Nightmare

Nightmare is a malevolent supernatural being who rules over the Dream Dimension. It manifests visibly as a shadowy human man riding a black horse.

Biography

By 1963, Nightmare had long been at odds with Doctor Strange—Strange referred to him as his "ancient foe"—and on one occasion briefly accosted Strange during an excursion into the dream world. Several months later, Nightmare abducted the dreaming spirits of three civilians, causing them to sleep for days at a time. Doctor Strange arrived in the Dream Dimension, repelling Nightmare and his dark manifestations with his enchanted amulet and rescuing the captive spirits. Nightmare kept his eye on Doctor Strange, waiting for him to falter and neglect to magically protect himself when he slept. One such night came, as an exhausted Strange fell asleep without thinking. Strange "awoke" in the Dream Dimension confronted by Nightmare and without his powers. Nightmare was able to manipulate the unprotected Strange and his surroundings with a mere thought, and toyed with the idea of torturing him for eternity. But Strange was not entirely powerless, as he was able to subtly hypnotize Nightmare even without his magic. His hypnosis led Nightmare to visualize the creature known as the Gulgol, a being that has terrorized Nightmare since time immemorial due to the fact that it never sleeps, and thus Nightmare has no control over it. Nightmare pleaded with Strange to stop the Gulgol, and he agreed to do so if given his powers back. Nightmare granted him this, but Strange revealed that it was merely a trick. With his powers returned, Strange escaped the Dream Dimension, enduring his foe's frustrated curses.