Sandman (Marvel Comics)

Sandman (William Baker a.k.a. Flint Marko) is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. A shapeshifter endowed through an accident with the ability to turn himself into sand, he eventually reformed, and became an ally of Spider-Man. The character has been adapted into various other media incarnations of Spider-Man, including animated cartoons and the 2007 film Spider-Man 3, in which he is portrayed by Academy Award nominated actor Thomas Haden Church.

In 2009, Sandman was ranked as IGN's 72nd Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.

Publication history

The Sandman first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #4 (Sept. 1963), created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko as an adversary of Spider-Man. The character returned in The Amazing Spider-Man #18 and #19, and was soon depicted in other comics, such as battling Hulk and the Fantastic Four. The Sandman was later an ally of Spider-Man, as well as a member of the Avengers and Silver Sable's "Wild Pack" team of mercenaries.

Fictional character biography

William Baker was born in Queens, New York. When he was three years old, his father abandoned him and his mother. In these early years she took her son to Coney Island beach. He lost himself happily in sand sculptures, a craft he would use in secondary school under the encouragement of his teacher (and first crush), Miss Flint.

In preparatory school, a boy named Vic bullied him until he learned to fight using an opponents' motions against themselves, a technique he performed as if he "slipped through their fingers like sand." Vic and his buddies posed no match to William, who wore them down and eventually, they even befriended throughout high school. At this time, William, a football player on his school's team, used football to channel his anger to apply it to what he sensed as a nascent change in himself. While playing football he adopted the moniker "Flint," the last name of his affection, Miss Flint.

Vic incurs a large debt to a mob. In desperation, he begs Flint to fix a football game he bet on to pay off his debt. Flint does, but finds himself kicked off the team after the coach discovers his involvement in this corruption. The coach vituperates the young, tenderfoot trickster by saying that he will accomplish nothing of importance in his life. Flint soon roughs up his ex-coach, resulting in his expulsion from school and segue into a life of crime.

His illegal activity increases in depth and scope, turning him into a violent, bitter man. Eventually he ends up in prison on Ryker's Island where he meets his father, Floyd Baker. He is friendly to his father but does not tell him who he is. He tells Floyd his nickname, Flint, and a false surname, Marko, inspired by his former coach's taunts about not "making a mark" on the world. He would use the alias Flint Marko from that point on. (He changed his name also to prevent his mother from discovering he's a criminal.) His father's presence ameliorates him. After Floyd is released from prison, Marko escapes.

Immediately, William flees to a nuclear testing site on a beach near Savannah, Georgia where he comes into contact with sand that had been irradiated by an experimental reactor. His body and the radioactive sand bond, which changes Marko's molecular structure into sand. Impressed, he names himself the Sandman after his new powers.

In high school Marko clashes with Peter Parker/Spider-Man, for the first time. He escaped Spider-Man in his first battle, but later Spider-Man found the Sandman hiding in his school. He defeats Marko with a vacuum cleaner and handed it over to the police. The Sandman escaped by getting through his window after turning himself to sand, but was recaptured by the Human Torch after the Torch lured the Sandman to a building by disguising himself as Spider-Man, then activated the sprinkler systems. After a while the troubled youth resurfaces as a member of the Sinister Six, led by Doctor Octopus. He battled Spider-Man inside an airtight metal box, which was activated when Spider-Man touched a card saying where the Vulture was, but the Sandman was defeated due to Spider-Man having stronger lungs than him.

Alongside the Enforcers, he captures the Human Torch but later succumbs to Spider-Man and the Human Torch.

After Spider-Man defeats Flint numerous times, Flint diverts his attention to other super heroes. He teams with the Wizard, Paste Pot Pete and Medusa to form the Frightful Four to combat the Fantastic Four, which attacked during Reed and Sue's engagement party. The Fantastic Four with the help of a few other super heroes defeat this fledgling group. In another battle he loses against the Four, he dons a diamond-patterned green costume designed by Wizard with a purple cap and is joined by Blastaar. Later he and Hulk duel for the first time. Mandarin joins him in his next conflict against the Hulk.

In time Sandman discoversâ€"starting with his handsâ€"his body can transform into glass and that he can reverse the effect. He contracted cancer and overtook a medical research center. He battled Wonder Man but was cured of cancer by radiation. Afterward, he allied himself with Hydro-Man to battle their mutual enemy, Spider-Man. An accident merged the two villains into a mud monster called Mud-Thing whose rampage was short-lived when Spider-Man and the police dehydrated the monstrosity. Months later, the supervillains managed to separate their masses and went their separate ways.

Depression sinks into Baker in an episode where he is having second thoughts about evil. The Thing of the Fantastic Four sees Baker's angst and urges him to straighten himself out and use his ability to do good. He began boarding with the Cassadas and teamed with Spider-Man against the Enforcers. Sandman then makes sporadic appearances in Spider-Man comics assisting his former enemy. The first such appearance has him coming to the rescue of Spider-Man and Silver Sable, who are outnumbered and surrounded by the Sinister Syndicate. Silver Sable is impressed by Sandman's performance and recruits him as a freelance operative. Doctor Octopus coerced him to rejoin Sinister Six, but he turned against the clan, whose leader, Doctor Octopus, turned him into glass for his treason. Spider-Man, however, saved the Sandman. Sandman also appears as part of The Outlaws, a group of reformed Spider-Man enemies, such as Prowler, Rocket Racer, Puma and Will o' the Wisp, on occasion that would aid Spider-Man.

Later he receives a presidential pardon and briefly joins the Avengers as a reserve member. Later, he becomes a full-time mercenary in the employ of Silver Sable, as a member of her Wild Pack, serving alongside heroes such as Paladin and Battlestar. Sandman is one of the few heroes temporarily overwhelmed by their evil doubles during the Infinity War. This double almost kills them all.

In The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2 #4, Marko turned against Spider-Man and his sometimes ally Thing and declared his allegiance to evil and his former employer, the villainous Wizard. This change proved egregiously incompatible to what many fans had thought Sandman had become, what he had reformed to, a hero.. This outcry caused Marvel to rush out a story, in Peter Parker: Spider-Man vol. 2 #12, which retconned The Amazing Spider-Man #4 in which the Wizard kidnapped Sandman and used his mind control machine, the Id Machine, to control him.

The machine worked too well and Sandman went about reforming the Sinister Six to destroy both Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus, only to be double-crossed by Venom, who Sandman recruited as the sixth member of the team. During Venom's brawl against Sandman, the vicious black spider's mouth rips a chunk of sand from Sandman. That missing sand destabilizes Sandman, causing him to lose his ability to maintain his human form. Before falling into the sewer (and as a nod to fans who rejected Marvel's attempt to re-villainize the character), Sandman admitted that part of the reason for his fall from grace was the trouble he had to really cope with life on the good guys' side, and asks Spider-Man to tell his mother he's sorry he didn't fulfill his promise to her, to be a force for good. Sandman washes away and slides down a sewer, from which he mixes into Jones Beach, New York and is thought dead.

Sandman's body and mind are scattered throughout the beach. This separation lasts too long for him, causing his mind to split into good and its opposite, evil, which when dominant created sand vortexes to ensnare beach combers. Spider-Man arrived to confront Sandman, ultimately using Sandman's mental instability to free his captives and cause him to explode.

His sand wafts throughout New York and touches down into piles forming beings that personify him: the good, the bad, the gentle and the innocent. Spider-Man locates these sandmen to convinces them to unify. Sandman's evil persona merges with his innocent and gentle personas, but Sandman's good one rebuffs the evil one. Because Sandman's mind can handle his personality in separation for only a limited time, he loses his ability to retain himself, crumbling and blowing away, leaving Spider-Man to ponder the nature of his scuddled foe.

Sandman is one of the villains recruited to recover the Identity Disc, but during its recovery seemingly he is killed in a mutiny. At the series' end Sandman is found alive and working with Vulture to manipulate the other villains.

In the storyline "Sandblasted," in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #17â€"19 (April-June 2007), Sandman asks Spider-Man to help him redeem his father, who has been charged with and imprisoned for murdering a homeless man. He admits his father was a petty criminal but insists he wouldn't commit murder. Baker also said the victim resembles Peter Parker's Uncle Ben, who had been murdered years before then. Sandman and Spider-Man find the killer, Chameleon 2211. Chameleon 2211 kills Uncle Ben who Hobgoblin 2211 brought from an alternate universe and had been posing as him after that. Thanks to Spider-Man, Floyd Baker is switched with Chameleon 2211 and saved, for which Sandman thanks Spider-Man.

Sandman returned in Spider-Man: The Gauntlet storyline, which redefined the character and his powers/mental state. While investigating a series of murders and a missing girl named Keemia, whose mother is a victim of those murders, Spider-Man traces the murders and the abduction to the Sandman, the girl's father, who is hiding on Governor's Island with Keemia. Sandman's powers have evolved to where he can create duplicates of himself who have their own personalities and to Marko's shock claim they committed the murders.

Spider-Man sneaks away and uses a fan to obliterate the sandmen. Originally Spider-Man believed Keemia would be handed to her grandmother, but instead she was sent to a foster home by Child Protective Services. Carlie, one of Spider-Man's friends who had been under police suspicion for tampering with evidence from the murders committed by Sandman's duplicates, is exonerated, but Sandman is at large.

During the Origin of the Species storyline, Sandman is among the supervillains invited by Doctor Octopus to join his villains' team where he becomes involved in a plot to receive a reward and securing some specific items for him. Sandman went after Spider-Man for Menace's infant, believing that Doctor Octopus would reward him by reuniting him with Keemia. He ended up being accidentally struck with lightning by Electro, temporarily turning him into fulgurite. Spider-Man goes on a rampage against all the villains after the Chameleon stole the infant and tricked him into believing it had died. At the dock, Sandman along with Shocker and the Enforcers are hiding, however Spider-Man collapses the floor of the building, which falls into the water. Sandman attempts to rise to attack, but Spider-Man shoots him using Shocker's vibrational air-blasts.

In Big Time, he is part of the new Sinister Six, along with Mysterio, Rhino, Doctor Octopus, Chameleon and Electro. He rises up against Doctor Octopus' plan to detonate New York, saying Keemia is still there. He is later angered when, during a confrontation between the Sinister Six and the Intelligencia, Doctor Octopus teleports the Wizard into the upper atmosphere using the Intelligencia's equipment (Sandman was talking with his former Frightful Four teammate and old friend at the time). When the Mad Thinker goes after Electro, Sandman violently attacks him, claiming that he did not want to lose any more friends.

When Doctor Octopus puts his plan into action, Sandman is satisfied with the job because of the planned two billion dollar "compensation fee", which he reasons will help him gain custody of Keemia. However, although sent to guard a facility in the Sahara Desert giving him complete control of the largest body of sand in the world, he is defeated by Spider-Man, Black Widow and Silver Sable when Spider-Man identifies and isolates the one grain of sand that contains his conscious mind. Spider-Man and Silver Sable then violently interrogate Sandman to reveal all of Doctor Octopus' secrets to them.

Following the Dying Wish storyline, Sandman's captive form is later stolen from the Baxter Building by the Superior Spider-Man (Doctor Octopus' mind in Spider-Man's body) where he takes him to his underwater lab. Sandman, Chameleon, Electro, Mysterion, and the Vulture are later seen as part of a team led by Superior Spider-Man called the "Superior Six". Superior Spider-Man has been temporarily controlling their minds in order to redeem them for their crimes. He does this by forcing them do heroic deeds against their will some of which almost get some of them killed. Every time he is done controlling them, he puts them back in their containment cells. They eventually break free of Superior Spider-Man's control and attempt to exact revenge on the wall-crawler, while nearly destroying New York in order to do so. With the help of Sun Girl, Superior Spider-Man is barely able to stop the Superior Six.

Powers and abilities

Sandman has the ability to transform his body. He can will his body hardened, compacted, dispersed or shaped, or a combination of those qualities, an Earth manipulation of sand and rock particles. More often than not in combat, this ability enables him to absorb most blows with little to no ill effect other than reforming himself, a relatively fast action. His striped shirt and cargo pants are colored sand to make him appear as if he wears clothes. Even when soaked, he was able to stretch his sand molecules, growing to double his size.

Sandman can mold his arms and hands into shapes such as a mace or a sledgehammer to battle Spider-Man and his other enemies. His mass, strength and shape shifting ability correspond to the number of sand and rock particles that comprise him. The more he incorporates (nearby) sand grains and rock granules into his body, the more those qualities are enhanced. Even though he controls every particle in his body, his mind exists in the astral plane. He can turn himself into a sandstorm, which enables him to fly great distances and to suffocate his enemies.

His body takes on sand's chemical qualities, impervious to many, but not all, elements. Once, cement's ingredients were mixed into Sandman. That mixture turned him into cement that dried, rendering him immobile. Despite this frailty, he remained alive but in a comalike state for a while before he returned to normal. In addition to his superb endurance, the Sandman possesses superhuman strength several times more than Spider-Man's, on par with the Thing's.

In a story with the Wizard, the Wizard fashioned Sandman a suit with a belt that contained chemicals to mix into the Sandman to enable him to change himself into consistencies related to sand. The suit's composition, as Sandman's usual "clothes," changed with him. Eventually Sandman stopped using the suit.

Temperature does alter the Sandman. At 3,400 Fahrenheit his body turns into glass, also a form he can control. Unlike Sandman's fast transformation from sand to glass, his transformation from glass to sand takes time.

Although he is invulnerable to most physical attacks, even projectiles because they pass through him, water is a different story to him. So, too, is a rare physical attack. In combat against Venom, the villain's powerful mouth ripped cleanly and swiftly into Sandman. The amount of sand removed abruptly, and perhaps because of Venom's poisons, left the mass of Sandman in contortion, crippled beyond immediate repair. Sandman began to disintegrate, then flowed down a drain, giving the impression he had met his end. Later he is washed up onto and into a beach.

It has been revealed that, while Sandman can absorb and lose sand, his body must retain one key particle of sand that contains his conscious mind, allowing Spider-Man to defeat him by isolating that one grain from the rest of the Sandman (although the difficulty involved in setting up these events in the first place makes it impractical to use regularly).

Other characters named Sandman

There had been some other characters in Marvel Comics that had been named "Sandman":

• In Marvel Mystery Comics, the Sandman that appears is the Sandman of legend. He lives in the Land of Dreams which is located in the Realm of Fairies within the potentially imaginary world of Nowhere. Sandman ruled over the realm and would place a blanket over it every day. Those who grabbed a dream from the dream tree would have a dream based on whatever they grabbed from the tree and awaken again when the Sandman removed the blanket over his land. Anyone who didn't grab a dream will end up in an eternal dreamless sleep.
• In Journey into Mystery, an alien Sandman crash-landed on Earth where he ended up in Mexico. The local tribespeople thought it was an evil spirit. They took him while he was still weak from his crash and sealed him in a cave with no air and light where he remained in a state of suspended animation. By the early 1960s, a vacationing Marine named Steve Bronson and his family accidentally unleashed the alien Sandman on the world. The alien Sandman regained its consciousness and recounted its past to the Bronson family and planned to conquer the Earth. Steve Bronson tried to oppose the alien Sandman, but it proved invulnerable to physical assault. The alien Sandman ordered the Bronsons to transport him to North America, so he could observe the most powerful nation on the planet before putting his plan into action. Steve Bronson was able to alert the military to the alien Sandman's presence, but they also proved ineffective in dealing with the extraterrestrial threat. Bullets went right through him, gas was ineffectual because he does not breathe and while bombs would scatter his pieces, he proved capable of reforming himself afterwards. The alien Sandman planned to increase its size by absorbing every sand on the beaches until nothing can stop him. Steve Bronson's son Bobby heard about the plan and headed to the beach with a plan of his own. Bobby threw a pile of water over the sand which made the alien Sandman soggy to the point where he couldn't move. The military quickly transported the alien Sandman's body to a top-secret underground facility where he has remained ever since.
• Sandman and Silver Sable had an encounter with an Imposter Sandman who worked for an Imposter Doctor Doom.
• There was an android called Sandman who was created by Puppet Master and Mad Thinker to fight the Fantastic Four.

Other versions

1602

Marvel 1602: Fantastick Four, a sequel to Neil Gaiman's Marvel 1602 written by Peter David, features the 1602 version of the Marvel Sandman. While he physically resembles Flint Marko, he has the pale skin and glowing eyes of Gaiman's Morpheus. He also alludes to an ability to summon nightmares. In the fourth issue he is able to send Ben Grimm to sleep by blowing a vapor or dust at him. Both the Sandman and Trapster are crushed by falling debris when Bensaylum collapses.

JLA/Avengers

Sandman appears in the last issue among the Avengers fighting through Krona's stronghold, in a panel where he defeats Scorpion.

House of M: Masters of Evil

Sandman appears as a member of Hood's Masters of Evil. He was killed by both Rogue and Marrow during the riot at Santo Rico.

Marvel Noir

In the Marvel Noir universe, Sandman exists, and exhibits slightly different powers to the mainstream Universe. Whilst he cannot externally change into sand, he can alter his internal physiology, and, as Spider-Man noted, his skin can feel like granite. He is an enforcer for the Crime Master.

Marvel Zombies

In Marvel Zombies: Dead Days, the Sandman, having become a zombie, appears to attack Wolverine and Magneto alongside several other Spider-Man villains during an attempt to evacuate innocent civilians into a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. The six villains are repelled. It is shown in Marvel Zombies Return#1 that the zombie Spider-Man is responsible for infecting this universe's Flint Marko.

Marvel Zombies Return

A version of Sandman similar to a past version of 616 counterpart appears as part of a version of the Sinister Six. After Zombie Spider-Man teleports into this reality, the Kingpin sends the six to fight "Spider-Man". The other five members are violently killed by the zombie Spider-Man and Sandman flees, later encountering and killing his own reality's Spider-Man out of fear by forcing his own sand body mass down Spider-Man's throat and causing his stomach to bloat to massive proportions before violently exploding out of his chest. He is also disappointed by the seeming betrayal of his enemy, thinking that if Spider-Man is now willing to kill, then Sandman will also kill. Decades later, Sandman is infused with a nanite cure developed by Tony Stark and the Zombie Spider-Man that incorporates Wolverine's healing factor, which allows him to safely confront the Zombies. Working with a few allies that oppose the murderous zombies, the Sandman springs his trap. All zombies fall, destroyed from within. Upon his final death, Zombie Spider-Man thanks Sandman for avenging Aunt May and Mary Jane, to which Sandman replies, "Good riddance, ya disgusting freak." He is later congratulated by Uatu the Watcher for his great help.

Spider-Man: Reign

In Spider-Man: Reign Sandman is a part of an elderly Sinister Six which is under the control of the tyrannical power structure running New York. During the showdown between rebellious citizens at the Mayor's tower, the Sandman encounters his super-powered daughter, Susie but loses her due to wounds inflicted by the police. As such he abandons the Six and assists Spider-Man in defeating the tyrants.

Spider-Ham

In Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #12 Sandman appears as a manatee called Sandmanatee.

Ultimate Marvel

In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Flint Marko is a genetic mutation by industrialist Justin Hammer who attempts to recreate the Super Soldier Serum. Shortly after Doctor Octopus kills Hammer, S.H.I.E.L.D. infiltrates Hammer's factory to obtain experiments Hammer had been working on. Marko uses this opportunity to escape and wreak havoc in New Jersey. S.H.I.E.L.D., with the help of Spider-Man, contains him and imprisons him in a S.H.I.E.L.D holding facility.

There, he meets fellow genetically altered criminals Norman Osborn (Green Goblin), Dr. Otto Octavius (Doctor Octopus), Max Dillon (Electro) and Kraven the Hunter. Under the Green Goblin's and Doctor Octopus's leadership, they break free and capture Spider-Man. They tie him to a chair, unmask, and humiliate Peter for being a child and for Norman Osborn and Otto Octavius's involvement in his creation. Osborn then blackmails Peter into joining the team, forming the Ultimate Six. Marko participates with the group in an attack on the White House. However, Iron Man stops them. After the battle, S.H.I.E.L.D. seals Marko in various jars and keeps them frozen.

Artist Mark Bagley, who drew the first 100+ issues of Ultimate Spider-Man, noted in his rough designs for Ultimate Sandman that he would appear "Naked" most of the time. As he wanted to go with the more 'realistic' feel of the Ultimate imprint, he doubted whether Flint Marko's clothing had unstable molecules like his body.

Alongside the rest of the Ultimate Six, Sandman plays a role in the "Death of Spider-Man" storyline. Norman Osborn breaks him and the rest out of the Triskelion, and after their escape, informs them that God wishes for them to kill Peter Parker. When Electro is shot by Aunt May, an electric surge knocks out Kraven, Sandman, and Vulture.

Mini-Marvels

Sandman makes a cameo in Mini-Marvels when he attacks Spider-Man and the Team Poder while they were playing in a sandbox. He is defeated and turned into a sand castle.

In other media

Television

• Sandman appears in the 1960s Spider-Man episode "The Sands of Crime", voiced by Tom Harvey. In it, he steals the Goliath Diamond and orders a $1 million ransom, and since Spider-Man gets framed for the robbery for being seen at the museum, he must defeat Sandman so that he can clear his name. Spider-Man finally defeats Sandman by dousing him with water at a quarry.
• Sandman appears in the 1970s Fantastic Four episode "The Frightful Four". This version is shown in the costume that was designed by Wizard. He appears as part of the titular Frightful Four.
• Sandman appears in the 1981 Spider-Man cartoon in "The Sandman is Coming". He steals the recently obtained sand-samples from Mars to increase his power.
• Sandman appears in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode "Spider-Man: Unmasked!" voiced by Christopher Collins.
• Sandman was the only major Spider-Man villain not to appear in Spider-Man: The Animated Series because the series did not want to interfere with the continuity of James Cameron's proposed Spider-Man movie, in which the Sandman and Electro were supposed to be the villains. Although Electro was belatedly introduced into the series when Cameron's film fell through, Sandman remained unseen (although Hydro-Man fulfilled many similar roles, and it has been stated that he was indeed essentially used as a replacement for Sandman). Also because of Cameron's film, Sandman did not appear in the 1990s Fantastic Four cartoon, most notably the episodes featuring the Frightful Four.

• Sandman appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by John DiMaggio. First appearing in "Survival of the Fittest," Marko is a petty crook working for Big Man and consistently is caught with his cohort Alex O'Hirn by Spider-Man. In the episode "Competition", Big Man uses Marko as a guinea pig in Oscorp's underground experiments meant to give Marko a super silicon armor, but the experiment goes awry and transforms him into the Sandman. Soon afterward Flint is offered revenge against Spider-Man. He refuses, saying he wants only a "big score". He severs his alliance with Hammerhead and becomes an independent criminal, the Sandman. Hammerhead still says that he will live up to his end of the bargain because his actions will inadvertently draw Spider-Man's attention. Spider-Man attacks him when he robs a bank, but he defeats the hero and escapes into a drain whose grill, however, obstructs him from taking his loot, forcing him to leave it behind. Spider-Man captures him in their next fight despite that Sandman appears to have the upper hand, when Spider-Man drops a large pile of wet Quick Drying Cement, which hardens and encases him before he has the chance to escape. In the episode "Group Therapy", where he alongside Doctor Octopus, Rhino, Shocker and Vulture are busted out of jail by Electro and form the Sinister Six. Sandman rekindles his partnership with Alex O'Hirn, Rhino. He, along with the rest of the Six, is defeated by a symbiote-controlled Spider-Man. In the episode "Reinforcement", Sandman joins the new Sinister Six, Consisting of Electro, Kraven the Hunter, Rhino, Mysterio and Vulture at Christmas Eve, but is again defeated this time by being first convert to mud then being frozen. In the episode "First Steps", Sandman becomes more powerful during his time in prison he learned he could absorb extra sand into his body absorbing the combined sand from a beach and the bottom of the harbor becoming a massive giant, and helps Hammerhead take down an oil tanker to make the "big score" he always dreamed of. However, when the ship is about to explode, Sandman helps Spider-Man rescues the crew and as a giant, wraps himself around the exploding ship to protect civilians being crystallized in the explosion. Spider-Man believes he died, only for Sandman to appear alive after the hero leaves. Also, this version lacks his trademark vulnerability to water, though this is referenced in "Group Therapy".
• Sandman appears in the Ultimate Spider-Man episode "Snow Day", voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. Spider-Man and his team encounter Sandman on an island that Nova finds to use as a vacation spot. Sandman first appears to them in the form of a young boy named Sandy (voiced by Tara Strong) who wants to play with Spider-Man's team. Spider-Man's team finds Sandy's "brother" Flint who claims that Sandy always playing in the ruins (which suddenly forms). When Spider-Man's team goes on a tactical retreat, Sandy turns into sand and moves the S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet to the top of the ruins daring them to come get it. Spider-Man and his team end up attacked by Sandy and Flint who then forms a sand labyrinth for them to maneuver around. Power Man finds hieroglyphics where it said that Sandman escaped from prison and was caught in an explosion that gave him his powers. The hieroglyphics state that Nick Fury dropped Sandman on the island. Flint and Sandy combine into one Sandman which Spider-Man and his team fights. Spider-Man fights Sandman while the others try to get to the Quinjet. Nova lifts the Quinjet as Spider-Man's team flies away until they are intercepted by Nick Fury's agents. Nick Fury finds out that Spider-Man's team went to the island that Sandman was on and wants them at the Helicarrier for a full scrub-down. Nick Fury mentioned that they dropped Sandman on an island because no prison could successfully contain him. It is then shown that Sandman had stowed away in Spider-Man's outfit as he forms in the Quinjet and freezes the controls. Upon landing in the frozen Hudson River, Spider-Man and his team had to stop Sandman before he reaches land. Iron Fist cracks the ice and Spider-Man tells Nova to heat Sandman's body enough to turn him to glass. Sandman was then placed in a special containment unit (which resembles an hourglass that is always moving) that would keep him from reassembling. Spider-Man notes that Sandman's isolation on the island likely affected his sanity, which Fury admits is true; he should not have left Sandman alone, referring it to the equivalent of "sweeping it under the rug." In the episode "Sandman Returns," Awesome Android accidentally frees Sandman who ends up stopping Awesome Android and putting out the fire Awesome Android caused. Sandman stated to Spider-Man that he just wanted to help. Nick Fury mentioned that he S.H.I.E.L.D. has been working to rehabilitate Sandman and hoping to make him a hero. Spider-Man has Nick Fury let him train him to be a hero. Sandman is outfitted into a special containment suit that limits his power by Walter and Amanda Cage. While S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents observe Spider-Man's program, Spider-Man takes Sandman to battle Swarm where Sandman's containment suit is targeted by Swarm. Spider-Man is forced to get the containment suit off of Sandman who then pummels Swarm into submission. Sandman is brought into control and apologizes for his actions. With advise from Iron Fist, Spider-Man trains Sandman (whose containment suit has been replaced) into being a man first and a Sandman second. When Batroc the Leaper is in the middle of a robbery, Sandman springs into action where he attacks Batroc the Leaper. When Batroc the Leaper throws a garbage at Sandman, he ends up attack Batroc the Leaper as J. Jonah Jameson makes a bad comment towards Sandman. Sandman loses control of his emotions and breaks out of his suit where he attacks Spider-Man with a sandstorm attack. Nick Fury sends the rest of Spider-Man's team to help Spider-Man stop Sandman. Spider-Man denies Nova's plan to turn Sandman into glass again as Spider-Man has a different plan. Spider-Man then tries to reason with Sandman until Nova arrives and Spider-Man throws Awesome Android into Sandman's mouth where he absorbs Sandman. When S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents arrive with a new containment suit, Sandman is shot into the containment suit and taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.

Film

• Thomas Haden Church played Sandman in the 2007 feature film Spider-Man 3. In the film, Sandman's origins are similar to the comics except for his connection to Spider-Man's origin. Flint Marko steals to pay for medical treatment for his critically ill daughter, Penny. While on the run from the police after escaping from prison, he accidentally falls into an experimental particle accelerator that molecularly binds him with sand, giving him shapeshifting sand abilities and transforming him into the Sandman. A major focus of the plot involves Marko's connection to the murder of Ben Parker (Cliff Robertson), Spider-Man's uncle, in the first film. Sandman is later spotted by police officers walking down the streets of Manhattan. Sandman gets on top of a dump truck filled with huge amounts of sand. At the police station, police captain George Stacy (James Cromwell) discovers evidence Marko is Ben Parker's killer. He tells Peter and Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) that the carjacker Dennis Carradine (whom Peter confronted five years earlier) was Marko's accomplice. A vengeful Spider-Man, wearing the black suit that would eventually become Venom, attacked and seemingly killed Marko but he survived and later joined forces with Venom to eliminate Spider-Man. He is ultimately defeated by Harry Osborn, and upon learning Spider-Man's true identity after witnessing the destruction of Venom, he talks with Peter at the conclusion of the film, revealing the truth about Uncle Ben's death. Flint only wanted the car from Ben, who complied and calmly talked to Flint about why he was doing what he was. Flint begins to reconsider his choices, when Carradine arrived and startled Flint, causing his gun to discharge, killing Ben. Flint was shocked and regretful, and remained behind while Carradine drove away in Ben's car before getting in a run with the police. Flint stated this because he wanted Peter to understand and that his love for his daughter Penny is the only thing he has left for himself. Understanding the importance of forgiveness over vengeance, Peter forgives him. Flint, having accepted Peter's forgiveness, turns into sand and peacefully blows away.

Video games

• Sandman appears in the Spider-Man Questprobe game.
• Sandman is a boss character in the game The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin. He rises from a sandbox and must be dissipated by striking him with water.
• Sandman is the second boss in Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six for the NES.
• Sandman appears as a boss in Spider-Man 2: The Sinister Six.
• Sandman appeared in Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro, voiced by Daran Norris. He attempts to prevent Spider-Man from leaping on the Beetle's train, but is defeated. Later, he chases Spider-Man all over a construction site, and the hero must turn industrial hoses on him to disrupt his integrity.
• In the Ultimate Spider-Man video game, it is shown that Ultimate Beetle has stolen one of the vials containing Flint Marko. The ramifications have yet to be seen. Concept art for the special edition of the game shows Beetle giving the vial to Doctor Doom.
• Sandman appears in the video game adaptation of Spider-Man 3 voiced by Thomas Haden Church.
• Sandman appears in Spider-Man: Friend or Foe voiced by Fred Tatasciore. He appears as both a boss and a playable character. In the opening cinematics, Sandman alongside Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, and Venom are abducted by the P.H.A.N.T.O.M.s and end up under the control of Mysterio. Sandman causes a sandstorm in Cairo, Egypt and engages Spider-Man in battle at the Excavation Site. After being freed from the Control Amulet, Sandman joins Spider-Man on his quest.
• Sandman appeared in the game Spider-Man: The Battle Within as the second boss. He was one of the two battles fought with the black suit.
• Sandman appears in the PlayStation 2 and PSP versions of Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. He appears as an assist character who attacks enemies with his sand attack. In the other versions, Sandman and the film series are mentioned in the first fight between Spider-Man and the glider-bound enemies when Spider-Man states, "That whole Goblin thing is so six years ago. The kids are into the Sandman, and the Venom, get it?"
• Sandman appears as a boss for the second amazing segment in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. He is voiced by Dimitri Diatchenko. In the game, Sandman obtains a fragment of the Tablet of Order and Chaos, and augments his powers to the point where he can control any sand simply by looking at it. Spider-Man fights him in an abandoned sand quarry owned by Roxxon Industries. He has the power to create Sand Golems, form weapons out of sand, and create destructive sandstorms. Ultimately, he spreads his mind so far and so thin that it begins to fracture and his only weakness is water, which solidifies him and his Sand Golems long enough to attack him for a short time. Spider-Man manages to defeat Sandman and claim the tablet fragment. During the credits, Sandman is shown trapped in an hourglass as Spider-Man swings by in the distance.
• Sandman is featured as a boss in the Facebook game Marvel: Avengers Alliance. He has subsequently been released as an unlockable character.
• Sandman appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.

Action figures

• Sandman was one of the figures included in Toy Biz' Spider-Man Sneak Attack line in 1998.
• Sandman was one of the action figures included in Toy Biz' Spider-Man Classics series 12 and re-released in 2005's series 17.
• Sandman is also one of the numerous characters produced in the Marvel line of the block-figures called Minimates.
• Sandman's next incarnation was in the Spider-Man 3 line, including spin-off series like Marvel Legends.
• Sandman has appeared in the Heroclix miniature game in both the Clobberin' Time and Web of Spider-Man sets.
• Sandman was included as a display base accessory for the Hot Toys 1/6 scale Spiderman figure (black suit version) released in 2012. The figure is based on Sandman's appearance in Spider-Man 3, and is sculpted as a partial giant figure rising out of the ground.

References

External links

• Sandman at Marvel.com
• Sandman of Nowhere at Marvel Wiki
• Alien Sandman at Marvel Wiki
• Sandman Imposter at Marvel Wiki
• Sandman at Comic Vine
• Sandman at the Comic Book DB
• Sandman at the Internet Movie Database