DEEP DISH THEMES
BY THE SLICE:

ORIGIN: Wesley Dodds was most likely born in the early 1910s to wealthy investor Edward Dodds and his wife, Marina. In 1917, when he was still a child, his mother died under unrevealed circumstances. Little is known of Dodds' early life, save that he spent part of his youth in the Orient and there learned herbalism, martial arts, and origami. It is known that he is well-traveled, ranging from Europe to Asia. After college and his father's death, Dodds became the manager of a vast estate and an investor in his own right. Sometime before 1938, Dodds became plagued by extremely vivid dreams of criminal activities in dreams that would not allow him rest. Dodds used his fortune to finance a lab and developed a formula for sedative and hypnotic gasses. He then bought several kinds of gas masks and set up an identity for himself, the Sandman, in which to pursue the criminals that haunted his dreams. In an early case, he encountered Lee Travis, a college chum, in his guise of the Crimson Avenger. The two initially fought but eventually joined forces against the Phantom of the Fair, who haunted the 1938 World's Fair. Travis gave Dodds a gun design that the Sandman ultimately perfected as his gas gun. The Sandman then started his career in earnest, first confronting the Tarantula, a serial murderer.

Later that year, Dodds met socialite Dian Belmont, daughter of District Attorney Larry Belmont, at local ball. The two became lovers and, by year's end, Dodds had shared the knowledge of his dual life with her. The Sandman's dreams often compelled him to pursue the most violent of criminals, such as the Scorpion, Dr. Death, and the Butcher. Each time, he left the defeated criminal with a poem enclosed in a bit of origami. A common one read:

There is no land beyond the law

Where tyrants rule with unshakable power!

'Tis but a dream from which the evil wake

To face their fate, their terrifying hour!

In late 1940, the Sandman was selected by Doctor Fate to join the struggle against Nazi invasion forces, alongside several other American mystery-men. The culmination of this encounter was the formation of the Justice Society of America, of which the Sandman was a charter member. In mid-1941, he also took part in the case in which the JSA prevented Ian Karkull from murdering individuals destined to occupy the White House over the next 50 years. The culmination of this case was the destruction of Karkull and the exposure of the assembled heroes to the chronal energy stored in Karkull's body. As a result, the Sandman has aged much more slowly than normal humans.



PROS: There are two things that I always loved about this character. The first and foremost of which is Probability Control. It is always nice and almost always worth it to have a person that can use that power outside of theme team Probability Control, and this was mine for quite some time. The second thing is that he has Willpower. His movement value isn't spectacular, but he can usually get to where he needs to go fairly easily and without fear of losing the power that he is best for. It's not VITAL to a JSA team, but since you're usually slinging that high defense around via their team ability, the ability to make your opponent miss that is always a good thing. Paired with the new Mr. Terrific LE that makes the "Rule of three" into the "Rule of One" Probability Control can get super annoying SUPER fast. Since he's not likely going to be attacking much, he also is going to be getting more use out of his Smoke Cloud than other characters might...especially using Willpower having potentially already gotten in position to do so. It will provide him with some cover with the aid of his Stealth and could do the same for other teammates. There's also the -1 to attack that your opponent could potentially have to deal with as well. His late dial Close Combat Expert may not be a game winning power, but now that you can choose a little more how it's used, he could always land a crucial hit late dial that you may not have anybody else to make.

CONS: This is a weird "Con" but that dial is just far longer than it should be or needs to be. He's not as lackluster as other figures late dial as he comes from a time not that long before special powers and designers were already starting to think outside of the box, but he could have lost 2-3 of those clicks and still be worth playing today had they had that kind of dial economy at the time. Like, if clicks 3,4, and 7 were gone entirely and things tightened up a bit, I think he might even be a better choice to grab than the Joker's Wild version and he'd probably cost about the same. There are currently only two figures less than 50 points with the Justice Society keyword that can use Probability Control, so he would certainly be able to find his way onto a team. Perhaps some marriage of the two dials for Sandman would be about the right mixture for him.

Other Players' Comments/Reviews: Using the Inline dial system, just click on the word bubble next to the character's name and it will take you to the units section comments!



PROS: This is how I've gotten used to dials being streamlined these days. There isn't a whole bunch of superfluous clicks of life or unnecessary powers. It's pretty straightforward with very little "Nonsense" going on. This one has familiar powers like Willpower and Stealth. He also has a way get your team Probability Control. It may not necessarily be the traditional and obvious way, but you could share his defense (And he has a natural 18 at one point so it's not necessarily a detriment) and then give the character that borrowed that defense the ability to use Probability Control via his "A Simpler Time" trait. It says you can only do it once per turn or else you could literally LOAD your team with Probability Control, so I suppose that's a good way to reign it in a bit. His biggest draw for me is his SLEEP GUN damage special power, though. It says: When Sandman hits with an attack, after actions resolve, he may counter a power on the target until that character clears action tokens. Thankfully it's just "Hits" with an attack and not "Damages" with an attack, because he's not likely going to be doing much in the way of damage. Between the Probability Control you're potentially giving to an ally and a pseudo-Outwit that he can use, you're really not going to go wrong with this guy taking up 30 points of your team.

CONS: Ummm...where is the DETECTIVE keyword?!?!? It's kind of one of his biggest things! It would be like forgetting to paint the Stars and Stripes on Captain America!! I also miss the Incapacitate that the other version had. I think what would have been far better (Though surely would have cost more points) would be if his SLEEP GAS power was Incapacitate, and anybody that he hit with Incapacitate and assigned an action token to would have received the rest of the effect of his power as normal. That might have even made him a HIGHLY used figure. He would be slowing down the opponent AND would have been countering powers. That's not to say that you aren't getting your full 30 points worth currently, but I think this version of this character missed a step or two when it comes to character accuracy.

Other Players' Comments/Reviews: Using the Inline dial system, just click on the word bubble next to the character's name and it will take you to the units section comments!

KEYWORD THEMES: (Named Keywords are in bold)

All-Star Squadron:I'll be honest...about the extent of my knowledge of the All-Star Squadron is that it's essentially just a slightly different version of the JSA. It shares a LOT of the same members. I pulled up the character list in the units section and just started adding figures from most to least modern, and by the time that I realized that I still hadn't added in Sandman and there was EXACTLY 30 points left, I took it as serendipitous and called it a day on making the team...so if you're an All-Star Squadron fan and I have just COMPLETELY gotten it wrong, please tell me (Nicely) what your best version of the team looks like. From a game play standpoint, the version I put together looks fun and I wouldn't mind playing this team, though!

Force Build 9138972 0
Set	#	Name	Team	Pts	Value
JW	040	Sandman		30	SELL
HQ	048	Dr. Mid-Nite		45	SELL
HQ	003A	Paul Kirk, Manhunter		50	SELL
BTAS	060	Hawkman & Hawkgirl		125	SELL
RE	007	Commander Steel		40	SELL
WKD	D17-005	Robotman		110	SELL
Force Total:				400	$0.00

Detective: I decided to go about as Noir as possible with this. REAALLY playing up the aesthetic that makes this character look so cool. I really didn't want a Batman on the team, because that just seems too easy. I wanted to go with the characters that scream Detective for me...well, mostly...towards the end I just needed that figure to fill in points and Red Robin fit well enough. This team would be low on damage but really high on support powers, so that might actually balance out really well. There's one thing for certain, though...this team would look bad-ass on the field!

Force Build 9138972 1
Set	#	Name	Team	Pts	Value
OR	086	Sandman		59	$3.99
BTAS	059	The Gray Ghost		75	SELL
IN	035	Lobster Johnson		53	$0.27
ADW	062	Moon Knight		110	SELL
SFSM	061	Spider-Man Noir		75	SELL
WKD	DP16-002R	Red Robin		25	SELL
Force Total:				397	$4.26

Justice Society: I tried to build this team with a few more of the "Classic" characters (In my eyes at least). I don't dare play a JSA team personally unless I have a Jay, Alan, Ted, and the rest of my favorites. The addition of the Hawkman/Hawkgirl piece from the Batman Animated series was a wonderful addition since it added to classic characters for a relatively low cost who are amazingly good. What I really love about the modern JSA is that it's REALLY easy to play with a fairly low point team and still have somewhere in the range of 6-8 characters on your team. They play SO WELL together, too! The synergy is really great, and if you so choose to, you can scale it up to a lot more points than what I've done here and it really doesn't lose a step. I never knew we were going to get a JSA swarm team in the game, and I was resistant to it like a lot of people were at the beginning, but having played with many variations of it, it's SOOOOO GOOOOOD!!!

Force Build 9138972 2
Set	#	Name	Team	Pts	Value
JW	040	Sandman		30	SELL
BTAS	060	Hawkman & Hawkgirl		125	SELL
HQ	032	Red Tornado		45	SELL
HQ	016	Wonder Woman		40	SELL
JW	022	The Atom		25	SELL
JW	052	Green Lantern		35	SELL
JW	036	The Flash		35	SELL
JW	010	Wildcat		65	SELL
Force Total:				400	$0.00

Past: I again went for an aesthetic for a team rather than just make an optimal formation. I wanted to make something that just evokes the kind of pulp heroes of old. I wanted it to truly have a "Past" feel to it. I can't believe I pulled the trigger on it, but I even included the Lone Ranger and Tonto!!! Did I forget anybody or do you feel like there would have been better choices? Who would you include in team "Pulp?" (And no...Pulp Deadpool didn't count in my book)

Force Build 9138972 3
Set	#	Name	Team	Pts	Value
JW	040	Sandman		30	SELL
RE	058	Flex Mentallo		75	SELL
LR	001	Lone Ranger		75	SELL
LR	002	Tonto		50	SELL
SOG	002	Lady Blackhawk		55	SELL
OR	003	Blackhawks		35	$1.39
OR	002	Blackhawks		30	$1.07
OR	001	Blackhawks		23	$0.27
OR	001	Blackhawks		23	$0.27
Force Total:				396	$3.00

NON-KEYWORD THEMES:

Black Lantern Corps
Sandmen
World Army

DEEP DISH DO-IT-YOURSELF:

In this section, I share with you my own homemade dials for these poor characters that have only ever had one or two versions of themselves realized. I'll try not to get too fanboyish with them, but I'm not making any promises! I also invite any of you who like to make fan dials to please share your versions of these characters as well by using the DIAL GENERATOR in the units section on HCRealms.

#082 Limited Edition Sandman
Real Name: Wesley Dodds
Team: Justice Society
Range: 5
Points: 50
Keywords: All-Star Squadron, Detective, Justice Society, Past

8 10 16 3

8 10 16 2

8 9 16 2

8 9 16 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Precognitive Dreams: If Sandman is in his own starting area or has 2 action tokens he can use Probability Control
Sleep Gas: Incapacitate, Smoke Cloud. When Sandman hits a target with incapacitate, generate hindering terrain markers in the target character's square and in all adjacent squares. You may choose one power on the target character to cancel until that character clears action tokens.

This wraps it up for this installment of Deep Dish Themes: By the Slice. Thank you very much for taking the time out of your day to read it and thank you to Jaysol for nominating this character! Feel free to post what you think about the article and just like regular Deep Dish Themes, feel free to nominate a character for an upcoming edition of Deep Dish Themes: By the Slice! Join me next time when I start stomping my foot on the ground twice followed by a single clap...because it's time for Deep Dish Themes: By the Slice: Champion!

Nice create. But I miss the prob, so maybe at trait....

Precognitive Dreams: If Sandman is in his own starting area or as 2 action tokens he can use Prob.

D'oh! I forgot to add the prob!

Fixed it! Totally stole your idea, too! Thanks for the assist! All credit belongs to you!

The Origin version is pretty much a staple of my JSA teams and got used a bunch.

So the big thing about the All-Star Squadron is that the main focus of the book was characters not in the JSA, with the JSA as a backdrop. Sandman in particular is not a big player in any of the stories. While Hawkman is there in the beginning, the main cast is more Liberty Belle, Johnny Quick, Robotman, Commander Steel, Firebrand and later the Tarantula.

Great article!

I would lean towards using U Sandman over JW almost every time. He doesn't have a bad click, and his last few are especially good, since he should have at least a 17 to borrow with JSA plus his Combat Reflexes. The long dial also justifies the cost, especially since you don't see dials that long anymore.
I do understand the appeal of the newer one, though.

I always wanted one with a sculpt reminiscent of those Sandman Mystery Theatre comics. I want one with a big, WWI style gas mask.

The two sculpts we have so far don’t cut it for me. The first one looks like a duck bill and the second, much better one has the small mask.

The Sandman has one of the great costumes of the Golden Age and I'd argue its still iconic.

Sadly the Jokers Wild version does not do it for me. I still need to get my hands on the Origins version. Which I think has aged very nicely, helped by the Justice Society team ability.

Y'just can't have the Sandman without Icap in my book....well and Smoke Cloud.....and Prob Control.

Thanks for the great article, I always look forward to Deep Dish!

I am a huge fan of Sandman, and actually used to play the unique from Origin so much I had to replace him twice from so much use. He and vet Origin Question were my go-to for a long time.

Nice write-up!

JW version was such a let down for me. So much wasted potential there. I get what they were doing with the slimmed-down niche roles, but there was no reason they couldn't have done split dials or dual costs so we could also get more "accurate" versions as well.

thanks for the article. what a wonderful character and a good writeup
making his sleep gas incapacitate would have totally saved that dial for me. as is, I don't even own it. I'll pay twice the cost for the character and function of the original unique all day. fantastic suggestion, though

old school o.g. all the way. tons of support up top and he can survive a wallop and turn into a painful tieup with just a little jsa ta backup

still a very, very good dial
that's awful meta
truth. all day

this was my design for him back in 2015 (man it doesn't seem that long ago, but here we are) for my jsa set

#jsa005 Veteran Sandman
Real Name: Wesley Dodds
Team: Justice Society
Range: 5
Points: 65
Keywords: All Star Squadron, Detective, Justice Society, Martial Artist, Past

7 10 16 2

7 10 16 2

8 9 17 2

8 9 17 2

7 10 16 2

7 10 16 2

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Throw Grenade: Grenade Pool: +6: Smoke
Knockout Gas: Sandman can use the Elaborate Deathtrap ability and the Bonus is equal to his grenade pool.
Battlefield Promotion: Passing The Torch: When Sandman hits one or more opposing characters, after actions resolve, place a Promotion Token on his character card. You may then roll a d6 that can't be rerolled and add 1 for each Promotion Token on his character card; on a result of 8 or higher, replace this character with JS035a Sand on the same click number.
Mystery Man
There Is No Land Beyond The Law
Silicoid Gun
Where Tyrants Rule With Unshakable Power!
Youth Spent In The Orient
'Tis But A Dream From Which The Evil Wake
Morpheus's Message
Mystery Theatre
To Face Their Fate, Their Terrifying Hour!

Great article! Didn’t know anything about him before. The write up made me do some more research, and he’s one cool character. Definitely going to get a TPB of his early stories. Love those old comics.

Also made me realize that my favorite costumed crime fighter, Darkwing Duck, gets more of his style parody from Sandman, and not Batman as I had thought for so long. DW is definitely an amalgam of Sandman and the Shadow. Gas/grapnel gun, double breasted suit with a cape, and an affinity for poetic alliteration. All Sandman. Then there’s “ I am the terror that flaps in the night” vs. “ Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows. “

Looking at that dial, he’s a great proxy for Darkwing too. I’m definitely putting him on the short list if clix I still need to get. So I can run this team:





Just us Justice Ducks...

For anyone not familiar with the Justice Ducks, the lineup was:
Darkwing
Stegmutt (a duck turned into an anthropomorphic stegosaurus)
Gizmo-duck (yes, the one from Duck Tales)
Morganna Macabre (sorceress, and DW’s girlfriend)
Neptunia (mutated fish/mermaid like character who ruled over the seas)

Again, great job on the article! Keep up the good work.