Dream’s helmet is the essential sign of his office as ruler of the dreamworld, originally created from the bones of a dead god. Dream is wearing it in the very first panel in which he appears. From Dream’s perspective, we then see his captors take the helmet away from him, enhancing the feeling of captivity and hopelessness. It’s not until 29 pages into the first issue that we see Dream’s face. The helmet is shown in the moment where Sykes trades it for magical protection and again when Alex Burgess studies the manuscript that describes Dream; he is illustrated simply, dressed in black with his helmet of office.

After Dream’s escape from his confinement, his pursuit of his helmet leads to one of the most iconic battles of the Sandman series. His mythologically inspired showdown with the demon Choronzon is considered one of the series’ finest moments; it showed readers at the end of the 1980s that the story was unlike anything that had come before.

The helmet has a psychological effect on both Dream and those around him. It makes him drastically less human-looking and also gives him a feeling of strength and purpose. In Issue 9, when Nada goes to Dream’s kingdom, he greets her while wearing his helmet.