Spider-Man Films Wiki
Register
Advertisement
"I'm not a bad person, I just have bad luck."
―The Sandman[src]
Sandman
Sandman
Name: Flint Marko
Alias(es): Sandman
Rank: Villain
Spouse(s): Emma Marko
Children: Penny Marko
Portrayed by: Thomas Haden Church
First appeared: Spider-Man 3
Last appeared: Spider-Man: No Way Home
Appears in: 2 Films

Flint Marko, also known as the Sandman, is the overarching antagonist/anti-hero of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, and a supporting antagonist in Spider-Man: No Way Home. He was portrayed by Thomas Haden Church in Spider-Man 3 and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

He is a professional criminal, who accidentally kills Peter Parker's uncle, Ben Parker, causing him to spend every day regretting it. While on the run from the police, he falls into an experimental particle accelerator that molecularity binds him with sand, leading to him gaining shape shifting sand abilities. He becomes enemies with Spider-Man, who unknown to him, is Ben's nephew Peter. He later teams up with Venom to destroy Spiderman. However, after eventually discovering Spider-Man's identity, Flint lets go of his animosity and regretfully expresses his actions and remorse around Ben's death. Peter forgives him and allows him to go free.

19 years later, Flint is accidentally transported to an alternate universe, due to a botched spell by Doctor Strange to make people forget his Peter Parker is Spiderman. He teams up with this universe's Peter, two alternate versions of the villains from his universe and two alternate versions of villains from another alternate universe to get cured and return to their universes. However, after the Green Goblin emerges, he persuades Flint to join him. Eventually with the help of this Peter, his Peter and another alternate version of Peter, Flint and the other villains are cured, and are sent back to their universes.

History

Early Life

Flint would marry a girl named Emma Marko and later had a daughter named Penny Marko.

Death of Uncle Ben

FlintUncleBenandDennis

Marko accidentally shots Ben Parker

In 2002, Marko and his accomplice Dennis Carradine robbed a wrestling venue while Flint, attempted to steal Uncle Ben's car to make his and Carradine's escape with the cash. Ben reasoned with Marko, but Carradine's arrival shocked him and he shot Uncle Ben at point blank accidentally, much to his horror. Carradine told him to get in the car but Marko was too horrified at what he had done, which led to Carradine driving off. The police identified Carradine as the killer alone, and Marko was able to escape for the meantime.

Spider-Man 3 Movie Prequel

At some point around 2004 or 2005, Marko was laid off from Johnny O's gang reportedly due to him being too reckless. As a result, his wife started nagging and yelling at him to get a real job. Marko's continuous job search was met with frequent failure, due to his criminal background. As he was walking down a street in New York, he had the idea to rob a Jewelry store that he noticed. He went through the back entrance and started announcing his intentions to rob the place, while acting as if he had guns in his pocket. A few seconds later he realized his mistake, as the store was filled with numerous cops who were there to act on a bank robbery that Spider-Man had foiled earlier. Marko was then taken into custody.

Spider-Man 3

Formations

Marko learning to solidify his new body

Becoming Sandman

In 2005, while on the run from the police after escaping from prison, Marko accidentally falls into an experimental particle accelerator that molecularity binds him with sand, giving him shapeshifting sand abilities. "The Sandman" is later spotted by police officers walking down the streets of Manhattan. The Sandman gets on top of a dump truck filled with huge amounts of sand. When one of the policemen climbs atop of the truck, he is assaulted by a huge fist made out of sand. Having absorbed the truck's sand to add to his mass, a giant Sandman then emerges. The police shoot at Marko, but he manages to escape by turning into a sandstorm and flying away with the wind.

Spider-Man_vs_Sand-Man_-_First_Fight_Scene_-_Spider-Man_3_(2007)_Movie_CLIP_HD

Spider-Man vs Sand-Man - First Fight Scene - Spider-Man 3 (2007) Movie CLIP HD

Spider-Man vs Sandman

At the Key to the City fair for Spider-Man, the sandstorm is spotted, and Spider-Man investigates. In doing so, Spider-Man confronts The Sandman, foiling his attempt to rob an armored truck, but The Sandman evades him. Later Peter and Aunt May are asked to come to the police station. At the police station, it is revealed by NYPD Captain George Stacy that there is evidence implicating Marko as Ben Parker's killer, and he also tells Peter and Aunt May that Dennis Carradine, who Peter confronted two years earlier was really Marko's accomplice, and did not fire the shot that killed Ben. Peter is left feeling guilty over causing the death of the supposedly innocent carjacker, and letting the real killer get away. When shown photos of Marko Peter instantly recognizes him as The Sandman and rushes off and waits for news to try to attain vengeance.

Spider-Man_vs_Sandman_-_Subway_Fight_Scene_-_Spider-Man_3_(2007)_Movie_CLIP_HD

Spider-Man vs Sandman - Subway Fight Scene - Spider-Man 3 (2007) Movie CLIP HD

Sandman's face damaging

Meanwhile, The Sandman robs a bank, and Spider-Man, now with enhanced abilities due to his new black suit, chases him to the sewer. During their fight, Spider-Man manages to burst a water tank, flooding The Sandman in water and turning him into mud, which is swept through a water drain. Believing that The Sandman is dead, Spider-Man leaves in satisfaction, but unbeknownst to him, The Sandman, who is washed out of the river, is able to eventually reconstitute himself. Later, after Spider-Man tore off the Symbiote from his body in a bell tower after learning of its parasitic nature, and it bonds with Eddie Brock Jr. to become Venom, who convinces The Sandman to team up with him to destroy Spider-Man together. 

Final Battle

Spider-Man_&_New_Goblin_vs_Venom_&_Sandman_(Part_2)_Spider-Man_3_(2007)_Movie_Clip

Spider-Man & New Goblin vs Venom & Sandman (Part 2) Spider-Man 3 (2007) Movie Clip

Sandman confronts Spider-Man and New Goblin

The two kidnap Mary Jane Watson and take her to a construction site, forcing Spider-Man to face them both. During the fight, The Sandman uses the site's sand to again increase his size, turning into a version of himself several stories high. After Venom restrains Spider-Man with his webbing, almost strangling him, The Sandman nearly beats Spider-Man to death, until the intervention of Harry Osborn, under the guise of "The New Goblin", who comes to his friend's aid with his father's Goblin equipment. Harry explodes a pumpkin bomb at The Sandman, and then distracts Venom long enough to free Spider-Man. Working together, the two manage to save Mary Jane and defeat both The Sandman and Venom, though at the cost of Harry and Eddie's lives.

Spider-man-3-11

Marko reveals the truth of Uncle Ben's death

The Sandman returns to his normal size and having discovered Spider-Man's real identity. He reveals to Peter that his shooting of Uncle Ben was an accident while he was trying to carjack Uncle Ben. During the incident, Ben was attempting to reason with Marko, but Carradine arrived and startled Flint, causing him to shoot Ben unintentionally. He then states that he did a terrible thing to Peter, and has spent everyday wishing he didn't. Peter acknowledges that he has done terrible things as well. Sensing that Marko is indeed telling the truth and does seem genuinely remorseful, while also understanding the importance of forgiveness over revenge, Spider-Man forgives him, and Marko shape-shifts into sand and flies away in the breeze, while shedding tears.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

SandmanNoWayHome

Sandman's new look in No Way Home

Nineteen years after being forgiven by Peter, Flint, now deteriorating to his death due to being the Sandman for so long, fell victim to a failed Doctor Strange spell that transported him to an alternate universe (MCU) due to his knowledge of Spider-Man's secret identity. Mistaking the MCU's Peter for his own, Flint aided him in defeating Electro (from the Webbverse universe, which is another alternate universe), although they were both imprisoned in the Sanctum. When Norman Osborn and Doctor Octopus (both of whom were from Flint's universe, Raimi universe), were arguing about whether or not the former was dead, Flint confirmed that both Norman and Octopus had died fighting their universes' Spider-Man and explained how they died. Flint, however, was mostly disinterested in the following events, only seeing being cured as a way home to his daughter and remaining in the form of a humanoid figure of sand rather than taking on his human form again. After the Green Goblin took over Norman Osborn's body, Flint joined the other uncured villains in fleeing rather than being cured.

Flint later joined Electro and the Lizard (the latter being from Electro's universe) in battling the three Spider-Men (the MCU Spider-Man, his Spider-Man and the Webbverse Spider-Man) on the Statue of Liberty. After some teamwork between the three Spider-Men, the Raimiverse Peter (Flint's universes' Peter) managed to use the device that they had created to cure Flint. Flint reverted back into his human form, staring at his hands in shock. Peter ordered him to stay put for his own safety. Flint was later returned to his own universe by Strange.

Fate

It is unknown when Flint was pulled when Strange's spell got out of control. However, since he is not known to have died or suffered a consequence since being forgiven by Peter, it is possible he was pulled from the present time. If he was pulled from the present time, then he would return back to his original timeline of the Raimiverse like his Peter.

Personality

The extent of Flint Marko's personality before his incarceration is unclear but it was more than obvious that he truly cared for his daughter Penny to the point of committing thefts to support her illness. This same love for Penny was further amplified after his transformation into a Sandman, causing him to literally attack money transporters with his newfound abilities. When Spider-Man tried to stop him, Sandman saw in him only an obstacle to the healing of his daughter and did not hesitate to try to kill him when he got in his way.

Following his loss to Spider-Man corrupted by the symbiote that brutally beat him throughout and resulted in the loss of the stolen money for Penny, Flint became even more ruthless and desperate to the point of falling into a relationship with Venom. to take out Spider-Man after the new villain offers him to kill the Spider together. He then had no more detention, putting civilians in danger and almost crushing Spider-Man to death. Ultimately, Sandman's antagonistic actions were mostly the result of his fear of losing his daughter.

However, when he found out that Spider-Man was really Peter Parker, Flint lost all his animosity towards him, realizing that Peter was only opposed to him because of what he had unwittingly done to Ben Parker. He then explained to Peter that he never wanted to do all the harm he caused and that he fully accepted to live with it for the rest of his life, accepting that it was too late to change the past but claiming that all he has left is his daughter. After Peter forgave him, Flint made his peace with him and left, finally now a man who made peace with his mistakes.

Powers

  • Body Conversion - Sand: The Sandman possesses the superhuman ability to convert his body into sand by mental command. The sand functions identically to, as well as appears to be, normal flesh. However, he can convert all or parts of his body into animated sand at will. His brain has attained subliminal awareness of all granulated particles of his body. Through conscious effort, he can affect the degree of molecular cohesion between the numerous adjoining surfaces of his particles and thus cause locomotion of discrete volumes, down to the individual grains.

Weaknesses

  • Water:
  • Extreme Heat:

Gallery

Promotional Photos, Official Artwork

Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Screenshots

Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man: No Way Home


Trivia

  • In the comics, William Baker was a common criminal who spent most of his early life drifting in and out of street gangs, using the alias Flint Marko. While on the run from the FBI, a nearby nuclear test reactor exploded, making his body form into sand, becoming known as the Sandman.
  • Sandman was the only villain in the Spider-Man trilogy to not die.
  • Sandman is one of the very few characters to be portrayed by the same actor in a different franchise. Thomas Haden Church reprised the role of Flint Marko/Sandman in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
    • In this film, reworked archive footage from Spider-Man 3 was used during his cure scene. He would share this distinction with Marc Webb's Lizard.
  • Sandman's meeting with Venom and fate is altered in the Spider-Man 3 game. In the game, Venom blackmails Sandman to help him kill Spider-Man or else Venom will kill his daughter Penny. After Spider-Man defeats Venom and Sandman comes back, he is reunited with Penny and apologizes to Spider-Man for attacking since if he didn't, Venom would've killed his daughter.
    • However, in this scenario, Spider-Man doesn't know that Sandman killed his uncle and doesn't reveal his identity to Sandman, this could be because the developers of the game decided not to include this from the movie.
  • It's not clear from which point in time Sandman was transported to another universe since he is never known to have died.


Raimi Film Series
Films: Spider-Man | Spider-Man 2 | Spider-Man 3
Characters: Peter Parker/Spider-Man | Mary Jane Watson | Harry Osborn | J. Jonah Jameson | Uncle Ben | Aunt May | George Stacy | Gwen Stacy | Robbie Robertson | Betty Brant | Curt Connors | Flash Thompson | Dr. Stromm | Mr. Ditkovich | Ursula Ditkovich | Maximillian Fargas | Henry Balkan | Rosalie Octavius | Hoffman | Bernard Houseman | Mr. Aziz | Bonesaw McGraw
Enemies: The Green Goblin | Doctor Octopus | The Sandman | New Goblin | Venom | The Carjacker
Locations: The Daily Bugle | Oscorp Technologies | Quest Aerospace | Osborn Penthouse | Goblin Lair
Video Games: Spider-Man | Spider-Man 2 | Spider-Man 3


Marvel Cinematic Universe
Films: Captain America: Civil War | Spider-Man: Homecoming | Avengers: Infinity War | Avengers: Endgame | Spider-Man: Far From Home | Spider-Man: No Way Home
Characters: Spider-Man | Captain America | Iron Man | Winter Soldier | Falcon | Happy Hogan | Pepper Potts | Aunt May | Ned Leeds | Liz Toomes | Flash Thompson | Aaron Davis | Michelle Jones | Doctor Octopus
Enemies: Vulture | Shocker | Jackson Brice | Tinkerer | Mysterio |Green Goblin | Electro | Lizard | Sandman
Locations: Avengers Facility | Avengers Tower | Midtown School of Science and Technology
Video Games:
Advertisement