I don't know how many of you have seen Spiderman 3 yet (or are even checking the blog) but this post is about the character of the Sandman. I'll try not to give my opinion of the movie, because I don't want to get started down that road, but I will say if you are a fan of the first two movies you should go see the 3rd, if not for the story *sigh*, then the great special effects. Any way back to the Sandman. There is of course a difference between the Sandman of the movies, and the Sandman of the comics. In the comics, Sandman using the name Flint Marko, lived the life of a criminal but still resisted extreme violence and killing, and he also went to great lengths to care for his sick mother. In the movie, Marko stole money to pay for medical treatement of his sick daughter, and after escaping from jail gets caught in a molecular experiment that changes him into "The Sandman." What makes Marko an interesting character is that, in both the comics, and even more so in the movie; he still has some likable qualitites. He is a villian that steals and fights the hero, Spiderman, but he is doing it for diffenerent reasons than just the fun of being evil/world domination/ultimate power/pure insanity. Marko uses the money to help those that he loves, and is willing to hurt those who don't matter to him to achieve his goal. I know that hurting others is wrong, but it makes you think about the question of how far would you go to help those you love? Is it noble to hurt others to save others, or is it just selfish to hurt others to save people that you love. This line of thought can lead into the reasoning of "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" and "the death of few to save millions." What do you do about such reasoning?