The 20 greatest (and 10 worst) Spider-Man villains of all time

11th Best Villain: Sandman

Of all the villains Stan Lee ever helped create, Sandman is one of his most unusual. Off course, like most of Stan Lee’s characters, William Baker, alias Flint Marko, got his powers from radiation. In this case, he ran into a nuclear test site while fleeing the police, where the bomb blast bonded his body with irradiated sand particles.

Still, as the name implies, Flint Marko is a man literally made of sand. But aside from making his body into fine granules, he can also make himself harder than granite. Not to mention change his size and shape, bond himself with other sand, split himself into multiple people, turn his fists into maces and hammers–basically any shape-changing scenario an artist can dream up.

What’s fascinating about the Sandman is even though he’s arguably one of Spider-Man’s most powerful opponents, he could be a lot more dangerous should he choose. But with the exception “Keemia’s Castle” (Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 #614-615),William Baker, alias Flint Marko, mostly limited himself to robbing banks, though he would also sign up with other villains like the original Sinister Six and the Frightful Four.

Also, after once merging with Hydro-Man to become a mud monster, Sandman realized he didn’t really want to be a bad guy. This also makes him one the few Spider-Man villains who also became a superhero, most notably joining forces with Silver Sable, and even becoming a reserve Avenger. He did fall back into a life of crime eventually, but the idea that he’s not entirely evil continues being part of his character.