Spawn

"You should be down on your knees thanking me for not killing you where you stand."

- Spawn

"As far as I know, I'm already dead. Which means, I'll be waiting for your sorry ass in the afterlife."

- Spawn

""...The Sad Man..." When you think about it, when you take away the anger, the menacing look, and the powers he has, that's really what Spawn is, just a sad man, one who's holding onto a lot of pain and grief."

"Your worst fucking nightmare."

- Spawn

"You're about two seconds from wearing that smile around your ass."

- Spawn

Spawn (real name: Albert "Al" Simmons) is the titular main protagonist and anti-hero of the long-running comic book series of the same name as well as the star of several cartoons, video games and a live-action movie based around these stories.

Originally human Spawn was cursed into the life of a Hellspawn (akin to a reverent) and became a costumed warrior fighting against the forces of Hell and Heaven in order to protect the human world from the apocalyptic wars they were planning - one of his most famous archenemies is the Violator and the Spawn series is reputed to have helped in popularize the anti-hero as a main character in comic-books since the comics came out in a period of time when darker heroes started to emerge and gained much more publicity in comic books.

Origins
Spawn began as a mercenary named Al Simmons, who was killed after attempting to quit the life of a hired gun when his conscience caught up with him.

Sent to hell for his past actions as a mercenary, he was offered a deal by one of hell's Demon Lords: if Simmons agreed to become captain of Hell's armies he would be allowed to see his wife again.

Simmons agreed to the deal, but little did he realize that the Demon Lord had other plans for him.

Upon returning to the land of the living Simmons found out that he had been cursed to be what was known as a Hellspawn and forced to serve Hell forever.

Not content to be one of hell's flunkies, Spawn instead rebelled and took to fighting against hell's legions, as well as a slew of other foes.

After realizing that Heaven under the false God was just as corrupt as hell he began fighting against them too, all the while keeping the war between Heaven and Hell from tearing the Earth apart and protecting humans caught in the crossfire.

First Metamorphosis
After escaping Heaven and fighting a small sect of the KKK  he made his way across the states back to New York where he had his first encounter with the second Redeemer who proceeded to kidnap a friend and defeat Spawn with ease.

Moments later his costume (which at this point was nothing more than a pile of rags) went crazy almost killing Bootsie and others around him, then suddenly went lifeless for hours.

Then in an explosion of necroplasm transformed into Black and White with his right leg and left arm now being very heavily armored. This version of his suit could shape-shift to a much further extent.

The costume shifted into a blade and cut off Redeemer's hand during their second encounter.

After his encounter with the Redeemer, Spawn encounters the Freak, and during the "Bloodfeud" storyline, nightmares began to torture the former military assassin, consisting of a first-person point of view.

A creature, seeming to have kind of the same appearance as Spawn, hunts down other beings and consumes them. When Spawn wakes up he finds himself in a mess of several killed persons.

He suggests that, after the metamorphosis of his suit, it feeds off blood like a Vampire, but after his first battle with John Sansker, aka Jean Sans-Coeur, "Heartless John" (a vampire and true reason behind the messes that Spawn finds himself in) and after he stripped himself of his suit, he argues with the Clown about the latter. He tells Spawn that his costume feeds on souls, and after Spawn made peace with his state, he re-bonded with his suit and, in a vicious battle, drove Jean out of Rat City.

Heaven and Hell
Spawn struggled to find a way to free himself from Hell's control and recapture his humanity. Attacks from both Heaven and Hell were coming faster and faster, and Spawn was on the verge of losing himself to the violence and the evil. Salvation arrived in the form of a mound of festering garbage - The Heap, an emissary of the Purgatory, a power equal to Heaven and Hell that Spawn had never encountered before. They endowed him with a host of new abilities that would enable him to overcome the worst both Heaven and Hell had to offer.

While these powers are not directly described, they appear to give Spawn control over all the elements and other aspects of the natural world. It was explained to him that the Purgatory did not care for the war of Heaven and Hell, but were growing increasingly agitated by the destruction it brought about. They inflicted on him the pains of the Gazer (the planet's name), and when he returned, Spawn became "aware" of the world. Spawn did not utilize his powers however, other than listening to the Gazer, until he was impaled on the pole of a large sign by the dark god Urizen (named after the tyrannical creator-figure in the personal mythology of Romantic poet/artist William Blake). Urizen was wreaking havoc on the world, and the Purgatory imbued him with a "gift" which, after recovering thanks to Angela, Spawn uses to contain Urizen. Spawn splits the ground open and imprisons Urizen within the Gazer.

After defeating Urizen, Spawn learns that the dark god's release was orchestrated by Malebolgia, as part of an elaborate scheme to take total control of all the kingdoms of Hell. Having failed spectacularly, Malebolgia's power is at its lowest ebb. With the help of Angela, Spawn is able to return to Hell and finally destroy his demon master, although Angela's life is lost in the process. Though offered Malebolgia's crown by the sinister Mammon, Spawn declines both it and an offer to enter the gates of Heaven. Spawn instead turns his efforts towards stemming the torment of humanity and defeating the evil that exists on Gazer.

Overwhelmed by the darkness on Gazer, Spawn turns to his old mentor, Cogliostro, with a new plan. He will accept the crown of Hell, and then remake it, turning it from a dark realm of evil into a new paradise that will sweep away all sorrow and sadness on the Gazer. Spawn and Cogliostro encounter Redeemer III, and in the subsequent battle, Spawn is dragged to Hell by some Scorpion demons. Mammon hands a box to Cogliostro, who kills himself and ends up in Hell, box in hand. He gives it to Spawn, who opens it and sees a fleeting glimpse of a utopia, along with his wife, and then Cogliostro reveals that he is the biblical Cain, the first murderer, and takes the crown of Hell for himself. Cain uses his newfound power to return Spawn to Gazer, alive and well, back in the body of Al Simmons, but separating him from the Hellspawns symbiote.

Powers:

 * Black Dispersal: By emitting a specific pheromone, Spawn can summon creatures of darkness to a beacon. The creatures will attack beings of light if present.


 * Creature of Evil Control: Spawn can control the actions of creatures of darkness and sin. Namely Wolves, Bears, Worms, and Bats. They have been used to attack enemies such as Tiffany or Cy-Gor by mental command.


 * Elemental Manipulation


 * Chlorokinesis: After visiting Greenworld, Spawn found he could control plants and listen to mother nature. He has summoned an entire forest to instantly form around opponents to capture them.


 * Energy Manipulation


 * Necroplasm Bombs: Spawn can expend necroplasm to cause bombs. A small amount, as little as 5 units have been used to take care of a group of men.


 * Flight


 * Hydrokinesis: Spawn has summoned tidal waves to vanquish his enemies.


 * Immortality


 * Invisibility


 * Self-Density Manipulation: Spawn has the ability to alter his Density at will, making him heavier. This was shown when Spawn stopped a speeding car by standing in front of it and altered his density to 8,100 Lb. this is proven to be true since the car was moving at 67MPH and Spawn didn’t even move a inch.
 * Invulnerability


 * Misery Sense: Spawn has the ability to sense Misery by telepathically going into multiple people’s mind and can do this from Very long Distances. This does help Spawn to sense when someone is being attacked or hurt in some way so that he can intervene whenever necessary, which helps him fulfill his heroic nature in helping others, but it takes a toll. The power was given to him by The Keeper, an agent of the Emerald Parliament of Greensworld, which is also where he acquired powers that allowed him to manipulate nature and the Earth itself.
 * Necroplasm Magic: Spawn has vast magical powers. In the issues before issue #50, Spawn had a limited power supply or "9999". Each time Spawn used his energy, the counter would drain. Because of this, he relied primarily on his costume's natural abilities in fights. Other than the counter, the only limit was Spawn's imagination.


 * Phasing: Spawn can phase through walls and tends to use shadow to his advantage to cover his tracks.


 * Psychic Link: Spawn has a psychic link with Sam Burke and Twitch Williams. He subconsciously choose them as his accolades and can call upon their assistance and find their location at times. He was also linked to Nyx by her Shadow Thread before she gave up her control to Mammon.


 * Portal Creation:Spawn can create portals to cross dimensions or to travel to other planes of existence, such as Heaven or Hell.


 * Reality Manipulation


 * Regeneration: Spawn has regenerated entire holes in his chest, broken arms, missing hearts, and blown out knee caps instantly with the use of his Necroplasm.


 * Accelerated Healing


 * Black Energy Transferal: A rejuvenating energy transfer. Black Energy Transferal is a creature to costume kinetic energy transferal that can jump start the K7-Leetha Costume. Creatures such as rats or worms that never see the sunlight are particularly ripe with evil and can transfer more energy to rejuvenate Spawn's costume and body.


 * Shape-Shifting: In Spawn's early years, he did not have complete control over his powers. He spent 563 necroplasm units in an attempt to fix his scarred body, but only for a temporary time-period.


 * Soul Manipulation: Spawn can transfer the sins of of others into himself and purify the souls of other.


 * Resurrection: Spawn brought back his good friend Bobby from the dead.


 * Superhuman Endurance: Spawn's body is quite dense, weighing over four hundred pounds, and is composed completely of Necroplasm. This gives him super strength and high degree of durability. While he still has internal organs, they are non-functional, and their damage/destruction does not hinder Spawn in the least. These organs re-appear when he magically regenerates his wounds. This may be due to Spawn's inability to let go of his human self, retaining his human organs even though he no longer requires them.


 * Superhuman Reflexes: Using K7-Leetha Spawn can react fast enough to block bullets with his autonomic nervous reaction skills.


 * Superhuman Strength


 * Superhuman Speed


 * Telekinesis: Spawn has used his telekinesis to shut doors to keep enemies from escaping.


 * Telepathy


 * Memory Manipulation: Spawn showcased a form of memory manipulation, where he placed a symbol upon Terry and his children's foreheads, and told him that by that next morning, they would forget they ever saw him.


 * Time Manipulation


 * Transmutation: Spawn specializes in Matter Manipulation. His K7-Leetha suit can transmute powers molecules around it to manifest what thinker needs if thinker knows fundamentally about the object and has a clear head and strong will.

Omega Spawn

 * All previous powers, with infinite amount of energy.

Divine Spawn

 * Nigh-Omnipotence

Abilities:

 * Interrogation
 * Intimidation
 * Indomitable Will
 * Assassin and Ninja Training
 * CIA Training
 * Stealth
 * Tactical Analysis

Appearances
Todd McFarlane's Spawn

Spawn made his animated debut in the HBO miniseries Todd McFarlane's Spawn in which Spawn is voiced by Keith David.

Live Action Film

In 1997, a film adaptation had Michael Jai White as Spawn.

Video Games

Soul Calibur II Appeared as a special guest character in the Xbox version of Soul Calibur II (2003)

Spawn: Armageddon

A video game released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube video game consoles. It is inspired by Spawn issues 1-99, and Todd McFarlane directed the game's production.