Sandman

The Frightful Four - Marvel Team-Up #2

by Ross Andru, 1972

As the remaining Frightful Four members (Wizard, Trapster, and Sandman) witness Spider-Man swinging by, the Wizard comes up with a scheme to "recruit" Spider-Man as their fourth member and use him to attack the Fantastic Four.

Off-panel, the Frightful Four (presumably) captures Spider-Man and brainwashes him using the Wizard's ID machine.

Using Spider-Man, the Frightful Four ambush the Human Torch as he's home alone in the Fantastic Four's headquarters at the top of the Baxter Building. After binding the Torch in an asbestos straight-jacket and the Trapster's paste, the Wizard tries to tap into the Negative Zone to drain its energy to power his own cosmic device. His actions get the attention of Annihilus, and while the Frightful Four is distracted, the Human Torch escapes.

The Torch catches the Sandman in mid-transition and a well-timed fireball turns him into a quartz statue. After the Torch frees Spider-Man, the rest of the Frightful Four is quickly subdued, and the Negative Zone communicator powered down before Annihilus can enter our world.

The Sandman manages to regain mobility enough for one last-ditch attack, but Spider-Man manages to scatter him with a single punch.