Sandman
- Debut: The Amazing Spider-Man #4 (September 1963)
- Created By: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko
Perhaps one of the most misunderstood characters in Marvel Comics is Flint Marko. While his story has been re-told many times, it is actually his expulsion from school that leads to Marko needing to turn to a life of crime. He was expelled for fixing a football game, which he only did to help a friend in huge gambling debt to a local mobster. His criminal activity increases as he gets older, leading to being sentenced to prison on Ryker’s Island. Flint manages to escape but ends up reaching a beach which also happens to be a nuclear testing site. He came in contact with sand there, which had been irradiated by an experimental reactor.
Marko’s body and the radioactive sand bond together, effectively changing Marko’s molecular structure into sand itself. With his newfound abilities, he takes on the moniker of “Sandman.” The powers allow him to shape-shift, control the density of his body, manipulate his size and mass, along with being able to manipulate the Earth around him. Eventually, he grasps how to fly using sandstorm abilities too. Sandman, in spite of everything, is not a terrible person underneath it all. Thus, he was able to be redeemed to become an ally to Spider-Man. He is even asked to be an Avengers reserve team member too.