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Background[]
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 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 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.
Resurrection[]
Spawn later returns in the recent issues after Jim Downing went missing. he learns 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 fighting off new and old enemies. Man of Miracles was retconned out of continuity due to legal issues. God was now the supreme being and now more benevolent, while Satan is still the ruler of hell, no longer possessing Jake and Katie. Spawn's suit was later revealed 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, present, and future along with using four dead villains as his undead army.