| “ | I'm not a bad person. Just had bad luck. | „ |
| ~ Flint Marko's most famous quote. |
Flint Marko, also known as Sandman, is the overarching antagonist of the 2002 superhero film Spider-Man, the secondary antagonist of its 2007 sequel Spider-Man 3 and one of the two tertiary antagonists (alongside The Lizard) of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
He is a bank robber who is revealed to have been the one to actually shoot Uncle Ben, thus setting Peter's journey to become a superhero in motion. During an escape from prison, he falls into a particle accelerator which turns him into a living amalgamation of sand, turning him into a supervillain who eventually teams up with Eddie Brock to fight Spider-Man.
Years later, he is brought into an alternate universe, in a purely sand form, where he teams up with his universe's Green Goblin and alternate universe villains Lizard and Electro to not go back to his own timeline.
He is portrayed by Thomas Haden Church.
Biography[]
Marko is a career criminal and a loving father who commits robberies to afford his daughter's medical treatment after she is diagnosed with a serious illness.
Spider-Man (2002)[]
Marko is not seen in the film, with the following information being revealed in Spider-Man 3.
He and his partner-in-crime, Dennis Carradine, rob a fight promoter just as Peter Parker is exiting the wrestling arena. On the way out, Marko runs into Peter's Uncle Ben and tries to rob him. Uncle Ben tries to reason with him, and Marko is about to lower his weapon when Carradine suddenly startles him and the gun goes off by accident, killing Uncle Ben. Horrified and wracked with guilt, Marko flees the scene, and for years afterward Peter believes that Carradine murdered his uncle.
Spider-Man 3[]
Marko is eventually imprisoned for robbery, but escapes from prison. During his escape, he falls into an experimental particle accelerator that molecularly bonds him with sand, which gives him the power to turn into sand and shape-shift. He uses his new power to commit robberies, giving the money to his ex-wife Emma to pay for Penny's treatment.
Spider-Man - whose civilian alter ego is Peter Parker - foils one of Marko's robberies, although Marko gets away. Peter later learns from Captain George Stacy that Marko was Carradine's accomplice in several robberies, and that evidence links him to Uncle Ben's murder. After Spider-Man gains enhanced powers and increased aggression from the "Venom" symbiotic suit, he goes after Marko to avenge Uncle Ben. During a fight in the sewers, Spider-Man destroys a water tank that submerges Marko in water and turns him into mud and washes him away down a storm drain.
Marko survives, however, and rebuilds himself after being washed into a nearby river. He allies himself with Peter's rival photographer Eddie Brock, who has taken the symbiotic suit and become the supervillain Venom, in a plot to kill Spider-Man. They kidnap Peter's girlfriend Mary Jane Watson and hold her prisoner at a construction site. When Spider-Man comes to her rescue, Marko absorbs the sand at the construction site and transforms into a monstrous giant. Venom ensnares Spider-Man with his webbing, and Marko advances on him, intent on crushing him to death.
Just as he and Brock are about to kill Spider-Man, however, Peter's best friend Harry Osborn, dressed in his late father Norman's Green Goblin suit, attacks them by throwing a bomb at Marko, giving him enough time to free and save Spider-Man. Harry and Spider-Man save Mary Jane and kill Brock, though at the cost of Harry's life. Marko returns to his normal appearance and, upon learning Spider-Man's true identity, tells him the real story of Uncle Ben's death, and expresses remorse. Peter forgives Marko, who then turns back into sand and dissipates in the wind.
Spider-Man: No Way Home[]
TBA