Obviously we’re not talking about the Neil Gaiman version of the Sandman in this case since Flint Marko isn’t quite in the same league as Gaiman’s notoriously popular creation, but it does feel as though the Marvel villain should be able to take hold of his own movie anyway. He’s been a part of the Marvel universe for long enough to have been fleshed out as a character and done a few things that distinguish him from other characters, so maybe it’s time to give the Sandman his due and at least try to come up with something that might be feasible. Starting up a series on his behalf doesn’t sound like the best idea, but a movie that’s over and done with, a one and done, might be a good test of just how strong a character he really is and how well he can be injected into the overall universe. Of course, deciding on what to do with him could be problematic since, despite the fact that he’s done a few things during his time in the comics, the Sandman has a few different adventures that could take up an entire movie, not the least of which are the many times that he’s been at odds with Spider-Man.
Flint has tangled with several other heroes and villains in his time, as his story could even go into the formation of the Sinister Six, the group of bad guys that would eventually form up and try to take out Spider-Man. Along with some of the most dangerous Spider-Man villains he could be a force to be reckoned with, but to be fair, stretching him out in his own movie sounds like a good idea. Some might say it would be more reasonable to try him out in another movie where he’s a supporting character again, but if the Marvel movies want to expand, whether it’s under the MCU or Sony flags, then more and more characters will need to be utilized in ways they might not be ready for but might benefit from. Plus, focusing on a villain has obviously paid off since Venom turned out to be a fun solo movie, and has even gone on to show how the character isn’t really much of a hero but is still more than just a villain. Sandman is fairly complicated like this and it would be great to see him represented in such a way. There were a few reasons why Flint kept making his way back to a life of crime, and it would be great to see some of that difficulty shown on the big screen.
Thomas Haden Church actually played the character fairly well in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, but he was a little overshadowed at times by the horrible presentation they gave of Venom since the character, played by Topher Grace, was more or less a caricature of the popular villain, even if his origin in the movie was more or less on point when compared to the movie in which Tom Hardy brought the same character to life. One has to wonder just how often people think about filming an origin story the way that people expect only to say ‘nah’ and do it their own way. Sometimes it pans out and everything looks great as the actors and the effects manage to work together so well that it’s easy to like the story and harder to pick it apart. But with Topher Grace’s rendering of Venom, it was definitely a must that a solo movie be made just to make sure that audiences received the character they wanted. Sandman should be the same way and be given the same kind of consideration really since the character is interesting, he’s been a part of the Marvel universe for decades, and he’s stood up to some of the heaviest hitters in the comics and been able to reform later on. It’s even feasible to say that he could take on the Hulk and come out more or less intact considering the nature of his powers.
In fact, out of all the idea that could bring him into the big time it does feel that pitting him against a few more powerful opponents would be the way to go since, despite the fact that he’s lost to Spider-Man in the past, Sandman has still managed to bang with some of the toughest in the comics and it would be epic to see such a thing on the screen since as interesting as Church’s performance was, it could have used a lot more and it also could have been absolutely epic. But obviously Venom was supposed to be the big bad villain in Spider-Man 3, while Flint was the tragic villain that was doing the wrong thing for the right reasons.
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