Sandman (Raimi)

“	I'm not a bad person. Just had bad luck.	„
	― Flint Marko

“	I have a daughter. And I want to see her. But he's not gonna send anyone home 'till he's finished his little science project back there.	„
	― Sandman

Flint Marko, also known as the Sandman, is a significant antagonist in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and a supporting antagonist in Spider-Man: No Way Home. He serves as one of the two overarching antagonists of the first Spider-Man film and the secondary antagonist of Spider-Man 3, where he ultimately finds redemption. Thomas Haden Church portrays Flint Marko in both Spider-Man 3 and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Flint is a professional criminal who accidentally kills Peter Parker's uncle, Ben Parker, an act that haunts him with deep regret. While fleeing from the police, he stumbles into an experimental particle accelerator, which molecularly binds him with sand and grants him shape-shifting abilities. Unaware of Spider-Man’s true identity as Ben’s nephew Peter, Flint becomes one of his adversaries. He later teams up with Venom in an attempt to destroy Spider-Man. However, after learning Spider-Man's identity, Flint expresses profound remorse for his role in Ben's death. Peter forgives him, allowing Flint to go free and leave his criminal life behind.

Nineteen years later, Flint is accidentally transported to another universe due to a failed spell by Doctor Strange intended to make everyone forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. He allies with that universe’s Peter Parker and other villains from alternate universes in a quest to be cured and return to their own worlds. However, the Green Goblin manipulates Flint into opposing the heroes. Ultimately, with the help of three Spider-Men from different universes, Flint is cured of his condition and sent back to his original universe, free from his powers and past burdens.

Names	Flint Marko, The Sandman,
Gender	Male
Race	Human
Occupation	Criminal
Origin	Spider-Man 3 (May 4, 2007)
Alignment	Anti-Villain
Age	44
Created By	Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi, Alvin Sargent
Height	181 cm (5ft 11in) Normally, Varies
Weight	Varies

Appearance

Flint Marko is a rugged, muscular man with a rough, weathered appearance that reflects his tough life as a criminal. He has short, light brown hair and a chiseled jawline, often wearing a stern or contemplative expression. His most distinctive feature is his attire: a green and black striped long-sleeve shirt paired with brown pants, a nod to his classic comic book look.

After his transformation into the Sandman, Flint’s appearance becomes more dynamic and intimidating. He gains the ability to shift his body into sand-like forms, often taking on massive, powerful shapes such as fists, hammers, or towering constructs made entirely of sand. When not fully transformed, his humanoid figure is composed of sand, giving him a grainy, textured look with a beige hue. His ability to manipulate his size and shape makes his appearance versatile, ranging from a simple man to an enormous sand-based titan.

Personality

Flint Marko's personality before his incarceration is not extensively detailed, but his deep love for his daughter, Penny, is evident. His devotion to her drove him to commit thefts to fund treatment for her illness. After gaining his sand-based abilities, this love intensified, compelling him to use his newfound powers to rob money transporters. When Spider-Man intervened, Flint saw him solely as an obstacle to saving Penny and did not hesitate to resort to lethal force when opposed.

His defeat at the hands of a symbiote-corrupted Spider-Man, who brutally overpowered him and caused him to lose the stolen money, left Flint more desperate and ruthless than ever. This desperation pushed him to ally with Venom, who offered to eliminate Spider-Man together. Flint's collaboration with Venom marked his moral nadir, as he recklessly endangered civilians and came close to killing Spider-Man. Despite his escalating violence, his actions were primarily fueled by his fear of failing his daughter.

When Flint discovered Spider-Man's true identity as Peter Parker, his perspective shifted entirely. He realized Peter opposed him out of a sense of justice for what Flint had unknowingly done to Uncle Ben. Flint confessed his regret and sorrow, acknowledging that he never intended to cause such harm. He accepted that he could not undo the past but expressed that his sole focus was his daughter. After Peter forgave him, Flint made peace with his actions and left, striving to move forward as a man who had reconciled with his mistakes.

Biography

Early Life

Flint Marko married a woman named Emma Marko, and they had a daughter named Penny. Tragically, Penny fell ill, and Flint was unable to afford the necessary treatment for her. In his desperation to save her, Flint turned to a life of crime in order to get the money he needed.

Death of Uncle Ben

In 2002, Flint Marko and his accomplice, Dennis Carradine, attempted to rob a wrestling venue. Flint tried to steal Uncle Ben Parker's car to help make their getaway with the money. Ben confronted Flint, attempting to reason with him and offer help. In a moment of realization, Flint understood that Ben was trying to help him, but before he could respond, Carradine arrived and, in a shock to Flint, shot Ben at point-blank range. Flint was horrified by the act, but Carradine forced him into the car to escape. The police later identified Carradine as the sole shooter, allowing Flint to briefly evade capture. However, the guilt over Ben’s death haunted Flint, and he spent every day wishing he could undo his role in the tragedy.

Spider-Man 3 Movie Prequel

Around 2004 or 2005, Flint was laid off from Johnny O's gang due to his reckless behavior. His wife, frustrated with his inability to hold down a steady job, began to pressure him to find legitimate work. However, his criminal history made it difficult for him to find employment, and he continued to struggle. One day, while walking through New York, Flint noticed a jewelry store and decided to rob it. He entered through the back entrance and, intending to threaten the store’s occupants, pretended to have guns in his pockets. To his shock, he discovered that the store was already filled with numerous police officers, who were there in response to a bank robbery that Spider-Man had foiled earlier. Flint was quickly apprehended and taken into custody.

Spider-Man 3

In 2005, Flint Marko escapes from prison and goes on the run. During his escape, he accidentally falls into an experimental particle accelerator. The machine molecularly binds him with sand, granting him shapeshifting abilities and turning him into "The Sandman." Shortly after, Sandman is spotted by police officers walking the streets of Manhattan. He climbs atop a dump truck filled with sand, absorbing it to increase his mass. When a police officer tries to apprehend him, Sandman uses a massive sand fist to attack. Growing to a giant size, he absorbs even more sand from the truck. Despite being shot at by the police, Sandman escapes by transforming into a sandstorm and dispersing into the wind.

Sandman later attempts to rob an armored truck, but Spider-Man intervenes during the Key to the City fair. Although Spider-Man foils his initial heist, Sandman manages to escape. Soon after, NYPD Captain George Stacy reveals new evidence to Peter Parker and Aunt May, implicating Flint Marko as Uncle Ben's true killer. It’s also revealed that Dennis Carradine, whom Peter believed responsible and confronted two years earlier, was merely Marko's accomplice. Devastated and guilt-ridden, Peter vows to seek vengeance on Marko.

Marko strikes again by robbing a bank. Spider-Man, now enhanced by the power of his new black symbiote suit, chases Sandman into the sewers. A fierce battle ensues, during which Spider-Man bursts a water pipe, flooding Sandman and turning him into mud. The mud is flushed down a water drain, leaving Spider-Man to believe his foe is dead. However, Marko survives and later reconstitutes himself.

After Peter rejects the symbiote upon learning of its corrupting influence, the entity bonds with Eddie Brock Jr., transforming him into Venom. Venom seeks out Sandman and convinces him to join forces to destroy Spider-Man.

The two villains kidnap Mary Jane Watson and take her to a construction site, forcing Spider-Man into a final confrontation. During the battle, Sandman uses the site's sand to increase his size dramatically, becoming a towering giant. He nearly beats Spider-Man to death while Venom restrains him with webbing. However, Harry Osborn, as the New Goblin, arrives to aid Spider-Man using his father’s Goblin equipment.

Harry uses a pumpkin bomb to weaken Sandman, allowing Spider-Man to regroup. Together, Spider-Man and Harry rescue Mary Jane and defeat both Venom and Sandman, though Harry sacrifices his life in the process.

After reverting to his normal size, Sandman reveals Spider-Man’s true identity and confesses his involvement in Uncle Ben's death. Marko explains that the shooting was an accident during a carjacking and expresses deep remorse, stating that he has lived with the guilt ever since. Peter, recognizing the sincerity of Marko’s regret, forgives him, acknowledging his own past mistakes and the value of forgiveness over vengeance.

Moved by Spider-Man's compassion, Marko sheds tears as he transforms into sand and drifts away on the wind, finally at peace with himself.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Nineteen years after being forgiven by Peter, Flint Marko became a victim of a botched spell cast by Doctor Strange. The spell transported him to an alternate universe (the MCU) because of his knowledge of Spider-Man's secret identity. Mistaking the MCU’s Peter Parker for the Peter from his own universe (the Raimiverse), Flint initially aided him in defeating an alternate version of Electro from yet another universe (the Webbverse). However, both Flint and Electro were subsequently imprisoned in the Sanctum Sanctorum.

During a discussion between Norman Osborn and Doctor Octopus, both from the Raimiverse, Flint confirmed their respective fates, revealing how they died while fighting their universe’s Spider-Man. Despite being present, Flint showed little interest in the ongoing conflicts, focusing solely on being cured as a means to return to his daughter. He remained in a humanoid sand form, refusing to revert to his human appearance. When the Green Goblin regained control of Norman Osborn's body, he persuaded Flint and the other uncured villains to escape rather than submit to being cured.

Flint later joined Electro and an alternate version of the Lizard (from Electro's universe) in battling the three Spider-Men—the MCU’s Spider-Man, the Raimiverse Spider-Man (his universe’s Peter), and the Webbverse Spider-Man—at the Statue of Liberty. The coordinated efforts of the three Spider-Men ultimately allowed the Raimiverse Peter to use a device to cure Flint, restoring him to his human form. Staring at his hands in astonishment, Flint agreed to stay put as instructed by Peter for his safety. Soon after, he was returned to his original universe by Doctor Strange.

Powers and Statistics

Tier: 8-C | Up to 8-B with enough sand

Key: Base | Giant

Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Inorganic Physiology, Sand Manipulation, Shapeshifting, Elasticity, Size Manipulation (Can grow in size by absorbing sand), Weapon Creation (Can form parts of his body into weapons), Flight (Can fly by turning himself into a cloud of sand), Elemental Intangibility, Regeneration (Mid-High; Requires sand), Immortality (Type 2 and 3), Air Manipulation (Can take the form of several grains of sand, creating powerful gusts and winds that can envelop entire structures)

Attack Potency: Building level+ (Could fight Spider-Man. Implied to have caused quakes throughout the New York subway system) | Up to City Block level with enough sand (Fought against Electro. Overpowered the Spider-Man from his world and the one from the MCU on separate occasions. Tore up sections of a building under construction with casual swats)

Speed: Massively Hypersonic+ combat speed and reactions (Kept up with his Spider-Man in their battles. Managed to tag Venom) | Massively Hypersonic+ combat speed and reactions (Kept up with Electro)

Lifting Strength: Class M (Comparable to Spider-Man), far higher with enough sand

Striking Strength: Building level+ | Up to City Block level with enough sand

Durability: Varies, up to Building level+ (Spider-Man can punch holes in his body, but he is also shown capable of taking the force of his own blows and even surviving attacks from a bloodlusted Black Suit Spider-Man) | Up to City Block level with enough sand (Shielded off Electro's attacks. Even at a lesser size, a swing kick from the Spider-Man of his universe was ineffective in harming him)

Stamina: Superhuman

Range: Standard Melee Range; Extended Melee Range with abilities such as Elasticity and Size Manipulation.

Standard Equipment: None notable.

Intelligence: Average

Weaknesses: Often avoids combat and may warn his enemies to leave him alone. The love for his sick daughter leads him to carry out a number of ill-advised decisions in order to earn money for her. Cannot hold himself together when in contact with water, though this is temporary.

Trivia

• In the comics, William Baker, who later adopts the alias Flint Marko, was a common criminal with a history of drifting in and out of street gangs. While on the run from the FBI, a nuclear test reactor explosion altered his body, transforming him into sand and giving birth to the Sandman persona.
• Sandman is the only villain in the Spider-Man trilogy who does not die.
• Thomas Haden Church, who portrayed Flint Marko/Sandman, is one of the few actors to reprise a villain role in a different Spider-Man franchise. He returned as Sandman in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
• In Spider-Man: No Way Home, reworked archive footage from Spider-Man 3 was used during Sandman’s cure scene, a distinction he shares with Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man’s Lizard.
• In the Spider-Man 3 video game, Sandman's interaction with Venom is altered. In this version, Venom blackmails Sandman to help him kill Spider-Man by threatening his daughter, Penny. After defeating Venom, Sandman is reunited with his daughter and apologizes to Spider-Man, but Spider-Man does not learn the truth about Sandman’s role in Uncle Ben's death. This could be due to the developers' decision to exclude this detail from the game.
• It remains unclear at which point in time Sandman was transported to the alternate universe in Spider-Man: No Way Home, as he was never shown to have died in his original universe.