A shapeshifter endowed through an accident with the ability to turn himself into sand, he started out as a recurring adversary to the superhero Spider-Man, but has redeemed himself over time, eventually becoming an antihero.

The Sandman served as the villain of the first issue of the Spider-Man spin-off series Marvel Team-Up (March 1972), which gave him a more morally ambiguous depiction.

Writer Roy Thomas later commented, "I've been pleased to see Sandman's gradual redemption, whose seeds perhaps I helped plant in that story.

He lost himself happily in sand sculptures, a craft he would use in secondary school under the encouragement of his teacher (and first crush), Miss Flint.

[10] In preparatory school, a boy named Vic bullied Baker until he learned to fight using an opponent's motions against themselves, a technique he performed as if he "slipped through their fingers like sand".

He tells Floyd his nickname, Flint, and a false surname, Marko, inspired by his former coach's taunts about not "making a mark" on the world.

He teams with the Wizard, Paste-Pot Pete (later known as the Trapster) and Medusa to form the Frightful Four to combat the Fantastic Four, which attacks during Reed and Sue's engagement party.

[29] Later, he becomes a full-time mercenary in the employ of Silver Sable as a member of her Wild Pack, serving alongside heroes such as Paladin and Battlestar.

Before falling into the sewer (and as a nod to fans who rejected Marvel's attempt to re-villainize the character), the Sandman admitted that part of the reason for his fall from grace was the trouble he had to really cope with life on the good guys' side, and asks Spider-Man to tell his mother he was sorry he did not fulfill his promise to her, to be a force for good.

This separation lasts too long for him, causing his mind to split into good and its opposite, evil, which when dominant created sand vortexes to ensnare beachcombers.

[35] His sand wafts throughout New York and touches down into piles forming beings that personify him: the good, the bad, the gentle and the innocent.

Because the Sandman's mind can handle his personality in separation for only a limited time, he loses his ability to retain himself, crumbling and blowing away, leaving Spider-Man to ponder the nature of his scuttled foe.

The Sandman's powers have evolved to where he can create duplicates of himself who have their own personalities and, to Marko's shock, claim they committed the murders.

Originally Spider-Man believed Keemia would be handed to her grandmother, but instead she was sent to a foster home by Child Protective Services.

Carlie Cooper is exonerated upon being under police suspicion for tampering with the murder evidences, but the Sandman is still at large.

[40] During the "Origin of the Species" storyline, the Sandman is among the supervillains invited by Doctor Octopus to join his villains' team where he becomes involved in a plot to receive a reward and securing some specific items for him.

[48] They eventually break free of the Superior Spider-Man's control and attempt to exact revenge on the wall-crawler, while nearly destroying New York to do so.

[50] Inspired by the heroism of the villains who had their moralities inverted by the events of "AXIS", the Sandman rejoins one of his old gangs and breaks into Ryker's Island in search of the group's leader Dixon.

[52] The Sandman later appears as a member of the Sinister Six led by Aaron Davis in a recolored Iron Spider armor.

After that happened, Spider-Man discovered that the Sandman did not die and that he lost the ability to assume a human shape, where he now sports a blob-shaped body.

[58] Following the "Gang War" storyline, Peter Parker encountered Sandman in Ravencroft at the time when he and Mary Jane were visiting Anna Watson.

Before Peter leaves, William advises him to inform Spider-Man that "they" will be coming to break Flint Marko out of Ravencroft.

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.

More often than not in combat, this ability enables him to absorb most blows with little to no ill effect other than reforming himself, a relatively fast action.

His mass, strength and shape shifting ability correspond to the number of sand and rock particles that comprise him.

[volume & issue needed] In addition to his superb endurance, the Sandman possesses superhuman strength several times more than Spider-Man's and on a par with the Thing's.

[63] It has been revealed that, while the Sandman can absorb and lose sand, his body must retain one key particle of sand that contains his conscious mind, allowing Spider-Man to defeat him once by isolating that one grain from the rest of the Sandman (although the difficulty involved in setting up these events in the first place makes it impractical to use regularly).

This version is an enforcer for the Crime Master who lacks sand powers, but can alter his internal physiology and possesses granite-like skin.

[79] Sandmanatee, a funny animal alternate universe variant of the Sandman from Earth-8311, appears in Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham.

This version was given powers by Justin Hammer amidst a failed attempt at recreating the Super Soldier Serum.