To tell the story of Sandman, one must know the story of William Baker and the story of Flint Marko. Baker and Marko are both the same man, but very different at the same time.
William Baker was born in Queens and was abandoned by his father at age 3. His mother did her best to raise young William and would always take him to Coney Island where he would play with the sand. He was very great with arts and crafts and he was encouraged by his teacher, Miss Flint. She would have an impact on his life.
While he was younger, he was bullied and learned to use his bullies move against them and he was known to "slip through their fingers like sand." William would be very angry, but focused that channel into football and played very well. He took the name Flint on the field and would defeat and crush opposing football teams. As Will, he befriended his bullies but with no father figure. He would go out and commit small crimes as Flint, but when home with his mother, he was young William. When on of his bully friends incurs a large mob debt, Flint purposely loses a football and incurs the wrath of his coach. His coach berates him and Flint lets loose an insatiable rage nearly killing the coach. His criminal activity finally catches up to him and he ends up in prison where he meets his father. Taking the name Flint Marko, he eventually escapes. It is during the escape that he flees to a nuclear testing site in Georgia. He comes into contact with irradiated sand and suddenly his body changes. And thus the birth of Sandman.
Immediately after gaining his powers, he comes New York City and commits crime after crime, but he finally encounters the super-hero and nemesis would Spider-Man. Defeated and escaping from prison, he fights numerous heroes including the Human Torch, the Hulk, and Thor. But facing defeat after defeat, he realized he needs allies and joins the Frightful Four with brings him into constant battle with The Fantastic Four.
It was during one of his partnerships where Sandman began to question the idea of villainy. While working with Hydro-Man against Spider-Man. The two villains were merged and became a muddle-headed mud monster. They were eventually separated, but the experience left William Baker depressed. It was during this time, he befriended The Thing and he worked with heroes working with the Thing, Silver Sable, and Spider-Man. He is coerced by Dr. Octopus to rejoin the Sinister Syndicate, but he turns against them. He even works with a group of reformed villains and aids Spider-Man. It is through his actions as a hero, he is able to receive a full presidential pardon and he is invited to join the Avengers, where he impressively takes down Dr. Doom. However after an argument with Capt. America, he leaves the team and joins Silver Sable's Wild Pack in Symkaria. Enjoying his place on the Wild Pack, William rises among the ranks and even joins Silver Sable's Outlaws and Intruders going on international missions with his teammates. However working for the Symkarian government and spending so much time outside the United States, William Baker misses his home and opts to return to the United States and rejoin the ranks of the Avengers. With time, he hopes to make amends for the crimes he committed as Flint Marko and this journey has only just begun. Though there always remains the chance that Flint Marko can return.
Overview: When it comes to Sandman's personality, there are two identities people must take into account. First you have William Baker. He is a tough cookie, but is genuinely nice and caring and will attempt to help those close to him. He is the hero aspect of Sandman. He was the original man in charge. He is a good man under a literally rough exterior. William is the personality that is in control when Sandman is an Avenger and hero. Then you have Flint Marko, a nasty thug and criminal. This identity was developed when poor William was bullied. This is the personality that dominated during Sandman's villainous career. Both personalities are strong-willed, but William is self-less while Flint is selfish.
Tough: William has a literally tough and rough exterior. His personality seems to match the toughness and abrasiveness of sand. He is not the friendliest person and it takes an incredible amount of effort from his friends and teammates to breakthrough and get to know the Man in Sandman. Though once that barrier is broken, he is the most kind-hearted person and will go above and beyond to assist his friends whatever way he can.
Unintelligent: William was never the brightest bulb in the pack. He was out of school rather young and never returned. Also for someone so powerful, he has been defeated with rather simplistic techniques by the likes of Spider-Man. He acknowledges that he is not bright and leaves planning and strategy to smarter teammates, but he will also not tolerate being teased about his lack of education and hates being called an idiot.
As Flint:
Evil: The Flint Marko persona is an evil wicked man who thrives on cruelty and crime. He seeks only betterment of himself and will actively use people like he did his teammates in the various Syndicate and Sinister incarnations and when he was a member of the Frightful Four. William actively tries to repress the Flint persona.
Sandman has the ability to control and create sand. It is not only beach sand, but any small rock and mineral fragments, some dryer dirt and dust, and granulated salt. He has numerous power stunts listed below:
Sandman is a naturally strong man but when in his sand form, he gains superhuman strength and has held his own against the likes of the Thing and The Hulk. He is equally durable and has a high endurance rate. His strength will vary and increase depending on how much sand he is able to absorb within himself, at maximum, he is able to lift 85 tons.
In his sand form Sandman is invulnerable to most forms of bodily harm. He is capable of withstanding ballistic penetration, punches, blows, missiles, any time of physical damage will simply go through his form. If he takes a solid sand form, he can withstand and take blows from the like of the Hulk and the Thing.
Sandman is able to increase his size and width to gargantuan size. He can become as tall as 40 feet tall in height and he can become paper thin able to slip through crevices, holes, and grates. He grows larger and stronger with the addition of more sand. With addition of the sand, Sandman is able to control of each and every grain. With the addition and subtraction of granules of sand, Sandman is able to increase or decrease his weight and to strike with more power with every increase.
Sandman is able to shapeshift parts of his body into various forms of weapons and other objects. He is only limited by his imagination. He is also able to change from flesh and blood into a completely sandy form. In this form he has no need to eat, breath, or drink.
Sandman is able to manipulate his own natural sand form and other sand nearby. He is a greater manipulator of sand than that of Dust. He generate sandblasts, create sandstorms, create sand golems, and manipulate sand the way Ice-Man manipulates ice. He is only limited by his imagination.
Sandman in the form of a sandstorm is able to fly and travel on wind and air currents. Using this ability he can create and generate a massive sandstorm filling an entire city block area within seconds, obscuring vision and causing difficulty for breathing for those caught within his storm. Traveling via this method is determined by the current wind and air pressures.
Sandman can blast his sand granules out towards opponents at high velocities or when in the shifted or morphed into a large bulky object he can send out large shaped blasts with the impact of a large sandbag with the only limit of the shape being his imagination.
Due to the malleability of his powers, Sandman is able to stretch out in his sand form, similar to the way Reed Richards is able to elongate his flesh. Able to extend up to 40 feet away, he can stretch out his body to cover this wide area, though the further he extends the thinner and weaker his sand form becomes.
Sandman is not only able to turn his body into sand, but he is able to increase his size and strength with the addition of more sand. As a pssamokinetic, he is able to control sand and sand-like material (dirt, etc) in his surrounding environment but is limited to line of sight. On average he is able to grow up to 40 feet high, but may grow higher if pushing himself, but this would lead to dangerous effects including weakened state and exhaustion.
Sandman is not a traditional phaser like Shadowcat, Shinobi Shaw, or Neophyte. However when in his pssamic form, he can become as small as a grain of sand and is then able to get through small holes or cracks or openings. He can literally slip through someone fingers. Also, he can become so malleable that a punch or anytime of physical weapon can pass right through him.
Sandman has developed a new power stunt with his pssamic powers. He is able to create non-sentient sand duplicates of himself that he is able to control. The sand duplicates possess the same pssamic abilities that he does, but to a much smaller degree. He can only create duplicates within the area that he is in. He cannot create a sand duplicate in another room or area that he is not physically present in. With each duplicate, their abilities are halved. For example, if Sandman created one duplicate, it would work at half his strength and ability. If he created two duplicates, it would then be third and so on and so on. He can also use this power stunt to fool others by creating duplicates of himself, an opponent may not know which is the real Sandman, similar to how Ice-Man has been able to create ice replicas of himself. To use this power stunt causes a strain on Sandman and each duplicate is only able to be sustained for an hour maximum before they fall into a pile of sand and Baker is overwhelmed. (OOC Note: for an photo example of what I mean: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Amazing_Spider-Man_615.jpg).
Sandman has contacts in the underworld which he may still utilize to get information when he is a hero. From his years as a villain Sandman has connections in the Frightful Four, Outlaws, Enforcers, and various enemies of Spider-Man.
While not knowing any particular style of martial arts or fighting. Sandman is able to brawl with the best. He will use his powers and strength to demolish and take down whomever his opponent. Sandman has also learned a few tricks from when he was Avenger under Capt. America and when he was a member of the Wild Pack under Silver Sable.
Due to the malleability and durability of his power, Sandman is oddly enough an ideal spy. He is able to hide in most places and can control his sand particles even if it is not attached to him. During his time working with the Symkerian government as a member of the Wild Pack, he learned how to utilize his abilities as a spy for Silver Sable and the government.
Before he was Sandman, he was a petty criminal who relied on guns and other weapons. While not nearly an expert marksman by any means, Sandman knows how to use a gun and most pistol type weapons. During his training with the Wild Pack, he learned that he cannot always rely on his powers and may need to use various weapons. Any pistol type weapon, he is able to use and use relatively well.
William grew up in a rough very urban section of New York City. He thrived on the streets and survived utilizing street smarts to commit small crimes, befriend the right people and powerful allies. He can still utilize these smarts as a hero to find out information on some underworld happenings.
Again, his past makes him the man that he is now. As a small-time criminal, he was a pretty decent thief. Even now he amuses himself from time to time looking at different people or places and noting how a perfect heist can be pulled off, though he would never commit the heist?…or would he?
As a child, young William hated school. So when he was not trapped in that hellhole of education, he would spend hours watching different television shows and would even stay up late and sneak in watching late night Television shows. He is an expert at television trivia, and hopes to find a way to add that to his super abilities.
AVENGERS: Sandman was an Avenger with access to technology throughout the Avengers Mansion and the same contacts as the other Avengers. So a substantial amount of his resources came from the stipend/pay/salary that each Avenger member receives from the Maria Stark Foundation. Also, he counts among his friends member of Earth's mightiest heroes.
UNDERWORLD: Underworld: With connections to most worldwide underworld organizations, Sandman is able to obtain information, henchmen, technology, or anything he may need as many of the underworld bosses through his connections to the Frightful Four, The Enforcers, The Outlaws, and the Sinister Six teammates. This is only when he is a villain.
WILD PACK: William Baker is a former member of the Wild Pack. He was a close friend to Silver Sable and, on some missions, was leader of the team. He maintains strong connections with the former members and was close friends with members, particularly Silver Sable.
SYMKARIA: While he was not born in Symkaria, he is an honorary citizen. As a member of the Wild Pack, he has defended the nation and gone on many missions both diplomatic and discreet. He has fought for Symkaria as if it was his home country. He received a nice-sized stipend for his efforts and will from time to time continue to act on behalf of Symkaria though not more discreetly than openly.
PSSAMIC FORM: Sandman is able to exist in an entirely sand form. He has no need to eat, drink, or breath in this form. It has not yet been determined if he can sustain this form indefinitely as he been afraid to remain in this form for too long. While in a completely sand form, his mind continues to function in astral form even when he has turned his body into sand and even when the granules of sand that composed his mind are dispersed. The limit to how far the particles can be spread before he is unable to reassemble is not yet known, though he limits himself for fear of not returning back to his human form
Sandman is particular vulnerable to heat and heat attacks of temperatures of 3,400 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. When near temperatures that high, his sand form can turn into glass allowing for him to shattered and easily defeated. While he is unafraid to battle fire-generating opponents like the Human Torch, Firestar, or Pyro, he is particularly careful when around heat and fire based opponents.
After a freak mishap when he partnered with the villainous Hydro-Man, the two became fused together and formed a unique mud type monster. This accident led to Sandman doubting himself and was the first instance of his decision to end his villainous ways. He is particular phobic around water and water based opponents particularly hydrokinetics. Again, he will engage and battle them if he must, but as with pyrokinetics, he tries to be extra careful.
Sandman has not received much education in his life. He hated school and books in general. While being a surprisingly powerful super-human, he has been easily defeated by the likes of Spider-Man in simplistic and often humiliating ways. This was another reason why he has opted to become a hero, to avoid the embarassment of the humiliating defeats. While he is not naive, his lack of smarts could be manipulated by intelligent individuals as was the case when he teamed up with the Wizard.
At the start of his villainous career, Sandman was a rather successful criminal and when gaining his superpowers, he was even more successful despite occassional defeats by Spider-Man and the Human Torch. It was when he joined villain teams like the Sinsiter incarnations against Spider-Man or the Frightful Four, that he began to suffer more and more defeat after humiliating defeat. Even his first go ahead as an Avenger proved unsuccessful after an argument with Captain America. It was only after his time with Silver Sable and the Wild Pack that he learned the true importance of teamwork and friendship. It is with a renewed sense of hope that he hopes to rejoin the Avengers.
Even though Sandman has received a presidential pardon, has become friends with the likes of Spider-Man and The Thing, and was a member of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, he still struggles with the prejudice against former felons. People tend to see him as the ruthless criminal he was when he went around as Flint Marko. He strives to move past that and works towards showing people, that is he no longer than man. But he is, at times, met with mistrust and doubt.
In addition to the water flaw, Sandman at times has been defeated by being interspersed with water and cement in a mixture. This particular method of defeat was at the hands of Spider-Man when he was tricked into a cement mixer. When the water and cement material combined with his sand, he became hardened and unable to move. He tends to avoid cement mixers.
Due to the viscous nature of sand, Sandman is susceptible to intense win attacks. A simple breeze will not scatter his sand form, but hurricane like force winds or those generated by the likes of Storm, Texas Twister, or Thor may disperse him past his ability to quickly pull himself together. The stronger and more intense the wind, the further he will be scattered and longer it will take for him to pull himself back together again.
========================[ +sheet for Sandman (SAND) ]=========================
Real Name: William Baker Age: 35
Codename: Sandman Gender: Male
Sessions: 0 Approved On: Tue Oct 04 20:14:00 2011
F: Remarkable (30) Health: 170/170
A: Remarkable (30) Karma: 46
S: Incredible (40) Resources: Poor (4)
E: Spectacular (70) Popularity: -5
R: Typical (6) Experience: 0
I: Good (10) Initiative: +0
P: Remarkable (30) Movement: 3
==================================< POWERS >==================================
Body Transformation-Sand…………………………… Fantastic (60)
Elongation……………………………………… Typical (6)
Entangle……………………………………….. Incredible (40)
Flight…………………………………………. Good (10)
Growth-40 Feet………………………………….. Unearthly (100)
Hammer…………………………………………. Amazing (50)
Phasing Through Small Holes………………………. Remarkable (30)
Resistance To Energy…………………………….. Incredible (40)
Resistance To Physical…………………………… Fantastic (60)
=================================< TALENTS >==================================
Crime……………………………………………. Typical (6)
License Plate Fabrication………………………….. Typical (6)
==================================< FLAWS >===================================
Vuln To Heat Attacks X2 Vuln To Incredible-40 Wind X2
Vuln To Water Attacks X2
=================================< CONTACTS >=================================
Spiderman
ARMOR RATINGS: Energy: 40 Mental: 0 Physical: 60
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