Wanda Mann

Wanda Mann is a fictional comic book character featured in the A Game of You story arc from the comic book series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. Wanda was one of the first openly trans characters in mainstream American comics.

The character will play a major role in the second season of the Netflix web series The Sandman.

Publication history

The character first appeared in The Sandman #32 in November 1991, created by writer Neil Gaiman and artist Shawn McManus.

Fictional biography

Wanda is a trans woman who fled from unaccepting parents and moved into an apartment block in New York City, forming a close friendship with Barbie, who lived in the adjacent apartment and became her best friend. One day, while out shopping, Barbie and Wanda encountered Martin Tenbones, an animal character from Barbie's dreams who had escaped the Dreaming to seek her help. The police, mistaking him for a dangerous animal, shot and killed him. Wanda took a traumatized Barbie back home, trying to help her process what had happened.

That night, a nightmare in physical form caused terrible dreams for everyone in the building, including Wanda, who had a nightmare related to her gender dysphoria and the trauma of societal discrimination. While Wanda managed to wake up, Barbie remained trapped in her dream. Wanda joined two lesbian neighbors, Hazel and Foxglove, and another neighbor, Thessaly, who secretly revealed herself to be a witch. Thessaly explained what was happening and killed the nightmare's source, using its tongue, face, and offspring to travel into the Dreaming, to the horror of the others. She ordered Wanda to stay and guard Barbie's sleeping body while the others went to rescue her.

While watching over Barbie, Wanda had a conversation with the face of the man Thessaly had killed, which still spoke even in death. He told Wanda that Thessaly had not included her in the group because the magic used to reach the Dreaming required female essence, and the Moon and gods saw Wanda as a man. Wanda insisted that regardless of what the gods believed, she knew she was a woman.

Later, while Wanda continued watching over Barbie, a severe storm hit the city. Barbie saw a homeless woman she recognized and let her into the apartment. The woman shared a story about her transgender niece who was not accepted by society and was ultimately killed. Just after that, Barbie's amulet began to glow, and a powerful wind shattered the windows and eventually collapsed the entire building. Although Barbie was eventually rescued and awakened, Wanda died protecting her during the collapse.

Barbie took a 12-hour bus ride to attend Wanda's funeral, organized by her family. To her dismay, Wanda's family showed no respect for her identity—they cut her hair, dressed her in a suit, and referred to her by her deadname. Only Wanda's aunt showed kindness to Barbie, and Barbie was excluded from the post-funeral meal. After everyone left, Barbie used Wanda's favorite lipstick to cross out her deadname and write her real name. She also left one of Wanda's favorite comic books with her, so she would have something to read in the afterlife, and expressed regret for not being there to help her. On the bus ride home, Barbie fell asleep and dreamt of Wanda, happy and wearing a beautiful pink dress, accompanied by a mysterious woman—Death herself. Despite her death, Wanda found peace and joy in the afterlife, proud to have protected her friend and true to herself until the end.

In other media

• Reece Lyons voiced Wanda Mann in the original audiobook adaptation of The Sandman.