Sleeper
<infobox> <title source="name"><default>Sleeper</default></title>
<image source="Image"></image> <image source="image"></image> <group><header>Basic Information</header> <label>Civilian Name</label> <label>Aliases</label> <label>Gender</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Death</label> <label>Age</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Post-timeskip</label> <label>Ward start</label> <label>Relations</label> <label>Family</label></group> <group><header>Professional Status</header> <label>Occupation</label> <label>Classification</label> <label>Unique Features</label> <label>Alignment</label>
<label>Status</label><format><label>Location</label> <label>Teams</label> <label>Previous Team(s)</label> <label>Base of Operations</label></group> <group><header>First Appearance</header> <label>Worm Debut</label> <label>Ward Debut</label></group> </infobox>
Sleeper is an S-Class threat of mysterious nature.
Abilities and Powers
Little is known about Sleeper's abilities, but he possesses a global reputation for having a great and terrible power.<ref name="I26.x" /> He is compared to The Endbringers, the Slaughterhouse Nine, and Nilbog<ref>Queen 18.4</ref> and to Ash Beast and the Three Blasphemies, and he is described by the Number Man as a living example of the fact that the increasing number of parahumans would inevitably lead to cataclysmic events.<ref>Extinction 27.2</ref>
In addition, Khepri declined to capture him while collecting parahumans during the battle against Zion, believing him to be "more trouble than he was worth".<ref name="30.4" />
His power seems to be related to some form of matter creation, which uses brains or perception as an attack-vector, since Wardens sought out All-or-Nothing brutes with resistant/non-typical brains and absolute matter annihilators to deal with him.<ref>“I don’t suppose any of you feel brave enough to go up against Sleeper? Absolute invulnerability better than Alexandria’s, special brains, absolute annihilation powers?” - Excerpt from From Within 16.2</ref>
From the safe distance his power manifested as a 'storm', with colors taking on a rainbow sheen of impossible colors. The effects of this storm are unknown but it was enough to immobilize and contain the Simurgh.<ref name="storm"/>
History
Background
Sleeper has been known to move around though usually in Russia.<ref name="23.5 c1">Sleeper roams, but primarily Russia. - Comment by Wildbow on Drone 23.5</ref> He eventually settled in Mordovia.<ref name="27.3"/>
Post-Timeskip
Dragon and by extension Saint constantly monitored Sleeper's activity, including even the slightest shifts, despite his apparent dormancy.<ref name="I26.x">26.x (Donation Interlude; Saint)</ref>
Gold Morning
The Mordovia Bubble was hit at the beginning of Scion's rampage, rousing Sleeper.<ref name="27.3">Mordovia bubble hit. Sleeper has been roused, last tracked en route to Zayin portal. Casualties unknown.Extinction 27.3</ref> He then traveled to Earth Zayin by portal and "subsumed" it.<ref name="28.5">Cockroaches 28.5</ref>
Using the Clairvoyant, Khepri found Sleeper sitting on a lawn chair on a balcony in Earth Zayin, reading a book out loud to himself. Deeming him too troublesome to collect, she let him be.<ref name="30.4">Speck 30.4</ref>
Early Ward
Since the events of Gold Morning, Sleeper stayed in Zayin.<ref>Interlude 5x II</ref> But apparently, was still uneasy enough to occupy The Wardens attention and resources.<ref>Beacon 8.2</ref>
Reported by Lisa Wilbourn to be "active".
Post-Attack on Teacher
Sleeper was confirmed as active, and was ranked as a non-immediate threat by The Wardens.<ref name="16.2II">From Within 16.2</ref> Legend was able to dissuade him from approaching by scorching out no man's land.<ref>“Sleeper.”
“Restless but still around. Earth Zayin in the palm of his hand. He started to emerge, Legend faced him down. [...] Leveled about thirty square kilometers of city.”
I nodded. “He’s dormant now?”
“For now. If he had motivations for making one attempt, he’s going to budge again soon. But I don’t have the instinct he’s our threat. He’s background. Someone else’s problem.”- Excerpt from Sundown 17.9</ref>
The Ice Breaks
The Wardens attempted to utilize Sleeper against Simurgh and the Titans. It did not work out by itself,<ref name="II20.9">Last 20.9</ref> but following the intervention from Titan Fortuna the Sleeper's storm was able to disable the Endbringer.<ref name="storm">The Simurgh lay prone within the storm that was the Sleeper. Unmoving. That hadn’t been him. That had been Dauntless, acting with the benefit of Titan Fortuna’s sight, guiding the direction of the blast.
The storm crackled, boiled, popped, the colors taking on a rainbow sheen that somehow felt it shouldn’t make sense with the way the colors unfolded. - Excerpt from Interlude 20.a II</ref>
Trivia
- Wildbow has stated that Sleeper was included in Worm as a result of a fan's comment that not every character should be fully explained.<ref>"Wildbow: Sleeper was written in as a response to a fan saying that I shouldn’t go into detail and explain every character. He featured in a snippet I wrote back in the day (I spent ten years writing bits and pieces of superhero stuff before settling on the story I wanted to write) and seemed like a good one to drop in. He does have a power, but I think it’s best left unsaid, perhaps until the sequel." - Interview with Wildbow by t4nky</ref>
- In the parahumans list, under Sleeper's power, Wildbow had a message with a caesar shift of 5, saying "As if I'd really put something here. For real."
- Sleeper's name seems to be a reference to "let sleeping dogs lie" proverb, whose equivalent also uses the same sleep-metaphor in Russian language too, except with a specific evil bogeyman in place of dogs.
References
<references/>
| Endbringers | Behemoth {{#switch: deceased | deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Leviathan {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • The Simurgh • Khonsu {{#switch: unknown |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Tohu {{#switch: unknown |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Bohu {{#switch: unknown |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titans | The Kronos Titan {{#switch: deceased | deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Titan Eve {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Titan Fortuna {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • The Nemean Titan {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Titan Arachne {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Titan Oberon {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • The Ashen Titan {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Titan Skadi {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • The Ophion Titan {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • The Strange Titan {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Auger {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Titaness Amenonuhoko {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • The Flowing Titan {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Drillbit {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • The Liminal Titan {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Pouffe {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Valkyrie {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Morgana {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Yakshini {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Ashoka {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Ghast {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} |
| Groups | The Slaughterhouse Nine {{#switch: former | deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT= | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parahumans | Ash Beast {{#switch: deceased | deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Echidna {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Khepri {{#switch: former |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT= | deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} • Scion {{#switch: deceased |
deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT= | deceased=† | noncanon=≠ | former=‡ | unknown=* | #DEFAULT=
}} | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||