From: manley@iies.ecn.purdue.edu (HELD HOSTAGE -- YEAR ONE)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics
Subject: Re: My thoughts on Sandman 42
Date: 25 Aug 92 21:46:25 GMT
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network

In article <1992Aug25.170950.29191@udel.edu> lintz@buster.cis.udel.edu (Brian Lintz) writes:
>>> You're right that he did this, but wrong as to his target. Loki switched
>>> places with the Japanese thunder god (as he mentioned, he has a slight
>>> grudge against such deities). Dream caught him and made an unspecified
>>> deal with Loki not to let Odin know about it. Nuala isn't Loki unless
>>> Dream's been very careless for a very long time now.
>>
>>Unspecified?  From the TPB edition of Season of Mists, it seems pretty
>>apparent that Dream will replace the bound Susan-Thingie with a dream image,
>>and that Loki is born into an oriental child.
>
>Really? I remember the part about Dream replacing the Chinese god with
>the dream image, but I don't remember Loki being born into an oriental
>child. *Nada* was reborn as a baby, though. I have the original issues
>and not the TBP; are they different?

  OK, to clear things up:

  Loki switched places with Susano-oh (who, by the way, is a Japanese thunder
  god, not Chinese) when all the representatives from the various pantheons
  were awaiting Morpheus' decision.  He may have done this earlier.  

  Susano began screaming when Thor and Odin took "Loki" back to his pit under
  the world.  I guess Susano knew about that acid bath Loki had been getting
  all those centuries and was not looking forward to it himself.  Too bad, 
  since he was dragged off anyway.

  Morpheus realized a switch had been made after everyone had left, and Loki-
  as-Susano was trying to pull something decidedly dishonorable (I forget what
  that was).  Not wanting to interfere in the bad blood between Loki and the
  other  Aesir, Morpheus let Susano go, replaced him with a dream image, and
  also let Loki go.  I am certain that Susano is going to get his revenge.

  The person reincarnated as a baby was Nada. Morpheus gave her some choices 
  as to her future, and that is the one she chose.

  Nuala was a gift from the courts of Faerie.

  And now, my guess as to who Dream's ex-girlfriend was:

  I say it was Thessaly.  It was not Johanna Constantine, since she's dead,
  and it was obvious last issue that the mystery woman had returned to the
  waking world.  Ditto for Unity Kincaid (she was my previous guess; damn, I'd
  kind of hoped it was her).  Lyta Hall would rather scratch Dream's eyes out
  than anything else, so forget her.  All of Dream's old flames (Calliope,
  Nada, Alianora) are dead or, in Nada's case, an infant.  Let's see, that
  leaves Barbie and Rose Walker.  I think both of those characters' parts in 
  Gaiman's story are finished.

  Reasons why I think it was Thess:

   1)  She doth protest too much at the end of A Game of You.
   2)  Dream said she "found him lacking."  If anyone could have that attitude
       toward Dream, it would be Thess.  She's seen an awful lot in her life,
       ya know.
   3)  When Nuala pulled out that gem, the room was lit up exactly in the way
       the room was lit up when Thess called down the moon in A Game of You.
       That, I think, was a clue.
   4)  It's not Gaiman's style to just introduce throwaway characters,
       especially not those with such an effect on the storyline (though
       Alianora was a bit of a surprise when she showed up).

  Just watch.  Now that I've said this, it'll turn out to by Lyta Hall.

  M.


--
------------------------  manley@iies.ecn.purdue.edu  ------------------------
                              Nobody likes you.
                            Everybody hates you.
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