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Spawn
Publication information
Publisher	Image Comics
First appearance	Spawn #1 (May )
Created by	Todd McFarlane
In-story information
Alter ego	Albert Francis "Al" Simmons
Species	Hellspawn Human (formerly)
Team affiliations	CIA United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance
Notable aliases	The One, Hellspawn, Ken Kurobawa, Spawny
Abilities

Spawn is a fictional superhero appearing in a monthly comic book of the same name published by American company Image Comics. Created by Todd McFarlane, the character first appeared in Spawn #1 (May ). Spawn was ranked 60th on Wizard magazine's list of the Top Comic Book Characters of All Time, 50th on Empire magazine's list of The 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters, and 36th on IGN's Top Comic Book Heroes.^[1]

The series has spin off several other comics, including Angela, Curse of the Spawn, Sam & Twitch, and the JapanesemangaShadows of Spawn. Spawn was adapted into a feature film and portrayed by Michael Jai White, an HBOanimated series lasting from until , a series of action figures whose high level of detail made McFarlane Toys known in the toy industry, and a reboot film starring Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Renner.^[2] The character also appears in annual compilations, miniseries specials written by guest authors and artists, and numerous crossover storylines in other comic books.

Publication history[edit]

Prototype version of the character, which McFarlane drew in his teens

Todd McFarlane began drawing as a hobby at an early age, and created the character Spawn when he was 16, spending "countless hours" perfecting the appearance of each component of the character's visual design.^[3]

Spawn enjoyed considerable popularity upon its initial release in the s. Comic book collecting was enjoying a marked upswing at the time, fueled by the speculator boom looking for the next hot book that would jump in value after its release.^[4] McFarlane had enjoyed superstar status among comic fans with his work on Spider-Man, which had featured McFarlane's name prominently as both writer and artist. McFarlane's subsequent break with Marvel and the formation of Image Comics was seen by many as a sea-change event, changing the very way in which comics were produced. Wizard, in May , rated "The Launch of Image Comics" as #1 in the list of events that rocked the Comic Industry from to ^[5]

The first issue of Spawn was very popular with sales of million copies.^[6] During Spawn's second year of publication, Wizard noted that "The top dog at Image is undoubtedly Todd McFarlane's Spawn, which, without the added marketing push of fancy covers, polybagged issues, or card inserts has become the best-selling comic on a consistent basis that is currently being published."^[7] Sales slumped around the time of Spawn #25, but by Spawn #45 it was again a consistently strong seller.^[8]

The popularity of the franchise peaked with the Spawn feature film, the pre-release publicity for which helped make Spawn the top selling comic book for May ;^[8] in addition, the spin-off Curse of the Spawn #9 came in at fifth best-selling for the same month.^[9] However, the film was only a mild commercial success and failed to start a film franchise based on the character. A issue, Spawn #, ranked 99th best-selling comic of the month with retail orders of 22,^[10] In October , issue #, which marked both a new creative direction and Todd McFarlane's return to the book, sold out at the distribution level and received a second printing.^[11] By issue # in May , with estimated sales of 19, copies, Spawn had dropped below Top titles sold monthly to comic shops as reported by Diamond Comic Distributors.^[12] As of September , Spawn was ranked at # in the top sales figures chart reported by Diamond Comic Distributors.^[13] On the day of its release in , issue # sold out. This issue featured work by Greg Capullo, David Finch, Michael Golden, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Marc Silvestri, Danny Miki, and Ashley Wood. A second printing was released the next month.^[14] It received a negative review from IGN.^[15]

Spawn began a resurgence in popularity as the title approached its th issue, with the title once again becoming a fixture in Diamond's Top This th issue also made Spawn the longest-running independent comic book series of all time.^[16]

Fictional character biography[edit]

Origin[edit]

Albert Francis Simmons was born in Detroit, Michigan. He is the second eldest of three children (Marc, Albert, and Richard) born to Bernard Simmons- a traveling salesman- and Esther Simmons- a devil worshipper. Simmons is a highly intelligent and physically strong Lieutenant Colonel in USMCForce Recon. He later joins the Secret Service and becomes a highly decorated member. This leads to his recruitment to the Central Intelligence Agency. Once in the CIA, Simmons joins the U.S. Security Group- an umbrella agency encompassing the CIA, the NSA, and the NSC- commanded by Director Jason Wynn, and becomes a highly capable assassin.

After being murdered during a mission in Botswana when Director Wynn hires Simmons' friend and partner, Bruce Stinson (codename Chapel), to kill him, Simmons is sent to Hell due to his life as an assassin.^[17][18][19] Making a deal with the devil, known as Malebolgia, Simmons agrees to become a Hellspawn and serve Malebolgia if he is allowed to see his wife, Wanda, one last time. Malebolgia agrees, and returns Simmons to the living realm, but stripped of nearly all his memories, with a badly burned body, and a demonic guardian, named the Violator.^[20]

After his death and subsequent rebirth, Simmons- now Spawn- arrives on Earth in a daze, off-balance and disoriented. With only vague recollections of his past and how he came to be, he only knew his name, 'Al Simmons,' and that he died, but nothing else.

Occasionally experiencing painful flashbacks, he eventually remembers his deal with Malebolgia, but can't remember his wife's name in order to return to her.

Using CIA files, he tracks down his wife to find her married to his former best friend, Terry, with a daughter named Cyan,^[18] and realizes that five years have passed since his death.

Spawn soon runs into a fellow Hellspawn who informs him that his powers are fueled by Necroplasm, and once they are fully depleted, he will return to Hell.

Not wanting to return to Hell, Spawn attempts to find a new purpose in life, while using as little power as possible. Spawn is thrust into several antihero adventures where he takes down street gangs and organized crime in New York City in a sadistic and brutal fashion. Battling against Italian mobsters and later eventually killing a serial murderer and pedophile, Billy Kincaid, Spawn finds a new purpose in stopping evil.

Early history[edit]

In his early battles, Spawn faces street thugs and gangs, becoming a dark, sadistic, and brutal antihero, culminating in the brutal murder of a pedophile and child murderer named Billy Kincaid. As a result, he gains the attention of the detective duo of Sam Burke and Twitch Williams. It is around this time that Spawn becomes "King of Rat City", a gathering of alleys where bums and the homeless live. There he meets the bum Cogliostro, who seems to know much more about Spawn than he first lets on, and becomes his mentor.

Spawn is also hunted by the warrior angel, Angela, who hunts Hellspawns for sport,^[18] and battles the cyborg mob enforcer Overt-Kill. This confrontation almost kills Spawn, but he is able to emerge victoriously. He is again hunted by Angela and fights the angelic warrior, Anti-Spawn a.k.a. the Redeemer, who was, in fact, Jason Wynn.^[18]

First metamorphosis[edit]

After a confrontation with the Redeemer, Spawn's suit mutates and becomes more advanced. Its new cape and chains were able to shapeshift into different things to confuse his opponents. The cape now looked slightly torn, and the costume had lost its red glow, having evolved to what is now black and white. Spawn's boots and gloves had also changed, having been replaced with spikes. Spawn used his new equipment to slash off the Redeemer's hand and defeat him. Spawn thought that the battle was over until he met someone more powerful than The Redeemer known as the Freak. Spawn fought with the Freak but was caught unaware by the Freak's ability to create nightmares, which he did to torture Spawn with his past. During the battle, a creature appearing to have the original appearance of Spawn fights other beings and creatures and knocks out Spawn. When Spawn awakens, the creature tells him that ever since the metamorphosis, the suit will feed off of souls. Spawn later finds himself in New York City. He would fight with The Curse, meet Harry Houdini who taught him about magic, and also meet Batman.

After this, Tony Twist sends a reprogrammed Overt-Kill after Terry, blaming him for the recent attacks on the mob, and Spawn is forced to reveal his identity while saving his friend. However, it is a well-placed shot from Twitch Williams that brings down Overt-Kill. He would later bring back his friend Bobby after he was killed in another fight with Chapel. Spawn would be a part of Angela's trial and later traveled to the South and had an encounter with the KKK and an abusive father of two boys. When he returned to New York, he was attacked by a new Redeemer. This caused his costume to evolve and defeat the Redeemer with its new-found power. After another encounter with the Curse, the suit began to go wild, and, after saving Terry from cancer, sent him to Hell, but Malebolgia sent him back with full control of the suit.

Spawn wears a living symbiotic costume, Leetha of the 7th House of K (also known as K7-Leetha). While wearing it, the host assumes a dominant role over his suit. His shroud, 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.^[18]

War of Heaven and Hell[edit]

Battle for life[edit]

As Spawn struggled to find a way to get rid of Hell's control and regain control, he noticed that the attacks were coming from both Heaven and Hell. Due to increasing attacks, Spawn began to lose himself to evil. However, thanks to the arrival of the Heap, an emissary of the Greenworld, he was able to regain his goal. Greenworld is a dimension whose power was equal to both Heaven's and Hell's, which Spawn had never faced before. They gave new powers to Spawn so he could better understand the world and its people,^[18] which allowed him to overcome the worst from both Heaven and Hell. Though these powers were not really known, they seem to give control of all the elements around the world.

It was explained that the Greenworld had no interest in the war of Heaven and Hell, but was getting frustrated with the destruction that it brought. This caused Earth "pain", and later Spawn became aware of it. Spawn did not change his powers though, but rather, "listened" to the Earth, until being attacked by Urizen. After recovering, Spawn learns that the Greenworld had imbued him with a gift, which he uses to contain Urizen by splitting the ground and imprisoning him inside the earth.^[18]

After his battle, Spawn learned that Malebolgia had caused Urizen's release in an attempt to start Armageddon and conquer the forces of Heaven. Spawn and Angela then journeyed to Hell to stop him. During the battle, Angela managed to mortally wound Malebolgia but gets killed by him in retaliation. Consumed with anger, Spawn takes Malebolgia's head.^[18]

King of Hell[edit]

Upon killing Malebolgia, Spawn learns that Hell's throne is rightfully his, offered to him by the demon Mammon. Though he refuses the offer, Spawn eventually deliberates with his teacher Cog and decides to turn Hell into a new paradise. During this act, Cog reveals that he is, in reality, the biblical Cain, who was the first person to go to Hell, having murdered his own brother in envy. His true goal had always been to take over Hell and use a Hellspawn to do it. Having betrayed Spawn, Cog took the throne for himself, but gave his former student his human form back, a parting gift.^[18]

After returning, he meets a young Wiccan named Nyx. With her help, he regains his suit, though he remains weaker than before due to still having a human form. However, Mammon tricks and betrays Nyx and usurps her control over Spawn's union with his suit, removing all of Spawn's past memories in the process. With no memory, Spawn wanders the Earth, and during this time releases a group of angels who are called the Forgotten and take no sides in the war between Heaven and Hell. He discovers that Mammon is a member of the Fallen who was sent to Hell.

Spawn in Armageddon[edit]

Spawn regains his memories thanks to the power of the Greenworld. His suit also evolves once more and now it seems one with his body, but as time progresses, he begins to hate himself. Both Heaven and Hell have rejected him and he now stays in an abandoned warehouse as maggots and other insects crawl inside his body as he wonders what he should do. His first thought is to return to the Dead Zone, although it and a Hellspawn wouldn't be welcomed. Immediately upon entering, Spawn is confronted by the Disciple, who promptly greets him by tearing his brain out and throwing his heart into the Greenworld whilst Spawn's body is thrown to Hell. Spawn is then captured and tortured by Mammon so he can understand the secrets inside him.^[18]

When Spawn's heart fell to the Greenworld, a soul was freed, as all the souls that died within the hour Al died went into the Spawn suit (thus why Malebolgia could not control Spawn). Chris meets with his mother once more like the Man of Miracles instructed him and then he travels to hell along with Sam Burke and Twitch Williams to rescue Spawn from Mammon. Spawn escapes and when he returns to Earth, signs of Armageddon begin to appear; Spawn begins looking for a way to stop it. Spawn discovers that Wanda's twin children are responsible. He stops them from killing their entire family but is unable to destroy them. Zera reveals that Jake is God and Katie is Satan.

Spawn finds out that the Mother removed them of their powers and positions and sent them to Earth due to their hatred of each other and constant fighting. She tells him he cannot stop Armageddon, but he has the potential to be elevated to the power of a god and preserve the human race.

He has to eat a piece of Forbidden Fruit from the Garden of Eden to gain such power. She tells Spawn he must prove himself first and has to fight against The Disciple. It is revealed that there are 12 Disciples, each one representing one of Jesus’. His power is also weakened as a demon is never to enter the Garden and it has taken the form of a counter starting at However, with guidance from Cyan, he defeats all the Disciples except for the last, Judas, who Cyan tells him not to kill. Judas then stabs him in the heart, but the Mother gives Spawn a piece of the fruit and resurrects him. He gains a more angelic form and greater power.

He returns to Earth, finding it destroyed by the Four Horsemen and all the humans dead and angels and demons in their place, waiting to fight in the final battle. After defeating Zera, he finds dead warriors of Heaven; one of them is Granny Blake, having been betrayed by her faith. Spawn then battles the forces of Satan and God. He uses all the power given to him by the Mother to destroy the forces of Heaven and Hell and even all humanity. He has stopped Armageddon by taking away their armies; he is then killed by the two who then fight alone on Earth.

However, Spawn comes back and, by opening himself to the power of the Mother, resurrects everyone with the knowledge of what happened. He left God and Satan to fight in their own little world and closed the doors to Heaven, Hell, and Earth. He asked to be turned into a human again by the Mother but later asked to once again become a Hellspawn when he remembered that, prior to his first death as Al Simmons, he had actually beaten Wanda to cause her to miscarry their child so that he could focus on his "work", causing him to conclude that he had always been a monster and did not deserve to try and be human again.

Back in the mortal world[edit]

New Clown[edit]

After a series of odd murders, Spawn finds that the Clown has come back, possessing the body of a man named Barney Saunders. It was revealed that Saunders was having an affair with a woman named Wilma Barbara and got trapped in a garbage chute when he was trying to hide from her husband. He was there for some time until Spawn destroyed and remade the world. He was rescued by the Clown so he could use his body for himself. He then brought out the dark urges inside the tenants of an apartment building and used this to form a doorway to Hell to bring back his brothers. However, before he could form a portal, Wilma showed up and his love for her allowed Saunders to take back control. He then intended to close the portal by going through it, but he took Wilma with him due to being angry over her leaving him in the chute.

Zera reappeared; only her head survived and she was suspended in a jar. Spawn was summoned by a voodoo priestess named Mambo Suzanne. Zera was attempting to take over Nyx's body and fight Spawn, but she was killed when Suzanne used their fighting as a distraction and threw her head into the streets where it was eaten by demon dogs. Nyx was freed and she and Spawn became friends again.

Ab and Zab create a hell where visitors are forced to view their deepest fears due to demons called sin eaters that feed on guilt from the visitors, then making them face the evil that they had ever done. A woman who was in the house both had delusions of their fear caused by the sin eaters. They fed on the guilt, giving them more power when Spawn confronted Ab and Zab. He was faced with his own sin against Wanda and his unborn child. Spawn was unable to break free from the guilt and was slowly fed on by a sin eater. When Nyx interfered, he was able to break the sin eater illusion. Nyx realized that he was getting more powerful. Spawn breaks all the others illusions; then he comes across one he learns is Albert Simmons' brother, Richard, who was going through his worst sin Spawn who was still not yet recovering from all those memories as Albert Simmons.

Spawn decides to allow Richard to feel his sins. It is realized that it was Mammon (as Mr. Malefick) that put an influence on Albert Simmons and taught him to torture and murder small animals, attempting to make him become a servant who would feel no pity in taking a being's life. Malefick had also influenced Richard Simmons to take drugs and introduced him to the drug dealer Weasel. It was only Marc Simmons who was able to save himself from Mammon but was unable to help the others. Richard Simmons' delusion of his past climaxed with him stabbing and injuring Weasel with a knife that was given to him by Mammon while intoxicated on drugs. Richard calls his brothers to help him save the drug dealer's life and Albert Simmons, not wanting his brothers getting in the crime, decides instead of calling an ambulance, pulls the knife from Weasel's body and kills him with it. Mammon appears, sending the brothers home while he hides the drug dealer's body.

Nyx and Spawn then kill the last sin eater and Spawn discovers that Richard cannot remember their parents due to a spell placed by Mammon; Spawn goes to find out about them. He finds their home under a spell placed by Mammon, keeping them there for years. His mother is not shocked by his form, but his father is. It was revealed his mother planned with Mammon to create a Hellspawn stronger than the others, but his father was grief-stricken that he couldn't stop her. He is then given a journal by his father that his mother prevented him from seeing. It revealed that his ancestor came across a Hellspawn in the past known as the Gunslinger Spawn.

Spawn at his prime[edit]

The comic series during the continuation from the last issue Spawn was left helpless and at a little weakened against his enemy Erskine's psychic powers, and although Spawn had psychic powers of his own he was in trouble due to Erskine's creation of a tentacle creature that had the ability to impale his enemies. This creature also showed the features of Mammon that was coaxing. Nyx had come out of nowhere to stab the creature with a sword, but not killing the creature just stunning it to get its attention, but it was a mistake by Nyx only making herself the creature's target. Next, she uses her telepathic powers to contact Marc Simmons, asking him to shoot Erskine. Erskine retaliates and ceases Marc's attack and accidentally grabbed the trigger of Marc's special gun causing the creature to disappear, while Spawn and Nyx go to the hospital where Erskine is.

Spawn is given an opportunity of whether or not whether he should cause Erskine's death. This threatens to Spawn to enter the bubble dome, a dimension if Erskine does not reveal the location of Mammon, who Spawn believed was causing the attacks. Mammon then appears only to complicate the situation and make things worse by allowing Erskine to complete his last murder, by using a devastating psychic projection of a strange woman to attack the last victim. After all that had happened Mammon confesses that it was him who taught Erskine how to use his powers. Which been shown in his recent killing. Erskine tries to commit suicide leaving behind his possessions of the doctor who he was taken care of after he was brought to the hospital. Spawn continues to attack Mammon, and ask what Mammon wanted from him. Mammon tells him that he was a special being with great divine powers.

Later a man wakes in a mortuary with no memory of who he is. Soon some doctors working on him discover he is alive and panic only to be killed by someone in a robe. The person was previously seen with Mammon and is revealed to be Morana. Severin is the man's name and he finds that he is one of the first species of vampires called the Vrykolakas. However, he wants to die and Morana promises him death in return for his help. While Marc, Nyx and Spawn talk Severin appears defeats Marc and Nyx and bites Spawn to transfer his vampirism. He retreats back to Morana hoping for death but is cursed to have to go over his last few moments repeatedly for all time.

It is revealed Cyan has been experiencing horrid visions mostly of her mother covered in blood and even Spawn's current torment. Severin's attack has caused Spawn to battle the suit in his mind. It tells him it was always in control not Al. It tells him of its anger of relinquishing his godlike powers and that Wanda had been having affairs before his death. The two fight in Spawn's mind him in his human form as the suit tells him Wanda never wanted his child soon Al gives in and gets up. Meanwhile, Mammon with Morana and his adopted mother and father Lucian and Daciana as they prepare for the next step in their plans. Cyan is having more visions that cause her to be scared of Spawn and after seeing her door in blood she opens it to find Spawn asking if he's going to kill her mom. Luckily Granny had warned Cyan and she used a knife with the old shoelace she got from Spawn to send Spawn into an illusionary world to talk to Wanda non-violently.

Morana[edit]

There, he speaks with Wanda while they ride on a boat in a lake. He says he wanted to move on but can't. Wanda wonders if he could go if she forgave him. She says she cannot forgive Al for the death of their child, but that she still loves the man inside him. Spawn tries to take out Cyan's knife, but only pulls out his wedding ring and somehow suppresses the suit. Soon, Cyan and Nyx show up, and they get to the shore only for K7-Leetha to appear and take over Nyx. It says it has been working with Mammon from the start to build Spawn and in return would get to live on freely on earth. Now controlled by the K7, Nyx tries to kill Cyan and Wanda but is halted by Mammon, who promises even more power if K7 still obeys his wishes. The entire group goes to a castle, where Mammon says his plan to make a perfect Hellspawn. He wanted the Rapture to occur so that Satan, God, and Malebolgia would be gone, and then revealed his perfect Hellspawn was Al and Wanda's miscarried child: Morana. He chose those two due to the fact that both their families have been filled with Spawns' from previous times.

After washing herself in the virgin's blood, Morana is now fully mature. She bonds with the uniform and gets ready to consume her parents' souls. With none of the most powerful magic being usable, Cyan taps into her powers and goes to the future. She talks with an old woman who gives her a message for Al. Returning, she has Spawn summon the last twelve (but most powerful) members of the Legion. They are beaten by Morana one by one. Mammon insults Al, and in turn, he disowns Morana, enraging her, which gives Cyan the chance to tell Nyx a spell to trap Mammon and Morana. It works, both demons are sealed away, and the others return home, save Al, who jumped into another dimension to be reborn as a weapon against both heaven and hell.

Endgame[edit]

Spawn passes Vickie through that reality and is soon ready to enter the human dimension. He makes his way to a certain point in the alleys (probably the spot he first returned from hell) and then blows off his head. Meanwhile, a man under the name Jim Downing, who is without his memories and is healing (unusually fast) at a hospital, wakes up. He seems to know Spawn, as he was thinking about him before his awakening. A janitor tries to make money off Jim's story and calls a lawyer. The lawyer then calls someone else and tells the janitor not to go to the papers, after which the lawyer commits suicide. Soon, a thug is paid to capture Jim. While he is talking to a nurse who prayed for his recovery, the thug attacks with a flaming skull. Jim flees while the thug causes a massive amount of damage to the hospital. Soon, the thug catches up to Jim, but Jim transforms into Spawn, kills his attacker, then escapes the burning hospital back in human form, eventually being taken in by firefighters.

He is later transported to another hospital with other patients. He later leaves and reunites with his previous nurse Sara. After remembering his first transformation, he begins to turn again. He calls to Sara but leaves before she can see him. Meanwhile, a reporter begins to ask questions about what happened at the hospital. Wandering the city Jim is attacked and effortlessly kills his would-be killers. This draws the attention of Sam and Twitch, who recognize the chaos as something Spawn may do.

After again reuniting with Sara and telling him about his transformation, he then wanders off again, only to run into Wanda Blake, Al Simmons' ex-wife. She recognizes Jim as the form Al took when he originally came back to earth, and she realizes he is a Spawn like Al.

On her advice, he travels to Rat City and finds Spawn's throne, where Spawn ruled, and is met by an angel. He ends up fighting the angel, who calls him a traitor during the fight. Fearing the angel has done something to Sara, he beats the angel and leaves. Jim finds out that a man was asking questions about him, later finding out the man was working from another man named Gilbert Sanchez.

The angel Spawn beat is later attacked by Clown who removes her wings. When Spawn returns he sees the angel both powerless and insane and is surprised to find Freak and later Violator himself. Despite Freak's warnings Clown begins to deceive Jim and informs him that his suit is a living being but then vanishes. Clown later allows himself to be arrested by Sam and Twitch to meet the leader of a vampire group to attempt to form a unity between the leader, Clown, and Spawn.

Gilbert Sanchez is later killed by other mob members for his information on the new Spawn. Spawn attempts to learn more about him, but after being assaulted uses his powers on his attacker. Jim later finds the man who had been asking Sara questions. He tracks to his family's home which is suddenly bombed killing everyone inside but Spawn. He is later able to find more mob members and questions them further and then finishing them when he's done.

Resurrection[edit]

In Resurrection, Spawn is revived and is later told by God in dog form that Wanda had died and is now trapped in Hell where Al must rescue her. It is also shown that he wasn't abusive towards his wife and had an unborn son instead of a daughter as it was a false memory made by the demons to get him to commit suicide. He later fights Satan and saves his wife. God and Satan were no longer twins due to the Man of Miracles being sold to Marvel and thus was retconned out of existence with God being based on a variation on the traditional Abrahamic story of Creation alongside Satan's origins being based on that as well though Mother of Existence does show up in After saving Wanda from Satan she goes to Heaven and Spawn continues to protect the people in Wanda's memory from the forces of both Heaven and Hell as well as any supernatural threats.

Other versions[edit]

Spawn Kills Everyone[edit]

Spawn appears as a chibi version of himself.

Hellspawn[edit]

A version of Spawn in an alternative route after defeating Malebolgia.

Shadows of Spawn[edit]

In this version Ken Kurobawa takes up the mantle with Al being referenced.

Adventures of Spawn[edit]

Spawn appears as Spawn X where it is lighter than previous versions.

Characters[edit]

Spin-offs and crossovers[edit]

Violator ()

A three-issue miniseries written by Alan Moore with art by Bart Sears which focused on the conflict between Violator/Clown and Tony Twist and also featured Spawn.

Angela miniseries (–)

In and , a three-issue Angelalimited series was published, written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Greg Capullo. The series along with Angela's one-shot were later reprinted in a trade paperback (ISBN&#;), which, as of , is out-of-print.^[21]

Angela & Aria

A crossover between Angela & Aria.

Angela & Glory

A crossover between Angela and Glory.

Celestine

About Celestine the angel from the Violator vs Badrock series in this two-shot series.

Violator vs Badrock ()

A four-issue miniseries released in written by Alan Moore. Drawn by Brian Denham. Ink by Jonathan Sibal & Danny Miki.

Spawn: Blood Feud ()

A four-issue miniseries released in written by Alan Moore. Drawn by Tony Daniel. Ink by Kevin Conrad.

Spawn The Impaler ()

A three-issue miniseries released in October , inspired by the story of the Wallachian voivode Vlad Țepeș. Written by Mike Grell with art by Rob Prior.

Medieval Spawn / Witchblade ()

A three-issue miniseries were written by Garth Ennis. Medieval Spawn and the wielder of the Witchblade team up against Lord Cardinale, wielder of the Darkness.

Curse of the Spawn (–)

The first long-term monthly spinoff series. Consisted of a number of story arcs centered on supporting characters from the main series, such as a future Hellspawn during the Apocalypse or Sam & Twitch. Aimed at an older demographic than the main series and significantly darker in tone, with more disturbing visuals and themes. 29 issues.

Spawn: The Dark Ages (–)

This series focused on Lord Covenant, a 12th Century knight killed in a holy crusade far from his homeland, who returns to Earth as a Hellspawn. As a plague of violence and turmoil cover the English countryside, the Dark Knight must choose whether to align himself with the innocent inhabitants of the once-thriving kingdom or with the malevolent forces of evil and corruption. The series ran for 28 issues. Issues 15–28 featured writer Steve Niles and artist Nat Jones.

Spawn: Fan Edition

A three issue mini-series centered around the Norse hellspawn Nordak.

Spawn: Blood and Shadows ()

A Spawn prestige-format one-shot released in Written by Paul Jenkins with art by Ashley Wood.

Cy-Gor ()

A six-issue spinoff miniseries.

Spawn: The Undead (–)

This series concentrates on Al Simmons. Unlike the original Spawn series, it was self-contained, single-issue stories. Written by Paul Jenkins it lasted 9 issues.

Sam & Twitch (–) +

A spin-off series following the criminal investigations of detectives Sam Burke and Twitch Williams. 26 issues.

Case Files: Sam & Twitch (–)

Cotinuation of Sam & Twitch. 25 issues.

Sam & Twitch: The Writer ()

A four-issue miniseries.

Hellspawn (–)

A relatively avant-garde spin-off comic inspired by Spawn. Darker and more atmospheric than Spawn, Hellspawn frequently dealt with the disturbing subject matter. It originally featured writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Ashley Wood. It ran 16 issues.

Spawn: Simony ()

One-Shot. Published in by Semic of France, McFarlane allowed the creators (Jean-François Porchero and Alex Nikolavitch) to create an original Spawn tale without using Image comics.

Shadows of Spawn (–)

Recently released on American shores are three graphic novel compilations of the Spawn manga, known as Shadows of Spawn.

Spawn Toys

a nine-issue series of one-shots focus on Spawn toys.

Spawn: Architects of Fear ()

A prestige format one-shot released in February Written by Arthur Claire with artwork by Aleksi Briclot.

Spawn: Blood and Salvation

A prestige-format one-shot that concludes the story of Daniel Llanso, the Hellspawn featured in the first four issues of Curse of the Spawn.

Spawn/Batman ()

Intercompany crossover written by Frank Miller with art of Todd McFarlane. Considered as part of Spawn and Miller's Dark Knight universe canon.

Batman-Spawn: War Devil

Continuation of 'Spawn/Batman crossover, written by Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon, and Alan Grant and drawn by Klaus Janson.

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 www.cronistalascolonias.com.ar Message Board and McFarlane employee, it is a re-imagining 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

Misery

An upcoming series centered around Cyan Fitzgerald and her titular alter-ego.

Spawn-Witchblade

A four Issue mini-series centered in medieval times focusing on the Medieval Spawn and the wielder of the Witchblade of that time. A sequel to the series.

Sam and Twitch True Detectives

An eight-part mini-series focusing on Sam and Twitch which would tie in with the upcoming film.

Spawn: Resurrection

A one-shot that takes place around the same time as Spawn explaining how Al returned.

Spawn Kills Everyone

A one-shot focusing on a chibi Spawn killing everyone.

Spawn Kills Everyone Too!

A four-part mini-series sequel to the one-shot Spawn Kills Everyone.

Legal disputes[edit]

Dispute with Neil Gaiman[edit]

In , McFarlane contracted Neil Gaiman to write Spawn #9. While doing so, Gaiman introduced the characters Cogliostro, Angela, and Medieval Spawn. All three characters were designed and co-created by Todd McFarlane and continued to be featured in the series after Gaiman's involvement, and some had tie-ins with McFarlane's toy company. Cogliostro had a prominent role in the live-action movie in McFarlane had agreed that Gaiman was a co-creator of the characters and paid him royalties for reprints, graphic novels, and action figures.^[22] 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 #9 and claimed that Gaiman's work had been work-for-hire and that McFarlane was the sole owner.^[23]

In , Gaiman filed suit against McFarlane and, in response, McFarlane counter-sued. Gaiman had partnered with Marvel Comics to form Marvels and Miracles, LLC, which bankrolled the lawsuit.^[22] 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 sizable 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 Spawn #9. Several arguments were presented by McFarlane and all were rejected, leading to a sizable judgment against McFarlane and Image Comics.^[22] The matter went to appeal and the judgment was upheld in a decision.^[21][23]

Gaiman's rights as co-creator and co-owner of Cogliostro, Angela, and Medieval Spawn were acknowledged.^[23] The court's view was that Gaiman and McFarlane's collaboration led to each contributing half of the work.^[23] Gaiman wrote the story while McFarlane illustrated the character; because of this, each held a 50% stake in the characters. Issue 9 was reprinted for the first time since the lawsuit was filed in the hardcover edition of Spawn Origins: Volume 1. In a reprint collection of the first twelve issues of Spawn, the contentious issue (along with Dave Sim's #10, featuring copyrighted character Cerebus) was excluded, but both issues have been reprinted in the hardcover and deluxe editions of Spawn Origins Collection: Volume 1, and the black & white softcover omnibusSpawn Compendium 1, collecting Spawn issues #1– In , McFarlane and Gaiman settled their dispute,^[24] and Gaiman was given full ownership of the character Angela.^[25] Gaiman, in turn, sold all rights to the character to Marvel Comics.^[26]

Tony Twist suit[edit]

Todd McFarlane created a mob enforcer character named "Antonio 'Tony Twist' Twistelli", who McFarlane acknowledged was named after hockey player Tony Twist. Twist won a $15 million verdict in when a St. Louis, Missouri, jury found Todd McFarlane Productions had profited from Twist's likeness.^[27] The verdict was upheld after two appeals in June , but the two later settled out of court for $5 million.^[28]

Creative teams[edit]

Collected editions[edit]

Many issues of Spawn have been gathered together in various trade paperbacks collections since the mid-nineties. The original US and UK trade releases contain issue 9, but not 10 (Cerebus' appearance).

US releases[edit]

Each containing four to five issues, the original Spawn trade paperbacks started in under a different trade cover design, going up to three volumes only. After the live-action movie, a new trade cover design was created, with Brent Ashe providing new covers for Books 1–7, and Ashley Wood for Books 8– These reissues were retitled with subtitles. The sequential trades stopped after Book 12, but several new volumes appeared in –, collecting various story arcs. Beginning in , a new series of volumes was released, collecting the "Endgame" storyline. From to , with "Resurrection", "Satan Saga Wars", "Hell on Earth", "Dark Horror", and "Enemy of The State" volumes, the trade paperbacks have started in sequential order again collecting issues #–

• Book 1, "Beginnings", 1–5
• Book 2, "Dark Discoveries", 6–9, 11
• Book 3, "Book 3", 12–15
• Book 4, "Book 4", 16–20
• Book 5, "Death and Rebirth", 21–25
• Book 6, "Pathway to Judgement", 26–30
• Book 7, "Deadman's Touch", 31–34
• Book 8, "Betrayal of Blood", 35–38
• Book 9, "Urban Jungle", 39–42
• Book 10, "Vengeance of the Dead", 43–47
• Book 11, "Crossroads", 48–50 (50 is double-sized)
• Book 12, "Immortality", 51–54
• Spawn: Capital Collection (January )&#;– contains issues 1–3 (note: this was a limited edition hardcover exclusively available from Capital City Distribution, and only copies were made)
• Spawn: The Armageddon Collection Part 1&#;– contains issues –
• Spawn: The Armageddon Collection Part 2&#;– contains issues –
• Spawn: The Complete Armageddon Collection&#;– contains issues –
• Spawn: New Flesh Collection (December )&#;– contains issues –, plus a short story from Image Holiday Special
  (note: Issue # wasn't included because it features the story of Mandarin Spawn)
• Spawn: Neo Noir&#;– contains issues –
• Spawn: EndGame Volume 1 (June )&#;– contains issues –, with some altered artwork
• Spawn: EndGame Volume 2 (April )&#;– contains issues –, with some altered artwork
• Spawn: EndGame Collection (January )&#;– combines Endgame Vol 1 and 2 (issues – with some altered artwork)
• Spawn: New Beginnings Volume 1 (July )&#;– contains issues –
• Spawn: New Beginnings Volume 2 (March )&#;– contains issues –
• Spawn: Resurrection (November )&#;– contains Spawn: Resurrection #1 and issues –
• Spawn: Satan Saga Wars (June 21, )&#;– collects SPAWN #–
• Spawn: Hell on Earth (September 20, )&#;– collects SPAWN #–
• Spawn: Dark Horror (April 23, )&#;– collects SPAWN #–
• Spawn: Enemy of The State (August 21, )&#;– collects SPAWN #
• Spawn: Vengeance (May 27, )&#;– collects SPAWN #

Spawn Collection[edit]

In the entire Spawn series began to appear in massive trade paperback releases under the title Spawn Collection, each containing (with the exception of Volume 1) approximately twenty issues. Released after the Gaiman lawsuit, these editions do not contain either Issue 9 (featuring the first appearance of Angela and Cogliostro, both created by Neil Gaiman) or Issue 10 (featuring Dave Sim's Cerebus).

Spawn Collection Volumes 1 and 2 were published in both hardcover and trade paperback formats, while Volume 3 onward were only released as trade paperbacks. As of , Spawn Collection Volume 1 is currently out of print, with its fourth printing released in June In it was announced that the Spawn Collection would end with Volume 6, to be replaced by a new TBP format that includes soft- and hardcover versions, reprinting the entire Spawn series from the early issues once again (Spawn Origins Collection, see below).

• Spawn Collection Volume 1&#;– contains issues 1–8, 11–12 (December )
• Spawn Collection Volume 2&#;– contains issues 13–33 (July )
• Spawn Collection Volume 3&#;– contains issues 34–54 (March )
• Spawn Collection Volume 4&#;– contains issues 55–75 (September )
• Spawn Collection Volume 5&#;– contains issues 76–95 (April )
• Spawn Collection Volume 6&#;– contains issues 96– (August )

Spawn Collection Volume 1 was ranked 17 in the top graphic novels for December period, with pre-order sales of 3,^[37]

Spawn Compendium[edit]

In , in celebration of Image Comics' then 20 years as a publisher and Spawn being one of their longest running titles, Spawn Compendium was released, reprinting Spawn issues #1–50 at pages in black and white, though this volume does not collect the issues' covers. The book went to a second printing in March

• Spawn Compendium 1 – collects Spawn issues #1–50 in black and white

Spawn Origins Collection[edit]

In , a line of newly redesigned and reformatted trade paperbacks was announced, replacing the Spawn Collection line (see above) and once again collecting the early issues of Spawn. These new trades feature new cover art by Greg Capullo, recreating classic Spawn covers. In addition to the 6 issue trade paperbacks, this line features three oversized 12–13 issue hardcovers, and two large issue limited slipcased deluxe editions (which come in both a standard edition and a signed and numbered edition limited to copies). The issue hardcover edition of Volume One was the first to reprint both Issues 9 and 10, and the issue deluxe editions did as well. Spawn Origins Collection Volume 20 trade paperback was the final volume released in , collecting issues #–

In May , a new edition of Spawn Origins Collection Volume 1 TPB (6th printing) was published at the low cover price of US$^[38][39] The book went back to press again for a seventh printing a few months later in September

• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 1&#;– collects issues #1–6 (May ) (sixth printing released in May at US$ cover price) (seventh printing released in September )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 2&#;– collects issues #7–9, 11–14 (July )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 3&#;– collects issues #15–20 (December )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 4&#;– collects issues #21–26 (January )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 5&#;– collects issues #27–32 (May )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 6&#;– collects issues #33–38 (July )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 7&#;– collects issues #39–44 (September )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 8&#;– collects issues #45–50 (November )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 9&#;– collects issues #51–56 (February )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 10&#;– collects issues #57–62 (March )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 11&#;– collects issues #63–68 (June )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 12&#;– collects issues #69–74 (September )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 13&#;– collects issues #75–80 (January )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 14&#;– collects issues #81–86 (March )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 15&#;– collects issues #87–92 (June )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 16&#;– collects issues #93–98 (September )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 17&#;– collects issues #99– (February )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 18&#;– collects issues #– (May )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 19&#;– collects issues #– (September )
• Spawn Origins Collection Volume 20&#;– collects issues #– (February )

Deluxe Edition[edit]

• Spawn Origins Collection: Deluxe Edition Volume 1&#;– collects issues #1–25
• Spawn Origins Collection: Deluxe Edition Volume 2&#;– collects issues #26–50
• Spawn Origins Collection: Deluxe Edition Volume 3&#;– collects issues #51–75
• Spawn Origins Collection: Deluxe Edition Volume 4&#;– collects issues #76–^[40]

Hardcover Edition[edit]

UK releases[edit]

These releases were originally published in fifteen 5–6–issue volumes in the UK by Titan Books, with titles named by religious theme. The following books contained original series issues 1–82, with the exception of the previously mentioned Issue

• Creation&#;– contains issues 1–5
• Evolution&#;– contains issues 6–9 and 11
• Revelation&#;– contains issues 12–15
• Escalation&#;– contains issues 16–20
• Confrontation&#;– contains issues 21–25
• Retribution&#;– contains issues 26–30
• Transformation&#;– contains issues 31–36
• Abduction&#;– contains issues 37–42
• Sanction&#;– contains issues 43–48
• Damnation&#;– contains issues 49–53
• Corruption&#;– contains issues 54–58
• Devastation&#;– contains issues 59–64
• Termination&#;– contains issues 65–70
• Resurrection&#;– contains issues 71–76
• Ascension&#;– contains issues 77–82

South African releases[edit]

Originally published by a South African publisher named Battle Axe Press in the early s. Only the first 10 issues were published due to legal matters. The comic book prints were released on standard paper as opposed to the original glossy paper from Image comics.

Spanish releases[edit