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Jerantino — Destiny

Published: 2013-06-25 04:41:58 +0000 UTC; Views: 871; Favourites: 13; Downloads: 0
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Description Like Lucien, Cain and Abel and some other Sandman characters, Destiny first appeared as host of a 1970s DC horror comic, Weird Mystery Tales. There was, of course, no mention of his family, though a more traditional version of Death did appear in it. In his earliest appearances, he was less of a storyteller than an introducer, as most of his stories were actually told by Jack Kirby's Dr. E. Leopold Maas, an investigator of paranormal phenomena.

Destiny began appearing in some of the stories beginning in issue #10 (though he said that as all the stories he tells deal with destiny, he is in all of them, as well). By issue #15, Eve had taken over the series, and had been wheedling in since early in the run. Destiny now hosted a new title, Secrets of Haunted House, which was initially hosted by all four characters. The other hosts regarded him as the dullest storyteller, and as the hosts supposedly controlled the letters pages (responses were written in-character), that attitude was generally reflected there as well. For his birthday, Cain, Abel, and Eve gave him a sampler that said "If you're so smart, why don't you have your own book?" although, being blind, he would be unable to read it. Later, he was said to be the son of a "Mrs. Emma Destiny," but as this was in a letters column, it may have been intended as a spoof. Destiny left the series after issue #39, after which it was hosted by Abel. (House of Secrets had been canceled, and the House was said to have been torn down.)

Destiny met Superman in Superman #352, preventing Superman from helping people in order to break a forming destiny of Metropolis becoming dependent upon him, and met the New Teen Titans on several occasions, all of these written by Wolfman.

According to Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #6 (1985), Destiny is "the one being who has been able to resist Zeus' unlimited powers." It refers to the Cosmic Log as Book of Souls. It reports "Cosmic Observer" as his occupation and "inapplicable" for the field, "Known Relatives."

In The Sandman, Destiny is revealed in issue #7 as the eldest of the Endless. Destiny's realm is The Garden of Forking Ways, where he continually walks its maze-like paths. His book, referred to as the Book of Destiny rather than the Cosmic Log, is his sigil in the galleries of the other Endless.

He is the least characterized and least used of the Endless in the series. Though he was first depicted in the series in a picture at the end of the first collection, his first actual appearance is in the fourth collection, Season of Mists. In a quiet way, he seems to direct the family affairs of the Endless; it is he who calls the family meeting that begins Season of Mists.


Destiny met Chronos, Walker Gabriel in Chronos # 9, where it is revealed his book can be changed, and entire sections can be warped or erased, albeit at great personal cost; this applies with even more force when a time traveller such as Gabriel attempts to change the timestream to satisfy a personal wish. In Gabriel's case, he manages to save his mother from an early death, but in the process erased himself from history. Destiny also met Lobo and Supergirl in his labyrinth in The Brave and the Bold volume 2, #4. He is more nervous and absent-minded in his demeanor, as a result of having to give up his book.

Destiny lost the Book of Destiny in the opening storyline of the new Brave and the Bold series, and when Lobo and Supergirl arrive in his garden he speaks about how it was intended to reach the four men who existed outside its pages, in the process waylaid by the Luck Lords in a bid to reshape reality. As it turns out, the Challengers of the Unknown were these men, the recipients Destiny had sent it off to be procured by. After a struggle between all factions at the culmination of the arc, the Challengers arrive by Zeta Beam to Rann and acquire the book after defeating the opposition and defeating the Luck Lords. After, it was to be in their care.

After this arc, the book remained in the Challengers' hands; the Challs consulted it to follow the plan of an ancient alchemist, Megistus. Within the pages, they followed the stories of several relics Megistus sought for a master plan; amongst these were some of the most dangerous objects on the DCU. The Warlock of Ys, an old Antimatter Universe foe, even manifested on Challenger Mountain by constructing a shell for himself out of the pages of the book. Destiny himself appeared in the underground lair of the Challs, showing them his book for the final time as a reward for their sacrifice and service in defeating Megistus, in issue #12; the book revealed June Masters, an unofficial member of the Challengers, had cheated Death and managed to escape, blasting herself out of the book much like the Challengers.
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