Should Sandman have stayed a reformed villain?

[Metamorphosis]

He did also have one of the best moments in Neil Gaiman's "Whatever Happened to the Cape Crusader?" a few years back.

Haven't read that story for close to a decade, and my issues are boxed up. Don't really remember Karlo's role in that.

Long past time to revisit it though. It's in my Hoopla favorites.

[Grim Ghost]

It seemed to me that it would have made more sense for Sandman to retire. The groundwork was laid in that old issue of Marvel Two in One with the Thing and Sandman having a beer. Then I remember when the issue came out where Sandman intervenes to save Spidey and Silver Sable. He was living happily and quietly with a nice family. I just assumed this would be the end of his story and they were sending him off with a bang.

I found it weird when he went full on hero (or at times a good mercenary type) working with Sable and later becoming a reserve Avenger. He certainly wasn't framed in that way when he reluctantly helped Spidey before. Once that happened I figured eventually someone would want to go back to basics and turn him bad again. He is a classic Spidey villain so I guess they found him too valuable of an asset to waste as a minor league good guy. He was worth more as a bad guy. It's just kind of a shame that it wasn't done with a bit more finesse.

[Mister Mets]

Haven't read that story for close to a decade, and my issues are boxed up. Don't really remember Karlo's role in that.

Long past time to revisit it though. It's in my Hoopla favorites.

It was a small scene. People were going to Batman's funeral discussing the ways in which he died, and each of them had a different story. In one of those, he died saving Clayface's life, so Clayface told that story at the service, about how Batman thought everyone mattered.

[The Overlord]

You know the movies mishandled it, but I like the idea of Sandman having a daughter, Sandman having loved ones humanize him more anything else could, giving him a loved one opens more possibilities for the character.

Spider-Man reign kinda sucked, but the parts with Sandman and his daughter are actually really good.

I do think it takes more then saying a villain is a thief rather then murderer to make them sympathetic, I would like Sandman to get a lot of humanizing moments as a villain.

[Michael Watkins]

seems like a waste of an iconic blue-collar villain. he doesn't have to be evil to be a criminal.