The Sandman crash-landed on Earth in the area that would become Mexico. The natives (Aztecs?) believed him to be an evil spirit, and, while he was still weakened from his crash, they buried him alive in a cave, where, without light and air, he went into a state of suspended animation.

Former U.S. Marine Steve Bronson brought his family to Mexico in an attempt to open his son, Bobby's, eyes up to a more adventurous life. While trekking through the local area, Bronson and his family came upon a system of caves and decided to explore them. In one, they found an iron door. Blasting it open, Steve found what looked to be a large statue formed out of hard sand. However, the "statue" soon began to move, then spoke. Upon revealing its origin, The Sandman took upon itself the mission of conquering the world.

Forcing the Bronsons' to work as his slaves and condensing his form to look more human, The Sandman made his way to the United States, where he balked at the weaknesses of humanity. Steve soon exposed the alien’s identity by starting a fight between it and some U.S. soldiers in town for a parade. The monster quickly disposed of the soldiers and revealed his master plo--to reach the nearby beach, where he would absorb the sand there and become enormous and powerful beyond belief. Unable to stop the monster, the army ordered it to be bombed before it could reach the shore. After that, it still reformed itself and was only stopped when the quick-thinking child Bobby realized that water would stop it. He then splashed the creature with a bucket of sea-water, immobilizing it. He quickly shoveled the creature into a box.

At last report, the creature had been turned over to the military, where it remained incapacitated.

This write-up is the same one I did at the Marvel Universe Appendix. Please be sure to visit them at http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix.