Dr. K's Waiting Room

Story Title: “Questions” (Part One to Four)
Published: May 1992 to September 1992
Writer / Artist: Todd McFarlane

The Background:
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, artist and comic creator Todd McFarlane started drawing at an early age and cut his teeth in the comic book industry working on Coyote before getting his big break illustrating Batman: Year Two (Barr, et al, 1987). After jumping to Marvel Comics and working on The Incredible Hulk, McFarlane made a name for himself for his dynamic and kinetic work on The Amazing Spider-Man. Bringing new life to Spidey through his art and his hand in creating popular anti-hero Eddie Brock/Venom, McFarlane eventually became dissatisfied with his lack of creative control over stories and, alongside other Marvel creatives, quit the company and formed their own independent comic book publisher, Image Comics. To spearhead this new venture, McFarlane revisited an old sketch from his teenage years and revised the concept into Al Simmons/Spawn, a former mercenary reborn as a brooding warrior for Hell’s army. Spawn’s debut issue became a record-setting release; selling 1.7 million copies, it was the most successful creator-owned comic of all-time. This success put Image Comics on the map and, aside from a few slumps here and there, Spawn has remained a popular and successful publication for the upstart publisher. This success catapulted McFarlane to new heights, leading to a successful line of action figures, solo and guest spots in videogames, a cult hit animated series, crossovers with DC Comics, and even a much–maligned live-action adaptation in 1997.

The Review:
The saga of Spawn begins with Al Simmons, fittingly, tormented by questions. Although Al’s aware of some aspects of what’s happened to him (he died and made a deal to return), he doesn’t know what compelled him to come back from the beyond and feels separated from the mortal realm. His memories are fragmented, giving him flashes of a life he can’t quite recall. He remembers he was in love, though he can’t picture her face; he remembers there’s someone he hates, though he can’t recall his name; and he remembers that he was a good and loyal soldier for his country. Crucially, he’s haunted by the grinning visage of a skull and the feeling of being betrayed and brutally murdered. The more Al broods on his disparate memories, the more scant images come to mind. He pictures a beautiful woman, one who he was so desperate to return to that a wicked demon granted his request but on his terms, dumping him back on Earth with incredible power and an awesome costume but with no idea who he is or what any of his memories mean. Confident that the beautiful woman he sold his soul for will remember him and fill in the blanks, Spawn heads into the night to find her and the one who betrayed him, his thoughts already turning to revenge. Of course, we get scant clues to his true origin through McFarlane’s employment of media reports relating to Al’s decorated career, his untimely death, and Wanda Blake’s grieving process. These are presented in a very Dark Knight Returns (Miller, et al, 1986) format, showing reporters and pundits addressing the reader next to blocks of text, all accompanied by a mysterious countdown that we later learn tracks Spawn’s current power supply. Such interludes are juxtaposed with our first introductions of detective duo Sam Burke and Maximillian Williams/Twitch, who are currently baffled by gruesome murders that’ve left the victims without their hearts.

Spawn’s journey across town takes a detour when he spots a gang of lowlifes attacking a woman. Though he effortlessly dispatches the punks, Spawn terrifies the young lady when he’s suddenly bombarded by memories. The woman’s face taunts him and bleeds into memories of his funeral, where his disembodied soul cried out in anguish only to be ignored by his love. Thanks to the girl he rescued comforting him and bringing him back to reality, Spawn slowly realises that the woman he’s been seeing was his wife and that he’s been gone for five years. Desperate for answers, he claws away his mask and talon-like gloves, horrified to find a scarified body beneath his skin-tight leather and chains. While Spawn weeps in the dank alley and Sam and Twitch stew over reports of a costumed figure in a red cape and chains taking out street punks, the wicked, horned demon Malebolgia relishes in Spawn’s pain from his burning inferno. As Spawn broods, questioning his humanity and feeling comforted by his costume and defending the innocent, he ponders the limits of his powers. Focusing his will, he turns his power on himself to restore his human visage and is aghast to find he’s been transformed into a bleach-blonde surfer dude instead of his true form as a Black man. Enraged, realising that he’s being toyed with, Spawn explodes with anger, trigging a fresh set of memories. He puts a face to new name of his employer and mentor: Jason Wynn moulded him into the perfect soldier, only for them to clash when Simmons took issue with Wynn’s increasingly brutal and cold-hearted ways. Overcome with emotion, Spawn collapses in the alley, where he’s approached by a comical, clown-like figure. Spawn had spotted this squat, colourful individual earlier and readers were treated to him dramatically introducing himself and all the ways he plans on torturing and humbling Spawn to appease his boss, the aforementioned Malebolgia. The clown, introducing himself as the Violator, piques Spawn’s interest when he dubs him a Hellspawn and quickly blows his cover.

The Violator goes on a tirade, listing all the ways he could slaughter Hell’s newest soldier. Naturally, given the clown’s diminutive stature, Spawn scoffs at his threats and walks away, completely missing the clown’s transformation into a large, horned, slack-jawed demon, the same creature that’s been ripping the hearts out of mafia bosses all over town. Still, for now, the Violator is content to let Spawn go, primarily because Malebolgia gets off on making his creation suffer. As he aimlessly wanders, Spawn is elated to finally remember his wife’s name. He also remembers having parents and brothers and the location of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) headquarters and an armoury. He stops by the CIA skyscraper first, accosting creep Billy Miller and threatening him to keep his hands to himself and pay his child support, and retrieves Wanda’s file. However, Al’s distraught to learn she’s moved to Queens and engaged to his former best friend, Terry Fitzgerald. With no other choice, Spawn assumes his blonde visage and heads over there with the vague hope of convincing her to see past his façade, only to be left speechless by her beauty and the unexpected presence of a child, Cyan. The added realisation that he was the problem when it came to giving Wanda a child adds to Spawn’s mental anguish and causes him to black out. Wanda and Terry tend to him and he shares some of his pain with them, only to be met with warmth and kindness. Retreating back to the alleys, Spawns rages, openly challenges the being that’s toying with him and fed up with playing games. Luckily for him, the Violator answers his challenge and, this time, Spawn witnesses the clown’s transformation into his true, horrific form. Caught completely off-guard, Spawn is powerless to keep the Violator from plucking his still-beating heart from his chest. However, the crude, leering demon is stunned when Spawn gets up, a burning hole in his chest and all fired up for a scuffle.

This leads into the final issue of this four-part arc, which finds the Violator incensed to learn that Malebolgia lied to him about Spawn’s powers. Fully expecting to have killed the Hellspawn with his attack, apparently unaware that humans are being gifted powers greater than the denizens of Hell. After expending energy reattaching his heart and healing from the damage, Spawn launches a blast of hellfire at his foe, returning the favour by blasting a hole right through the demon. However, the Violator easily survives the attack, boasting of his superiority, and manhandles Spawn. To the Violator’s frustration, Spawn meets his arrogance with disrespect and the two start shamelessly mutilating each other over a two-page spread consisting solely of dismembered limbs and sound effects. The mindless battle grows so intense that Malebolgia himself manifests in the alley to break them up, chastising such pointless escapades. Addressing the two as unruly siblings, Malebolgia lays out his grand plans to storm the gates of Heaven and go to war with God, a concept baffling to a lifelong atheist like Simmons. Still, Malebolgia emphasises that God is now Spawn’s enemy and details that Spawn’s past life as a hired killer made him the perfect candidate to become a Hellspawn. Malebolgia also explains that Spawn’s power, though vast, is not infinite and relishes in giving him a simple choice: bow to Hell’s whim, expend his power killing “bad guys” and accelerate his return to Hell while bolstering Malebolgia’s armies, or do nothing and watch innocents suffer. Malebolgia then fully heals Spawn, reattaching his arm so as not to waste any more of his energy, and angrily rebukes the Violator when he takes exception to this. Malebolgia punishes him by banishing him to Earth, removing his ability to switch forms, and returns to Hell. Insulted and frustrated, the Violator storms off in a huff, leaving Spawn to brood over his newfound lot in life. Meanwhile, across town, Wanda awakens from a terrible nightmare in which she sees Al begging for help and it’s revealed she’s as haunted by her memories and love for him as he is of her.

The Summary:
I mean…first things first, let’s talk about Todd McFarlane’s unparalleled artwork. Every page, every panel, is so detailed and full of edgy, moody visuals. Barely a scene takes place in the daytime, bathing New York City, its depressing alleys, and, crucially, Spawn himself in oppressive darkness and shadow. Thus, when Spawn goes to Wanda’s in his forced guise of a blonde, white man, the juxtaposition of colour is like a slap in the face. It clearly shows that a normal, human, happy life is now far beyond Spawn’s reach and he stands out, despite his seemingly normal appearance, due to his jagged and distorted speech bubbles, hammering home that he doesn’t belong in that world any more. Spawn himself makes an immediate visual impression. Sure, there’s a lot of Spider-Man, Venom, and Danny Ketch/Ghost Rider in his design but he’s actually more like Bruce Wayne/Batman since he’s mainly brooding or dramatically standing rather than web-slinging across the city. Garbed in a sleek, black costume, Spawn casts an intimidating figure with his burning green eyes and flowing, blood-red cape and McFarlane never wastes an opportunity to depict him against gargoyles, crosses, cutting through the air like a tiger, or seeped in darkness. Considering his monstrous visage is hidden behind his mask for most of these issues, Spawn expresses a lot of emotion. Tormented by memories, he cries out in pain and anguish and lashes out at every opportunity, unaware that even by doing good he’s fuelling Malebolgia’s will since he’s either expending his finite energy or sending more despicable souls to Hell. While the news report sections are less visually engaging for me and simply a copy of Frank Miller’s narrative style, McFarlane makes up for it with his depiction of demons. The Violator and Malebolgia are horrific, gruesome creatures with a constant cackling visage and they represent an explicit, external personification of the dark power Spawn now wields. This, as much as anything else, is what angers the Violator so since he believes humans are unworthy of such vaulted positions in Malebolgia’s ranks.

These first four issues set a precedent that would continue throughout Spawn’s publication, creating a constant air of mystery around the titular anti-hero. Simmons walks the alleys with fragmented memories, barely remembering anything of his past life and being tormented by scattered faces, feelings, and recollections of a previous life that eludes him. This brings him great torment and is the design of Malebolgia, who delights in torturing his “child”, fostering his dark ambitions, and humbling him. Malebolgia gets off on spoon-feeding Spawn memories and information, never once letting him forget who he really serves, and takes great glee in explaining that Spawn serves him no matter what action or inaction he takes. Malebolgia’s chief agent on Earth is, of course, the rancid Violator, a boastful little sprite with a chip on his shoulder. He seeks to spread chaos throughout the city by tearing the hearts from his victims and inciting a gang war, confident in his Hell-born power being greater than Spawn’s and eager to showcase his worth to his master by maiming and killing his newest recruit. Instead, the Violator finds himself in a brutal deadlock, with neither he or Spawn able to land a killing blow. Of course, neither thinks to go for the head and this isn’t strictly true as Spawn would inevitably lose due to his reckless use of his powers. At this point, Spawn barely understands what he is let alone the nature of his “Necroplasm” so he expends his energy without thinking. Healing wounds, firing energy blasts, and transforming his appearance all cause the helpful countdown to decrease, showing the reader just how close Spawn is to ending his new unlife and returning to Hell. Malebolgia explains these rules to him, leading to Spawn constantly considering his energy cost in future issues, but it does give a taste of what Spawn’s capable of since we see him reattach his heart, blow a hole through the Violator, and alter his appearance using his dark magic.

Sam and Twitch are also introduced in these issues and offer a fun side plot to Spawn’s constant brooding and rage. Essentially a reimagining of Commissioner James “Jim” Gordon and Detective Harvey Bullock, the two couldn’t be more different: where Sam is loud, gruff, and obnoxious and a lot like the Violator, Twitch is quiet, subdued, and methodical. The two are baffled by the Violator’s brutal murders and somewhat at odds regarding the caped vigilante stalking the streets, since Sam is far more lenient regarding Spawn as he doesn’t have to worry about due process. Spawn’s path doesn’t directly cross with these two here, but they’re nicely set up as supporting characters, as are Wanda and Terry. Again, we don’t learn too much about them at this point, especially Terry, but the story does a decent job of emphasising Wanda’s beauty and Al’s undying love for her. He’s haunted by her face, in agony at being denied her and being able to give her a child, and torn between wanting to confess everything to her and stay away from her idyllic new life. These emotions only fuel his anger and Malebolgia’s glee, driving him to chastise others who so freely take their blessings for granted or brutalise rapists and demons alike to vent his frustrations. While I admit the first issue doesn’t have much going on and largely exists to whet the reader’s appetite and the fourth issue devolves into an exposition dump from Malebolgia, there’s a lot to like in these first four issues. The mystery surrounding Al’s life and death is nicely set up, leaving breadcrumbs regarding Wynn and Al’s killer, as is the uncertainty regarding Spawn’s powers. The artwork is the main reason to delve into these issues, and all of McFarlane’s work, but the narrative is intriguing and strong, appealing to the brooding, edgy nineties kid in me. All the key players make a great first impression through McFarlane’s stunning and visceral art and the stage is set from a dramatic and explosive exploration of the dark path Spawn will eventually follow as he tries to piece together his past, have his revenge, defend the innocent, and defy his demonic master.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

What did you think to Spawn’s first four issues? Did you pick up a copy of issue one? What did you think to Spawn’s costume and powers? Are you a fan of Todd McFarlane’s art style? What did you think to the demonic antagonistic and the mystery surrounding Spawn? Which Spawn characters and story arcs are your favourite? Whatever you think about Spawn, feel free to leave your thoughts below and be sure to check out my other Spawn and horror-related content on the site.