Flint Marko
From Marvel Movies
| Flint Marko | |
 | |
| Alias(es) | Sandman |
| Appeared in | Spider-Man 3 |
| Actor | Thomas Haden Church |
Flint Marko was transformed into the Sandman while trying to escape the police.
Contents |
History
Flint Marko steals to pay for medical treatment for his daughter Penny, who has an unspecified illness. While on the run from the police after escaping from prison, he accidentally falls into an experimental particle accelerator that molecularly binds him with sand, giving him shapeshifting sand abilities. A major focus of the plot of the film involves Marko's connection to the murder of Peter's Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) in the first film.
Sandman is later spotted by police officers walking down the streets of Manhattan. Sandman gets on top of a dump truck filled with huge amounts of sand. When one of the policemen climbs atop the truck, he is assaulted by a huge fist made out of sand. Having absorbed the truck's sand to add to his mass, a giant Sandman then emerges. The police shoot at Marko, but he manages to escape by turning into a sandstorm and flying away with the wind. At the Spider-Man fair, the sandstorm is spotted, and Spider-Man goes to investigate. In doing so, Spider-Man confronts Sandman, foiling his attempt to rob an armored truck, but Sandman gets away. Later, at the police station, it is revealed by Police Captain George Stacy (James Cromwell) that there is evidence implicating Marko as Ben Parker's killer, and he also tells Peter and Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) that the carjacker, Dennis Carradine, that Peter confronted two years earlier was really Marko's accomplice, and did not fire the shot that killed Ben Parker. In the meantime, Sandman robs a bank, and Spider-Man, now with enhanced abilities due to his new black suit, chases him to the subways. During their fight, Spider-Man manages to burst a water tank, flooding Sandman in water and turning him into mud, which is swept through a sewer grate. Believing that Sandman is dead, Spider-Man leaves in satisfaction; but unbeknownst to him, Sandman, who is washed out to the river, is able to eventually reconstitute himself.
Spider-Man later tears the symbiote off his body in a bell tower after learning of its parasitic nature, and it merges with Eddie Brock, Jr. (Topher Grace) to become Venom, who convinces Sandman to team up with him to destroy Spider-Man. Sandman agrees because he feels that Spider-Man will not stop chasing him until he is dead. The two kidnap Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and take her to a construction site, forcing Spider-Man to face them both. During the fight, Sandman uses the site's sand to again increase his size, turning into a version of himself several stories high. After Venom restrains Spider-Man with his webbing, almost strangling him, Sandman nearly beats Spider-Man to death, but for the intervention of Harry Osborn (James Franco), under the guise of the New Goblin, who comes to his friend's aid with his Goblin arsenal. Harry explodes a pumpkin bomb at Sandman, and then distracts Venom enough to free Spider-Man. Working together, the two manage to save Mary Jane, defeat Venom, and temporarily disable Sandman, though at the cost of Harry's and Eddie's lives. Sandman returns to his normal size, and having discovered Spider-Man's real identity, he reveals that his shooting of Ben Parker was an accident while he was trying to carjack Uncle Ben. During the incident, Ben attempted to reason with Marko, but Carradine arrived and startled Flint, causing him to shoot Ben accidentally. Realizing that Marko is telling the truth, Spider-Man forgives him. Marko is moved by Spider-Man's compassion, and he shapeshifts and flies away.
Relationships
He was married to Emma Marko, and had a daughter, Penny. It is unknown if they are still married or not after he went to jail, even though it clear he still cares deeply for his family.
Behind the scenes
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Trivia
In the comics, his original name was William Baker, but he later adopted the alias of Flint Marko.
