On Screen: An award-winning HBO animated series ran in the late '90s, as well as a markedly less successful live action movie starring Michael Jai White.ĭid You Know?: The scope of Spawn's hell magic is limited only by his imagination. Trademarks: A Billowing, semi-sentient cape, trailing chains, glowing green eyes and hell-derived magical powers. His popularity has since waned, but Spawn remains an iconic crusader, both for the characters in his stories and creator-owned comic books. While he began as a traditional – if unorthodox – vigilante hero, Spawn grew increasingly dark over time, slipping further into an anti-hero role as the theology-heavy storylines became increasingly twisted. Created by Spider-Man legend Todd MacFarlane, Spawn was a murdered CIA operative who makes a deal with the demon Malebolgia, returning to Earth as an immortal, Hellspawn. Among their numerous launch titles, Spawn would prove to be by far the most popular. In 1992 a group of Marvel's top artists, frustrated with having their work exploited, walked out to form Image Comics, a place where creators would retain the rights to the characters they created.
