Wikia

The sleepwalkers were dream police. In that capacity, they apprehended any beings that invaded the sleeping minds of humans. Sleepwalker was tricked by his long time foe known as Cob Web (who like Sleepwalker had a real name that is unpronounceable by human language) into entering the mind of one individual (a New York college student named Rick Sheridan) and became trapped.^[1]

After a few confrontations in Rick's dreams, Rick reacted by tearing off Sleepwalker's Imaginator (a badge like device worn by sleepwalkers used to teleport around their home plane The Mind Scape). This resulted in an odd situation further tying the two together. When Rick slept, Sleepwalker could materialize in reality or he could stay in Rick's mind and converse with him via his dreams. It was through a conversation in dreams that Sleepwalker was able to dispel Rick's initial fears that he was a malicious entity and work out agreeable terms to cohabitation.

Sleepwalker possessed a colorful gallery of mostly original villains, with a new one introduced each issue during the title's beginnings. Some of them could be considered corny even by the standards of their day. Some of them include the billiard based 8-Ball, ultra nerdy Bookworm, prison escapees The Chain Gang and hypnotic songstress Lullaby.^[2]

Sleepwalker's first encounter with a super-villain is with 8-Ball. He spotted their unusual vehicle when he is scanning his new habitat from high in the sky. Sleepwalker arrived to question them if they are criminals, before reacting to their hostile actions. Still weak from floating in the sky, he gets taken down quickly. When asked, 8-Ball takes the time to politely explain his motives and why people commit crimes. Then he collapsed a building on Sleepwalker to finish him off. But his return to the ground restored Sleepwalker's strength and he rose from the rubble to send 8-Ball and his gang running. He held on to their vehicle, but Rick's awakening causes Sleepwalker to fade away, allowing them to escape. ^[3]

Civil War/Initiative

Sleepwalker became a registered superhuman under the Initiative. He then worked alongside Machine Man and Agent Sum as a member of Operation: Lightning Storm

Powers and AbilitiesEdit

Powers

Superhuman Strength: Sleepwalker is powerful enough to lift and throws cars. His strength allows him to juggle cars with occupants with one arm. Like with his other abilities, it increases when he absorbs mental energies.

Superhuman Durability: Sleepwalker is highly resistant to physical injury. He is capable of withstanding crushing force from a fallen building, grenade blasts, falls from great heights, and powerful energy blasts without sustaining injury. His resistance is such that he can take a punch from Hercules that sends him through the wall of a building and get up afterwards.

Superhuman Reflexes: Sleepwalker's reflexes are such that he can catch a knife in his fingers and individually warp multiple bullets from an Uzi.

Superhuman Stamina: Sleepwalker's body produces no fatigue toxins, granting him almost untiring physical stamina in all activities; his stamina is limited only by how much mental energy he contains. He doesn't need sleep and is immune to attacks that would render him, or takes effect when, unconscious. This proofs his race to the powers of even beings like Nightmare. In places that are filled with mental energy like the Mindscape, he has essentially unlimited stamina.

Superhuman Vision: Sleepwalker possesses eyes that could see greater than human limits, spotting one unusual vehicle in the city from high in the atmosphere. He can see and track something as small and fast as supersonic bullets; can see and recognize various energies and can track them, including the energies from his own Warp Gaze; can even see otherwise invisible beings like astral projections and spirits. As he can analyze the structure of snow and manipulate air molecules, Sleepwalker may also be able see at the microscopic level.

Warp Gaze: His only offensive power, with this vision-based power, Sleepwalker could alter the shape of physical objects and twist them to his purposes. Sleepwalker initially demonstrated this power by using it to distort a sidewalk to capture a criminal.

His control is to the level where he can fashion an entire Spider-Man costume from raw fabric while having no knowledge of sewing. He has stated that in the Mindscape, his control is even finer and as sharp as a scalpel.

With the exception of those that nullify his powers, the composition of the materials that he warps makes no difference in the ease that he can warp, freely manipulating both air and reinforced steel equally. He also used this ability once on air molecules to create a wind tunnel for faster aerial travel.

While Sleepwalker can use the Warp Gaze directly on a living being, he has sworn an oath to avoid doing so because of the mental trauma it induces. Exceptions can be made in certain situations such as lethal threats, possession, and on extra-dimensional beings.

When using the Warp Gaze on a possessed person, it acts to force out the possessing entity. It also reveals the true nature and banishes extra-dimensional beings like demons.

Flight: Sleepwalker has a flotation-like flight that can let him travel fast enough to chase down a car. He can increase this speed by forming a wind tunnel with his warp gaze.

Regenerative Healing Factor: Sleepwalker can heal from practically any injury by absorbing mental energy. He can absorb mental energy whenever he returns to his host or to the Mindscape. This allows him to recover from otherwise fatal injuries such as getting crushed by a wrecking ball and having his throat slashed open.

Mental Power Amplifier: As a denizen of the Mindscape Sleepwalker can enhance mental powers from psionics and magic alike by his mere presence. During the Infinity War, Professor X, Jean Grey, Psylocke, and Moondragon were able to use him as a transmitter to affect the entire population of Earth and resist Magus' control. Doctor Strange's mental magic is similarly enhanced simply by having Sleepwalker nearby.

Mental Energy Absorption: By absorbing the energy from mental attacks, he can increase his energy level. He may also absorb it from others' minds and with the use of a Mindrake.

Power Grid ^[4]

4

4

3

6

6

4

Abilities

Expert Combatant: Sleepwalker has encountered a multitude of enemies with varying abilities both in Mindscape and Earth. This allows him to react immediately in a dangerous situation and is rarely surprised when encountering unusual enemies. When Rick suffers a temporary lapse in consciousness that made him fall out of a plane, Sleepwalker was able to assess the situation in a split-second and within mere moments, slowed Rick's descent and warped a windsock to catch him as he recovers consciousness. He has used power lines and electric appliances against his enemies. He is also very creative in the use of his Warp Gaze: creating disguises, forming aerial messages, repairing structures, and a tool for psychological warfare.
Extra-Dimensional Knowledge: While he is ignorant to many regular Earth matters, he has shown extensive knowledge of the Mindscape and whatever traverses it. He knows information about beings like the demon Mr. Jyn, Nightmare, and even the mutant Portal who occasionally travels through the Mindscape.
Mindscape Weapons Knowledge: Despite not carrying it, he has deep knowledge of weapons such as the Mindrake, intentionally using it on Rick Sheridan and knowing that it doesn't kill immediately.
Strength level
Superhuman Strength: Sleepwalker can lift up to 25 tons. When in the Mindscape or when absorbing mental energies, he can lift far in excess of that.

ParaphernaliaEdit

Equipment

Imaginator device

NotesEdit

Alternate versions

Marvel Team-Up: League of Losers

Sleepwalker features in an arc of Robert Kirkman's Marvel Team-Up (Vol 3), featuring a group of C-list heroes dubbed "The League of Losers". A group of heroes including Sleepwalker, Darkhawk, Dagger, Araña, X-23, Gravity and Terror (although Araña dies along the way) go to the future to prevent the villain Chronok from stealing Reed Richards' time machine, Chronok having come to the present and already having killed all of Marvel's major heroes.

It's revealed Chronok is from the same time period as Kirkman's Mutant 2099; the group stays with him and his mentor Reed Richards to wait for Chronok. During this time, Sleepwalker experiences difficulties with being away from his host Rick Sheridan, but ultimately comes to terms with it. The team defeats Chronok, but at the end of the story, Richards reveals they can't go back to their present, due to time-travel and alternate timelines. The group decides to stay in the future, satisified with the impact they made, however unnoticed. Mutant 2099 suggests reforming the Avengers or the "Fantastic Nine".

Note that due to the Marvel Universe's method for resolving time travel paradoxes, this story occurred in an alternate universe.

Background

Budiansky's concept dates to the late 1970s; however, he originally called the character Alien until the Ridley Scott film of the same name was released, at which point he shelved the character.

The character finally saw release in reaction to the DC Comics character Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. Marvel, at the time, announced in a press release that Sleepwalker was "Sandman done right" ^{[citation needed]} . Most consider this arrogant at best: Sandman has gone on to become one of the most highly-regarded works in the medium, while Sleepwalker has remained obscure like many heroes introduced in the 1990's. He only made a few appearances in other Marvel comics when his own series was still running, and after the cancellation of his ongoing series Sleepwalker faded into limbo.

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 canceled after one issue. The original Sleepwalker's next appearance was in Marvel Team-Up #15 nearly a decade after his original cancellation.

TriviaEdit

An issue of Sleepwalker is shown in the comic book scene of the movie, True Romance. Christian Slater's character is shown skimming through the pages but the description he gives of the story is not what is actually happening in the comic book.

LinksEdit

Discover and Discuss

Search this site for: Sleepwalker · Sleepwalker (Earth-616)

Footnotes

↑ Sleepwalker #1
↑ These characters faded into obscurity faster than Sleepwalker himself and haven't been seen since the end of the series, save for 8-Ball who appeared briefly in the 2005 She-Hulk series and the Daughters of the Dragon mini-series.
↑ Sleepwalker #3
↑ Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z hardcover Vol. 10

Like this? Let us know!

Start a Discussion Discussions about Sleepwalker (Earth-616)

You can find discussions about everything related to this wiki on Marvel Database Forum!

[Sleepwalker_.231-0] Sleepwalker #1

[1] These characters faded into obscurity faster than Sleepwalker himself and haven't been seen since the end of the series, save for 8-Ball who appeared briefly in the 2005 She-Hulk series and the Daughters of the Dragon mini-series.

[2] Sleepwalker #3

[3] Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z hardcover Vol. 10

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Wikia

Sleepwalker (Earth-616)

Contents

HistoryEdit