When I first heard about Sandman being in this movie, I had two thoughts jump into my head. The first was 'weak villian', the second was 'James Cameron Scriptment'.
OK, I was totally wrong, I admit it, and I'm here to eat my crow, so pass the salt.
Seeing the preview made me realize that Sandman could actually be one of the coolest Spidey villians on screen. He's never brought up as a fan favorite, he's behind Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Venom, Lizzard, Mysterio and Electro. I've always thought of him as on par with Vulture. He just never seemed interesting to me in the comics.
But seeing Rami's vision for him made me realize two things. First, this is by far the most powerful villian Spidey has ever fought. Think about it, this guy would give Hulk, Juggernaut, the Thing, all of them a run for their money. Secondly, unlike the previous two baddies in the spidey films, Flint Marko has no redeeming qualities. This guy is a street thug with massive amounts of power. Norman Osbourne was a good guy with too much ambition and his own invention drove him crazy. Octavius was a decent man, with a huge ego, and didn't realize the consequences even though Peter brought it up right before his unfortunate and tragic accident.
Add to this the fact that Thomas Hayden Church, so much looks the part of Marko. He's a terrific actor, and he can just be a tough a$$ SOB.
I thought I'd be more excited over Venom being in this film, and now I'm almost more excited about Spidey fighting Sandman!!!
I can see this all coming together. Spidey is going to lose to sandman in the red and blue suit, and when he gets the black, the added power helps him to defeat Sandman. The clip in the subway of Spidey kicking Sandy in the face, followed by him flooding the subway and flying away (anyone want to guess what happens when Sandman get's flooded with water).
Forgive me Sam, you are the master!!!!
