 Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), who, like Peter, is a photographer for the "Daily Bugle", sets out to defame Spider-Man and incriminate him.Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), an escaped convict, falls into a particle accelerator and becomes a shape-shifting sand monster later known as Sandman.Peter later learns that Marko is the one that killed Uncle Ben, causing Peter's own dark intentions to grow.