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Spawn (real name Al Simmons) is a fictional character in Image Comics' comic book of the same name. Created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, he first appeared in Spawn A CIA agent killed by his own boss for witnessing his corruption, Simmons was sent to hell. To see his wife one more time, he made a deal with the demon Malebolgia to become an undead “hellspawn.” Spawn has tried to retain his own humanity while finding a way out of Malebolgia’s control and battling a variety of enemies, both supernatural and mafia-related. Largely due to the popularity McFarlane accumulated illustrating Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man, Spawn became an instant sales sensation and perhaps the most popular comic book character owned by a third company since Marvel and DC dominated the market in the 1960s. The series has spun-off several other comics, including Angela, Curse of the Spawn, Sam & Twitch and the Japanese manga Shadows of Spawn. Spawn was adapted into a 1997 feature film, an HBO animated series lasting from 1997 until 1999 and a series of action figures whose unprecedented detail made McFarlane Toys a toy industry giant. Spawn’s popularity has since cooled and creators other than McFarlane have been responsible for the monthly series—a source of criticism as McFarlane and others left Marvel in the belief that creators should own and control their own characters. Still, the monthly series continues, becoming, along with Savage Dragon, one of the two original Image titles still published. Character history Military background Al Simmons was a highly decorated member of the Secret Service (notably saving the President in an attempted assassination) and the CIA. After being murdered in a foreign country by his superior Jason Wynn, Simmons is sent to hell because of his life as an assassin. Making a deal with the devil, Simmons agrees to become a Hellspawn and serve Malebolgia if he is allowed to see his wife, Wanda, one last time. Malebolgia returns Simmons to the living realm, but with only the barest of memory, a badly burned body, and a watch dog, the Clown. Simmons is unaware that five years have passed. His wife has married his best friend, Terry Fitzgerald, and the two have a daughter, Cyan. His life over, Simmons has two choices before him: follow Malebolgia, or renounce the devil. The two choices come in the form of Clown, a diminutive, portly, disgusting minor demon (who can transform into the huge, fanged, clawed Violator), and Cogliostro (Cog), an apparently homeless old man who knows more about Simmons (whom both call Spawn) and his situation than even he knows. After death Spawn arrives on Earth in a daze, off-balance and disoriented. He has only vague recollections of his past and how he came to be. He knows his name was Al Simmons and that he died. He knows he made a deal with the devil to come back. Spawn returns to a world alien to him, he's lost five years. He finds that his best friend Terry and his ex-wife Wanda are married and have a daughter named Cyan. Spawn's first few adventures are very antihero in nature. He takes down street gangs and organized crime, but in a fairly brutal fashion. He kills a pedophillic serial killer. He fights an angel that was sent to kill him, and lives. As this occurs, he takes over the alleys that comprise "Rat City" and befriends the bums within it. His power is vast, and an odd bum named Cogliostro seems to know a lot about him. Spawn's early battles take a huge toll on him. His first big test is against the mob enforcer, OvertKill, and it is an encounter he barely survives. Spawn narrowly escapes defeat at the hands of Angela, an angel who hunts Hellspawn. He is also nearly annihilated by the heavenly warrior known as The Anti-Spawn/Redeemer I, who unknown to him was his former boss Jason Wynn. His fight against The Curse goes far better, and he not only defeats him but makes an example of him by nailing him to the wall of the alleys as a warning to those who come into his territory. Along the way he meets up with the magician, Harry Houdini, and learns a lot about magic and illusion while helping him save the world. He also has a run in with Batman who has come to New York and after a brief tussle the two join forces to stop a psychotic woman from using the bums of Rat City as the brains for her army of cybernetic warrior and stop a missile from destroying the city. Batman's parting gift was a batarang to the face. Bobby helps fix the wound by stiching it shut with a shoelace. After this, Antonio "Tony Twist" Twistelli mistakenly pegs Terry as the culprit behind the Violator's mob-targeted killing spree. He sends a rebuilt and reprogrammed OvertKill, fresh from an embarrassing defeat in a crossover, after Fitzgerald forcing Spawn to protect his friend and eventually revealing his true identity to Terry. Only a single shot from Twitch's gun, going through OvertKill's ear and disrupting his programming saves the day as the mafia supersoldier heads off to find Badrock. In a crossover with Youngblood, Chapel returns to find Al in the alleys and kills his friend Bobby. Chapel has decided he got a raw deal and blows his own head off in front of Spawn so that he can go to Hell and possibly take over. Al uses his powers to bring Bobby back to life. He's then caught up in Angela's trial in the Angela miniseries and goes to Heaven where his suit begins to freak out since it knows its behind enemy lines. This leaves his suit practically dead when he returns to Earth, in the heart of the Deep South. He has an encounter with the KKK and as well "helps" Eddie and Andy Frank with their abusive father while in Georgia. His return to New York was not pleasant. Spawn's encounter with a new Redeemer would not go well as this one was significantly more powerful than the last and his friend Bobby was taken away for study as his resurrection was noted as the first of its kind, a necroplasmic transferral. Spawn would attack a bastion of Heaven in the guise of a skyscraper to try to goad Heaven into returning his friend and the Redeemer would appear again to face him. His powers were seriously waning and his suit was acting erratically. The first metamorphosis After a nearly fatal encounter with the Redeemer, Spawn's costume evolved into a more advanced form. The formerly immaculate cape became ragged and shredded, and his costume lost its red coloring and became pure black and white. Spawn's gloves and boots also morphed, becoming heavily armored and covered with spikes. Spawn's costume was now much more powerful, and the cape and chains were capable of shapeshifting to a much greater degree. Spawn's costume lopped the hand off Redeemer's arm by itself during their second encounter, while Spawn simply watched. Later, during an encounter with the Curse, Spawn's costume was surgically removed from his body. When the two were reunited, Spawn found that the costume was going wild, attempting to take control of him and use him for its own purposes. Spawn mentally wrestled with the costume for weeks, being warned by Cogliostro that prolonged use of his powers while the costume was in this state would result in it returning to Hell, dragging Spawn along with it. When Spawn decided to use his powers to cure Wanda's husband Terry Fitzgerald of his cancer, the costume responded the way Cog had warned it would. Trapped in Hell, Spawn fought desperate battles against the denizens of the various circles of Hell, finally arriving at the foot of Malebolgia's throne. Malebolgia gloated that Spawn was becoming everything he'd hoped, and returned him to Earth. Spawn retained mastery of his costume, but was shaken by Malebolgia's taunts. After issue 50 Spawn struggled to find a way to free himself from Hell's control and recapture his humanity. Attacks from both Heaven and Hell were coming faster and faster, and Spawn was on the verge of losing himself to the violence and the evil. Salvation arrived in the form of a mound of festering garbage - The Heap, an emissary of the Greenworld, a power equal to Heaven and Hell that Spawn had never encountered before. They endowed him with a host of new abilities that would enable him to overcome the worst both Heaven and Hell had to offer. While these powers are not directly described, they appear to give Spawn control over all the elements and other aspects of the natural world. It was explained to him that the Greenworld did not care for the war of Heaven and Hell, but were growing increasingly agitated by the destruction brought about. They inflicted on him the pains of the Earth, and when he returned Spawn became "aware" of the world. Spawn did not utilize his powers however, other than listening to the Earth, until he was impaled on the pole of a large sign by the dark god Urizen (named after the tyrannical creator-figure in the personal mythology of Romantic poet–artist William Blake). Urizen was wreaking havoc on the world, and the Greenworld imbued him with a "gift" which, after recovering thanks to Angela, Spawn uses to contain Urizen. Spawn splits the ground open and imprisons Urizen within the Earth. The new king of Hell After defeating Urizen, Spawn learns that the dark god's release was orchestrated by Malebolgia, as part of an elaborate scheme to take total control of all the kingdoms of Hell. Having failed spectacularly, Malebolgia's power is at its lowest ebb. With the help of Angela, Spawn is able to return to Hell and finally destroy his demon master, although Angela's life is lost in the process. Though offered Malebolgia's crown by the sinister Mammon, Spawn declines both it and an offer to enter the gates of Heaven. Spawn instead turns his efforts towards stemming the torment of humanity and defeating the evil that exists on Earth. Overwhelmed by the darkness on Earth, Spawn turns to his old mentor, Cogliostro, with a new plan. He will accept the crown of Hell, and then remake it, turning it from a dark realm of evil into a new paradise that will sweep away all sorrow and sadness on the Earth. No sooner do Spawn and Cog embark on this plan, then they are drawn into the lowest reaches of Hell, where Cog betrays Spawn during a moment of weakness, taking the crown of Hell for himself. Cog uses his newfound power to return Spawn to earth, apparently alive and well, back in the body of Al Simmons. Spawn reborn Wandering the Earth in a daze, Al Simmons is confronted by a young witch named Nyx. With Nyx's help, Al is reunited with his shadowy alter-ego, and Spawn is reborn on Earth. Seemingly human, with a human's frailty and vulnerability, when not shrouded in his costume, Spawn has lost much of his power, but continues with his mission to right the wrongs of the world and seek out peace of mind for himself. However, Mammon continues to plot against him from the shadows. After tempting and betraying Nyx, Mammon gains her magical power over the union between Al Simmons and Spawn, and uses it to rob Al of all of his memories. Al wanders the Earth, searching for something he feels, but cannot remember. During this wandering, Al unwittingly unleashes a band of rogue angels known as the Forgotten Ones, angels who refused to take sides during the Fall, siding neither with God nor with the Devil. Al learns that Mammon is one of the Forgotten Ones, and is far more powerful than Malebolgia ever was. Armageddon With the aid of the Greenworld, Spawn regains his lost memories, and something more. His costume metamorphoses again, seemingly becoming one with his necroplasmic body. Spawn is captured by Mammon and his demonic minions, and tortured horribly so that the secrets his body contains can be revealed. Spawn's discarded heart, torn from his chest in an earlier battle with the Disciple, Heaven's Warrior, transforms into a young boy named Chris. Chris, together with Sam and Twitch, rescue Spawn from Mammon's clutches and return him to Earth. Spawn learns that thousands of human souls are contained within his body, each one capable of being summoned in the form of a Hellspawn. As signs of the End of Days wreak havoc across the world, Spawn must find a way to stave off Armageddon, and learn the true nature of Heaven, Hell, and the Earth. Spawn learns that Wanda's twin children are the ones responsible for Armageddon. The twins, who have been displaying destructive and sadistic tendencies for months now, attempt to murder their entire family, when Spawn arrives to stop them. Spawn is unable to destroy the twins, and the unexpected arrival of Zera, the Queen of the Seraphim, reveals the awful truth - Jake Fitzgerald is God, and Katie Fitzgerald is Satan. It is revealed that both God and Satan were removed from their respective kingdoms and reincarnated as human children by the all-powerful being known as Mother. Mother is the creator of the universe and all its worlds, and God and Satan are two of her many children. She regards them as disappointments, being consumed with destructive hatred towards one another. Mother, who has aided Spawn in the past under the guises of Kali, the Keeper of the Greenworld, and the Man of Miracles, warns Spawn that he alone has the potential to rise above God and Satan, and preserve the human race. She also warns that Armageddon cannot be stopped - it is Earth's destiny. Spawn is entered into one last final test to prove if he is worthy to preserve the human race: The Disciple. Before his final test, the Mother told Spawn to trust Cyan because she is "wise beyond her years". She also reveals that The Disciple is actually the guard of the portal to the Garden of Eden, where Spawn must eat the Forbidden Fruit in order to save humanity. After Spawn blasts The Disciple into Eden and killed him, it is revealed that there are acually 11 more Disciples, who are based off the Twelve Apostles. Also, because Hellspawns are never meant to enter into the Garden of Eden, Spawn's life will fade away the longer he is in the garden. This is shown through a video game like counter, which Cyan sees through a laptop. With the help of Cyan and the souls within him, Spawn fights each of The Disciples, killing them off one by one as the counter continues to drop to zero. Until the final Disciple left is Judas, whom Spawn is about to kill. However, Cyan yells to Spawn to not kill him. Spawn, listening to what the Mother said and trusting Cyan, did not deal the final blow to Judas. Then Judas stabs Spawn through the heart and his counter reaches zero. As Spawn lies slain, Mother appears and plucks a piece of fruit from the Tree of Life. She speaks with Judas, revealing that when she took the form of Jesus, Judas was his most beloved disciple, the only one who had the courage to betray him. For without his death, the life of Jesus would have had no greater meaning. Mother gives the power of the Forbidden Fruit to the lifeless Spawn, resurrecting him in a new form - his cloak and chains are gone, replaced with shining white wings. Now, he has the power to rival God and Satan. Returning to Earth, Spawn finds New York totally destroyed by the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. The slain population of the Earth have become possessed by angels and demons, who are gathering for the final battle. As Spawn races to the place where Armageddon will be fought, he confronts Zera, the Queen of the Seraphim. Original and current powers Spawn's body is quite dense, weighing over four hundred pounds, and is composed completely of necroplasm. This gives him super strength and durability. While he still has internal organs, they are non-functional, and their damage/destruction does not hinder Spawn in the least. These organs re-appear when he magically regenerates his wounds. This may be due to Spawn's inability to let go of his human self, retaining his human organs even though he no longer requires them. Spawn wears a living symbiotic costume, Leetha of the 7th House of K (aka: K7-Leetha). While wearing it the host assumes a dominant role over his suit. His cape, spikes, chains, and skulls are all part of an organism bonded to his central nervous system that will protect Spawn even if he is unconscious. Violator once said the suits feed on souls. This is true, as the suit is a K7 model which is one of the pureblood breeds that siphons the souls of those it kills and sends them straight to Hell to bolster Malebolgia's army. The K7 model is a stronger, more refined symbiote which makes this Spawn stronger than many that came before him and some that have come after him such as Billy Kincaid who was once bonded to the less powerful K2-Myrlu. While it is not known exactly what effect the consumption of souls has on the hellspawn's uniform it is likely that it helps the suit evolve over time. Violator was obviously upset that Spawn not only had the power to regenerate (called "The Gift") but that his suit was able to move to a higher necrostate at a completely unprecedented pace. There are nine different necro-states, during which time the suit goes into a dormant hibernation stage to mutate and evolve. When it awakens it is more powerful and if the suit evolves faster than the host's ability to control his suit then the suit will assume the dominant role. The true source of the costume is the necroplasm in Spawn's body, which it feeds off of. It is possible for Spawn to draw this energy back when he needs it, using it to power his abilities without draining his own reserves. The costume can also feed off evil energy from the physical world, feeding off the ambient evil of people, animals (mainly carrion insects, but also wolves and bats) and even certain parts of the city. Spawn has vast magical powers. In the issues before issue Spawn still retains the military training and weapons expertise from his days as a soldier and thus frequently uses guns as an alternative to his magic. Other powers Spawn has an ability to "feel" or "sense" misery, pain and hatred as a gift/punishment given to him by The Keeper, an agent of the Emerald Parliament of Greenworld. He is aware, even subconsciously when someone is attacked or murdered because he has gained a further affinity with the creatures of the night and shadows and through them experiences the anguish of all mankind. Spawn typically travels in the shadows, even "flying" on occasion. He is often described as notoriously difficult to spot, often only caught out of the corner of one's eye as just a streak of red (his cape). Spawn can also transform into a swarm of bats and transports from place to place. He has done this on several occasions. Recently, Spawn has shown that he contains an unknown number of lost souls who can share his Hellspawn abilities that are collectively known as The Legion. Detective Twitch theorized that the souls that Spawn carries are those that died during the same hour that Al Simmons was killed, and that there could be as many as 6,000 souls within him. It seems that the power from these souls is the reason Spawn was uncontrollable by Malebolgia, and often referred to as "The One". With the help of a young Spawn (Christopher) he is able to summon them to aid him in his quest to stop Armageddon. Weaknesses Almost unstoppable, Spawn is unable to die outside of a patch of alley known as "The Deadzone" unless beheaded by a weapon of heaven. The "Deadzone" is the small patch of Earth that is Heaven's domain. In that small stretch of alley, Spawn has no power... thus making him an ordinary person. Spawn has, however, used this area to perform an exorcism, but the few times he has ventured there, the results were nearly fatal. Aside from divine wrath, Spawn can regenerate (given a considerable expenditure of energy) and recover from virtually any injury, including massive organ damage, and even partial dismemberment. Appearance Current characters Other characters Deceased While death is rarely final in Spawn Continuity, some characters are more dead than others. Appearances in other media The Adventures of Spawn At the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) '06 it was announced that a new take on the Spawn mythos was in the works. This new Spawn story is known as The Adventures of Spawn and as stated by Jon Goff, a moderator on the Spawn.com Message Board and McFarlane employee, it is a reimagining of the Spawn story that is essentially a "What If?" universe that hearkens back to classic kid-friendly Saturday morning cartoons. The story takes place in a webcomic format and has been tied into the action-figure world through McFarlane Toys' Spawn Series 30, The Adventures of Spawn which will feature Spawn X, The Redeemer, Codename: Cy-gor, OvertKill the Destroyer, Tiffany the Amazon, Omega Spawn and the Collector's Club Exclusive, Lord Mammon. Popularity
Legal dispute In 1993, McFarlane contracted Neil Gaiman (as well as other recognized authors like Frank Miller and Dave Sim) to write one issue of his Spawn series. While doing so, Gaiman introduced the characters Cogliostro, Angela, and Medieval Spawn. All three characters continued to be featured prominently in the series after Gaiman's involvement, and had many tie-ins with McFarlane's toy company. Cogliostro had a prominent role in the live-action movie in 1997. McFarlane had agreed that Gaiman was a co-creator of the characters and paid him royalties for reprints, graphic novels and action figures. After a few years he ceased the payment of royalties and gave Gaiman notice that he owned all rights to the characters, citing the copyright notice from Issue 7 and claimed that Gaiman's work had been work-for-hire and that McFarlane was the sole owner. In 2002, Gaiman filed suit against McFarlane and in response Todd counter-sued. Gaiman had partnered with Marvel Comics to form Marvels and Miracles, LLC which bankrolled the lawsuit. The main goal was to determine the issue of ownership for another character Gaiman felt he had a stake in, Miracleman, which at the time McFarlane was believed to hold a sizeable stake in after his buyout of the assets of Eclipse Comics. This issue was thrown out. Instead the court chose to rule on the breach of contract issue, the rights of ownership and the copyrightability of the characters from Issue 7. Several arguments were presented by McFarlane and all were rejected, leading to a sizeable judgement against McFarlane and Image Comics. The matter went to appeal and the judgement was upheld in a 2003 decision. Gaiman's rights as co-creator and co-owner of Cog, Angela and Medieval Spawn were acknowledged. The court's view was that Gaiman and McFarlane's collaboration led to each contributing half of the work. Gaiman wrote the story, McFarlane illustrated the character and because of this each held a 50% stake in the characters. The fallout of this lawsuit is still unclear and the issue of Miracleman is yet to be resolved. In a recent reprint collection of the first twelve issues of Spawn, the contentious issue was excluded. Guest authors Spawn - The Series | |||||||||
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