Overlooked Gems: “Sandman Year One”

Today we will be taking a look at Sandman Year One in FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN vol. 1 Annual #1 by Peter David and Ronan Cliquet from 2007.

I’ve stated before that Peter David’s stint on SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN from the 1980s is, in my opinion, one of the best runs the character has ever had. However, David’s second go around on the character with the then-newly launched FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN title in the 2000s was nowhere near the level of excellence his first was. In fairness, this drop in quality wasn’t entirely David’s fault as he wasn’t really allowed to tell the stories he wanted to. Instead, FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD often got caught up in editorial mandated crossovers with ongoing events like The Other, Civil War and Back in Black. As a result, FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD was never really given the opportunity to flourish on its own, making it yet another superfluous title to feature the webbed-wonder (because he certainly hadn’t already had enough of those).

But as with even the worst Spider-Man titles out there, true gems can be found if you stick with them long enough. And as it just so happens, FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN actually contains what is, for my money, the single greatest Sandman story ever written—and it’s an origin story to boot!

Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1963 with AMAZING SPIDER-MAN vol. 1 #4, William Baker aka Flint Marko aka The Sandman has always been one of the wall-crawler’s coolest villains…at least in terms of his power set. Character-wise, he was portrayed as little more that a common thug during his earliest appearances. In the 80s, Sandman actually did reform and became a hero of sorts, but the stories themselves were still nothing great. Today’s Gem on the other hand most definitely is.

Our tale begins with ol’ Sandy himself reminiscing on his childhood.

But unsurprisingly, it isn’t exactly the happiest of childhoods.

If that isn’t enough, William’s mom also isn’t the cheeriest and most optimistic of parents, bestowing her son with this somber worldview:

It turns out William’s school life isn’t much better as he possesses an unrequited crush on his art teacher.

And in typical supervillain origin fashion, he was also the resident punching bag for the school bullies.

As William’s mom tends to her son’s wounds, we see the first glimpse of darkness in his young heart.

The following day, William returns to school and decides to show those bullies who is really in charge.

This leads to William developing a taste for power and a deep disdain for authority after the principal pulls him into his office.

William soon becomes the Big Man on Campus with his former tormentors even becoming his friends of sorts. This continues well into high school as William decides to take on a new, “tougher” name.

During this time, “Flint” actually finds some happiness and contentment by joining the football team, which in turn wins over the affections of the head cheerleader.

But naturally, this bout of good fortune begins to change when Vic, Flint’s tormentor turned friend, asks him for a massive favor.

Reluctantly, Flint complies—with rather catastrophic consequences.

In Flint’s own words, everything is all downhill from here. Expelled from school, Flint turns to a life of crime…which also ends in disaster for the poor guy.

While in prison, Flint ends up coming face to face with the last person he thought he would ever see again: his father.

It is here we are given one of the final pieces to Flint’s new identity.

How will Flint react to this unexpected reunion with the man who sired him? How will this lead into him gaining his powers? And how will Spider-Man ruin it all again for him? Not telling! Read it for yourself!

Despite touching on many familiar tropes, this is still an extremely effective origin story for The Sandman. For all of his poor life choices and criminal misdeeds, Flint Marko/William Baker is surprisingly sympathetic here because at the end of the day, all he really wants is to make something of himself and gain the acceptance of those around him. His reunion with Floyd Baker is particularly sad as, without telling you exactly what happens, it seems that William is destined to never obtain the approving father figure he so desperately craves.

You can track down the individual issue, pick up the Peter Parker: Back in Black TPB or the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Complete Collection TPB. Plenty of options to choose from!

If the superb Sandman story isn’t enough of a selling point, this annual also contains a very short but very sweet backup tale about a young homeless girl who idolizes the webhead.

With two great tales in one, you have no reason not to track this comic down!