Spawn

Spawn (real name Al Simmons) is a fictional character in Image Comics' comic book of the same name. Created by joto writer/artist Todd McFarlane, he first appeared in Spawn #1 (May 1992). more...

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The book began with a very superhero-like tone, much like McFarlane's previous work, but the title character evolved into a more flawed, three-dimensional anti-hero. The current book has skewed significantly darker than early issues would suggest. McFarlane attributes this to being a necessary part of development. To introduce the book to readers it had to be slightly cleaner than he really wished it to be so that it read like a superhero tale. As the book took off and became more established he was able to alter the tone closer to his vision.

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.

Read more at Wikipedia.org