Sandman (Marvel Comics)

**William "Flint" Baker**, also known as the **Sandman**, was an imprisoned criminal who escaped from prison. During his flight from the authorities, Flint was exposed to the radiation that gave him his powers. Accounts of the actual cause vary; originally, it was stated that Flint hid from the authorities at the site where a nuclear bomb was being tested. Another account states that Flint was near the site of a nuclear reactor that detonated, and yet another states that he hid in a cave where radioactive waste was being stored.

Whatever the case, his body interacted with the sand under his feet after being exposed to radiation causing him to mutate in such a way that he could turn his body into sand.

## Powers

**Sand Body:** Sandman's body is an amorphous blob of animated sand. He originally possessed the ability to mold the sand into a shape that appeared to be completely human, and from that form convert his body (or parts of it) back into sand at will. How much control he has over his current form and how similar it functions to his previous state is not yet known.

* ***Sand Control Transference:***Since Sandman's original body is dead, he is capable of giving control of his sand form to another body. He once used this ability with Spider-Man.
* ***Immortality:*** Sandman is immortal in the sense that he no longer ages. A possible future version of him had lived for billions of years.
* ***Self-Sustenance:*** Sandman also no longer requires food, air, or rest in order to survive.

**Sand-Body Conversion (*formerly*):** Sandman originally possessed the superhuman ability to convert his body into sand by mental command. The sand functioned identically to, and appeared to be, normal flesh. However, he could convert all or parts of his body into animated sand at will. His brain had attained subliminal awareness of all granulated particles of his body. Through conscious effort, he could affect the degree of molecular cohesion between the numerous adjoining surfaces of his particles and, thus, cause locomotion of discrete volumes, down to the individual grains.

There appeared to be no limit to how long Sandman could remain in his sand state. If he had been rendered unconscious while in this state, he would remain in that state, although the relaxing of his control over his particles would cause him to become an amorphous pile of sand. Sandman's mind continued to function in astral form even when he had turned his head into sand and even when the particles of sand that composed his brain were widely scattered. The limit to how far the particles of his brain could be dispersed before he was unable to reassemble is not known.

* ***Superhuman Strength (formerly):*** As a consequence of having a body composed of animated sand, the Sandman possessed phenomenal superhuman strength that enabled him to lift up to 85 tons under optimal conditions.
* ***Density Control (formerly):*** His radically mutagenically altered body composition and increased density enabled him to compact or loosen the particles of sand that made up his form. Consequently, the Sandman could become as hard as sandstone or disperse his body so that he became invulnerable to physical attacks. A favorite tactic of Sandman was making himself slightly dispersed when an opponent punched him, and then making himself rock-solid again, entrapping his opponent's appendage.
* ***Shapeshifting (formerly):*** He could shape his sand body into an continuous shape that he could imagine, including his forearms into weapons like hammers, spiked maces, and large fists; forming ram horns on his head; stretching, elongating, and deforming; expanding or flattening; and compressing all or portions of his body at will.
* ***Sand Blasts (formerly):*** He could project his sand particles outward at high speeds and, when in the shape of a bulky object, with the impact of a large sandbag.
* ***Reformation (formerly):*** The Sandman maintained mental control of the particles of which his body was composed so that he could reform his scattered grains unless a substantial portion of his body mass had been isolated.
* ***Sand Conversion (formerly):*** He could also convert common grains of sand around him into constituents of his body to replenish portions he might have lost track of during battle. In this manner, he could increase his overall size and volume or that of his limbs.
* ***Sand Clones (formerly):*** Due to having such good mental control over his own molecules, he was able to create duplicates of himself, each one capable of acting on its own.
	+ ***Giant Form (formerly):*** The clones, should they be in agreement, were all able to fuse together into a giant Sandman, about the size of an eight story building.
* ***Wall-Crawling (formerly):*** He was somehow capable of using his sand to allow him to walk up walls.

## Weaknesses

**Water:** Sandman's weakness that makes him most vulnerable is water. Water can soften his sand granules and make it so that he is unable to control them; he must wait for them to dry.

**Heat:** Temperatures of 3,400 degrees Fahrenheit can cause his highly impure silicate composition to fuse into amorphous silicate (glass).

**Soul Molecule:** Over the years, Spider-Man managed to discover that Sandman's consciousness is located in only one grain of sand, which has his brain pattern and is responsible for commanding the other grains of sand. With the proper instruments, it can be manipulated to make the Sandman change his form against his will. If that grain is separated from the others and isolated, Sandman cannot recover his mass.

**Independent Clones (*formerly*):** Sandman's clones can be influenced by his repressed and subconscious urges, such as when one of them killed Keemia's mother and her lawyer for getting a restraining order placed on him, while another killed a concert promoter who was trying to set up a concert on Governors Island, where he had been hiding himself and Keemia. They will even fight each other should they disagree.