Flint Marko, better known as the Sandman, is a character in the Marvel's Spider-Man series who was mentioned in Marvel's Spider-Man through Peter Parker's description of a backpack collectible before making his physical debut in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 as a minor antagonist.
He is portrayed by Leandro Cano.
History[]
Past[]
Sandman supposedly trapped in vial.
Flint was born in 1976. He had a poor background, growing up in poverty. At some point after Flint became the super criminal, Sandman, Peter Parker (going by the alias Spider-Man) kept a vial containing fragments of his memories.
Flint also originally planned a robbery at F.E.A.S.T., until May Parker warded him off peacefully, making him realize the error of his ways when he saw poor people like himself.
Eventually, Flint chose to leave his life as a villain behind for the sake of his daughter, Keemia. Peter noted his lack of activity, indicating that Flint had avoided criminal activity for a long time.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2[]
Sandman attacking Spider-Man
Flint's past made him a target for Kraven the Hunter, who sent his Hunters to capture him. Marko realized he was being followed, but his attempts to get help from the authorities were ignored.
The breaking point came when Keemia went missing: in desperation, Marko relapsed into Sandman and began a rampage in the city before Peter and a new Spider-Man, Miles Morales, subdued him. He berated the pair as the means to warn them of Kraven's arrival to hunt both heroes and villains of New York City alike, before the authorities took him away to imprison him in the Raft and thereby saving him from being hunted by Kraven.
The statue left for Keemia.
Later, Miles finds a strange crystal, guarded by sentient sand creatures. Alongside Mary Jane Watson, they find out that during their battle, Marko's mind was split into fragments, with the crystal being a shard of his memories. They surmise that, if they can find all of the crystals scattered around the city, they can repair Marko's mind.
As each shard is recovered, the Spider-Men learn of Marko's efforts to keep Keemia safe. After recovering the final shard and ensuring the safety of Keemia, they give her a statue of the two of them created from the recovered crystals, per Marko's request, to keep her company and as a promise that Marko will return some day.
Before Marko is being taken safely by the authorities, his warning of the Spider-Men that some Hunters disguised as civilians also foreshadows their captures on Miles and had him pit against Mister Negative at a same week in two days when Peter fully succumbs to the influence of the Venom symbiote's influence on the first day after saving Curt Connors.
Characteristics[]
Appearance[]
A full body image of Sandman's regular size form.
While in his organic human form, Marko is around six feet in height. He sports brown hair and a brown jacket. He is also aging, so lines on his face are noticeable.
During the Spider-Man 2 game, Marko assumes four main forms. The first is his human form, but he is completely made of sand. The second form are minions which act as extensions of himself. Said minions are also made of sand, and some possess spiky protrusions on their arms. These minions, as well as his human and sand form, are 6 feet tall.
His main form is quite large. This form is composed of Marko's upper body, and instead of legs, there is a sand tornado below his waist. His voice changes to a distorted, deep, bellowing voice. This form also has somewhat of a different face. His curly hair is replaced by straighter, almost buzz cut hair. Marko's face also gains scars made of darker sand, and somewhat makes his face appear to have a heavier build. This form is the largest seen yet. Its height matches a skyscraper building, and he can easily crush an entire city or district.
Abilities[]
Marko's body is entirely composed of sand grains, which he can use to his advantage. He has been shown to morph his arms into any weapon he desires, as well as alter his physical size to be as tall as a skyscraper. His size altering powers also augments his physical strength, allowing him to smash through buildings with great ease. He can also take himself apart and fly. He can also repair damage to his body through sand absorption, as well as generate sand-like constructs of humanoids (minions), which serve him.
While Marko is a powerful foe, he does have weaknesses. One is his weakness to water, which turns the sand of his body into mud, at least until dried. Furthermore, if he is exposed to extreme heat, the sand on his body will turn to glass. Exposure to powerful blasts of electricity can destroy him; this is how Miles and Peter overpower him with a combined lightning strike. Electricity can also make his sand turn into glowing fulgurite. Lastly, his enormous size requires vast amounts of sand, so he needs to be in places like coasts or even a beach to pull it off; without it, his form shrinks.
Gallery[]
Original Appearance[]
Flint Marko, whose birth name is William Baker, first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 #4 (September 1963). He is also a nemesis of Fantastic Four (particularly its member Benjamin Grimm/The Thing), one of the original founders of Sinister Six and Frightful Four, as well as being a member of Silver Sable's Wild Pack.