Spawn (comics)

Spawn

Publication information
Publisher	Image Comics
First appearance	Spawn #1 (May 1992)
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
Abilities	Superhuman strength, speed, agility and endurance Immortality (to an extent, powers drain when used and full drainage of powers equals death) Healing factor Highly skilled tactician, martial artist, swordsman, marksman, athlete and acrobat Teleportation Shapeshifting Necroplasmic energy blasts Resurrection Multiple demonic powers

Spawn is a fictional character, an anti-hero that appears in a monthly comic book of the same name published by Image Comics. Created by Todd McFarlane, the character first appeared in Spawn #1 (May 1992). Spawn was ranked 60th on Wizard magazine's list of the Top 200 Comic Book Characters of All Time, 50th on Empire magazine's list of The 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters and 36th on IGN's 2011 Top 100 Comic Book Heroes.

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 and portrayed by Michael Jai White, an HBO animated series lasting from 1997 until 1999, and a series of action figures whose high level of detail made McFarlane Toys known in the toy industry. The character also appears in annual compilations, mini-series specials written by guest authors and artists, and numerous cross-over story-lines in other comic books.

Spawn enjoyed considerable popularity upon its initial release in the 1990s. 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. 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, on May 2008, rated "The Launch of Image Comics" as No.1 in the list of events that rocked the Comic Industry from 1991 to 2008.

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