Sandman (Marvel Comics)

Sandman
File:Tboltssandman.jpg Sandman Art by Mark Bagley
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Amazing Spider-Man #4 (September, 1963)
Created by	Stan Lee Steve Ditko
In-story information
Alter ego	William Baker
Team affiliations	Sinister Six Frightful Four Avengers agent of Silver Sable International leader of the Enforcers the Outlaws
Notable aliases	Flint Marko, Sylvester Mann, Quarryman
Abilities	Superhuman strength, durability and endurance Mass manipulation Density control Shapeshifting in sand or sand form Completely organic sand within body Size manipulation Earth manipulation Flight (in sandstorm form)

Sandman (William Baker, a.k.a. Flint Marko) is a fictional character who 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 played 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 the 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. At three years old his father abandoned him and his mother, a cleaning lady. 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 and his two pals bullied William until he, William, learned to fight using 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 who 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 there 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. Spider-Man defeats Marko with a vacuum cleaner. He escaped, but was recaptured by the Human Torch. After a while the troubled youth resurfaces as a member of the Sinister Six, led by Doctor Octopus. 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. The Fantastic Four with the help of a few other super heroes pound this fledgling group. In another battle he loses against the Four, he dons a diamond-patterned green costume with a purple cap and is joined by Blastaar. Later he and Incredible Hulk duel for the first time. Mandarin joins him in his next conflict against the Hulk.

In time Sandman discovers—starting with his hands—his body can transform into glass and that he can reverse that 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 muddle-headed mud monster whose rampage was short-lived when Spider-Man and the police dehydrated the monstrosity. Months later Sandman became independent from Hydro-Man.

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 Amazing Spider-Man V2 #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 Sandman 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 V2 #12, which retconned Amazing Spider-Man #4 in which the Wizard kidnapped Sandman and used his mind control machine, the Id Machine, to control the sandy monstrosity.

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 asks Spider-Man to tell his mother he's sorry he didn't fulfull 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 (and the ugly), the gentle and the innocent. Spider-Man locates these sandmen to convince them 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 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 #17-19 (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.

File:Amazing Spider-Man 615.jpg

Sandman shows off new powers as seen on cover of Amazing Spider-Man #615. Art by Paolo Rivera.

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, 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. Carlie, one of Spider-Man's friends who had been under police suspicion for committing 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 Keemia. He ended up colliding with Electro before they showed up. Spider-Man goes on a rampage against the villains after the infant was stolen from him by the Chameleon. In 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 shot him using Shocker's vibrational air blasts.

Powers and abilities

As the result of accidental radiation bombardment during his cancer treatment, Marko transforms into a malleable, solid substance, a man made of sand, the Sandman.

He 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.

As of Amazing Spider-Man #615, it seems Sandman will be able to split into multiple persons, at a time.

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.

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. His real name is Carmine Di Giandomenico.

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 later revealed in Marvel Zombies Return #1 that this Sandman was infected by his reality's Spider-Man.

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 pouring himself into his mouth until his stomach bursts. Later on, Sandman is infused with a nanite cure developed by Tony Stark and Wolverine's healing factor, which allows him to safely confront the Zombies, and he finally ends the menace by completely engulfing them, which allows the nanites to disintegrate them. Upon his final death, Zombie Spider-Man thanks Sandman for avenging Aunt May and Mary Jane, to which Sandman replies, "Good riddance, ya freak." He is later congratulated by a resurrected Watcher.

Spider-Man: Reign

In Spider-Man: Reign Sandman is a part of an elderly Sinister Six, but when his daughter is killed he abandons the Six, and helps Spider-Man defeat them and Venom.

Spider-Ham

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

Ultimate Sandman

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 Dr. Octopus's leadership, they break free and capture Spider-Man to form 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.

In other media

Television

• Sandman appears in the 1960s Spider-Man episode "The Sands of Crime".

• Sandman appears in the 1970s Fantastic Four episode "The Frightful Four." This version is shown in one of his costumes. 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 in The Spectacular Spider-Man.

• 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 fifth 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 Spiderman drops a large pile of wet Quick Drying Cement which hardens and encases him before he has the chance to escape. He reappears in "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 "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 "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".

Film

File:S3 sandman punch.jpg

Spider-Man punches Sandman in Spider-Man 3 (2007).

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. 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) the carjacker, Dennis Carradine, whom Peter confronted two 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 he didn't mean to kill Uncle Ben. Flint stated that he just wanted the car from Ben, and as Ben peacefully attempted to talk Flint out of it, Carradine came by, startling Flint, and causing his gun to discharge, killing Ben. This shocks Flint, who 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, and Flint, having accepted Peter's forgiveness, peacefully shapeshifts away to his daughter.

Video and computer 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 for the PlayStation. 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 Chaos and Order, 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.

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.

External links

• Sandman at Marvel.com
• Sandman at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
• Template:IMDB character