Spawn (character)
comic book superhero
Albert Francis "Al" Simmons, better known as Spawn, is a fictional antihero appearing in a monthly comic book of the same name published by American company Image Comics, as well as in a number of films, television series, and video game adaptations set in the Image Universe. Created by Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1 (May 1992).
Simmons is a government assassin who died and went to Hell for his crimes against humanity. Following a deal with Malebolgia, Simmons is given new life as a Hellspawn and the chance to see his wife Wanda once again. The deal is revealed to be a trick, as Simmons is brought back to life five years after his death, unrecognizable to his wife and missing many of his memories. With little other choice, Simmons adopts his new hell-inspired identity as Spawn in an effort to atone for his past sins and use his newfound powers for good.
The series has spun off several other comic books, 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 voiced by Keith David, a series of action figures from McFarlane Toys, and an upcoming reboot film starring Jamie Foxx and Jeremy Renner. The character appears in annual compilations, mini-series specials written by guest authors and artists, and numerous crossover storylines in other comic books, including Savage Dragon, Invincible, and three DC Comics crossovers with Batman.
Publication history
Todd McFarlane's hobby of drawing began at an early age, and he created the character Spawn when he was 16, spending "countless hours" perfecting the appearance of each component of the character's visual design.
The public source identifies “Spawn (character)” as comic book superhero. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Spawn, character and comic.
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Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q839858. VIAF identifies the subject as 41146153005505251528. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1992, 1997 and 1999.
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This entry incorporates text from “Spawn (character)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.