Flint Marko (Earth-96283)

**Flint Marko** is a professional criminal who had recently escaped prison. Before becoming a criminal, he was married to a woman Emma and would go on to have a daughter, for whom they named her Penny.

## Biography

### Early Life

#### Losing his Life

Much of Flint Marko's remains unknown, but before he entered a new life in becoming a criminal, Flint had a good life where he married a woman named Emma and the two would go on to have a daughter named Penny. After losing his job, Flint became a criminal and became a partner to Dennis Carradine in hopes to help his daughter Penny. His wife separated him when she learned of his involvement in crime.

#### Accidental Murder

In 2002, Flint Marko and his accomplice Dennis had just recently robbed a wrestling venue while Flint, attempted to steal Ben Parker's car to make his and his partner's escape with the cash they robbed. Ben reasoned with Flint, but when his partner Dennis arrived with the cash he stole. Just when Dennis shocked him, FLint shot Uncle Ben at point blank accidentally. The police identified Dennis Carradine as the killer alone. Feeling a sign of guilt for what he did, Flint turned himself in to the police and remained imprisoned for his crimes.

### Sandman Campaign

#### Escape

Three years later, Flint Marko learned that his daughter's conditions had worsened since he last saw her before he became a criminal. In hopes to see her and use whatever method he could to help her, Flint found a way to break out of prison during a riot. Despite his success in escaping, Flint was still being chased by the police. He managed to reach to his old apartment and snuck inside without being seen. It was there that he gave himself an opportunity to see his daughter, who was lying in bed. Before he left, Flint left a lot of mail for her as in hopes that with enough money, his wife could use it to help their daughter get better.

Flint takes a moment in dressing himself up and heads to the kitchen to get himself a drink. However, his ex-wife, who had already been awake, noticed of his break-in and telephoned the police quietly. Upon being confronted, Flint and Emma argued about the recent killing an old man that happened three years ago before they heard the sound of police sirens. Knowing that his wife called the police, Flint made preparations to leave until his daughter Penny came in. He was given a necklace from her as a way that she wouldn't forget about him. Flint promised Penny that he won't stop until she's well and will always love her. Flint carried it with him henceforth as a loving reminder of his daughter and her plight.

#### Becoming Sandman

While on the run from the police after escaping from prison, Flint 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. Flint 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.

#### Fighting Spider-Man

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.

Meanwhile, The Sandman robs a bank, and Spider-Man, now with enhanced abilities due to his new black suit, chases him to the subways. 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 grate. 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.

### Mutation Change

Overtime since he made amends with Peter Parker for what he did in accidently killing Ben Parker, Flint Marko's mutation suddenly had him stuck in fully sand form making him unable to revert back to his human form.

### Multiversal Crisis

#### Brought to Another Universe

Flint Marko was suddenly transported to a another universe, for which he arrived in a forest in New York, not knowing what happened. While wandering around, Flint noticed Electro trying to shoot a bolt of electricity at this universe's Spider-Man. Thinking it was his universe's Spider-Man, Flint appeared where he became a wall of sand to whirl up and take the brunt of the shock. As he was protecting Spider-Man, Sandman asked him if he remembered him, thinking it was his Spider-Man until the web-slinger told him he wasn't Sandman's Peter Parker, much to Sandman's confusion.

Despite his confusion, Sandman agreed to help this universe's Spider-Man fight Electro by acting as a wall of protective sand around Spider-Man. Sandman turned into a sand typhoon swirling around Electro while Spider-Man destroyed the utility poles that were feeding Electro energy. After Electro was defeated, Sandman appeared next to an unmasked Spider-Man, not recognizing him as his Spider-Man.

## 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 is forgiven him, Flint made his peace with him and left, now a man who made peace with his mistakes.

## Powers and Abilities

### Former Powers

* **Sand Manipulation**: Following an incident in which he fell into a super collider, Marko gained the ability to transform his body into sand. He can will his body to be hardened, compacted, dispersed or shaped, or a combination of those qualities, an Earth manipulation of sand and rock particles. However, after the battle of Liberty Island his mutation was undone by Spider-Man who was able to manage to return him to normal so he could finally live a reformed life.