Throwback Thursday: The Moral Core of The Sandman
Jan 19, 2022
Flint Marko, aka The Sandman, had been a constant adversary of Marvel Comic’s Spider-Man since his introduction in Amazing Spider-Man #4 from 1963. Marko, who was born William Baker, turned to a life of crime after being expelled from school for accepting a bribe. Working as a mob enforcer, he eventually ended up imprisoned at Rikers Island penitentiary.
After escaping from Rikers, Marko came into contact with sand that had been irradiated by an experimental reactor and soon discovered that his body had bonded with the sand, allowing his the ability to convert his entire body into sand and control the sand with little effort. Taking the name Sandman, Marko continued his life of crime, clashing with the likes of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and The Incredible Hulk.
Although Marko’s life as a Supervillain has pitted him against some of the Marvel Universe’s most powerful Heroes, The Sandman has a surprisingly strong moral core. Much of the crimes committed by Marko were to support his mother, who was left alone to raise him after his father left them during Marko's childhood. His use of an alias was to protect his mother and keep her from finding out what he had resorted to in order to support her.
Over the years, Marko has reformed a few times, becoming a member of the Avengers and of the Wild Pack, and although he has returned to a life of crime, rarely will he resort to the extremes that his Supervillain counterparts are willing to.
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Penciled by STEVE DITKO, JACK KIRBY, HERB TRIMPE, ROSS ANDRU,
RON WILSON & PAT OLLIFFE
Cover by MARK BROOKS
It was no day at the beach when criminal Flint Marko was mutated into one of Marveldom's most versatile villains and began a career of kicking sand in our favorite heroes' faces! Some of the best battles between Sandman, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the Hulk are collected here in commemoration of his gritty film debut! Collecting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #4 and #18-19, FANTASTIC FOUR #61, INCREDIBLE HULK #138, MARVEL TEAM-UP #1, MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #86, and UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN #3.
176 PGS./Rated A ...$19.99
ISBN: 0-7851-2497-7
Spider-Man just does not stop! A mystery at Empire State University thrusts the web-slinger into a thrilling adventure that starts in uptown Manhattan and takes him around the world - pitting Spidey against Marvel villains old, new and unbelievable and giving you a Spider-Man adventure (and a Spider-Man) the likes of which you've never seen! Something terrible is happening to ESU's students - some of New York's brightest young minds - and to save the day this time it's going to take a side of Peter Parker neither you nor Peter thought existed. And the clock is ticking! Collecting NON-STOP SPIDER-MAN #1-5.
Rated T
Spider-Man just does not stop! A mystery at Empire State University thrusts the web-slinger into a thrilling adventure that starts in uptown Manhattan and takes him around the world - pitting Spidey against Marvel villains old, new and unbelievable and giving you a Spider-Man adventure (and a Spider-Man) the likes of which you've never seen! Something terrible is happening to ESU's students - some of New York's brightest young minds - and to save the day this time it's going to take a side of Peter Parker neither you nor Peter thought existed. And the clock is ticking! Collecting NON-STOP SPIDER-MAN #1-5.
Rated T
Rated T
Collecting JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY (1952) #83; AMAZING FANTASY (1962) #15; TALES TO ASTONISH (1959) #35; KATHY #18; LIFE WITH MILLIE #18; PATSY WALKER #102; KID COLT, OUTLAW #106; FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #6; LINDA CARTER, STUDENT NURSE #7; MILLIE THE MODEL #110; STRANGE TALES (1951) #100; TALES OF SUSPENSE (1959) #33; LOVE ROMANCES #101; INCREDIBLE HULK (1962) #3; GUNSMOKE WESTERN #72; PATSY AND HEDY #84 and RAWHIDE KID (1955) #30.
All Ages
This article originally appeared in Gemstone Publishing’s e-newsletter Scoop.
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Amanda Sheriff is Gemstone Publishing’s Associate Editor, serving as the writer/editor of the e-newsletter, Scoop. She is the author of The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Movie Posters, The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Concert Posters, and The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Horror, and co-author of The Overstreet Price Guide to Star Wars Collectibles and The Overstreet Price Guide to Batman.
