Dream Dimension,[16] a manifestation of the collective psyche of human, where people's dreams manifest a life of their own.[20] He feeds off the dreams of living beings as they sleep, drawing power from them.[21] Nightmare also sometimes tries to trap specific individuals in his realm.[16] Though never with much success, he has even tried to free himself from his realm[22] or merge the world with it.[23][24]
His greatest human adversary has been the Sorcerer Supreme of the Earth, Doctor Strange. He has also faced off against many other superheroes, such as Doctor Voodoo,[25] Moon Knight, Black Panther,[26] Venom,[27] and Spider-Man.[28] In his quest for power, Nightmare has allied himself with villains such as Shuma-Gorath,[29][18] the Juggernaut,[7] and Baron Mordo.[22]
History
Origin and Early Years[]
Like each of the Fear Lords,[note 1] Nightmare was a mystery, and very few knew of his origin (or even his very existence).[19][30] He was a conceptual entity, part of all existence like Eternity, and a deity.[18]
Nightmare was born in the Everinnye dimension, just like the Dweller-in-Darkness.[31] He was a creation of the human need to dream.[32] It is unknown whether Nightmare was born the way humans are or was conceived of in some other manner.[24] The Dweller turned his back on his fellow residents by following the Way of the Shamblu, disembodying his head and existing in physical form. He considered Nightmare his cousin. Nightmare rejected that designation,[31] aware of the Dweller's full origins,[33] stating that he had no cousin, especially not the Dweller, for he had chosen the way of the Shamblu. According to the Dweller, Nightmare degraded himself by adopting his shape and living in exile among the Lower Universes.[31]
Nightmare came to control one of the Splinter Realms,[34] known as the Nightmare Realm, within the Dream Dimension.[16] Nightmare had only one natural enemy in all the dimensions:[24] his mortal enemy Gulgol, the only foe Nightmare could not defeat due to him not needing to sleep and therefore being not affected by Nightmare's powers.[35] The Gulgol was a monster who dwelled in his own alien mystic realm known as the Netherworld of Gulgol and may have been a conceptual being who embodied man's instinct for savagery and self-preservation.[36] Since the beginning of time, Nightmare feared his end at the Gulgol. For ages, Nightmare guarded his realm against the heartless creature.[35]
The Lords of the Splinter Realms gathered only twice in the 47,000 years before the modern age.[37].Thousands of years ago, Nightmare agreed to Zeus's request to guard The Night That May Yet Be in the Nightmare Realm. Zeus wanted the shard hidden where no one would ever look, behind the "light of dreams." In exchange, the Olympians would stay out of Nightmare's realm.[38] Approximately 800 years ago, Nightmare raped the demoness Zilla Char, producing a daughter: Dreamqueen.[39]
Later, 350 years ago, Nightmare meddled with Dreamqueen's schemes involving Native Americans.[39] Throughout the subsequent centuries, Nightmare would continue to taunt his daughter repeatedly.[1] On June 18, 1792, at the Conciergerie, Nightmare gave Marie Antoinette a nightmare while imprisoned awaiting trial. She relieved the siege on Versaille over and over. Nightmare would regularly visit the nightmare for entertainment. In the 19th century, he gave President Abraham Lincoln nightmares for seven months, taking him to the graves of the men he sent to their death during the American Civil War.[40]
Pre-Modern Era[]
More than two decades ago, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Karl, a faithful worshiper of Nightmare and member of a cult, slept with Naomi, an unbelieving member of the cult. Because of the stars' alignment, the dimensional barriers weakened and Karl served as a vessel for Nightmare, enabling Nightmare to impregnate Naomi. Two weeks later, Naomi fled the cult with Jerry Ward. Karl and Nightmare witnessed the scene, but despite Karl's proposal to stop them, Nightmare left them be, as his son being raised among ordinary people would serve his purposes and interests. He hoped to eventually take the body of his son to be able to manifest on Earth and alter physical reality. Naomi gave birth to Terrance Ward, who would grow up with the ability to shapeshift into a person's worst fear.[41]
Encounters with Doctor Strange[]
One of Nightmare's long-standing rivals in the modern age was Doctor Strange. During one of their battles, Nightmare haunted the dreams of a corrupt businessman. When Doctor Strange entered his dreams, Nightmare attempted to trap him there, leaving his physical body undefended while the man, afraid that Strange had found out the secret of his crimes, would try to kill Strange. Strange managed to escape Nightmare's dimension with the help of the Ancient One.[42]
Seeking to conquer our dimension, Nightmare put a mystic potion inside an occult device to trap people in his dimension while they were sleeping in the hopes of gaining information on how to defeat Doctor Strange and his master, the Ancient One. Strange successfully freed the captives but had to battle Nightmare in the Dream Dimension. Nightmare summoned the Spinybeast using his mystic prod. Strange commanded his amulet to gleam, temporarily blinding Nightmare and causing him to lower his prod-wand, killing his spinybeast instantly.[16]
When Doctor Strange forgot to recite a spell before sleeping, Nightmare entered his dreams and fought Strange. Strange was imprisoned in a nightmare where he was depowered and started being tormented by Nightmare. However, the Gulgol arrived, and Nightmare was powerless to stop the Gulgol due to using all his energy against Strange. Without any other alternatives, Nightmare agreed to Strange's proposal of giving Strange back his powers. Strange then made the Gulgol disappear because the Gulgol was only an illusion cast by Doctor Strange to make Nightmare believe that the Gulgol had arrived. After using his magical powers to fend off Nightmare, Doctor Strange woke up from Nightmare's dimension.[35]
Further Schemes[]
Nightmare posed as Hamir to attempt to destroy the Ancient One, but Doctor Strange was able to stop Nightmare with the Cloak of Levitation and send him back to his realm. The Ancient One later woke up and admitted that he intentionally set himself as a trap for Nightmare so that Doctor Strange could defeat Nightmare and gain more confidence.[3]
Attempting to bring the waking world into his domain,[24] Nightmare captured the entity Eternity.[23] Doctor Strange woke up from a nightmare that had Nightmare impersonating Eternity and tormenting Strange with the deity. When Clea and Doctor Strange later went on a date in the middle of Times Square, he was ambushed by Nightmare, who happened to have Eternity imprisoned with cosmic forces and spawned animals and human beings from different time periods into the current time of Earth. Nightmare offered to challenge Strange in the Dream Dimension, which he accepted.[23] Doc defeated his minions, trying to use the Eye of Agamotto on Nightmare, but that backfired because Nightmare learned a counterspell that ricocheted it back towards Strange and knocked him unconscious. Nightmare then boasted about the pending dissolution of the barrier between their respective realms.[43]
Still trapped in the Eye of Agamotto, Doctor Strange bore witness as Nightmare was about to combine Earth with its past and future; however, he was interrupted by the arrival of the Juggernaut, who had come seeking a way back to Earth. Convinced that Doctor Strange was the one who could take Juggernaut back, Juggernaut fought Nightmare in hopes of stealing his captive. Doctor Strange used this distraction to wriggle himself free of his captivity and summoned an illusory image of himself. When Nightmare and Juggernaut noticed the freed sorcerer, they worked together to subdue him again but sent their mystic bolts at the illusion, passing through and releasing Eternity. The two villains continued their alliance, this time trying to overpower Eternity. Eternity banished Nightmare and Juggernaut to another realm and restored the natural order before returning Doctor Strange to Earth.[7]
Nightmare escaped the realm. He allied with Shuma-Gorath to further his own ends. He agreed to destroy Doctor Strange so that Shuma-Gorath could take over the Earth.[29][18] When Strange was hit by a truck, Nightmare trapped Strange in the Nightmare realm. There, Strange was tormented by false illusions before realizing he was dreaming. Nightmare and Strange fought until Strange defeated him, waking up in the hospital.[29] Nightmare ended his partnership at some point.[18]
After a defeat to Doctor Strange, Cyrus Black lit some Jamaican incense and went to sleep. In his dream, his rat grew to giant size and attacked him. When he woke up, he realized the incense had given him the power to dream things into reality.[44] Nightmare later revealed that he had given the power to Black as a test to see his desire for revenge.[18]
When a man was haunted by the death of his wife, he went to Doctor Strange to remove the memories. Strange probed his dreams, finding the man being preyed on by minions and distant relatives of Nightmare. Doctor Strange was able to remove the demons before letting the man go.[45]
When Baron Mordo was living in the Sanctum Sanctorum, Nightmare terrorized Mordo's dreams. Screaming, Mordo awakened Doctor Strange and his visitors. Probing Karl's dreams, Doctor Strange found Nightmare. However, before Strange could do anything. Mordo went unconscious, severing the link to Nightmare's realm.[46]
Nightmare was one of the many rulers of the dead that joined Pluto's alliance to strongarm Zeus Panhellenios into allowing the arranged marriages for Hercules and Venus to maintain peace for their realms, or else they would invade Olympus.[47] This plan was later foiled when the Champions convinced Zeus that Pluto's alliance was contingent on the promise of Zeus's death.[48]
Attempting again to merge his realm with reality, Nightmare was able to capture Eternity again.[24] Doctor Strange was the sole survivor of the destruction of the Earth. Seeking to try and appeal to Eternity to undo the planet's destruction, he traveled into the Eye of Agamotto to the realm of Eternity. However, Strange found himself in the Dimension of Dreams instead. There he battled Nightmare and found that Eternity had been held captive again and subjected to Nightmare's insanity. Nevertheless, Doctor Strange managed to free Eternity, resulting in Eternity remaking the Earth and rapidly speeding up its evolution to the modern era before returning Doctor Strange to his home.[21]
Nightmare brought Cyrus Black to his realm, who he had empowered years ago,[44] and taught him more magic.[18] While training Cyrus,[1] Nightmare refused to help the Dweller-in-Darkness in fighting Doctor Strange, resulting in the Dweller creating Dream Weaver.[33] Strange confronted Nightmare, but Nightmare denied this and gave a clue to the true culprit.[49]
After reading A Midsummer Night's Dream, Doctor Strange fell asleep, failing to notice a rat that entered his bedroom, bringing him to Nightmare's realm. Suddenly, Cyrus Black appeared. Nightmare intended for Cyrus to kill Doctor Strange. As Doctor Strange gained the upper hand, Nightmare attacked Doctor Strange, commanding Black to cast a fatal spell on their foe. Strange used the Eye of Agamotto to reveal the sham of Cyrus's life. Realizing the truth, Cyrus Black killed himself. Disappointed, Nightmare released Strange, seeking new victims but not before warning Strange that Nightmare will return for his dreams.[18]
Following the joint funeral of Biotron, Queen Esmera, and Prince Shaitan, Doctor Leonard Samson found a mind shock in the brain of Arcturus Rann, causing his brain to shut down on the right side. Doc theorized that some evil entity had managed to enter. His solution was to shrink down the Microns and send them into Rann's brain. After being attacked by their nightmares, the micronauts found Nightmare attempting to discover the secret of the Enigma Force. Nightmare sent more nightmares to fight the group. However, the micronauts conquered their fears and caused the illusions to disappear. Defeated, Nightmare disappeared but not before contacting the brain of the sleeping Rann to send antibodies that would attempt to destroy the foreign micronauts inside his brain.[50]
Doctor Doom kidnapped Dazzler and sent her on a mission to recover one of the Merlin stones. It was in the dream realm where she encountered Nightmare. He refused to hand over the Merlin stone, and Dazzler was again pressed into action. When Nightmare couldn't bear her light attacks anymore, he suddenly decided that the Merlin stone was a gaudy bauble and not worth all this effort to keep in his possession.[51]
While searching the many mystical realms, Strange entered Nightmare's realm. After a brief fight, Strange was able to blind Nightmare with the Eye of Agamotto and escape.[52]
When Morgana was sent back into the past, Strange anchored his soul to seek her out. However, he was quickly stopped by Nightmare in the Dream Dimension. It was revealed that Morgana's trip into the past caused this chain of events and that if her soul regressed to her earliest incarnation, it would destroy all of humanity and -- as a result, Nightmare himself. Not wishing to meet his end so that he may continue to rule the Nightmare Realm, Nightmare begrudgingly offered his aid to Doctor Strange, helping him pinpoint the exact eras that Morgana had traveled into.[53] After a discussion between Nightmare and Gnit, Doctor Strange, with the assistance of Nightmare, was sent to Ancient Egypt. Gnit was soon created after Nightmare began to fear his end. Nightmare and Gnit watched Strange in the past, to the annoyance of Nightmare having to put up with Gnit. Once Doctor Strange successfully saved humanity, Nightmare was able to destroy Gnit because Nightmare's nightmare was over.[54]
Nightmare left Doctor Strange alone for a while to focus on other unstable super-beings.[1] He teamed up with the Hell Lords to torment Ghost Rider. Nightmare helped Zarathos gain full control over Johnny Blaze to create fear and gain power, but Johnny escaped Nightmare and regained control.[55]
Overture[]
At some point in time,[note 2] Nightmare attempted to look into the dreams of others. Doctor Strange tricked Nightmare into believing that Nightmare's dreams had come true.[56] In his dream, he had successfully tricked Strange into making the entire world fall asleep due to Strange's connection to all living things as the sorcerer supreme. Nightmare had successfully trapped Doctor Strange's astral form in the Dream Dimension, forcing him to watch as Nightmare looked into the dreams of others while destroying many of the cosmic entities, including Surtur, Arishem the Judge, Lord Chaos, Eternity, and even the Living Tribunal.[57] Nightmare was about to destroy the Earth[58] when Doctor Strange revealed that it was all a trick and none of the events had ever happened, escaping the dream.[56]
Tormenting the Hulk[]
In an attempt to kill Doctor Strange, Nightmare struck out at the sorcerer's allies. He attempted this plan on the Defenders, but the breakup of the group temporarily setback his plans. He later found another target in the Hulk.[59][60] Nightmare tormented him with dark dreams in hopes of reverting him to his more savage and uncontrollable form.[61]
Nightmare's actions on the Hulk created a psychological rift in the Hulk's subconscious; whereas once the mind of Bruce Banner maintained control over the Hulk, now the monster had reverted to a state of nearly total savagery.[60] The Hulk cut a swath of destruction through New York as Nightmare prodded him to do his bidding. Once he reached Strange's mansion, the sorcerer probed the Hulk with the Eye of Agamotto, revealing Nightmare's involvement. Strange facilitated Bruce's alter access to the Nightmare Realm to confront his tormentor. Thinking that the only way to free himself of the Hulk and Nightmare was to cease to be, Banner's alter allowed himself to be subsumed within the Hulk's alter. This act left his body in complete control of the Hulk with no mind or memory, and a manifestation of the Hulk invaded Nightmare's dimension brought about by Banner's sacrifice.[62]
After Baron Mordo used the Word of God to rewrite reality, Nightmare was visited by the heroes Doctor Strange and Spider-Man, searching for the book. Nightmare willingly showed them the book, fearful of more powerful beings coming to invade his realm. However, the book turned out to be a fake,[63] with Mordo destroyed the real book, destroying the world. Using his imagination and memory of the book in the Dream Dimension, Spider-Man began the process of resting the book and consequently the world. Noting the potential of the web slinger, Nightmare proposed the symbiote use the Word of God to become a god and pay him back by trapping the collective consciousness of humanity in an eternal nightmare. In the end, Nightmare told Spider-Man to use the power of dreams to free himself and Strange from the Nightmare World and show Mordo and the Hobgoblin what the symbiotes truly are.[note 3] Once Doctor Strange was unable to use the book again to undo the reality Mordo constructed, Nightmare presumably forgot about the experience.[note 4][2]
The dream Hulk tore apart Nightmare's dimension as it chased after him. During this time, the civilian alter-ego of the superhero Spider-Man was sleeping. Sensing that he had fought the Hulk before, a weakened Nightmare used part of his last strength to summon him to his realm. After several encounters with the dream Hulk and Nightmare's explanation of the situation, the hero and the dark lord found themselves cornered at the edge of Nightmare's realm. Spider-Man reluctantly saved Nightmare by shoving the dream Hulk into the boundary of Nightmare's realm, causing it to vanish into the neighboring Realm of Madness. With his powers returned, Nightmare threatened to keep Spider-Man trapped forever in his realm, turning him into his disciple and defender. Because of this, when the dream Hulk reached out from outside and dragged Nightmare into the Realm of Madness, Spider-Man ignored Nightmare's pleas. Afterward, Spider-Man woke up from the dream, and as soon as he did, the memories of the adventure started to fade away.[28] He managed to escape the hostile dimension.[1]
Nightmare manipulated Cloak into summoning a demon onto an airplane. Dagger managed to drive the demon back; Nightmare wanted to use Cloak to bring Doctor Strange to him. Nightmare made Cloak ask Doctor Strange for help, posing as a prisoner of the Predator. Nightmare successfully managed to pull Cloak, Dagger, and members of the New Defenders into his realm. Nightmare was defeated when he could not bear more of Dagger's light attacks.[64]
Nightmare visited his daughter Dreamqueen again when her Dream Totem was touched, freeing her from Liveworld. Before leaving, he warned her about the heroes of Earth.[39] He later reappeared on Earth to warn her of her death.[65]
Ghost Rider and Daniel Ketch were separated and taken to Nightmare's Realm; there, Nightmare tried to renew his partnership with Zarathos, but this Spirit of Vengeance was not Zarathos and did not want to ally with Nightmare. Zodiak tried to get to Ghost Rider the same way Ghost Rider got to him, through Stig. Ghost Rider and Dan merged ultimately and escaped Nightmare's Realm.[66]
Betty, overwhelmed by the loss of Bruce, suffered a miscarriage. Unfortunately, D'Spayre and Nightmare tapped into Betty's nightmares, competing to win her soul. The Hulk was drawn into the battle over Betty's soul, and he battled through all they could muster to reach Betty and give her a renewed sense of hope. Betty and Hulk broke the spell, and the two of them woke up.[67]
Nightmare haunted three humans, turning them into nuclear dust.[9]
He soon came to run the Institute of Psychic Research in Britain. Nightmare abducted Power Pack's entire family to feed off their nightmares. Members of Excalibur attempted to infiltrate the hospital, but demons from Nightmare's realm unleashed sleeping gas and strapped the group into machines, where they were subjected to nightmares. Nightmare took control of Rachel Summers and Alex Power, but Franklin Richards was able to free all the heroes and defeat Nightmare.[68]
After watching a horror movie, Doctor Strange had a dream where his loved ones were killed by the main villain from the film, with Nightmare posing as the main villain. However, Strange quickly realized that it was only a dream and the works of Nightmare, waking up.[69]
Nightmare narrated a story about the origin of the Fangu.[70]
Doom and his minion Doctor Tinner built a device that would protect Doom's dreams from Nightmare. Nightmare appeared in the dreams of Doom again. The device did not fully work but allowed Doom to escape the nightmare by waking up. Seeking to end his own nightmares, Doctor Doom visited Ghost Rider in a dream to help fight Nightmare. Nightmare appeared to the two. Initially hesitant, Danny eventually transformed and was able to drive off Nightmare. Doom and Ghost Rider then managed to recruit Wolverine. Nightmare fought the three and revealed that Doom had captured Wolverine and Ghost Rider in real life and hooked the two up to the technology that had allowed Doom to bring them into Nightmare's realm. He then revealed how Doom intended to destroy all nightmares but warned how it would lead to humanity becoming insane. Ghost Rider and Wolverine rebelled from Doom, destroying the project and waking all three of them up. Alone again, Nightmare warned that he would continue to haunt the dreams of Doom, this time with two new people to use.[71]
Seeking revenge on the Ghost Rider,[1] Nightmare took control of the cyborg Deathlok while trapping his mind inside the Nightmare Realm. Ghost Rider was pulled to Nightmare's realm, but the two heroes were able to escape.[72]
The Fear Lords[]
Nightmare became a member of the Fear Lords. The Dweller-in-Darkness summoned the others to join him in causing 'The Great Fear' to take over Earth. The Straw Man warned them that he considered the Earth his home. He alerted Doctor Strange to their plot, asking Strange to appear on his "Horror TV" station. Strange consulted the Book of the Vishanti and began preparing with Clea and Rintrah for their attack.[73] The Lurking Unknown attacked the Straw Man, setting him on fire. But he, Kkallakku, and Nox were defeated by Strange, Clea, and Rintrah. D'Spayre then challenged the Dweller-in-Darkness and Nightmare to try and outdo one another, offering to assist the victor. Their joint torment caused human despair, which empowered D'Spayre.[74] Nightmare and Dweller-in-Darkness fled. A 'man without fear' was needed: Daredevil was summoned by the Straw Man (who had formed another body) to help the others. They managed to defeat D'Spayre.[75]
Further Encounters[]
Nightmare was considered one of the deadliest enemies of the Sleepwalkers, the dream police. He could not influence them due to them not needing to sleep. In a plan to change this, he entered the mind of one Sleepwalker's human host, Rick Sheridan. He used his mind to send Sleepwalker mad, finally allowing him access to his people's minds. He sacrificed his way home to prevent Nightmare from harming his people.[76]
When Amora the Enchantress escaped Karnilla's dungeon, Nightmare was able to trap her in the Dream Dimension. Amora and Heimdall escaped the Dream Dimension when Amora overcame her fear of losing her beauty.[77]
Nightmare began to torment Wolverine with dreams.[78] Seeking help from the nightmares, Wolverine made Professor X send himself back into the dream. Back inside the dream, Nightmare began to taunt Wolverine, saying that he was using Wolverine's mind to achieve a goal he had wanted for a while. Nightmare then explained that other peoples' minds were now open to him and another was waiting for Wolverine. Wolverine then found himself face-to-face with Venom.[79] After a brief fight, Wolverine and Venom found an illusion designed to look just like his former girlfriend Mariko. After saving the girl, the girl ran away, Venom told Wolverine that he'll do nothing with the girl, as she could be connected to Nightmare, and she may lead them to him. Wolverine and Venom fought again.[80]
Nightmare appeared before Wolverine suggesting that Wolverine should follow Venom and the illusion. Meanwhile, Venom started carrying the girl to Nightmare's mountain, demanding answers but being told that she knew nothing.[81] After a struggle between Wolverine and Venom, the two reluctantly teamed up to defeat Nightmare. They heard a scream from the illusion and find out it came from Nightmare's mountain, rushing to get there.[82] Nightmare then appeared again to taunt them. After realizing that the girl was an illusion due to her changing shape to Spider-Man, the two heroes went up the mountain to battle Nightmare.[83] Nightmare revealed that he was able to build a bridge to Professor X's mind through Wolverine, allowing him to start his plan of merging his realm with reality. However, the Professor knew Nightmare's intentions all along, letting Wolverine get close to Nightmare to cause a psychic backlash that defeated him and ended his plan. Victorious, the two heroes woke up.[84]
Nightmare took control of Morbius, the Living Vampire, as a trap for Doctor Strange. When Strange came looking for Morbius, the bait worked, and Nightmare took over Strange's physical body.[85] Nightmare physically entered the real world by taking control of Strange's body. Morbius was freed, and he and Nightmare in Strange's body fought.[86] Nightmare got too excited about being in the human realm, allowing Strange to take over Nightmare's physical form in the Nightmare World and unite the others. Nightmare eventually released Strange when Morbius threatened to kill Nightmare's actual physical form, swearing to never do it again before returning to his own realm.[87]
Nightmare was caught by the sorceress Salomé. When Doctor Strange encountered Nightmare in a dream, he tried to warn Strange of the dangers, but Doctor Strange woke up and soon forgot the dream.[88] Nightmare was presumably freed when Salomé was defeated.[89]
Club Fear[]
Nightmare expressed that he had grown bored and run out of ideas to torment dreamers. He visited the realm of mortals to seek 'motivation.' He took control of a nightclub, renaming it 'Club Fear.'[90] Patrons were briefly exposed to their nightmares. There he posed as owner Edvard Haberdash, becoming romantically involved with a horror movie actress.[91]
However, his realm was taken over by the demon Exile, the stillborn twin brother of Lucre.[90] Allied with demons from the Realm of Madness, Exile attempted to send assassins to kill Nightmare, but he killed them all.[91] An owl sent to Earth from Doggerel warned Nightmare of the events in the Dream Dimension since he left. Nightmare then returned home and defeated Exile, granting Exile's wish to be with his brother again by sending Lucre's soul through one of Club Fear's nightmare chairs to Exile, trapping both of them in the Realm of Exiles. Roxanne stayed with the abusive and inhuman Edvard in fear of her own safety.[92]
Around this time,[1] Nightmare would prove his worth to Roxanne by saving Doctor Strange's life from the Hanon Tramps.[93]
Alone again,[1] Nightmare grew tired of his life and sought to die at the hands of Doctor Strange, with Sister Nil or Strange appointed as the new ruler of the Nightmare World. Nightmare nearly succeeded, but Doctor Strange refused to end Nightmare's life. Nightmare swore revenge before sending Nil and Strange back to Earth.[94]
He attempted to turn Generation X teacher Emma Frost to his side.[95][96] However, she was not turned and was only angered by his lies and scheming.[97]
Aiding Belasco,[1] Nightmare employed Bamfs that were trapped in the Well at the Center of Time, promising them Katherine Pryde in exchange.[98] They began to torment Lockheed[99] before attacking Excalibur and bringing them to Nightmare's realm.[100] In his realm, Nightmare tormented the heroes to see their motivations but was unable to access the fears of Pete Wisdom due to him already having dealt with his grief. The heroes were able to conquer their fears and leave Nightmare's realm.[98]
Nightmare claimed that his daughter Daydream was conceived by forcibly entering the mind of the Hulk's late wife, Betty Ross, raping her in her sleep.[10] Alternate accounts state that he seduced a human woman in her sleep.[101][102] or possibly with a different unknown woman in a coma.[103][104] Nightmare attempted to cultivate a hatred for humans and humanity in his daughter. Putting her into an amnesiac state, Nightmare relocated Daydream to Earth where she adopted the name Gwen. Gwen went on to become a singer and eventually associated with a man named Ripley.[10][note 5]
Further Plots[]
Later, Nightmare was able to access human minds through the 'American dream' concept. Many deeply patriotic people who had achieved success through hard work were on violent rampages. Nightmare was soon stopped by the combined forces of Captain America, Sharon Carter, and S.H.I.E.L.D.[105]
At some point, Nightmare became trapped in the Land of the Dead. When Black Panther and Moon Knight journeyed into the spirit realm to reconnect with Bast, Nightmare came to the Panther God Pavilion to draw off the dreams of the previous rulers of Wakanda and sleeping mortals.[26] Nightmare attempted to torment Black Panther with his father's dreams, but Moon Knight was able to free Black Panther. Nightmare soon grew weak from being outside of his realm and wanted to return. However, he couldn't return due to the Book of the Dead only being able to be used by mortals. Posing as Khonshu, Nightmare attempted to trick the heroes into using the book to launch an attack on Nightmare's realm. Nightmare, still posing as Khonshu, tried to follow the heroes and return home, but the heroes soon discovered Nightmare's deception. T'Challa awoke from his coma before Nightmare could return to his realm, trapping Nightmare.[106]
Nightmare later managed to return home.[1] He managed to recreate his realm as a dark version of Manhattan and made Cloak the entrance. Nightmare gained power with more beings entering his realm. His army soon invaded Earth, but he was defeated by the Marvel Knights, with Cloak closing the portal.[107]
Nightmare's realm was almost destroyed by the Archenemy.[34] Magik was later able to kill the Archenemy.[108]
Nightmare grew stronger by gaining strength from the fear and panic after a major terrorist attack, allowing him to cross into the waking world. Along the way, he also found his renegade daughter Daydream. He stated that the events in Hulk's recent history were part of his manipulations and that some of the events were true while others were false.[note 6] Nightmare claimed that this daughter was conceived by forcibly entering the mind of the Hulk's late wife, Betty, raping her in her sleep. Nightmare was temporarily killed by the Hulk in retaliation. After Hulk leaves, Betty's dream self (from her comatose state) washed up on the beach. Nightmare, somehow returned and taking the shape of her father, embraced her.[10][note 7]
Nightmare once attacked Magik (Jimaine Szardos) and Nightcrawler while under Hive's control, attempting to claim the Soulsword. However, he was defeated by Margali Szardos.[109] Freed, Nightmare helped defeat Hive.[110]
Nightmare possessed Wong to tell Doctor Strange about an alliance between Umar and Dormammu. When questioned about why he decided to help, Nightmare revealed that Dormammu had outlawed dreaming in all his dominions, worried if Dormammu came to Earth.[11]
Nightmare haunted the dreams of a little girl named Sadie Johnson. One night while in her dreams, the Whistle Pig was able to use a dream catcher to pull him into the waking world, weakening him. Once Sadie's emotions went from fear to joy, Nightmare lost power and was beat by the Whistle Pig, forcing him to retreat.[111]
When Doc Samson of an alternate reality tried some experimental therapy on the Hulk, Hulk tore a hole into the Nightmare realm where they battled Nightmare and his creations. After killing the Hulk, Nightmare and his creations entered Earth-617 through Doc Samson's mind, feeding off the fear. Nightmare then sent 617's Samson, possessed by his servant, Energumen, to merge with 616's Samson and create a stable portal to that reality.[112] During this time, Nightmare's first demons during his invasion were defeated by Jack Holyoak, Tina Punnett, and the Whistle Pig. The alternate reality's Samson was able to free himself and help close the portal.[111]
A herd of horses from Nightmare's realm invaded Greenwich Village. However, a hellfire blast from Daimon Hellstrom quickly destroyed them.[113]
Secret Invasion[]
During the Skrull Secret Invasion, Nightmare battled Hercules and the God Squad when they passed through his realm to get directions to reach the realm of the Skrull Pantheon. Nightmare demanded their fears and, after feeding on them, attempted to gain enough power to take over the waking world. However, Amatsu-Mikaboshi was able to create shadow copies and steal a map to the Skrulls. Nightmare summoned up an army of monsters from living being's fears to fight them, but they managed to escape.[8]
Conquest of the World of Fiction[]
When Stephen G. Diesner caught a glimpse of Nightmare, Stephen published the experience as a fictional novel, allowing Nightmare to invade other realms of the human consciousness. Nightmare started with the Realm of Fiction, capturing its ruler, Fountainhead, and allying himself with many of fiction's villains.[114] Individuals in the human world soon became afraid of stories. The Fantastic Four traveled to the world of literature, finding many of the areas destroyed before finding an army of demons.[115] The Fantastic Four soon defeated these demons. They gathered a resistance of many of the greatest warriors of literature.[116] Nightmare's army was able to capture the resistance and brought them before Nightmare, before shooting the resistance.[114] Nightmare was eventually defeated when Johnny Storm was able to convince the author to write a sequel to help the characters win and free Fountainhead. In a desperate attempt for revenge, Nightmare traveled to the real world and took control of Willie's niece Billie Lumpkin to kill Willie Lumpkin, who had helped the Fantastic Four, but Mr. Fantastic was able to stop it. Nightmare then returned to his realm.[117]
Trauma[]
After the Superhuman Civil War, his son Terrance Ward joined the Initiative and trained at Camp Hammond under the codename "Trauma."[118] Nightmare unleashed horrors upon the camp, inflicting everyone with their worst fears. He forced Penance to remember everything he had forgotten, the pain and guilt incapacitating him.[119] However, Tigra helped him recover, forcing Nightmare to release Trauma. Trauma and Penance were invited to join the Avengers Resistance, but both declined.[120]
Avenger of the Supernatural[]
During his initial tenure as the new Sorcerer Supreme, The Vishanti had pronounced a prophecy of dark days and an evil that would swallow the universe by unspoken supernatural force. Unused to operating on such a level, Drumm went about attempting to seal off as many evil supernatural forces across the cosmos as possible to protect the Earth from the threat, lastly using a tip from Stephen Strange to lock the Dreaded Dormammu into a sub-dimension of his massive realm, and trap him with the Barrier Crows of Legba.
Returning to his home in New Orleans, Doctor Voodoo was exhausted but survived the trip. He was greeted by his predecessor, Stephen Strange, and the ghost of his brother Daniel, who noted that Drumm had not slept in a week, wearing himself thin. Despite protests from Strange over Drumm using varied dark magics to hold back evil forces and keep various demons at bay, Drumm persevered and Strange acquiesced and departed. Voodoo, despite not sleeping in a week, must depart for his other duty: he is the doctor at a free clinic in New Orleans. Marinette-Bwa-Chech a "petro loa" escaped the Bondye and inhabited the body of a man who sought help at a New Orleans medical clinic to ambush and attack Drumm, while Doctor Doom arrived in an attempt to steal the Eye of Agamotto. Drumm and Doom tussled across dimensions until falling into the Dimension of Nightmare, where Doom called off his attacks and Nightmare steals a piece of Drumm's staff. Drumm was later misled by a brainwashed Son of Satan to free Nightmare from his dimension to fulfill the Vishanti's prophecy.
Drumm eventually fell prey to the possessions of Nightmare who went on to spread chaos across the world and possess every Sorcerer Supreme candidate still active. With help from his brother Daniel, Drumm broke free and enlisted the aid of Doctor Doom to battle and slay Nightmare's encroaching army and defeat Nightmare, nearly slaying all of Earth's mages in the process. Drumm eventually managed to depower Nightmare whereas Doom used the chance to absorb Nightmare's power and claim he had manipulated Drumm all along as the true prophesied evil the Vishanti warned of. Drumm revealed he knew of this ploy and used his brother to possess Doom who'd left himself vulnerable during the betrayal. Drumm sealed Nightmare off into the realm of Bondyè and returned the world to normal before the invasion had occurred.[121]
Attempts At Revenge On Hercules[]
Later, Nightmare attempted to get revenge on Hercules by manipulating Arcade into trapping Hercules and Deadpool in a labyrinth constructed by Nightmare and Arcade. The gambit failed, and Nightmare withdrew.[122]
After the fall of Hercules and the deaths of Zeus and Hera, the Olympians argued over who should rule the Olympus Group. The gods eventually agreed to fight through mortal proxies. However, Nightmare and Nox soon entered Olympus. Nightmare hoped to destroy Amadeus Cho due to Cho helping Hercules humiliate Nightmare during the Secret Invasion. As Nightmare attacked Cho, Cho used a pocket teleporter bag to trap Nightmare and teleport him to Bruce Banner's laboratory.[123] He presumably managed to free himself at some time.
Chaos War[]
Nightmare was the first to fall in the Chaos King's onslaught against the forces of Earth; his powers claimed to destroy the minds of the rallied mortal heroes and eliminated many of the planet's prime defenders, leaving only certain gods and some shielded humans to attempt to counter his chaos and darkness.[12][124] He was returned to life, along with the destroyed Multiverse,[note 8] when Hercules sacrificed his powers to restore the Multiverse to before.[13]
Fear Itself[]
At the start of the war, Mephisto visited the Infinite Embassy to understand other gods' plans, with Nightmare being last. Nightmare explained that Cul was starving him of fear. Nightmare wanted to fight Cul, but Mephisto said he would die and be mocked for hypocrisy if he fought to prevent the humans from being scared. When Nightmare talked of fighting against Asgard, Mephisto said that he would lose and die. When Nightmare talked of joining Cul, Mephisto argued that Nightmare would continue to starve and want to die. Nightmare, uncertain on what action to take, listened to Mephisto's advice to do nothing and plan for if something happens.[125]
After the Serpent War, the fear energies of the Asgardian god of fear washed across the world and infected numerous people, including Kid Loki. Nightmare began collecting the fear energies of these infected sleepers to create a crown from which he could channel the power into him. After harvesting the fear energies from a Polish girl, Nightmare found an enormous amount of it in Loki. However, Nightmare couldn't take it because Loki soon woke up.[126] Loki and his allies, Hellstrom and Leah, began racing Nightmare from infected sleeper to infected sleeper to eliminate the fear energies before Nightmare could harvest them. The task proved exhausting, and Loki offered to give Nightmare his large amount of fear energies, which were enough to make the crown so that Nightmare would put no innocent at risk anymore.[127]
Back in the Dream Dimension, Nightmare created the Fear Crown, the key to ultimate power. However, Loki had alerted the other Fear Lords about Nightmare's plans. They fought Nightmare in a never-ending cycle of attempts to take the crown one Fear Lord from another.[128] Alerted by the spirit of the old Loki, Mephisto entered the cycle and took the crown from the Fear Lords, the Fear Lords bending to his will and feeding off the fear Mephisto gave them from the crown. Kid Loki sacrificed himself to stop the crown from existing by allowing an echo of his old self, Ikol, to take over his body. It is presumed that when Kid Loki sacrificed himself, the crown faded, and the Fear Lords left Mephisto's service.[129][note 9]
When the Silver Surfer returned Dawn Greenwood to Earth, she fell under Nightmare's influence due to an unusual universal lunar alignment. With the help of Doctor Strange and the Hulk, Dawn and Norrin managed to free the Earth.[130]
During the Beyonders' invasion of the Multiverse, three Beyonders invaded Nightmare's realm. However, they were defeated and remained trapped in the hand of Nightmare as he toyed with them.[22]
Squirrel Girl had a dream where she was fighting Doctor Octopus. She soon realized she was in a dream and was met by Nightmare, who revealed that he intended to destroy her sanity. Nightmare summoned a dream copy of Count Nefaria to defeat Squirrel Girl, but she was able to beat the Count. Nightmare bonded with a fake Venom symbiote and chased Squirrel Girl across many dreams before being defeated by an army of squirrels. Nightmare agreed to stop haunting her. Squirrel Girl offered to show Nightmare dreams instead of nightmares in the realm. Smiling, the two of them flew around.[131]
During a battle between Doctor Strange and Mordo, Nightmare opened a hole in the ground directly to the Dream Dimension, trapping Strange there.[132] Doctor Strange began to live in a false illusion. Realizing the truth, Wong and Zelam Stanton went to sleep to attempt to find Strange in the Dream Dimension. Strange realized he was dreaming and broke the illusion, facing Nightmare. After remembering that Nightmare drew his power from the billions of bad dreams people were having in the real world, Doctor Strange cast a spell to transfer the dreams from every person on Earth to himself, greatly weakening Nightmare temporarily. Just as Strange was about to punish the weakened Nightmare, he was teleported out of the dimension by Satana Hellstrom, inadvertently saving Nightmare.[133]
Damnation[]
After Doctor Strange restored the city of Las Vegas and resurrected all its inhabitants, Nightmare, along with many other Hell-Lords, sensed a hole formed in dimensional magic in a long abandoned necro-dimension. They all battled over who would cross into Earth and face Strange. In the end, Mephisto was victorious and trapped the others in the realm, barring them from returning home. When Doctor Strange and the Avengers entered the realm, Nightmare along with the other Hell-Lords all attacked Strange. Strange opened a portal with the help of Dormammu, escaping the realm but leaving the Avengers to face the hordes. Nightmare was released when Johnny Blaze freed the souls that were imprisoned in Hell.[134]
Nightmare was fighting a war. After the victory, he became exhausted and fell asleep. In his dream, he experienced a nightmare where he was trapped in the mortal world by Strange. When he finally woke up, he killed one of his minions for letting him go to sleep, warning them to never let him dream.[135]
Nexus of Nightmares[]
Baron Mordo allied with Nightmare, where Mordo would use the Darkhold to bring Nightmare and all other Dream Dimension denizens to the human dimension in return for Baron Mordo ruling by Nightmare's side. For weeks, Nightmare subjected Doctor Strange to nightmares of his past, forcing him to relive his own experiences and causing him to doubt his worthiness as the sorcerer supreme. Baron Mordo sent his astral form into the Nightmare World to meet with Nightmare. As a demonstration of power, Nightmare easily destroyed the Beyonders he had been holding for years before urging Mordo to begin his attack on the Sanctum Sanctorum to retrieve the Darkhold to free him. Baron Mordo successfully invaded the Sanctum Sanctorum and retrieved the Darkhold. As Baron Mordo was casting the spell in Transylvania, Doctor Strange stopped Karl and sealed the portal. As punishment for his failure, Nightmare grabbed Mordo back to the Nightmare World to torment him.[22]
Hypnos's Invasion[]
When the Greek goddess Nyx escaped her imprisonment, she sought to reclaim the source of her power, the Night Shards, one of which had been entrusted to Nightmare thousands of years in the past. She sent her son Hypnos, god of dreams, to besiege Nightmare's castle with an army of dreamless people, draining Nightmare of his powers. When the Hulk, Rocket Raccoon, and Hawkeye entered the realm to stop Hypnos, the depowered Nightmare attempted to scare them into his service, but they saw through his bluff and convinced him to instead team up.[136] Their alliance resulted in the Hulk killing Hypnos and claiming the Night Shard.[137] Regaining control over his realm again, Nightmare opened a portal and sent the heroes away.[138]
During the War of the Realms, Nightmare gained power from humanity's dreams about the war. He planned to use the fear to start an invasion on Earth, but Strange visited him and was able to chain Nightmare, stopping the invasion before it even began.[139] He managed to free himself at some point, probably after the War of the Realms, given that his army was never seen invading Earth.
Nightmare was visited by the mercenary Deadpool, who Peter Quincy hired to find his nightmares. Nightmare attempted to toy with Deadpool and summoned an army of dream demons to fight him. In the end, he agreed to show Deadpool the source of Peter's nightmares in exchange for leaving his realm. After seeing the source, Deadpool left the realm.[40]
Nightmare again tormented the dreams of Doctor Strange. After Nightmare revealed he was the one behind the dream, Doctor Strange abruptly woke up.[140]
Death[]
After learning that Loki, as the newly-appointed king of Jotunheim, was neglecting the throne, Nightmare launched an attack on the realm, hoping to use the land of the Frost Giants as a stepping stone to conquer the rest of the Ten Realms. His invasion was quickly thwarted since Loki happened to have returned home, and Nightmare was promptly defeated when the magic snowman Frösti devoured him and digested him back to the Nightmare Dimension.[141]
Enraged by the embarrassing defeat to Loki, Nightmare resurfaced on Earth, where Loki was spending most of his time,[142] confronting him in Washington Square Park outside of the Stark Unlimited HQ.[143] After Nightmare failed to trap Loki in his worst fear since he was already living in it due to his unfulfilling new life as king, Loki convinced him to form a pact to forfeit their immortality for a duel to the death. As soon as the fight started, Loki used his previously-schemed preparations to make a prototype flying car dive out of the Stark building and into Nightmare, killing him. Nightmare subsequently found himself in Heaven, where the One-Above-All greeted him in the afterlife, much to the fiend's rage.[14]
Return[]
Nightmare later somehow returned. Kulan Gath found Nightmare and was able to depose of him, becoming the new ruler of the Nightmare Realm. Nightmare appeared in the nightmare of Conan and Ghost Rider. Nightmare told Conan about Kulan's fear: Conan himself and gave him some advice on how to defeat Kulan before letting the two leave.[144] He presumably got control over his realm again after Kulan Gath was devoured by Shuma-Gorath.[145]
With the sudden death of Doctor Strange, Nightmare was able to enter the Earth without the sorcerer meeting him. During Devil's Night, the night before Halloween, he found himself in New York, tormenting Cyclops, Jean Grey, and X-23 during their sleep. However, Jean Grey managed to break free of her nightmares. After a brief battle, Jean Grey won, calling him out for his attempts to use Strange's death to feed on others' minds and threatening to end him if he ever returned to prey on the dreams of the X-Men. Nightmare then left.[15]Attributes
Powers
Nightmare is a Class Three Demon.[146] As one of the Fear Lords, Nightmare possesses cosmic power.[19] According to Doggerel, without Nightmare "those in slumber would come asunder," "the monsters of the Brine would multiply with deformities sublime," and "the realms of Exiles and Insanity would collapse in calamity."[4] He has been referred to as one of most powerful beings in the Splinter Realms[147] and an entity of the same size and power as Eternity,[148] who he successfully captured twice before.[149][21] Nightmare fought on equal terms with the Dweller-in-Darkness[150] and fought on seemingly equal footing with All-Father Thor for a short time before being devoured by a sneak attack from Frösti the snowman.[141] Within his own realm, he is virtually omnipotent, once defeating three Beyonders, toying with them for years before easily destroying them.[22] However, Nightmare once weakened as a fissure between the Waking World and the Dream Dimension dissipated the shadows of sleep in which he works and operates.[62]
- Omniscience: Nightmare is said to be omniscient.[1] His vast knowledge is known to the Council of Godheads.[151]
- Incalculable Strength: Nightmare is capable of lifting over 100 tons.[1]
- Warp Speed: Nightmare is capable of teleporting.[1]
- Virtually Indestructible: Nightmare is virtually indestructible.[1] He was capable of taking multiple hits from All-Father Thor wielding Mjolnir.[141]
- Virtually unlimited command of all forms of energy: Nightmare has near unlimited command of discharging energy.
Nightmare can summon several lower beings in his realm, such as Succubi, to do his bidding.[citation needed]
Nightmare can summon his mount, Dreamstalker, when needed.[citation needed]
Under normal conditions, Nightmare cannot affect an individual who is awake. However, his images and other creations can continue to haunt a person in their waking hours.[citation needed]
As long as there are beings that dream, Nightmare will exist. While he has been defeated, he can never truly be destroyed.[54]Abilities
Weaknesses
Nightmare is much weaker when outside of his realm, and can be overcome while in it by a being who has completely conquered their fear.[citation needed]
If humanity stopped dreaming, Nightmare would cease to exist, though humanity would go insane.[54]Paraphernalia
Equipment
Weapons
Transportation
Notes
- In the letters page for Marvel: The Lost Generation #5, it was reported that Roger Stern said it was possible that Doctor Strange's adventures up through Strange Tales #122 actually occurred in the pre-modern era, which would include some of Nightmare's earliest known encounters with Doctor Strange. Until more is known, this claim is a valid possibility at best.
- Despite being a Fear Lord, he was referred to as a ruler of the dead by Pluto.[47]
- Nightmare is enemies with the residents of the adjacent Realm of Madness.[28][153]
- Nightmare mentioned entering the dreams of Wolverine once a long time before beginning to torment his dreams in Marvel Comics Presents #99.
- The exact specifics and circumstances of when Nightmare left Club Fear are unknown. Club Fear was last shown in Over the Edge #7, with Nightmare still shown running it. It was last mentioned in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #79, where he said that he still controlled his realm through Club Fear. The only known source for him eventually leaving the club is in Nightmare's profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Horror 2005 #1, where it stated that he was a former nightclub owner.
- In Nightmare's entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #8, it said that Nightmare was "alone again" when retelling the events of of Over the Edge #7, implying that he was no longer with Roxanne at this time.
- According to Daydream, killing Nightmare would spawn a different incarnation of him.[10] It is unknown what differences each incarnation has.
- Part of the reason for why Peter David decided to use Nightmare to create the Merged Hulk persona of Bruce Banner came from dislike towards Paul Jenkins' Professor Hulk.[154]
- Uncanny X-Men writer Chris Claremont had several different ideas for the parentage of the X-Man Nightcrawler, one of which consisted of Nightmare being his father. Then-Doctor Strange editor Roger Stern prevented this connection.[155]
- Nightmare was shown in a future pertaining to Cloak and Dagger.[156] This future was never touched upon again in Marvel comics. Although Nick Spencer had originally hoped for a course for future stories about these two,[157] he eventually undid their power swap in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 4) #8, possibly abandoning this future. One of the future visions showed Cloak and Dagger continuing to fight crime in their power swapped states,[156] meaning that at least one of the visions has already happened. It is unknown if any other have happened yet.
- When Nightmare temporarily forfeited his immortality in a duel with Loki, he was reborn as a new soul who had not committed any sins. As such, when Loki killed him, Nightmare was sent to Heaven.[14]
- Nightmare is one of the few characters who has met the One Above All,[14] along with Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Human Torch, the Thing,[158] Peter Parker,[159] Thanos,[160] Hulk, Jackie McGee, the Leader,[161] an alternate reality's Thanos,[162] and the Living Tribunal.[160][162]
- It was later revealed that the One Below All is the dark side of the One Above All.[161] Tammuz,[163] Brian Banner,[164] Metatron,[165] and Par%l[166] all met the One Above All in his One Below All form only.
Trivia
- Nightmare's first appearance in the comics was also the first appearance of Doctor Strange, making him Strange's oldest villain in terms of publication history.
- In their first appearance, Doctor Strange called Nightmare his ancient foe, implying the two had met before.[42]
- This was somewhat confirmed in Nightmare's entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (Vol. 2) #9, where it said that their first encounter has yet to be recorded.
- In their first appearance, Doctor Strange called Nightmare his ancient foe, implying the two had met before.[42]
- Few mortals besides Doctor Strange have been able to survive an encounter with Nightmare in his realm.[167]
- Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons & Various Monstrosities #1 states "Gnit is Nightmare's own personal Nightmare" in present tense, implying that despite the apparent destruction of his physical form in Doctor Strange (Vol. 2) #53, Gnit isn't truly dead and is still part of Nightmare.
- The Dweller's creation D'Spayre was also considered Nightmare's "cousin."[74] He was once also called Nightmare's second cousin.[168]
- Spite claimed to be the sister of D'Spayre.[169] She was later confirmed to be a creation of the Dweller-in-Darkness,[170][101] making her also a cousin of Nightmare.
- Two Handbooks state that the Dweller-in-Darkness is the first cousin once removed of Daydream.[103][104] This would make the Dweller-in-Darkness either one generation above or below Daydream whilst also confirming that Nightmare and the Dweller are indeed cousins.
- Due to so many battles, Doctor Strange routinely cast a spell before he went to sleep to shield himself from Nightmare.[16][60]
- According to Manslaughter, Nightmare looks like actor Tim Curry.[171]
- Despite normally wearing a green suit, he was once shown in a blue one.[70]
- Although Nightmare creates horrors, even his imagination cannot create some of the things that exist in the human world.[70]
- Nightmare doesn't understand why humans care so much about interdimensional travel when all they have to do is sleep and enter his realm.[70]
- Nightmare was written about in one of Doctor Strange's books about his greatest foes.[172]
- Nightmare picked up his sense of humor from the dreams of humanity.[11]
- According to himself, Nightmare's influence doesn't just extend to the dreams of all humanity, but also plants, animals, and even a few rocks.[11]
- Nightmare views himself as the original terrorist.[10]
- It is unknown if demons from the Mindscape realm have served Nightmare.[101]
- Nightmare is said to never be awoken by nightmares, which is why it was said to be so surprising when he was awoken by a dream of the Archenemy.[34]
- Although he said to his servants in Doctor Strange (Vol. 5) #10 to never let himself sleep, he was shown sleeping in Magik #1.
- Norman Osborn's Dark Reign Files contained a file on Nightmare.
- Nightmare is Naomi Ward's worst fear.
- Nightmare's entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #8 said that he was the father of Terrance Ward but did not cover his appearance in Avengers: The Initiative Special #1, despite that comic first revealing Nightmare was Terrance's father. This omission was likely because the story arc in Avengers: The Initiative had not finished.
- Nightmare considers himself and the Chaos King as practically brothers and has stated that he thrives in the darkness of the Chaos King.[12]
- Mephisto views Nightmare as a mosquito who sucks on humanity's naps and can only give people like Doctor Strange a challenge.[125]
- Nightmare has often been compared by fans to Dream from The Sandman due to the two of them having similar occupations (both being entities who rule over dreams). Deadpool once commented on this similarity, sarcastically asking if they were going to be sued by Neil Gaiman. A notable difference between the two is that Dream is far more benevolent than Nightmare.
- Although Nightmare gives humanity nightmares, he views them as a gift because they can also wake up from them.[40]
- Nightmare likes Doctor Strange because he has provided more amusement than the rest of humanity combined.
- Nightmare once said to Spider-Man that while God may have conceived man, man also conceived God in many ways as well, stating that the two are intertwined in ways that Peter could not possibly understand.
- He views religion as analogous to blind men touching different parts of an elephant, with all of them being right and wrong. He said that religion is blind men touching God, all of them using their imaginations in its purest form.
- This was most likely inspired by John Godfrey Saxe's poem The Blind Men and the Elephant, the last verse explaining how the elephant represents God and often religious disputes are ignorance of a being no one has seen.[173]
- He views religion as analogous to blind men touching different parts of an elephant, with all of them being right and wrong. He said that religion is blind men touching God, all of them using their imaginations in its purest form.
See Also
- 171 appearance(s) of Nightmare (Earth-616)
- 18 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Nightmare (Earth-616)
- 32 minor appearance(s) of Nightmare (Earth-616)
- 38 mention(s) of Nightmare (Earth-616)
- 14 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Nightmare (Earth-616)
- 122 image(s) of Nightmare (Earth-616)
- 13 quotation(s) by or about Nightmare (Earth-616)
- 1 victim(s) killed by Nightmare (Earth-616)
- 3 item(s) used/owned by Nightmare (Earth-616)
Links and References
References
- ↑ It is important to differentiate between a Fear Lord and a member of the Fear Lords. According to the Book of the Vishanti in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #31, a Fear Lord is "no lowly demon, such as the denizens of Denak, but a mighty being whose power is measured on a cosmic scale," "not motivated by base cravings for human worship or for dominion over lowlier creatures, but by desire for the greatest, purest fear-which is sustenance and life itself to them," and "a mystery-his origins, often his very existence-known to very few." Nox even referred to herself as a Fear Lord in Mystery Men #1 and Mystery Men #4, set during the 1930s and before the group's formation. All seven Fear Lords eventually formed the Fear Lords group in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #31 in the modern era. It is unknown what specific qualities it requires for one to be a Fear Lord, as Nox breaks several of the listed requirements. As revealed in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #32, Nox doesn't use fear as a weapon or to survive but rather as a form of "aesthetic pleasure." She said that she derived joy from creating "fear patterns" among humanity. She is also the only Fear Lord that is female, breaking the barrier where Fear Lords are supposed to have his very existence-known to very few."
- ↑ The placement of Marvel in the continuity is unconfirmed but is placed at its spot due to the design of Doctor Strange and some other heroes sporting their classic costumes, notably Clint Barton, Black Widow, and Iron Man. However, this could just be an unintentional design choice.
- ↑ Although it might seem strange to put Nightmare's meeting with Strange and Spider-Man before his battle with the dream Hulk that had infected his realm, Spider-Man ditched his alien costume in Web of Spider-Man #1 and therefore before his encounter with Nightmare in Web of Spider-Man #7, while the Symbiote Spider-Man: Alien Reality series took place when Peter still had his black costume. However, some contradictions are present. Peter did not seem to know Nightmare in Web of Spider-Man #7 but said that he knew who Nightmare was in Symbiote Spider-Man: Alien Reality #5. Nightmare also implied in Web of Spider-Man #7 that he had been escaping from the Hulk since the events of Incredible Hulk #299, likely leaving him with no time to meet the two heroes. For more information on the complexity of this issue, see here.
- ↑ It was shown that Strange, Mordo, and likely Wong still remembered the past reality. Peter remembered the events but was told by Strange that the events were a dream, and Black Widow likely also remembered the events as a dream. This assumption presumably applied to everyone else in that reality. It is unknown if Nightmare still remembers the events.
- ↑ The exact time of Daydream's birth is unknown, other than that it was after Symbiote Spider-Man: Alien Reality #4, when an illusion of Daydream mentioned that she did not exist yet in the human world. Nightmare's entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #8, which much of this page was based on, gives no clear answer, only stating that she was born within the last 20 years. Nightmare implied in Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #81 that Daydream was born during Betty's coma from Incredible Hulk #466 to Hulk (Vol. 2) #15. Nightmare also said that Daydream was born as one of several paybacks against the Hulk for inconveniences in the past. Nightmare's earliest known encounter with the Hulk was in Incredible Hulk #292, leaving the birth of Daydream supposedly after that. This page decided to put her birth at the earliest possible time, leaving the most time before her first appearance in Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #77
- ↑ The comic showed three characters behind Nightmare intended to hint at things not being what they seemed at the time. Although left ambiguous here, review of various items published since can provide explanations as to which events are true and false:
- The Devil Hulk plotline from Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #12-32: Review of the Hulk entry in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #5 confirms that these events happened. This was further confirmed in the Immortal Hulk #15. Virtually everything in Paul Jenkins' run has been accepted by other writers as "real."
- The Abomination: This could either be referring to his role in the death of Betty Ross (revealed in Incredible Hulk #474) or his battle with the Hulk during the Home Base conspiracy in Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #50–54. Review of the profiles of the Abomination and Home Base in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #1 and Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #5 confirm that these events are all factual. Emil was apparently backtracked by the "fact" that Banner slept with his wife Nadia. Bits and pieces of Jones's run didn't happen exactly as shown, particularly those surrounding "Mr. Blue"/Betty. The Leader was still involved in some capacity since the "brain in a jar" version was shown in a flashback in World War Hulk Aftersmash: Warbound #3 as one of his prior forms.
- The Hulk's clash with the Absorbing Man from Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #55–59: This was revealed to be caused by damage to the timeline caused by Captain Marvel that created two versions of the Absorbing Man, as explained in Captain Marvel (Vol. 5) #18.
- Contrary to popular belief, Guilt Hulk was kept due to existing before Paul Jenkins' run. Guilt Hulk was seen in Incredible Hulk #377.
- The Merged Hulk was briefly renamed "The Professor" during writer Paul Jenkins' run, accompanied by the "revelation" that a merger of Savage Hulk, Joe Fixit and Bruce Banner never took place, and it was rather a separate personality. Nightmare's claims allow for the possibility of the Merged Hulk existing and the Professor Hulk existing not as a creation of Doc Samson but a creation of Nightmare.
- It is also implied that the entire Home Base conspiracy and the sudden resurrection of Betty Ross by The Team were all fabrications. Review of various entries in the A-Z Handbooks indicate that the only falsehood that can be confirmed involves the appearance of Betty Ross and the fact that she underwent a facelift. It has since been clarified that this was a physical manifestation of Betty's sleeping mind thanks to the machinations of Nightmare due to Elizabeth being revealed to be Red She-Hulk in Hulk (Vol. 2) #15.
- ↑ The comic never makes it clear if what was shown at the end still took place in the real world with Nightmare's influence or rather just in Betty's mind, and the events were never shown again in Marvel comics. She was likely still being kept by Ross, shown in Incredible Hulk #467. Time passes differently in dreams, so perhaps it was a flashback to Nightmare starting to seduce Betty in the union that produced Daydream. Maybe she dreamt she was Mr. Blue. There aren't any clear answers, but this page assumes that the Betty at the end was Betty's dream projection due to the real Betty still being in comatose from Incredible Hulk #466 to Hulk (Vol. 2) #15. Once Betty was resuscitated, she was no longer sleeping or in a comatose state, and presumably, her dream self did not exist anymore. Suffice it to say, it was likely shortly after Tempus Fugit that the Leader brought Betty back for real and made her Red She-Hulk.
- ↑ Amadeus Cho famously stated in Chaos War #4 that Amatsu-Mikaboshi had already destroyed 98.76% of the Multiverse. None of these events were ever shown in the comics other than his battles in Earth-616, leading many fans to believe that the word Multiverse was used to refer to the many magical dimensions. Fear Itself: Fellowship of Fear #1, the only account of Chaos War in the Handbooks so far, only described the events shown in the prime reality. On the other hand, in Mighty Thor Annual #1, the virtually omniscient Oblivion implied that Chaos War truly was a multiversal event, commenting how the Chaos King came very close to the annihilation of all universes. It's up to interpretation, but this page chose Mikaboshi as having indeed destroyed the Multiverse as there's no solid proof to argue against it, only a lack of evidence in support of it.
- ↑ This was an alternate reality that was supposed to happen after the Fear Crown was destroyed. In this reality, Mephisto was dethroned, and the Fear Lords chased him away. On Asgard, Hel Wolf raised Thori, Tyr and Hela performed a Handfasting in front of the Dísir, Mister Wilson started to bring back the Manchester Gods, the All-Mother Frigga allied with Gullveig, Volstagg, his family and the Warriors Three were happy and Thor continued to protect Asgard. Instead of dying Loki lived forever in the ancient past with Leah. This reality was a version of events that Loki told Kid Loki would transpire after the latter sacrificed himself. When Mephisto met Loki in Loki: Agent of Asgard, it was revealed that the crown did disappear from Mephisto's head. The Appendix's master list description includes the entire story presumably because when Loki explains these events to Kid Loki and Kid Loki responds with "No, that's pretty lie, it won't be like that at all. I'll be gone forever." However, it is possible he's only referring to his ending being a lie. As such, events similar to those described here are presumed to also occur on the Prime Universe. The only part of this story that couldn't have occurred in the main universe after the death of Kid Loki is Kid Loki winding up in the ancient past with Leah as she is revealed to be alone in Young Avengers (Vol. 2) #8.
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #8 ; Nightmare's entry
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Symbiote Spider-Man: Alien Reality #5
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Doctor Strange #170
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nightmare #1
- ↑ Avengers (Vol. 9) #8
- ↑ Doctor Strange #183
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Doctor Strange #182
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Incredible Hercules #118
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Marvel Fanfare #51
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #81
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Defenders (Vol. 3) #1
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Chaos War #1
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Chaos War #5
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Loki (Vol. 3) #4
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 X-Men (Vol. 6) #4
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 Strange Tales #116 ; Return to the Nightmare World!
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Horror 2005 #1 ; Nightmare's entry
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 18.7 Doctor Strange (Vol. 2) #34
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #31 ; The Book of the Vishanti: A Gathering of Fear Part One
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (Vol. 2) #7 ; Appendix: Other Dimensions, Dream Dimension's entry
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Doctor Strange (Vol. 2) #13
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 Doctor Strange: Nexus of Nightmares #1
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Doctor Strange #180
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (Vol. 2) #9 ; Nightmare's entry
- ↑ Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural #2–5
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Black Panther (Vol. 3) #21–22
- ↑ Marvel Comics Presents #117–122
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 Web of Spider-Man #7
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Marvel Premiere #3
- ↑ Fear Itself: Fellowship of Fear #1 ; Fear Lords' entry
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #33 ; The Book of the Vishanti: A Gathering of Fear Part III
- ↑ Marvel Encyclopedia #1 ;Nightmare's entry
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 Doctor Strange (Vol. 2) #32
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 Magik #1
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 Strange Tales #122 ; The World Beyond
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (Vol. 2) #11 ; Appendix: Other Dimensions
- ↑ Magik #3
- ↑ Avengers No Road Home #3
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 Alpha Flight #67
- ↑ 40.0 40.1 40.2 Deadpool Annual (Vol. 5) #1
- ↑ Avengers: The Initiative #30
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 Strange Tales #110 ; Doctor Strange Master of Black Magic!
- ↑ Doctor Strange #181
- ↑ 44.0 44.1 Defenders #6
- ↑ Mystic Hands of Doctor Strange #1 ; Melancholia
- ↑ Doctor Strange (Vol. 2) #10
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 Champions #2
- ↑ Champions #3
- ↑ Doctor Strange (Vol. 2) #33
- ↑ Micronauts #29
- ↑ Dazzler #4–5
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 Doctor Strange (Vol. 2) #50
- ↑ Doctor Strange (Vol. 2) #52
- ↑ 54.0 54.1 54.2 Doctor Strange (Vol. 2) #53
- ↑ Ghost Rider (Vol. 2) #77–78
- ↑ 56.0 56.1 Marvel #6
- ↑ Marvel #1–5
- ↑ Marvel #5
- ↑ Defenders #125
- ↑ 60.0 60.1 60.2 Incredible Hulk #298
- ↑ Incredible Hulk #292–297
- ↑ 62.0 62.1 Incredible Hulk #299
- ↑ Symbiote Spider-Man: Alien Reality #4
- ↑ Strange Tales (Vol. 2) #3–7
- ↑ Alpha Flight #70
- ↑ Ghost Rider (Vol. 3) #11
- ↑ Incredible Hulk #360
- ↑ Excalibur #29
- ↑ Marvel Comics Presents #79
- ↑ 70.0 70.1 70.2 70.3 Marvel Comics Presents #90
- ↑ Marvel Comics Presents #100
- ↑ Deathlok (Vol. 2) #9–10
- ↑ Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #31–33
- ↑ 74.0 74.1 Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #38
- ↑ Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #39–40
- ↑ Sleepwalker #12
- ↑ Thor #451–452
- ↑ Marvel Comics Presents #99
- ↑ Marvel Comics Presents #117
- ↑ Marvel Comics Presents #118
- ↑ Marvel Comics Presents #119
- ↑ Marvel Comics Presents #120
- ↑ Marvel Comics Presents #121
- ↑ Marvel Comics Presents #122
- ↑ Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #52
- ↑ Morbius: The Living Vampire #9
- ↑ Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #53
- ↑ Marvel Comics Presents #146
- ↑ Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #75
- ↑ 90.0 90.1 Nightmare #1–2
- ↑ 91.0 91.1 Nightmare #3–4
- ↑ Nightmare #4
- ↑ Over the Edge #7
- ↑ Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #79
- ↑ Generation X #20
- ↑ Generation X #22
- ↑ Generation X #26
- ↑ 98.0 98.1 Excalibur #119
- ↑ Excalibur #113–118
- ↑ Excalibur #118
- ↑ 101.0 101.1 101.2 [[{Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons & Various Monstrosities Vol 1 1|{Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons & Various Monstrosities #1]] ; Demons' entry
- ↑ [[Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z 3|[[Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #3|Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z 3]]]] ; Demons' entry
- ↑ 103.0 103.1 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #3 ; Daydream's entry
- ↑ 104.0 104.1 All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z: Update #1 ; Daydream's entry
- ↑ Captain America (Vol. 3) #8–12
- ↑ Black Panther (Vol. 3) #22
- ↑ Marvel Knights #8–9
- ↑ Magik #4
- ↑ Nightcrawler (Vol. 3) #9
- ↑ Nightcrawler (Vol. 3) #10–11
- ↑ 111.0 111.1 Doc Samson (Vol. 2) #5
- ↑ Doc Samson (Vol. 2) #4
- ↑ Last Defenders #3
- ↑ 114.0 114.1 Fantastic Four: True Story #3
- ↑ Fantastic Four: True Story #1
- ↑ Fantastic Four: True Story #2
- ↑ Fantastic Four: True Story #4
- ↑ Avengers: The Initiative Special #1 ; Fear For Your Life
- ↑ Avengers: The Initiative #25
- ↑ Avengers: The Initiative #28–30
- ↑ Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural #1–5
- ↑ Deadpool Team-Up (Vol. 2) #899
- ↑ Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #2
- ↑ Chaos War: Ares #1
- ↑ 125.0 125.1 Journey Into Mystery #627
- ↑ Journey Into Mystery #634
- ↑ Journey Into Mystery #635
- ↑ Journey Into Mystery #635–636
- ↑ Journey Into Mystery #645
- ↑ Silver Surfer (Vol. 7) #5
- ↑ Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (Vol. 2) #11
- ↑ Doctor Strange (Vol. 4) #12
- ↑ Doctor Strange (Vol. 4) #13
- ↑ Doctor Strange #389
- ↑ Doctor Strange (Vol. 5) #10
- ↑ Avengers No Road Home #3–5
- ↑ Avengers No Road Home #6
- ↑ Avengers No Road Home #7
- ↑ War of the Realms: War Scrolls #2
- ↑ Doctor Strange (Vol. 5) #20
- ↑ 141.0 141.1 141.2 Loki (Vol. 3) #1
- ↑ Loki (Vol. 3) #2
- ↑ Loki (Vol. 3) #3
- ↑ Savage Avengers #22
- ↑ Savage Avengers #27
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Horror 2005 #1 ; Appendix
- ↑ Magik #2
- ↑ Scarlet Witch (Vol. 2) #13
- ↑ Doctor Strange #180–182
- ↑ Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #39
- ↑ Incredible Hercules #117
- ↑ Mighty Thor #452
- ↑ Marvel Comics Presents #129 ; The Walking Wounded Part 7 of 8 - "Peak the Pathos"
- ↑ David, Peter (6 August 2022) Peter David on Twitter: @anthonygiboyeau I didn't intend; I did. In Hulk Vol 1 377 Twitter. Retrieved on 20 September 2022.
- ↑ Callahan, Timothy (28 September 2009) Who's Your Daddy, Nightcralwer? CBR.com. Retrieved on 19 July 2022.
- ↑ 156.0 156.1 Spider-Island: Cloak & Dagger #3
- ↑ Richards, Dave (05 May 2011) Spencer Visits "Spider-Island" with Cloak & Dagger CBR.com. Retrieved on 04 November 2022.
- ↑ Fantastic Four #511
- ↑ Sensational Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #40
- ↑ 160.0 160.1 Thanos: The Infinity Finale #1
- ↑ 161.0 161.1 Immortal Hulk #50
- ↑ 162.0 162.1 Thanos: The Infinity Ending #1
- ↑ Immortal Hulk: Time of Monsters #1
- ↑ Immortal Hulk #12
- ↑ Immortal Hulk #24
- ↑ Immortal Hulk #25
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #8 ; Nightmare's entry
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Horror 2005 #1 ; D'Spayre's entry
- ↑ X-Men Unlimited #12
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Horror 2005 #1 ; Dweller-in-Darkness's entry
- ↑ Strange Tales (Vol. 2) #7
- ↑ Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme Annual #2
- ↑ Geraghty, Maurice (09 April 2009) 1.2: The Blind Man and the Elephant LibreTexts Statistics. Retrieved on 03 November 2022.
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z #8; Nightmare's entry
- ↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 8