One of Starro’s most fearsome attacks on Earth required the Justice League of America to team up with one of the Endless from Vertigo’s The Sandman.
Since Starro the Conqueror’s debut inspired the formation of the original Justice League in Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky’s Brave and the Bold #28 in 1960, the starfish-shaped alien has been one of DC’s most powerful foes. Despite the somewhat goofy design of the galactic conqueror, Starro remains a fierce enough threat that the world’s greatest heroes have to pull out all the stops to contend with it whenever it attacks Earth.
One such encounter came so close to wiping out humanity that it even required the help of the mystical and god-like figures from The Sandman and drew multiple heroes into the realm known as the Dreaming.
It’s rare that the heroes of the DC Universe encountered figures from the Sandman series. Although they nominally take place in the same universe, the mystical realms of the Endless are often portrayed in a far different light and without superheroic intervention. But in JLA #22-23 by Grant Morrison and Howard Porter changed that. Taking place in the aftermath of the original Sandman series — where Morpheus had allowed himself to pass as Daniel replaced him as Dream — most of the world found itself gripped by a mysterious sleep. Dream comes to the Justice League, who are among the few spared this fate. He reveals a great power has come to Earth, and is targeting humanity within their collective subconscious dreams.
This will lead to the enslavement and consumption of humanity and the eventual fall of Earth. To the group’s surprise, they all seem to recognize Dream from somewhere, even as none of their equipment could register his presence on the Watchtower. Taking the moniker of “Sandman” for the duration of their team-up, Dream brings Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern into the dream of Starro, which is collectively targeting much of the rest of the world. There, they find Mikey Haney, a child seemingly the only person inside the dream aware of what’s happening around him. Mikey works with the Justice League to discover Starro’s influence on the Dreaming.
While the team within the dream tries to find Mikey before extensions of Starro can, Martian Manhunter finds the real Starro already having made contact with Earth. Even larger than the monstrous one who appears in The Suicide Squad, Starro quickly establishes itself as a serious threat to the entire world. While Martian Manhunter and Aquaman are able to combine their powers and assault the real-world Starro telepathically (with some assistance from Zaruiel and Orion), the trio within the dream are able to help save Mikey. This gives Dream the chance and faith he needed to fight Starro directly and contain it within his realm, leaving it aware and horrified as he turns it into a trinket that’s far easier to contain.
The story ends with Mikey — revealed to be a fully grown man in the real world — rewarded for his faith with gold, and Daniel admitting to himself that helping save the world was done in part to settle the debt Morpheus previously owed the world. It’s notable that amidst all the Crisis-level events and conflicts that have befallen the Earth over the years that this was the one that caught Dream’s attention. With his immense and at times unknowable full power, Dream could likely stand against any major threat in the DC Universe.
But with his power, he serves as a unique and ageless lord of the natural order. But Starro was enough of a threat — and was operating within his purview as the guardian of the Dreaming — that even the Sandman deemed it necessary to call upon the Justice League for assistance. It’s a reminder that no matter how silly Starro may appear, it is one of DC’s most fearsome and deadly threats.
KEEP READING: Before Sandman: How Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean Reimagined DC’s Black Orchid
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