INCREDIBLE HULK #113-114 (1969)

Sandman becomes a Hulk villain in these issues.

He matches better against Hulk than Spider-Man, I think, because Sandy is immensely powerful and can withstand a Hulk punch.  Mandarin is in this story, too, but he doesn’t do anything particularly Mandariny.  He really could be anyone. 

Hulk kicks the sand out of him.

In the end, Sandman is made of glass.  He can still move around and talk, though.  Which is just weird.

There’s also an advancing of the Betty-Bruce-Hulk story, as General Ross uses Betty as bait, making Hulk think she betrayed him.  I suppose this matters in a way, but the reality is that all Hulk stories are just brawls and the side story is just not compelling.  It’s basically the same story, over and over again.  They didn’t spend a lot of time with Banner back then.

Her betrayal does lead to Hulk’s capture, which is where next issue picks up.

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