Neil Gaiman’s Sandman is considered one of the greatest comics ever written, but one aspect of the series that deserves more attention is the character Wanda, one of the first positive representations of a transgender person in comics. When looking through comic books of the early ’90s, one would have a hard time finding respectful portrayals of transgender characters, making Wanda stand out. Proving herself extremely self-sacrificing, Wanda is responsible for some of the most emotional scenes of the entire series.
Making her debut in The Dreaming. With Barbie incapacitated, Wanda was forced to be the sole caretaker of Barbie’s body, while a group of her friends followed the immortal witch Thessaly on a rescue mission into the Dream Realm. While she looked over Barbie, hurricane-like winds began to assault New York, knocking over a woman named Maise Hill and injuring her outside of the apartment. With no else around, Wanda took to the streets to rescue the woman and provided her shelter in their apartment. Unfortunately, the walls of their apartment couldn’t withstand the force of the wind, causing the building to collapse on top of them, killing both Wanda and Maise.
Barbie, who narrowly survived due to Masie shielding her from the collapse, was horrified to find her best friend had died while she was in The Dreaming. Though perhaps the saddest part was when Barbie attended Wanda’s funeral only to find that Wanda’s family never accepted her transition. As the funeral began, Wanda’s family would continue to lament the life Wanda lived, even going as far as using Wanda’s deadname on her tombstone and banning Barbie from the wake. Disgusted by the family’s disapproval, Barbie returned to the tombstone to say goodbye to her friend, crossing out her birthname and writing “Wanda” underneath in her favorite lipstick color. On the bus ride home, Barbie had a dream where she saw Wanda and Death of the Endless waving at her with smiles on their faces. Suddenly, Barbie woke up from the dream and got off the bus, but then stopped in the middle of the road to wave goodbye.
What’s immediately notable about Wanda’s character is her willingness to protect those in need, whether it be her best friend or a stranger off the street. Though Wanda was visibly horrified throughout the story, she bravely put herself in dangerous situations to save those around her. In the end, if it wasn’t for Wanda helping Maise, Barbie would have probably died, making her a hero. Wanda’s death felt exceedingly more tragic considering how much she and Barbie loved each other. Unlike most new characters at the time, Wanda felt like a fully fleshed and well-developed character, making her death tragic.
Even today, it seems rare to see transgender characters portrayed so heroically in media, making the fact that Wanda was created in the early ’90s much more shocking. It is unfortunate that Wanda was killed off by the end of the story; however, her loss gives us the opportunity to realize how much Barbie loved her and gave readers one of the most touching endings throughout the comic medium. It’s made clear that Barbie will always love and Wanda, despite that she never learned of her heroic actions. With the portrayal of Wanda being as ahead of its time as it is, Sandman: A Game of You, is a beautiful contribution to comic history.
