Spider-Man: 10 Things About Sandman Only Comic Fans Know

Though Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 may have had too many villains, comic book fans know that’s never been a problem for the Sandman. Flint Marko, also known as William Baker, has been part of a few key supervillain teams over the years, including being a founding member of the Sinister Six as well as the Frightful Four.

Sandman is a potential member of the MCU Sinister Six, given the fact that the Sam Raimi Doctor Octopus is returning for Spider-Man: No Way Home. But the comic books he’s been part of since his debut in the Silver Age provide some insight into other stories and movies the character could potentially appear in as well.

10 Shapeshifter

Sandman is one of the keystone Spider-Man villains, debuting in The Amazing Spider-Man #4 in September 1963. Sandman was instantly unique given his physiology.

He could shapeshift into virtually any form by transforming his body into rock and sand. He could change size as well as density, becoming rock hard or fluid enough to stream on the wind. Marko develops his unusual powers when he accidentally falls into radioactive sand at a nuclear testing site.

9 Joining The Sinister Six

In 1964, Sandman would become one of the most powerful members of the Sinister Six when he joined Doctor Octopus’ call to arms against Spider-Man.

Seeking revenge for their collective failures against the Wall-Crawler, the Sinister Six kidnaps Betty Brant and then forces Spider-Man to take them on one by one. Sandman tries to get the drop on Spider-Man by taking him on inside an airtight metal box, but the lack of oxygen works against Marko much faster than it does Spider-Man.

8 Fighting The Fantastic Four

Spider-Man wasn’t the only Marvel superhero Sandman confronted. He fought Spider-Man alongside the Human Torch, and then the entire Fantastic Four as a member of the Frightful Four.

Sandman was also a founding member of this team, which debuted in Fantastic Four #62. He joined forces with a trio of traditional FF villains, including The Wizard, The Trapster, and Medusa, a member of the Inhumans. Sandman would be part of later versions of the team, which included other villains like Blastaar.

7 Anti-Hero

Like Medusa, Sandman wasn’t always a villain. His turn toward the good side of the superhuman divide started fairly early on. He fought as the villain in Marvel Team-Up #1 in 1972 as the villain, but his motivations were complicated, leading to a string of stories that reinterpreted him through the 70s.

By the early 80s, Sandman had blurred the lines between being a hero and a villain. Though he fought with the Thing in Marvel Two-In-One #86, he was fighting for what was right as much as he was what was wrong.

6 Ally Of Spider-Man

One of the most unlikely Spider-Man friendships develops when the former enemies team up in The Amazing Spider-Man #217. Sandman joins forces with Peter Parker to take on another Spider-Man villain, Hydro-Man.

Things get super complicated in the middle of the battle though, as Sandman and Hydro-Man get fused together. Mud-Man became a giant problem for everyone, but Sandman eventually gets free and his experience only serves to further push him away from any kind of life of crime.

5 The Wild Pack

Sandman’s career as a superhero kicked into high gear when he joined the Wild Pack, which is a group of mercenaries run by Silver Sable. Sable hails from the fictional Marvel country of Symkaria and included Sandman in various international operations in the 90s.

Sandman participated in numerous adventures with Silver Sable and the rest of the team, including missions against HYDRA and the Sinister Syndicate, a group of lesser-known Spider-Man villains.

4 Reserve Member Of The Avengers

Sandman’s greatest moment as a hero came when became a reserve member of the Avengers. For a brief time, beginning in Avengers #329, Marko served on the team on one of the greatest Avengers rosters ever.

His tenure ended abruptly when Sandman broke up a mugging. He assumed that such a petty crime was beneath the purview of the Avengers, who tend to deal with global and cosmic threats, and he left the team thinking he would have been fired for his actions.

3 Enemies With Spider-Man Again

Sandman’s life as a hero would not last long. In the early 2000s, he was back to being a villain again and a major nemesis of Spider-Man. In Peter Parker: Spider-Man #12, the Wizard uses a mind control device and forces Marko to become a villain again. The effect is mostly permanent.

Sandman reforms the Sinister Six to attack Spider-Man, with the added member of Venom. Venom ultimately betrays the team, taking them down from within. He also injures Sandman so severely that Sandman isn’t able to transform back into a human again.

2 Expanding Powers

Over time, Sandman’s powers evolve greatly. In addition to forming blunt objects like maces and hammers with his fists, Sandman is able to create clones of himself in sand.

These first appear in The Gauntlet storyline in The Amazing Spider-Man #615. Some of these clones developed minds of their own and commit a series of grisly murders that Spider-Man initially believes Marko is responsible for. Sandman’s powers then start to diminish, to the point he’s barely able to maintain control of himself.

1 Android Version

Beyond clones, there are other versions of Sandman in the comic books as well. One of the most interesting is an android who was created by The Mad Thinker in Fantastic Four #100. The Mad Thinker routinely created life-like duplicates of people, including versions of famous scientists like Albert Einstein.

This version of Sandman fought against the Fantastic Four but didn’t survive the experience. Numerous other versions exist throughout the comic book multiverse as well, including from the Ultimate Comics imprint from the early 2000s and the Spider-Verse web of infinite universes that the comics started to explore in 2014.

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