Marvel Comics (Earth-616)

Flint Marko / William Baker - the Sandman

William Baker, a troubled individual, adopted the alias Flint Marko and turned to a life of crime after a rough upbringing. He gained sand-based powers after being caught in a nuclear test, becoming the Sandman. Initially a formidable villain and founding member of the Sinister Six, a traumatic event led him to briefly reform and join superhero teams like the Outlaws and Wild Pack. However, he was later corrupted by the Wizard and reverted to villainy, though a spark of good occasionally resurfaces.

Strength

Hits a man, sending him skipping on water. (source) (SW#12)
Punches Nova a great distance. (source) (Nova#13)
Reaches through a thick wall. (source) (Nova#13)
Smashes a sizable hole in a prison wall. (source) (FN#18)
Hits Nova through a wall and into another room. (source) (Nova#14)
Breaks a tree in two. (source) (SSM Annual#11)
Shatters a metal hangar door with a hand hammer. (source) (IH#113)
Shatters a stainless steel drone’s leg by hitting a weak point. (source) (ASM#303)
Smashes through a wall and punches a hole in a thick floor. (source) (WP#26)
Smashes the metal on a flying ship. (source) (Tb#40)
Breaks off the top of a tank. (source) (SA#17)
Smashes the top of a tank. (source) (ASM#348)
Stuns Thing with a strike before slamming him into a machine to destroy it. (source) (FF#61)
Stuns the Hulk with a punch, then hits him through a wall (noting Hulk was weaker). (source) (IH#138)

Strength - Sand Projectiles

Shatters concrete with sand projectiles. (source) (FF#61)
Blows a large hole in a wall with a sand blast while not in sand form. (source) (FN Annual#1)
Throws a sand ball which hits Nova through a wall and continues. (source) (Nova#14)
Deflects or destroys a large thrown machine with sand. (source) (IH#114)
Stuns the Hulk with a sand blast. (source) (IH#113)
Blasts Red Hulk off a Helicarrier with a large surprise sand blast. (source) (SM#238)

Strength - Lifting / Throwing

Can apparently press 85 tons in sand form. (source) (Deluxe)
Throws the Thing. (source) (FF#130)
Flips a tank. (source) (ASM#348)
Lifts and throws a tank. (source) (SA#17)
Picks up and throws a bulldozer. (source) (FF#129)
Raises a dropped roof in an ancient ruin. (source) (WP#29)

Strength - Other

Stops a car by bursting his lower half into sand. (source) (WP#20)
Cuts a creature in half. (source) (WP#19)
Pierces through a tank with his body. (source) (ASM#303)
Knocks over a large tower of crates with a giant sand fist. (source) (ASM#303)
Pushes and breaks a panel from the thick metal roof of the Baxter Building. (source) (FF#43)
Blocks an enormous boulder thrown by the Hulk with an enlarged hand, shattering it. (source) (IH#113)
Traps Captain Britain in sand blocks created with his hands. (source) (Ex#36)
Briefly restrains Luke Cage. (source)

Durability - Blunt Force

Withstands his own rock-hard sand blasts reflected back at him. (source) (IH#138)
Hardens himself, causing a large metal object swung by Thing to shatter, then takes a punch from Thing and immediately counters. (source) (FF#148)
Taken out by a solid swing from Thing in the same issue, possibly due to wear-down or not hardening. (source) (FF#148)
Blocks an enormous boulder thrown by the Hulk with an enlarged hand, shattering it. (source) (IH#113)
Quickly recovers after a surprise punch from Spider-Man. (source) (ASM#63)
No-sells a punch to the jaw from Spider-Man after hardening himself. (source) (ASM#4)
Struck back by a swing from Thundara. (source) (FF#177)
Blocks a charge and punch from Rhino with sand barriers during training. (source) (ASM#676)
Withstands Hulk smashing a car on him (Hulk noted to be weaker). (source) (IH#138)
Takes a beating from the Hulk while hardened. (source) (IH#138)

Durability - Piercing

Run through by spikes, causing him pain. (source) (WSM#108)
Allows bullets to pass through him. (source) (ASM Annual#24)
Can allow bullets to pass through his head. (source) (WP#21)
Unaffected by a shotgun blast to the chest while in sand form. (source) (FN#19)
Absorbs a mass of bullets while disguised as an assassination target. (source) (WP#2)
No-sells a mass of point-blank Gatling gun bullets. (source) (WP#2)
Plugs a shotgun’s barrels with his sand, causing it to explode. (source) (SSM Annual#11)

Durability - Explosive

Instantly recovers from an exploding boomerang hit to his sand body. (source) (ASM#281)
Contains the majority of a grenade blast, reforming after being blasted apart. (source) (MTU#138)
Reforms after being blasted from behind by a micro missile he thought he dodged. (source) (Av#332)
Envelops a bomb and reforms after it blows up, though he is worn out. (source) (MTU-2#3)

Durability - Fire

Allows Thing’s flare signal to pass through his head. (source) (Thing#6)
Travels through a burning building and shoves flaming debris aside unharmed. (source) (WP#23)
Smothers Human Torch, extinguishing his fire. (source) (FF#61)
Blocks flame blasts from the Human Torch with an arm block. (source) (FF#63)

Durability - Water

Fights while a sprinkler system is active. (source) (GGSM#1)
Disperses Hydro-Man close-range and is unaffected by his water, able to shift to dodge Rhino. (source) (ASM#281)
Takes a direct, close-range hit from a water cannon. (source) (ASM#348)
Continues fighting after being blasted by water hard enough to send him through a metal beam. (source) (Sen#26)
Fights after being struck by a fire hydrant’s water, but is forced to take Thing’s strikes. (source) (Thing#6)
Blasted by several water cannons, keeps shape but forced to escape down a drain, losing form before oozing into the sea. (source) (FN#17)
Fights waist-deep in water, needing concentration to maintain form. (source) (WP#12)
Fights effectively in the sea, even creating a large sandy wave, as long as he’s standing on sand. (source) (ASM#683)

Durability - Other

Blasted apart after smothering Venom, causing him pain. (source) (WP#18)
Reforms after a blast from Annihilus. (source) (MTU#2)
Shocked by Electro. (source) (ASM-99#12)
Freezes himself with liquid nitrogen, continues talking, and is unaffected by poison gas released. (source) (FF#61)
Frozen solid by an ice beam, unable to move/talk, but Spider-Man states he’ll be fine after thawing. (source) (ASM#154)
Unharmed by Hazmat’s radiation blast, claims radiation doesn’t bother him due to his powers’ origin. (source) (AA#14)

Speed - Reaction - Transforming

Splits in two to dodge a close-range Hydro-Man attack. (source)
Ducks under Spider-Man and Machine Man as they dive at him from opposite directions. (source) (MTU#99)
Makes a hole in himself to avoid a mini missile. (source) (Av#332)
Turns to sand to let a tank shot pass through him. (source) (ASM#303)
Forms a large barrier in front of Silver Sable before energy blasts can hit her. (source) (WP#16)

Speed - Reaction - Other

Catches Spider-Man as he swings above his head. (source) (MTU#1)
Catches Spider-Man’s web blast. (source) (UTSM#3)
Narrowly dodges a Human Torch blast despite the room being dark. (source) (FF#178)
Dodges Human Torch’s fire blasts despite claiming he can’t dodge them. (source) (FF#61)
Avoids an energy beam. (source) (SA#6)
Reacts to let a tank shot pass through him, then ducks under bullets. (source) (ASM#303)

Speed - Other

Disappears through an air vent before Thing and Human Torch can stop him, despite them actively rushing. (source) (FF#148)
After disappearing, attacks Spider-Man too fast for his spider-sense to react. (source) (ASM#154)
Reforms before Machine Man can blow apart his sand grains. (source) (MTU#99)

Sand Physiology - General

Sandman’s consciousness resides in a single grain of sand, controlling his body; he becomes immobile if separated from other sand. (source) (ASM#684-685)
Is aware of and can control the individual grains of his body. (source) (Deluxe)
Can have his sand constructs and entire self shattered, reforming immediately. (source) (FF#177)
Manipulates his sand even after it’s been removed from his body. (source) (FF#61)
Being paralyzed retains his shape, even if partially sand. (source) (FF#38)
Loses shape when fully in sand form. (source) (Deluxe)
Assimilates existing sand to replenish lost mass and increase size/volume. (source) (Deluxe)
Can speak underwater. (source) (IH#138)
Still needs air, but can circumvent this by entering sand form, used to escape a gas attack. (source) (ASM Annual#1)
Still has irradiated blood, possibly changed by a full body blood transfusion. (source) (IH#138)
His outfit likely became part of him during his transformation, disappearing when he shifts, though this is unconfirmed. (source) (ASM Annual#24)

Sand Physiology - Mobility

Turns into sand to pass through narrow gaps, like cracks in the Baxter Building ceiling. (source) (FF#43)
Passes underneath a door and reforms on the other side. (source) (SSM Annual#10)
Goes through a keyhole fast enough to cover Pepper Potts’ legs before she can react. (source) (IM#502)
Leaks into a tank through its sealed hatch. (source) (ASM#337)
Moves through small cracks in the ground. (source) (Av#332)
Moves his sand along the ground into an air vent. (source) (FF#148)
Escapes a building through a sink drain. (source) (MTU#1)
Moves flat along the ground, traveling under a gate and laser alarm. (source) (ASM#4)
Flies as a stream of sand. (source) (Nova#14)

Sand Physiology - Formless / Disintegrating

Lies in wait as a thin layer of sand. (source) (ASM Annual#1)
Dissolves out of Spider-Man’s grasp and reforms. (source) (ASM#4)
Pours out of Spider-Man’s webbing. (source) (ASM#4)
Dissolves out of clothes to pass through a grate, reforming with his regular attire. (source) (ASM Annual#1)
Can leave his regular shirt behind and reform into it. (source) (MTU#40)
Turns into sand while dropping from a rooftop, reforming on the ground without injury. (source) (ASM#4)
Disappears after being webbed, then blitzes Spider-Man with a surprise attack and disappears again. (source) (ASM#154)
Merges with beach sand to disappear in front of Spider-Man. (source) (MTU#1)
Merges with sand again, becoming a talking mound before fully disappearing. (source) (Web#9)

Sand Physiology - ‘Phasing’

Allows punches to pass through him, including those from Spider-Man and the Thing. (source) (ASM#4)
Allows Spider-Man’s webs to pass through him. (source) (FN#17)
Allows a handcuff to pass through his wrist. (source) (MTU#1)
Two police officers dive right through him. (source) (MTU#1)
Appears to use phasing to escape Thing’s grapple. (source) (FF#129)
Allows Spider-Man to pass completely through him while retaining a humanoid shape. (source) (ASM#4)
After making a ramp, allows allies to slide down while enemies fall through him. (source) (WP#27)
It appears to hurt when something passes through him unexpectedly. (source) (ASM-99#12)

Sand Physiology - Increasing Durability / Mass

Hardens his jaw to no-sell a punch to the face from Spider-Man. (source) (ASM#4)
Hardens his body particles to force a ship down, forgetting it had anti-gravity tech. (source) (FF#36)
Increases the durability of the sand he sprays to cover Hulk. (source) (IH#114)
Gives his body ’the hardness of sandstone’ to no-sell water tossed on him. (source) (WM)

Sand Physiology - Volume

Makes his body paper-thin against a wall, causing Spider-Man and Human Torch to ram into it. (source) (MTU#1)
Holds himself inside a small capsule, then covers a large area to reveal an invisible ship. (source) (Tb#40)
Turns into a large, hard rolling cylinder to crush Hulk. (source) (IH#113)
Morphs into a tidal wave of sand after attack, encompassing a tank. (source) (SA#17)
Floods a room with sand, nearly drowning the Fantastic Four. (source) (FF#61)
Covers Hulk in an enormous mound of hardened sand. (source) (IH#114)
Turns into a large animate statue. (source) (WP#29)
Becomes larger than skyscrapers with enough sand, capable of throwing a ship. (source) (SSTU#6)
Becomes an entire castle with preparation, altering its inside and creating traps for Spider-Man. (source) (ASM#616)
Defeats robotic enemies by filling and expanding sand inside them. (source) (WP#11)

Sand Physiology - Shapeshifting - Offense

Thrusts his front forwards for a surprise attack on Spider-Man. (source) (ASM#4)
Often turns his hands into large shapes like hammers and spiked balls to attack enemies. (source) (ASM#4)
Creates two large sand blocks with his hands to crush and hold a target. (source) (Ex#36)
Makes a large sand ball with one hand and creates a fist from a shield on the other. (source) (Web#7)
Extends his leg to sprout into three pillars, hitting three men into the ceiling. (source) (WP#26)
While covering the ground, forms several giant fists to attack. (source) (SA#7)
Can form blades from his sand. (source) (WP#19)
Rolls into Spider-Man as a ball to knock him off-balance. (source) (ASM#19)
Turns into a large, hard rolling cylinder to crush Hulk. (source) (IH#113)
Shifts into a block of granite while falling. (source) (IH#113)
Bursts into a violent, powerful explosion of sand. (source) (FF#57)
Quickly knocks out Luke Cage by surrounding him as sand. (source) (HFH#11)
Creates weapons that revert to sand and escape to him after being taken as evidence. (source) (ASM#615-616)

Sand Physiology - Shapeshifting - Defensive

Forms a shield with his arm, blocking Hydro-Man’s attack. (source) (ASM#281)
Makes a shield from which bullets bounce off. (source) (Web#7)
Forms a large barricade with his arm. (source) (WP#16)
Blocks a shotgun’s barrels with his sand. (source) (SSM Annual#11)

Sand Physiology - Shapeshifting - Arms

Reaches underneath a door to unlock it. (source) (ASM#302)
Enlarges his hand while retaining a human look. (source) (ASM#4)
Shoots out a large hand to grab Wizard and pull him into a building. (source) (FF#38)
Grapples a helicopter. (source) (IH#114)
Creates a giant hand to block a boulder. (source) (IH#113)
Lengthens his arm to wrap around a man. (source) (WP#26)
Makes a sand container to cover and snuff out Human Torch’s flame. (source) (FF#61)
Forms two sand pods to safely hold two people while jumping from a building. (source) (#23)
Makes a sand scoop to shove aside flaming debris. (source) (WP#23)
Turns an arm into a snake. (source) (WP#26)
Puts his finger into a lock, acting as the key. (source) (ASM#4)
While giant, creates a pair of shears on the tip of his finger. (source) (ASM#616)

Sand Physiology - Shapeshifting - Legs

Pushes himself up a story. (source) (ASM Annual#24)
Turns his legs into a large cylinder to race along the ground. (source) (MTU#99)
Turns his feet into ‘sandy anchors’ to resist a powerful vacuum. (source) (FF#61)
Transforms his lower body into a tank to rush forwards. (source) (ASM#281)

Sand Physiology - Shapeshifting - Human Appearance

Alters his body to make clothes fit, regardless of size. (source) (2-1#86)
Alters his face to create sandy representations of Elvis and Marlon Brando. (source) (WSM#7)
Transforms his face into a murder witness’s description for identification. (source) (FN#18)
Disguises himself as an assassination target. (source) (WP#28)

Sand Physiology - Shapeshifting - Small Figures

Creates a small sand castle. (source) (WP#2)
Forms a bust of Silver Sable. (source) (WP#31)
Makes a small statue of a woman in his hands. (source) (WP#7)
Creates a small version of himself that smashes a small sand Spider-Man from his other hand. (source) (Sen#26)
Creates figures of himself and Silver Sable that move or meld into different positions. (source) (WP#32)

Sand Physiology - Shapeshifting - Other

Stretches his neck. (source) (WP#19)
Stretches his body to quickly meet an enemy. (source) (SA#7)
Gives himself a small hand on his chest. (source) (Web#7)
Shoots a punch out of his back. (source) (WP#26)
Sprouts many extra arms to punch enemies. (source) (Web#16)
Becomes a much larger humanoid figure. (source) (FF#57)
Grows a new mouth after Spider-Man punches through his regular one. (source) (FN#18)
Makes a hole in himself to avoid attacks. (source) (Av#332)
Turns himself into a geyser of sand to save a falling Hawkeye. (source) (SA#17)
Becomes a large sandcastle. (source) (Swim)
Transforms into an animate version of a giant statue, attacking with it while stretching his human upper half to talk with allies. (source) (WP#29)
Makes a multitude of heads. (source) (ASM Annual#2000)

Sand Physiology - Projectiles

Blows sand to blind a person. (source) (WP#26)
Throws a large sand block at Human Torch, but it’s destroyed. (source) (FF#42)
Shoots rapid-fire rock-hard sand blasts. (source) (IH#114)
Hurls several large granite boulders. (source) (FF#63)
Throws a sand ball that rebounds off a wall and breaks on a target’s face to blind them. (source) (FF#94)

Sand Physiology - Entrapment

Can use himself to suffocate enemies into unconsciousness. (source) (MTU#138)
Appears from nowhere to trap Paste Pot Pete. (source) (FF#36)
Smothers Human Torch, extinguishing his fire. (source) (FF#61)
Turns into a formless sand mass, then hardens to hold Reed Richards. (source) (FF#130)
Traps Spider-Man’s legs to the ground with sand, then covers the rest of him. (source) (ASM#4)
Holds Human Torch and drags him into a plane. (source) (FF#38)
Traps punches that passed through him. (source) (ASM#4)
Wraps around Thing, rolling with him before releasing him at the end of a pier. (source) (FF#63)

Sand Physiology - Adhesion

Attaches himself to the underside of a bridge to escape, claiming his particles can attach to anything. (source) (ST#115)
Crawls up a building. (source) (ST#115)
Climbs along walls. (source) (ASM#18)
Covers a side of a building as a sheet of sand. (source) (ASM-99#12)

Sand Physiology - Reforming

When in sand form, can be dispersed by strong hits or wind, but reforms quickly as grains come together. (source) (FF#41)
Reforms from all his grains unless a significant portion is isolated. (source) (Deluxe)
Immediately regains the sand from his cut-off hand. (source) (FF#57)
Reforms after his grains are ‘scattered across the countryside’ by Hulk creating an incredible wind with a plane. (source) (IH#113)
Dissolves in water, escaping Thing, and later walks out fully formed. (source) (FF#63)
Being forcibly blown up and reforming wears him out, but he does so successfully. (source) (MTU-2#3)
After becoming giant and being destroyed by rain and lightning, reforms into a large sandcastle with a figure holding a defeated Spider-Man. (source) (FN Annual#1)

Sand Physiology - Other

Puts sand on prison guards to block bullets. (source) (AXIS#3)
Sends sand through an air vent, reforming into a message on another room’s ceiling. (source) (AXIS#3)
Unharmed after cutting off a part of him covered in sand-melting paste before it spreads. (source) (WP#26)
Separates his torso from his legs to dodge an attack and instantly reforms. (source) (ASM#281)
Smothers one of Trapster’s thrown devices, stopping its effects. (source) (FF#41)
Defuses a bomb by filling it with sand. (source) (SA#6)
Holds a Doombot in place by filling it with sand. (source) (Av#333)
Sprays sand throughout a room to reveal an invisible Susan Storm. (source) (FF#130)
Unharmed by his projected sand being filled with electricity, even at lethal levels for Reed Richards. (source) (FF#57)
Note: Sandman himself is not immune to electricity. (source) (FF#45)
Makes coins that disintegrate shortly after being used for payment. (source) (PP#57)
Creates mirrors to reflect security lasers, causing him pain due to effort. (source) (ASM Annual#2000)
Speaks through and moves as a snowman. (source) (ASM#615)
Wraps around and appears to enter a prison guard, then is seen in the guard’s clothes with the guard missing (unclear exact method). (source) (FN#17)
Spawns a small sand figure to scout an area. (source) (SM#236)
After preparing as a castle, creates a multitude of people in his image. (source) (ASM#616)
Cannot fully separate his mind, leading some creations to act on his subconscious thoughts. (source) (ASM#616)
Appears to create tiny versions of these people for a child to use as action figures. (source) (ASM#616)
Can temporarily give control of his sand to another, allowing Spider-Man to form a large sand construct and fight an evil future Sandman. (source) (PPSM#309)

Weaknesses - Water

Getting wet turns his sand to mud, preventing shapeshifting until dry, forcing him back into human form. (source) (ST#115)
Struggles to concentrate and maintain durability while submerged, allowing Hulk to scatter him easily. (source) (IH#138)
After being blasted by fire hydrant water, cannot phase through Thing’s punch. (source) (Thing#6)
Washed away by a large amount of water dropped on him. (source) (MF#22)
Threatened by rain, rushing to get a taxi. (source) (PP#12)
While giant, struggles to maintain form due to hard rain. (source) (FN Annual#1)

Weaknesses - Heat-Induced Transformations

Turns into glass after intense heat and pressure. (source) (IH#114)
This is fixed by the Wizard, but he relapses, needing a full body blood transfusion to heal. (source) (FF#94)
The blood transfusion had the side effect of turning the donor into glass. (source) (IH#138)
Disintegrated, contained, and heated into an orb of glass. (source) (Tb#41)
Turned to quartz by Human Torch’s flame strike, recovers but not at full strength, leading to quick defeat. (source) (MTU#2)
Made a statue of living crystal by Human Torch’s flames while trapped in Sue Storm’s force field. (source) (FF Annual#14)
Turned to glass from a blast from Electro. (source) (ASM#643)

Weaknesses - Other

Requires conscious thought to manipulate himself; drugs or other cognitive impairment prevent power use. (source) (ASM#214)
Completely falls apart while resisting an evil future version of himself taking over his body. (source) (PPSM#309)
Being shown or named shapes forces him to create them, including the face of his adoptive daughter. (source) (ASM#684-685)
Struggles to reform and stay whole during Sandstorm’s grit-storm. (source) (WSM#108)
Can be contained by having his body covered in quick-setting cement. (source) (FF#63)
Can be vacuumed up while in sand form. (source) (ASM#4)
Later retconned that he chose not to burst out of a vacuum. (source) (FN Annual#1)
Even in mostly human form, gets sucked into a giant turbine and blasted away. (source) (UTSM#3)
Prevented from fully forming if his scattered sand is blocked, e.g., by Susan Storm’s force fields. (source) (FF#36)
Rendered ‘basically a puddle’ by specially designed oil that stopped his sand from getting traction. (source) (MoE#1)
His sand has been dissolved by hydrofluoric acid webbing. (source) (ASM#615)

Intelligence

Turns into a pile of sand at a construction site to hide money and evade police. (source) (ASM#4)
Spreads sand on the ground to locate the Invisible Woman. (source) (FF#61)
Learned from a prior defeat and hides inside a vacuum to surprise enemies with hostages. (source) (MTU-2#3)
Rigged Fantastic Four’s equipment to attack them upon their return to the Baxter Building. (source) (FF#61)
Spreads sand to mislead a crowd into thinking he’s escaping, making them leave his house. (source) (ASM#348)

Suit

Suit enhances his abilities to create a large sandstorm. (source) (IH#113)
Suit mixes chemicals with his sand, allowing him to spray slippery oil. (source) (FF#61)
Suit uses liquid nitrogen to instantly freeze him, protecting from Human Torch’s fire and releasing poison gas on impact. (source) (FF#61)
Suit increases his adhesiveness through chemical mixing, allowing him to walk down a building regularly. (source) (FF#63)

Other

Ricochets a projectile off a wall to hit a target in the face. (source) (FF#94)
Even before gaining powers, often appeared on the FBI’s most wanted list. (source) (Tb#40)
When reformed, dislikes being called Flint Marko. (source) (WP#26)

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