The Death-Trap of Mr. Freeze!

So, let's say you're the Sandman. And you lure your long-time enemy, Spider-Man, into a trap, with the intention of eradicating him from your life for good. And, during the fight, Spider-Man takes a bad fall that renders him unconscious. And you're standing there, with your enemy in your clutches, helpless and at your mercy.

Do you:

a) Off him, then and there;
b) Not look a gift horse in the mouth, and end his life;
c) Not waste this opportunity, and kill him on the spot;

OR:

d) PRACTICALLY GUARANTEE HIS SURVIVAL BY MAKING AN ELABORATE DEATH TRAP FOR HIM?



Before we get to Sandman exercising his utter lack of good sense, let's put this fight in perspective. While web-swinging at night, Spider-Man picks up a signal from one of his tracers, and follows it to a research complex--only to discover that one of his old enemies has used the tracer to lure him into an ambush:

Unfortunately for the Sandman, Spider-Man has been nursing a mad-on all night, and has been itching for a fight--so Spidey actually does pretty well against the Sandman in their first few rounds. But when Sandman disperses himself, he manages to surprise Spidey with a hard right that sends him flying, and the wall-crawler isn't able to recover in time:

So with all the time and trouble that the Sandman has gone to in making sure he'd be able to confront Spider-Man in this lab, he fails to take advantage of a golden opportunity to finish his foe quickly and definitively, and instead sets up Spidey in a death trap scene straight out of those old Batman cliffhangers:

Bust his straps, Sandman? Come on, this plan is foolproof. You've got him where you want him, don't you? Nothing's going to go wrong at this point, right?

Except this entire idiotic plan, you bumbling cretin:

And so the fight starts up again. Only this time, the Sandman probably isn't going to get a break like the last one:

I happen to be one of those people who thinks that the Sandman is formidable enough by himself to do without all the extra devices he and the Wizard prepared in this costume. But where Sandman's powers can keep the Fantastic Four busy, Spider-Man's speed gives him the edge on him, apparently reacting far more quickly than the Sandman can adapt his shifting form to compensate. And so the Sandman brings his costume's gimmickry into play:

But Sandman's strategy is turned against him, as Spider-Man's ongoing attack has Sandman falling victim to the very fate he'd had in mind for the web-slinger:

I suppose you could say that victory "slipped" from Sandman's grasp. Heh.