Spider-Man (1981) Episode Five: The Sandman is Coming

The Sandman is Coming

First Aired: October 10th, 1981

Synopsis: Peter Parker and a fellow classmate of his, Sally-Ann Beaumont, are witnessing the landing of the first Mars explorer. Once it's landed, Sandman appears and steals the soil sample inside, which is irradiated and therefore gives him powers when he absorbs it into himself. When Peter switches to Spider-Man and fights him, his mask is ripped and he ends up fleeing so his identity isn't exposed. Back in New York, he receives a telegram from the school board saying that he has to show up to a disciplinary hearing at 4 PM or else risk being expelled. With little time left before the hearing, Peter switches to Spider-Man and starts web-swinging there, but on the way has to intervene in a bank robbery Sandman is in the middle of. When he confronts Sandman, Sandman is able to use his irradiation from the Martian soil to somehow knock out Spider-Man.


Sandman throws Spider-Man into a power plant nearby, intending the electricity to kill him, but Spider-Man recovers in time and saves himself using his webbing. Spider-Man goes after Sandman and is able to retrieve the money Sandman stole from the bank, before going into the subway to stop Sandman. Sandman again knocks out Spider-Man and this time ties him to the train tracks. As a train approaches, Spider-Man calls out for help, but J. Jonah Jameson is the only person who hears, and he thinks that it's a publicity stunt. Spider-Man manages to escape using his webbing, and next finds Sandman trying to steal some gold. He uses the gold to lure Sandman first into a car wash, removing the Martian soil from him, and then into a cement mixer, which solidifies Sandman. He then heads to the disciplinary hearing as Spider-Man, where Sally-Ann is convincing the board that Peter was useless. Spider-Man delivers the Martian soil, says that Peter helped him get it, and gives the board some photos of Sally-Ann running off, thus saving himself from being expelled.

Webbing Does Not Work That Way:

• When fighting Sandman in their first fight, Spider-Man creates a giant fly-swatter out of web in a matter of seconds. For some reason, he's perplexed when it's ineffective.
• When Spider-Man takes the gold from Sandman, he throws the trolley it's on off the roof they're on, and then creates a mattress made of webbing to absorb the impact.
• To retrieve the Martian soil from the car wash, Spider-Man creates a web shovel. In spite of the fact that it's fully of holes, it's absolutely perfect for the job.

Miscellaneous Notes:

• Upon Spider-Man returning to New York, he's got a paper bag on his head since he hasn't replaced his ripped mask yet. It's uncannily prescient of The Bombastic Bag-Man.
• As mentioned, Spider-Man runs away from the initial fight with Sandman. We then see him in the Florida Everglades where he briefly fights some alligators...then he's in New York, still in costume as Spider-Man. Did he web swing all the way there, or something?
• When Spider-Man's going over the roof with the gold ingots Sandman was trying to steal, he shoots webbing under his armpits which lets him glide to safety. It's not technically something he should be able to do, but I love webbing armpits on Spider-Man so I'll let it pass. On that note, I'm not sure whether it was an intentional reference to the classic costume, but if so, I liked it.

Review: I think that there's a pretty solid concept in this episode - Peter has to deal with stuff as a civilian, but Spider-Man stuff keeps getting in the way - but it's let down by several things in the execution. The biggest issue is probably the stakes - while Peter needing to get to university so that he can not be expelled is a good danger, there's also a mention several times that he accidentally left his closet door at home open and he's worried that Aunt May might see his spare Spider-Man costume. It's hard to feel that this is something he desperately needs to take care of, especially when in the very final scene of the episode, she does find it and Peter brushes it off with "It's for a costume party".

We've also got a bit of a magic countdown going on. Right before he fights Sandman over the gold, Spider-Man notes that it's only one minute to four. So...why does he think that he'll be able to defeat Sandman and get to university in time? At a few points in the episode he offhandedly mentions how much longer there is to go until four, but it feels a bit arbitrary and certainly doesn't make me feel like there's a desperate race against the clock. On top of all of that, there's also the issue that while it's good that he's willing to fight Sandman and risk getting expelled, he was fine with letting Sandman go at the start when fighting the villain might have meant his identity getting exposed.

All that being said though, this isn't a bad episode. Sandman's radiation powers are a bit inconsistent, not to mention unwanted, but him running around stealing whatever he wants is absolutely in character. J. Jonah Jameson's appearance is welcome, particularly his entrance, with him harrumphing, "There aren't enough taxis in this city! Imagine me, J. Jonah Jameson, taking a train!" I think that if the fights were a bit snappier and if Spider-Man wasn't using his webbing in so many weird ways, this would be a pretty great episode. As it is, it's mostly fine.