Spawn

"Why didn't he want the throne in Hell? I never understood that until recently. Why wouldn't he want to fill the void he caused by killing Malebolgia? Instead he let Heaven and Hell fall into chaos fighting over that empty throne ourselves. While we all got weaker, he began to grow. And the prophecy that we all wanted to attain... the one that said: 'He who becomes the new king will be the master over all those who do not sit on the throne. Foolishly, God and Satan never thought that mantle of power the prophecy spoke of, could be located on Earth. And we've all been paying the price ever since. And though Simmons kept saying he wanted nothing to do with being a Spawn, instead his presence had the opposite effect. He attracted dozens of enemies whose only purpose was to try and beat him in battle. Because he wore the symbiote costume they though he was some modern day Super Hero. A man they could simply beat and take away his power. One by one they fell and yet they still came. Their existence complicated our plans because they were getting in the way of use being able to get to Spawn in the fashion we needed. These villians, instead of being a deteriment to Spawn actually became a 'human shield' around him... and they had no idea they were helping Simmons every time they attacked him. Making it so Heaven and Hell had to wait on the sidelines for their chance to strike. But we couldn't control ourselves, could we? Instead we had to jump in, hoping a distracted Spawn would make it easier for one of us to steal his symbiote. Mammon. Thatmuz the Inqusitor, and the rest of them... not only failed in their attemps against Simmons, they prematurely triggered Armageddon. This again made Spawn stronger! Physically he was accelerating at a pace no other Spawn had ever achieved. There are two parts to Spawn's growth. The first part was his body. He needed to be physically tuned to his peak... and we too easily gave him reasons to push his body to those limits. Do you understand that I'm telling you? Every one of us, we thought we knew how to beat him. But what we did wasn't slowing him down-- it was building him into a killing machine! We were strengthening him! Every Attack brought him at step closer to honoring himself and his symbiote. And that power eventually triggered a connection to every Spawn through time. That's how I was drawn to him. He pulled me in, while I thought I was in control the whole time. There's something in his soul, some design flaw that Malebolgia missed when he chose Simmons. And that flaw has now made him able to tap into the souls of all Spawns from the past, present and future! And the only thing that's keeping any of us alive, is that he doesn't know he has that ability yet. May your God help us all if he ever discovers that fact. Because if he can call up his own army against us he wins. He wins everything! Even though we thought we'd grinded him down mentally... down to the point that he seemed defeated and didn't want anything to do with being Spawn anymore. But that wasn't what was happening to him. He wasn't quitting... he was planning! Because he made the one move I prayed he never would find and that was to finally focus on his mind. He didn't walk for days in purgatory because he was beaten-- though he wanted us to think that-- no, he was setting the stage. And we fell of his act. He didn't commit suicide when he blew his head off, he created chaos! We'd all been so focused on trying to kill him, that when he took himself out of the game, we didn't know what to do with ourselves. And just like what happened when Malebolgia was slaughtered, demons and angels alike began tripping over themselves trying to prove they should be the new 'master' of this unholy war. Simmons had set his trap and he must have laughed at how easily we all fell into it!"

- Cogliostro about Spawn

"Do you believe in cause and effect? Drop a glass, the glass breaks. Strike a match and a fire starts. Do the things that we do in this life screw you in the one that comes after? I think so. Spawn's learning that little lesson too. Oh, he'd like to make it all go away somehow-- pull out, hide, sleep it off. But he made his deal with the devil, and now the dominoes are already crashing down. And he's got nobody to blame but himself... and me."

- Todd McFarlane

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 live-action movies based around these stories.

Originally a  human named Al Simmons, Spawn was cursed into the life of a Hellspawn (akin to a reverent) after his deal into to see his wife Wanda Blake one last time 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 the other three being Malebolgia ,Jason Wynn ,and The Redeemer. 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.

In HBO animation and the upcoming MK11 as a guest character, he is voiced by Keith David.

Origins
Albert "Al" Francis Simmons was born in Detroit, Michigan as the second of three brothers (Marc, Al and Richard) to Esther and Bernard Simmons. Simmons was a very gifted officer of the United States Marine Corps, where he attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He later joined the United States Secret Service, which led to his transfer to the Central Intelligence Agency. In the CIA, Simmons was recruited by Director Jason Wynn into a special top-secret covert ops division known as the U.S. Security Group, an elite task force with jurisdiction in all domestic and foreign situations.

Jason Wynn (the director of the CIA) and Simmons began to butt heads more often and Simmons planned to resign.

Simmons was murdered during a mission in Botswana for the USSG's Operation Knightstrike by fellow mercenary Bruce Stinson (aka Chapel) at the order of Director Wynn. Simmons was sent to Hell because of his life as an assassin. After arranging a deal with the being known as Malebolgia, Simmons agrees to become a Hellspawn in exchange for being allowed to see his wife Wanda Blake one last time.

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 procceded 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 suddentley went lifeless for hours.Then in an explosion of necroplasm trasformed into Black and White with his right leg and left arm now being very heavily armored. This version of his suit could shapeshift 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.

Ressurection
Spawn later returns in the recent issues after Jim Downing went missing.he learns tath from god that Wanda had died and that he had a son not a daughter he him. The memories of him abusing Wanda were a false memory by The demons to make Al commit suicide and Al loved her never harmed he or their unborn son. Al Returns with a new look and powers fightning off new and old enimies. Man of Miracles was retconnted out of conitiniuty due to legal issues God was now the supreame being and now more benvenlot while Satan is still the ruler of hell no longer posessing Jake and Katie. Spawn's suit was later reavealed to have been made from the souls of the victims he's killed as a solider and as a CIA agent by Maleboglia. After Saving Wanda and seeing her sent to heaven Spawn lost most of his powers and discovers that he can regrow them and with Cyan's new powers got his powers fully restored Spawn continues to go on new adventures namely to find Wanda's killer. As he slowly regained his powers he has added en extra power boost thanks to Cyan's new powers and later on gained the ability to raise the dead which he used to revive The Curse,The Freak,Cy-gor,and OVertkill to expose Angels and Demons on earth which puts him in their cross hairs. He also allied with Marc Rosen to expose his existence as Al Simmons to the world and expose the angels and demons to find the one who killed his wife Wanda.Evetunally it was revealed to be Violator who now got a power upgrade to his new look. Spawn also is currently gaining new allies from the other hellspawns from past,persent,and future along with using four dead villains as his undead army.

Powers and Abilities

 * Superhuman Strength, Speed & Durability: The combination of his Necroplamsically charged body coupled with the K7-Leetha gives Spawn an indeterminate amount of physical ability. He is able to punch through concrete and steel with ease, and lifting extremely heavy objects such as buildings. Due to his incredible durability, Spawn is capable of withstanding immense punishment without injury. He is able to fly at high speeds well in excess of 100 mph.
 * Regenerative Healing Factor: Spawn is able to heal even the most fatal wounds in an instant. He was able to heal after getting incinerated by Anti-Spawn and has healed from continuously stabbing himself with a huge piece of metal. Spawn has regenerated entire holes in his chest, broken arms, missing hearts, and blown out knee caps instantly with the use of his Necroplasm.
 * Energy Manipulation: Spawn's most common attack is his necroplasmic energy blasts, which can vary in size. He can destroy the entire floor across a city and is able to absorb all types of energy including the entire energy supply of Hell as well as being able to kill vampires. If strong enough, his blast can melt the Gates of Heaven.
 * Time Manipulation: If the battle or a situation goes out of hand, Spawn can freeze time to regain his thoughts and tactics. The range of the time stop move expands the entire world and he is capable of making someone young again if he concentrates hard enough.
 * Reality Warping & Dimension Manipulation: Spawn can readjust the environment around him with his liking, readjust the planes of dimension, and can create black holes to Hell. His cape can create his own personal dimension which can end people to his own personal Hell. His reality warping abilities allows him to create objects out of thin air, skin a human alive, and can make a person's blood and flesh into lethal poison.
 * Zoopathy: Spawn can communicate and certain order animals around him. He can shoot a stream of colony of bats from his wounded chest and can ride a wave of worms. He is also able to order wolves and bears to fight his battles as well. He can call upon a demonic animal called the Black Disperal which is a group of powerful demon animals that are capable of overpowering and obliterating Hellspawn hunters.
 * Nercomancy: Spawn new' power allows him to raise the dead and control them.

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.

Spawn the Animated Series
Spawn will appear in the upcoming sequel series.

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

Reboot Film
Spawn will appear in the reboot in 2019. He will be portrayed by Jamie Foxx, who also plays Django Freeman, and played President James Sawyer and Oliver Warbucks

Video Games
Soul Calibur II Appeared as a special guest character in the Xbox version of Soul Calibur II (2003) and later for the Xbox 360 and PS3 verisons of Soul Calibur ll HD.

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. He was voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.

Mortal Kombat 11
Spawn is set to appear as a guest fighter in Mortal Kombat 11 DLC. Keith David will be reprising his role as Spawn as he previously voiced him in the miniseries.

Trivia

 * Spawn was inspired by Venom, Prowler, and Ghost Rider.