Since bursting onto the scene in 1992, Todd McFarlane's Spawn has been one of the most iconic independent antiheroes across the comic book spectrum. Featuring thrilling stories, terrifying villains and a slew of variations of the titular character himself, the hellish world that Spawn inhabits has expanded into a cacophony of blood-soaked horrors and brutal heroics.
With the upcoming Spawn's Universe special set to kick off an expansion of the Spawn publishing line, we're taking a closer look at the many heroes of Spawn's world who are set to come together in The Scorched, a new team title, or elsewhere in the upcoming line.
Spawn
Detroit native Al Simmons rose through the ranks of the US military all the way to becoming one of its greatest black-ops assets. His career ended when his closest ally and partner went through with an order to murder Al, but death was only the beginning for Spawn. After being sent to Hell and making a deal with the demon Malebolgia, Al Simmons returned to Earth as the Necroplasm-fueled Hellspawn that fans know and love.
While his earliest adventures saw Spawn face off against serial killers and demonic clowns, the series quickly thrust him into the middle of all-out war between Heaven and Hell, Armageddon and the recreation of the world itself. Currently, Al Simmons is once again caught between both sides of the divine conflict and desperately needs help. Thankfully, he has some powerful allies who are already fighting alongside him.
Redeemer
Heaven's answer to the Hellspawn, Redeemers are righteous warriors infused with Elemental Fire to combat the forces of Hell. Spawn has come up against several different iterations of the Redeemer over the years, the current bearer of that particular mantle being the young boy Eddie Frank, who debuted in 1995's Spawn #29, by Todd McFarlane and Greg Capullo.
Unfortunately, the Redeemer who is in control of Eddie, leaving the child to be little more than a means to an end in the Redeemer's battle against the forces of evil, or anything that it perceives as evil regardless of true intentions. Spawn has freed Eddie of the Redeemer's control before, though it doesn't appear to have stuck.
Gunslinger Spawn
Nearly 200 years ago, a preacher named Jeremy Winston was set to be hanged next to his friend Francis Parker. Winston had been framed for murdering his family, and on the gallows, he bore witness to the demon Mammon. Mammon offered Parker a chance for revenge against his betrayers, which he refused. Winston, however, took the demon up on his bargain, and the man was resurrected after his death as a Hellspawn.
After being teased in 2002's Spawn #119, by Todd McFarlane and Angel Medina, the Gunslinger Spawn went on to murder every resident of the town that had sentenced him to death, save for his friend, who took on the name Henry Simmons, Al Simmons' great grandfather. Now having been dragged into the future, he's looking for any way he can find to get back to his own time.
Medieval Spawn
First appearing in Spawn #9 by Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane, Sir John of York hails from sixteenth-century England where he fought in the country's civil war on behalf of King Henry II. During the war, he and several other knights mistakenly assassinated the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Sir John was killed when he tried to ask for the king's forgiveness.
When he arrived in Hell, Sir John was approached by Malebolgia and offered a place in his army. Sir John was returned to Earth as a Hellspawn several years after his death and traveled the English countryside in the hopes that enough good deeds done might earn him redemption and a place in Heaven.
She-Spawn
Since debuting in Todd McFarlane and Greg Capullo's Spawn #61 in 1997, Jessica Priest has been one of the most painful thorns in Spawn's side. After killing her parents as a child, Jessica was institutionalized until her release as a teenager, which only gave her the opportunity to go on yet another killing spree. Eventually, she became renowned as one of the world's greatest assassins and found employment under the purview of Jason Wynn, the man who ordered the death of Al Simmons.
While it was originally believed that Al's best friend Chapel had pulled the trigger, it was later revealed that Jessica was the real killer. During her time following Al, Jessica formed a close friendship with the witch Nyx, and when Jessica found her ally dead, she made a desperate attempt to bring her back to life. The spell instead showed her visions of Al's life and afterlife, giving her absolute insight into his battle against the forces of evil as well as the destructive forces of absolute good. In these visions, she was imbued with a piece of the same power that all Hellspawn draw upon, becoming the She-Spawn necessary to help protect the world from any who would do it harm.
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