The Black Dragon versus Sandman

Immortal gods, I ask of you one boon alone: PLEASE don't let there be a "Japanese Sandman" joke in this story.

Fire Island, I assume.

This is the poseur version of Sandman, after he ditched his pulpy get-up for this skin-tight superhero number just because his new gym routine paid off.  It's very try-hard and screams "I'M NOT A GEEK ANYMORE!"

He's been assigned to recover the inventor/invention of modern "Greek Fire" (a famously lost ancient incendiary formula that burned in defiance of water, which was very effective against ships). So... Sandman is being sent to the beach.

The "Sandcar"?  Give me a minute for my eyes to roll back out of my head.

Fortunately, the Feds have done the advance work and pretty much know just where to send him.

As a great man once said,
"SHUT UP, Wesley!"

The writers give Wes the opportunity to use that damnable "wirepoon" of his.

It's much cooler when Batman starts using it as a "grappling gun".
Everything is cooler when Batman does it.

Shut UP, Wesley.

For the most part, all these Golden Age heroes had interchangeable personalities.

"No, you jack-@$$, I'm the goddam DOCTOR LIVINGSTON!"

And Gardner Fox is listed as writing EACH of the sub-stories, so that makes some sense. The heroes were distinguished by their costumes and their gimmicks; differing personalities would have been gilding the lily!

Mad? Just because he was kidnapped by foreign agents who stole his invention and tied him to a bed?  How sensitive!

But I don't think I'm imagining it when I notice that

Gardner Fox wrote Sandman to be PARTICULARLY insufferable.  As if he too thought Wesley Dodds was just a nerd trying to pretend he was one of the Cool Kids now that he got yoked.

Well, at least he didn't do a Japanese Sa--

DAMMIT, Wesley!

As we know, hubris precedes a fall and Wesley's comes hard upon.

Specifically, with a rock bouncing off his skull.
Nighty-night, Sandman.

I'm beginning to think Peter Parker got all his smack-talk skills from being a Sandman fan.

After a desultory demonstration of Modern Greek Fire, the Black Dragoneers get to what we've all be waiting for:

Killing Sandman.
P.S. Shut up, Wesley.

At least being in a death-trap, brings some SMALL sense of seriousness to Sandman.

Just pick one and die, Wes.

Naturally, Sandman uses the flames to burn off his bonds, and then ... ACTUALLY uses his SAND.

I don't think I've ever seen Sandman USE sand to good effect. You win this round, Sandman.

Now freed, Sandman disarms his captor and incidentally sets the whole place on Greek Fire.

"What could possibly go wrong?"

Killing a great many people, I might add.

And so Wesley saves the Inventor, the Invention, and the day.  By burning a lot of people to death.  Yay?

Tomorrow...

Well, it's the Atom. And I guarantee you are NOT ready for it.  

WE guarantee it.