sandman (earth-7)

Biography

Early Life

William Baker was a former convict who was transferred from a prison in Virginia before becoming involved with the Life Foundation's experimental program. He later rose through New York's criminal underworld under the name Flint Marko, becoming a local mobster known for lending enormous sums of money and collecting his debts with brutal punctuality.

Marko's criminal activities eventually brought him into contact with the world surrounding the Life Foundation. He had become involved in the financing of a major Broadway production whose director and lead producer had taken out a multimillion-dollar loan that no legitimate bank would approve. After failing to meet the terms of the loan, the producer was found dead, with his organs described as being as heavy as a sack of sand.

Spider-Man's investigation into the death eventually led him to Flint Marko and his criminal operation. At the same time, police were pursuing Marko's men through Park Avenue while Marko himself remained connected to the larger network of criminal activity operating throughout New York.

Marko's history was also tied directly to the Life Foundation. Its records identified William Baker as one of its experimental subjects, alongside Max Dillon. Baker's file was marked "SUCCESS." Records showed that he had been transferred from prison and had voluntarily signed a contract to become an experimental test subject.

William Baker and Max Dillon had not been kidnapped or forced into the program. They had agreed to participate despite knowing that the procedures could kill them. In exchange, the contracts promised that anyone who survived would receive a reward substantially greater than the money they had been paid upfront. Baker survived the experiments, becoming the man known as Sandman

the rise of the sandman

Sandman's existence first became known to the public through a series of brutal murders across New York. Criminals began turning up dead overnight, their bodies left as dried-out husks with nothing but sand filling their insides. The strange deaths led authorities to suspect a serial killer.

The Daily Bugle soon published a front-page headline identifying the mysterious criminal as "Sandman." The article included a photograph of Captain George Stacy receiving the file of former convict William Baker inside his office. The publication publicly connected Baker to the emerging Sandman case.

At the same time, Flint Marko's criminal organization was being pursued by the police. A high-speed chase along Park Avenue involved Marko's men while Spider-Man was forced to choose between pursuing their operation and investigating the Life Foundation.

The investigation into Sandman's origins ultimately connected him to the Foundation's human experimentation program. William Baker had been one of the volunteers who survived the procedures, with his file carrying the same "SUCCESS" designation as Max Dillon's.

By the later years of Spider-Man's career, Sandman had become one of his established enemies. He eventually joined forces with Mysterio, Electro, Scorpion, Vulture, and an unidentified figure operating from the shadows. The group coordinated synchronized attacks designed to keep Spider-Man occupied while allowing its members to maximize their profits.