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| “ | You care about them, but not me. They wouldn't listen to Marko... but they can't ignore Sandman. | „ |
| ~ Sandman fighting Spider-Man. |
| “ | You're the ones who are gonna need help... when they come for you. | „ |
| ~ Marko warning the Spider-Men of what's to come before being taken back to the Raft. |
Flint Marko, better known as the Sandman, is a minor antagonist in the 2023 action-adventure superhero video game Marvel's Spider-Man 2, the third installment in Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man series.
He is a mutated bank robber who faced Spider-Man for some time until unexpectedly disappearing. By 2020, Sandman resurfaces and resumes his villainy after being pursued by Kraven the Hunter shortly after the latter arrives at New York City to hunt down the villains in the area.
He was voiced by Leandro Cano.
Personality[]
| “ | Sandman: I just wanted to live normal. Like everyone else. Miles: This isn't the way, Marko. Sandman: For a guy like me? There is no other way. |
„ |
| ~ The Sandman's mentality when confronting Miles. |
Flint Marko is a dangerous and violent supervillain that hates the Spider-Men and will cause massive damage if angered. However, he loves his daughter, laments how his condition pushes him towards crime and holds no real malice. He also showed open fear for Kraven after being captured by the Spider-Men.
Biography[]
Past[]
Flint Marko was a bank robber before he got involved in a freak accident that turned him into a mutate composed of sand capable sand to his will. With his new powers, Marko would go on to become known as the Sandman and took advantage of them to steal money through new ways, around the time Peter Parker had started donning the mantle of Spider-Man, New York City's heroic wall-crawler.
Facing him as one of his early enemies, Spider-Man fought against Sandman several times. In one occasion, Sandman tried to rob the F.E.A.S.T. building, but Peter Parker's Aunt May managed to stop him from doing so by talking him out of it peacefully. Surprisingly, this made Sandman relent from robbing the place. Eventually, through unknown means, Spider-Man managed to capture some of Sandman inside a vial, which he kept.
Marvel's Spider-Man[]
Although Sandman does not appear in person during the game, the vial containing a part of him can be seen in Peter Parker's backpack collectibles as a memento. It's unknown whether the section of Sandman is conscious or not during all its imprisonment. The Sandman is also indirectly referenced in a recording by J. Jonah Jameson (referred to as "men made of sand”} alongside Swarm and Electro as villains who didn’t appear before Spider-Man showed up and therefore he has made New York more dangerous.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2[]
Years after his last encounter with Spider-Man and on the same day of Miles Morales' councilor meeting and Peter's first day as a teacher, Marko resurfaces as the Sandman and rampages through downtown New York. According to MJ, he was running down Broadway "yelling nonsense" before going ballistic. When Peter and Miles arrive, he is immune to many attacks and knocks Spider-Man into a building where he has to save everyone whilst also fighting miniature versions of the Sandman. After the footsoldiers are defeated, he grabs Spider-Man and reveals via a smaller version of himself that he has no interest in revenge only to be hurt when Spider-Man breaks an overhead water pipe.
After escaping the Sandman's attempt to suffocate him in sand, the Spider-Men gradually wear him down with water attacks until they lead him to the Mathison Building which has a very large water tank. After fighting their way to the roof, the Sandman attempts to eat Spider-Man but Miles rescues him and they drop the water tank on Marko instead but he instead grows even bigger by absorbing the sand at Pier 4 and knocks Spider-Man away with a tornado attack although his Spider Wings save him. After another long battle, the Spider-Man charge themselves up with the lightning of Sandman's sandstorm and impale themselves into Marko; finally defeating him. Flint Marko is then flown to the Raft by helicopter but not before warning the Spider-Men of a new threat. At the Raft, he becomes the Scorpion's cellmate until Gargan is transferred and Marko remains imprisoned.
Marko's memories contained Sandman Crystals which revealed that he and his daughter Keemia were chased by Kraven the Hunter. After regaining his subconsciousness, Marko thanks Spider-Man and apologizes for the mess he caused. He then asked Spider-Man to give his crystals to his daughter, which he obliges. Afterwards, the Spider-Men decide to contact a lawyer associate of Peter's, who will be able to assist Marko with gaining visitation rights to Keemia.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Sand Manipulation: After the freak accident, the Sandman has absolute control over sand.
- Invulnerability: Due to being made out of sand, the Sandman cannot be harmed by normal attacks as they just pass harmlessly through him.
- Tornado Attack: After being defeated by the Mathison Building's water tank, the Sandman could generate a tornado of sand to blow away Spider-Man although his Spider Wings saved him.
- Sand Absorption: The Sandman can absorb a lot of sand into himself to become a gigantic sand monster. The more sand that he absorbs, the bigger and more powerful that he gets.
- Strength: As a giant, the Sandman is able to tear apart buildings and throw large chunks of walls and buses with ease.
- Body Manipulation: The Sandman can manipulate his body shape to change his arms into long poles or sword-like blades.
- Minion Creation: The Sandman's sand can animate to create human-sized versions of himself as footsoldiers.
- Breath Attack: The Sandman can also howl and generate a powerful gust of wind strong enough to blow his enemies away.
- Sandstorm Generation: After growing even bigger, the Sandman could generate a powerful sandstorm capable of picking up and throwing around chunks of buildings.
- Sand Tornadoes: At his biggest size, the Sandman can generate and throw powerful sand tornadoes from his hands.
Weaknesses[]
- Water: Being made of sand, being sprayed with water will cause the Sandman pain as the sand making up his body turns to mud.
- Electricity: If enough electricity is applied to the wet parts of his body, the Sandman will be hurt and knocked unconscious.
Quotes[]
| “ | Spider-Man... | „ |
| ~ The Sandman's first words when both Spider-Men arrived. |
| “ | Spider-Man: Sandman! Sandman: I always hated that name. Spider-Man I know you're angry at me. Sandman: This has nothin' to do with you. Leave me alone! Spider-Man: I want to help you... but it's gonna hurt first. |
„ |
| ~ The Sandman when confronting Spider-Man. |
| “ | Nooooooooooo! | „ |
| ~ The Sandman upon being defeated. |
| “ | Miles: It's going to be okay, Marko. Sandman: I haven't been okay for a long time. Spider-Man: If you need help, all you have to do is ask. Sandman: You're the ones who are gonna need help... when they come for you. |
„ |
| ~ Marko to the the Spider-Men before being taken to the Raft. |
| “ | Sandman: Spider-Man. Sorry for my... well, the mess. Thank you. You helped me get my mind right. Spider-Man: I'm sorry for not listening... guess I never got to know the man behind the sand. But I think Keemia's at her mom's... on my way there now. Sandman: If she's there, do me a favor? Give her those crystals. Something to... remember me by. Spider-Man: Of course. Take care of yourself, Flint. |
„ |
| ~ Sandman and Spider-Man after completed Marko's Memories. |
Trivia[]
- Spider-Man capturing a section of Sandman in a vial for several years before Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is considered the only truly reprehensible thing this version of Spider-Man has done, as he essentially placed the potentially sentient piece of Sandman in a fate worse than death by containing him for years in a limited space just to prevent him from escaping. That being said, it's never elaborated whether or not Marko was conscious the entire time.
- However, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 clarifies that Marko's absence over the years was because he was trying to give up his life of crime for his daughter, Keemia. Whether or not this means him being trapped in the vial has been retconned has yet to be confirmed.
- Sandman being talked out of robbing F.E.A.S.T. by Aunt May in the original game could potentially be a reference to how Uncle Ben tried to convince him to not steal his car and take up a life of crime in the Sam Raimi film, Spider-Man 3.
- During the production of Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Sandman was originally going to be symbiotized by Venom, along with Lizard and Miles Morales.
- Marko claims that he hates the alias "Sandman".
- This is similar to his 2010 Marvel Animated Universe counterpart who also hated being addressed as the Sandman, though he eventually embraced the identity.
- This incarnation of Sandman is Latino, as opposed to most takes on the character being white.
- Marko likely got a reduced sentence after it was revealesd that the Hunters were after him and drove the poor guy mad with paranoia.
- Peter comments about getting Sandman visitation rights to see his daughter. During this comment, he mentions a lawyer friend, and even though it hasn't been confirmed who this lawyer is, many fans speculate that it's this universe's version of Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil.
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 Villains
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Oscorp Industries Kingpin's Criminal Empire Silver Sable International Sinister Six Roxxon Energy Corporation Hunters Mysterium Darren Shipman's Gang Others See Also | ||