Nothing Can Stop... the Sandman!

Spider-Man sees a few punks casing a jewelry store and webs them up before they can rob it. However, the thugs threaten to sue Spider-Man for assault and battery! Spider-Man must flee when they call the cops, since all the evidence makes him look guilty. Spider-Man blames Jameson for this treatment and leaves him a little souvenir in his office. After leaving Jameson's office, Spider-Man runs into the Sandman on a rooftop. Sandman gets the best of Spider-Man, and Spider-Man's mask is torn in the process, so he must flee before his identity is revealed. While at home sewing up his mask, Peter Parker learns the identity of the Sandman during a news bulletin. Originally an escaped convict, Sandman hid on a beach at a radioactive testing facility. During one of the tests, he was exposed to radioactivity, and his body gained the power to act as if it were made of sand. The bulletin also shows Sandman robbing a bank and fleeing the police.

The next morning, Peter decides to try to ask Jameson for an advance before he heads to class, but the newspaperman angrily throws him out of the office. Peter heads off to school, and overhears Flash asking Liz about going on a date with Peter. Peter had forgotten all about it and has to cancel, so that he can capture Sandman. Of course, Liz does not take this too well. Meanwhile, Sandman starts to realize that he can't keep on the run and must hide out. As fate would have it, he decides Midtown High looks like a good place. Sandman barges into a classroom to hide. This classroom, however, is full of students getting a lecture from the principal. Sandman demands a diploma and threatens to teach the principal a lesson when the diploma demand is rejected. Peter, running errands in the hallway, overhears the dispute.

Peter quickly changes, and Spider-Man bursts in, knocking Sandman back. They battle it out before Spider-Man tricks Sandman into turning into sand and vacuums him up with an industrial vacuum cleaner. Spider-Man realizes that he should have gotten pictures for the Bugle, so he uses a bucket of sand and some acting to stage photos. Spider-Man hands the vacuum bag with Sandman in it to the police, while Jameson tries to convince the Captain to arrest Spider-Man as well. Spider-Man ducks back into the school and, after another quick costume change, bumps into Jameson as Peter and gives him the film of the Sandman battle. Peter finds Liz to let her know that he can still take her out, but she has made other plans with Flash. Flash makes one too many insults, and Peter finally has had enough and threatens to wipe the smile off Flash's face. Before he throws a punch, Peter realizes that his super-strength could seriously injure Flash. Peter lets him go and walks away, making everyone think he's chicken. As Peter walks home from school, he hears everyone agreeing with Jameson's opinions of Spider-Man. Alone in his room, Peter searches his soul for the reason he decided to be Spider-Man.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Aunt May, J. Jonah Jameson, Flash Thompson, Betty Brant, Liz Allan, Sandman, Principal Davis, Seymour O’Reilly, Sally Avril, Jessica Jones (unidentified)

Continuity Notes

• Various details about this story should be considered topical references per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. These details are: That Peter is watching a news report on a black-and-white television, and the cause to Flint Marko's exposure to radiation (see below).

• This story states that the Sandman's real name is Flint Marko. However, it is actually William Baker as revealed in Marvel Two-In-One #86. The alias was derived from a combination of his high school nickname and a teacher he had a crush on, as revealed in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Annual #1.

• Although referred to as "Island Prison" here, Marvel Two-In-One #86 clarifies that Flint was incarcerated on Ryker's Island.

• The details pertaining to the Sandman's origins are considered a topical reference as the narration states that it was a nuclear bomb text. All other recountings of his origins state that Flint fled onto a secured beach. However, how he was exposed to radiation has changed with the times. For example in Marvel Two-In-One #86, states that it was a nuclear powered device that exploded. In Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Annual #1 it is stated that it was a nuclear reactor. Lastly, Giant-Size Spider-Man (vol 2) #1 states that Marko was exposed to radioactive waste.

• Principal Davis' full name is revealed in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #10.

• One of the teens watching the Sandman's battle with Spider-Man is revealed to be Jessica Jones in Amazing Spider-Man #601.

• In Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Annual #1, the Sandman states that he intentionally allowed himself to get defeated so easily so he could return to prison and break his father out of jail.