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Attributes

Height: Variable (6'1")

Weight: Variable (450 lbs)

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Brown

Features: Gritty feeling to his handshake

Summary

Created By: Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

Real Name: Flint Marko

Current Aliases: None

Former Aliases: William Baker, Sylvester Mann

Dual Identity: Known to the F.B.I.

Current Occupation: Unknown

Former Occupation: Professional Criminal

Citizenship: United States of America

Legal Status: Criminal Record in the U.S.

Place of Birth: Queens, New York

Marital Status: Single

Known Relatives: Mother (Mrs. Baker, MTU #1), Father (Floyd Baker)

Known Confidants: Spiderman, Captain America

Known Allies: Spider-Man, Captain America, The Avengers, Crime-Master, The Big Man, Silver Sable, Silver Sable's Wild Pack, the Sinister Six, the Frightful Four,

Major Enemies: Spider-Man, The Sinister Six, Fantastic Four

Usual Bases: Unknown

Former Bases: The Island Prison

Current Groups: None

Former Groups: The Sinister Six, Frightful Four, Avengers (Alternate Avenger Status)

Education: Didn't graduate from High School

Powers & Paraphenalia

Strength Level: Super-Human

Powers: Sandman can turn his body into a sandlike material which he can manipulate the shape and density of at will.

Abilities: None

Equipment: None

Weapons: None

Limitations: Sandman can form his body into hammers and other crushing weapons, and can suffocate opponents with his body.

Background

William swore that Vic and his fellow bullies would never hurt him again. The next time they came after him, he was the one to leave them hurt and bleeding. That day, he learned that guys feared and respected power and girls were attracted to it. When he was a good boy, he was beat up. When he was a rebel, he was respected. He liked the feeling. A lot.

His former bullies decided to make him one of them, and he became their leader. William took "Flint" as a nickname in high school, because it sounded tough and because it reminded him of his teacher, who he had a childhood crush on. He swore that he would never be the kid that he had been before. He became a high school football player, which is where his trouble really began. Vic came to him one night and begged Flint to start throwing some of the football games, so he could pay off his gambling debts to the mafia. Flint agreed, which brought him into conflict with the coach.

The coach confronted Flint, who promptly beat him up. He and Vic robbed a convenience store to get money to run out of town but were caught by the police and sent to prison. In prison, Flint met his father, a fellow prisoner named Floyd Baker. Floyd claimed that he liked Flint's bravery and wished that his wimp of a son had some of his guts. That way, he never would have run out on the family. Floyd introduced himself and Flint hastily came up with the name that he would use for the rest of his criminal career: Flint Marko.

Vic and Marcy, Flint's girlfriend, were always waiting for him when he got out of prison. They continued working for the mob as enforcers and inevitably would end up back in jail. The only up side to being back behind bars was seeing his father, who still didn't know he was talking to his own son. Then one day, Floyd was free and Flint was in jail. Wanting to be with his father, Flint escaped from prison and made it all the way to Georgia. Vowing never to be captured alive, he managed to stay one step ahead of the pursuing lawmen. But as the police dragnet drew ever tighter, he hid in the one place where no one would imagine a man would hide: An Atomic Devices Testing Center.

Realizing it was the only place where he could have a measure of safety, he remained on the lonely, forbidden area beach. Until the fateful day that a Nuclear test explosion caught him unawares. By some incredible accident, the molecules of his body merged at that radioactive instant with the molecules of the sand under his feet. In doing so his body took on the qualities of the sand itself. He became the Sandman, who is virtually indestructible.

Making his way back to New York, Flint went directly to Marcy's apartment to tell her that their problems were over, that he could now steal whatever he wanted, but found her with Vic. He nearly killed them for betraying him, but he decided that they were beneath him, that a man of his power needed a worthy enemy. He got his wish, after Spider-Man captured him with a vacuum cleaner.

Marko returned to his criminal ways (he was really just a thief at heart), and proved impossible for the police to capture. Bullets passed through him without hurting him, he could disappear by seeming to be nothing more than a pile of sand in a construction site and his malleable form made him able to fashion all sorts of weapons out of his hands. This talent brought him to the attention of Dr Octopus, who made him an original member of the Sinister Six.

Flint was always a street thug at heart, although he did try to be the mastermind once. He led the Enforcers (Montana, Ox and Fancy Dan) in an attempt to kidnap the Human Torch. It worked for a while, until Spidey showed up.

Flint met a woman that he was very attracted to named Sadie in a cheap bar one night, but she was already being pursued by Morrie Bench, aka Hydro-Man. She tried to keep her new boyfriends cooperative but they ended up fighting each other and merging into a mud monster. It was stopped after it climbed the Empire State Building and got struck by lightening.

After repenting from his criminal ways, Flint Marko changed his name back to William Baker, and tried to fight the good fight alongside Spidey, Silver Sable and the Avengers. But his evil ways lurked deep inside him. The Wizard, with a device he had previously used against the Fantastic Four to a similar effect, made Flint's dark side resurface so he could have his former ally back.

Again as Marko, he reformed the Sinister Six, with Alyosha Kravinoff and Daniel Berkhart taking the place of the dead, original Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio, respectively. Only this time the sixth member, Doc Ock, wasn't the leader - he was the target. The group was joined by Venom, who decided to eliminate them after he believed himself to have been insulted by them.

Catching up to Sandman and Spidey at the Daily Bugle after dealing with Electro, Venom took a bite out of Sandman. Now, usually this doesn't really harm anything, as Sandman always leaves some sand behind, but this time some vital sand organ must have been hit, because he started falling apart. He fell into the sewers and was dumped on a beach, where he had enough sand to reform, but not enough will to do it - his mind was shattered.

Eventually, several aspects of Sandman's mind reformed, his good side, his dark side, his feminine side and his inner child. After tracking down the evil side all over the city, Spidey watched as the 4 Sandpeople (sorry George Lucas) merged together, and fell apart again. After Spider-Man left, a single Sandman emerged, and apparently evil won over the inner battle for control.

Sandman may be evil again, but he was forced to join forces with Spider-Man to save his father from death row. Floyd had been convicted of a recent murder since he had last seen Flint. Whose murder, you ask? Ben Parker's, Peter's beloved Uncle Ben. Peter didn't understand how this was possible, since Ben had been killed many years earlier by a Burglar. The thing is, this wasn't the "real" Ben Parker: it was an Uncle Ben from a parallel universe, brought to Spider-Man by the Hobgoblin from the year 2211.

Hobgoblin 2211 came from the future to kill all Spider-Men from all times, and she used the alternate Uncle Ben to persuade Peter to give up being Spider-Man. The plan didn't work and Hobgoblin was defeated, leaving "Uncle Ben" to wander New York. He stumbled upon a homeless man, who tried to persuade him to take his own life. Ben refused, and the bum shot him. It was then that Floyd Baker found the body in an alleyway and picked up the gun, just as the police arrived. Mr Baker, with his long criminal record, was arrested for the murder of "Ben Parker."

This was all revealed by a giant pink lizard from the year 2211, a "Chameleon" of the future, who came back to our time when the Hobgoblin did. The Chameleon 2211 devoured its victim's DNA to assume their appearance and used the identity of the principal of Midtown High for the purpose of watching and learning about Peter Parker. The Spider-Man of our time is a legendary figure in the future and the 2211 Chameleon used the Hobgoblin to come back in time to battle the legend. During the three way battle between Sandman and Chameleon, Spider-Man used the technology from the Spider-Man from 2211 (who was dead, don't ask) to transport "Chameleon" into the electric chair of Floyd Baker. Chameleon was electrocuted and Floyd finally met his son, who he considers a screw up.

Thanks To:

The assistance of the Marvel Chronology Project is gratefully acknowledged.

Character Appearances