Sandy Hawkins is the orphaned nephew of Diane Belmont, the deceased confidant and girlfriend of Wesley Dodds, the original Sandman. Hawkins had long admired Sandman, although Sandy was unaware that the Sandman was Dodds, and Hawkins trained himself as an athlete in the hope that he could one day help the Sandman fight crime. Soon after the Sandman adopted his yellow and purple costume, Hawkins created a yellow costume for himself and pretended to be the Sandman while playing.

Shortly thereafter, Hawkins met the Sandman and assisted him on a case. Greatly impressed by the boy's skill and courage, the Sandman made Sandy his crime fighting partner and, as Wesley Dodds, made him his ward as well. The Sandman and Sandy became a renowned team and became members of the All-Star Squadron.

Hoping it would help them fight crime, the Sandman invented a "silicoid gun." But when the gun was activated, it exploded, somehow transforming Sandy into a gigantic, insane monster. The strain of the change knocked Sandy unconscious, and the Sandman improsined him in a gas-filled glass chamber that kept Sandy comfortable, but usually unconscious, for years.

Finally, an earth tremor shattered Sandy's glass prison, dispersing the gas and fully awakening him. After using his new powers to absorb seismic vibrations that threatened the city. Sandy revealed to the Sandman that he regained his sanity soon after his transformation. The guilt-ridden Sandman realised he had gravely erred in imprisoning Sandy for so long.

Seeking to cure Sandy, the Sandman placed him in a hospital, where Sandy was taken prisoner by a criminal called the Shatterer, who tried to exploit Sandy's powers. The Sandman rescued Sandy and transformed him back to a human boy, as young as he was when he became a monster.