Quote:
um.. i gotta question.
supposedly Spawn is to lead Satan's army against God and his angels and Spawn is but one of many using that suit, do they expand on that side of the story in the comics?
|
I'll go into this first just cause I'm starting to go into some long-winded analysis about the first half of your post. If I missed anything you were hoping I'd explain, then please tell me, as I love to ramble about this ****. Anyways...
Once every hundred years or so, the devil (called Malebolgia in the comics, to avoid pissing off the Christians
too much I assume) picks a person of extra-special potential to be a new Spawn, and puts them on Earth to prove that they are worthy to serve in Hell's army. How exactly they're supposed to prove themselves is kind of nebulous (I don't know if they haven't expanded on it yet, or if it's just lazy writing). Basically, the devil ****s with the Spawns in order to push them over the edge into being evil. Or something.
One part of it is that a Spawn's powers draw from a limited power supply (which is regularly shown by a decreasing set of numbers regularly throughout the comic [which actually adds some much needed tension]), and when that is used up, the Spawn goes back to hell forever. If the Spawn chooses to not use their power (and the devil, not to mention heaven, make sure to put them in situations that will encourage the Spawns to use their powers), then they will become detached from the world, embrace their inhumanity, and become demons in soul as well as body. If they use their powers, then they eventually go to hell and become the devil's bitch anyway.
Why the latter outcome should be of any use to the devil is beyond me at this point, since the Spawn had to die and go to hell in the first place in order to make the bargain that turned them into a Spawn. So... why not just keep the Spawn in hell without sending them back to Earth at all?
I guess Malebolgia figures that letting a Spawn's free will on Earth will do more to damn them than just keeping them in hell, but why it's important to make fallen humans the highest-ranking officers of Hell's army isn't or hasn't yet been explained. Maybe it's just a **** you to God, or maybe corrupting souls to the Nth degree and then using them against God somehow gives him even greater power.
And yes, they do expand on the other Spawns from the past. There's a medieval Spawn, a cowboy Spawn, and, like... other Spawns that I'm probably just not familiar with ATM. There are also lesser Spawns who never get to go to Earth, but are just notably evil fellows who get to be Spawn-lites in the devil's army.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Francis
Spawn was the sh*t back in the day, he was like a teenage boy wet dream 
Im sad to see they didn't give more depth in the comic books, from your review he doesn't sound that much different from the character in the spawn movie. he always seemed a little OP to me, the type of character who can pull of any super power out of his ass in a tight pinch. |
It's probably been the better part of two decades since I've seen the movie, so I really can't compare the two. I'd say Spawn doesn't so much not have depth, as Todd McFarlane just isn't that adept at reaching the character's potential. Like I said, he's a great idea man (kinda like George Lucas I guess) but he's not so great at actually realizing his vision all by himself.
If you want to see Spawn in all his potential glory, then watch the HBO animated series. I haven't watched it since I was in my early twenties, so it might not hold up as well as I remember, but it's definitely the best depiction of the series yet. Themes and characters that are used passingly or not explored as well as they could be in the comic, are dealt with much better in the series.
There's a sense of story progression and character development that is relatively absent from the comic, as it can go ten, or even more, issues without really doing much -- and storylines that were introduced earlier are sometimes dropped for no apparent reason, and then pop up ten or so issues later, as if McFarlane finally remembered that he'd somehow forgotten an entire subplot. The animated series is much more streamlined and focused, with more or less strong, dynamic, fleshed out storylines that maintain your interest throughout the season (although the child killer subplot of the first season drew out an OTT, two-dimensional villain's role for far too long, while he mercifully only lasted an issue or two in the comic).
I'm twenty-three issues in (for some reason I can't entirely explain), and Spawn doesn't even really seem to have any motivation besides moaning over his past. He doesn't accept the role that the devil wants for him, but he's not particularly concerned with opposing him either. All he really wants is to hang out with a bunch of hobos in an alley and be bummed out 24/7. He isn't even really committed to staying out of fights, as he'll go on a spree of violence against people who invade his turf at the drop of a hat, but then retreats back to his dirty alley to brood.
The series has much of the same alley-dwelling, hobo-buddy thing going on, but unlike the comic, where he just sort of shows up and befriends the bums right off the bat, Spawn at first resists getting close to them, which does a lot to express his sense of self-concerned isolation. He's much more resistant to playing the hero in general, so it has a lot more meaning when he finally does listen to his conscience.
Even his whole thing with his ex-wife isn't really explored to any great extent in the comics. It's a major story element early on, but after that first arc, it's much less concentrated on, which is odd, since the whole premise of the series is that Spawn sold his soul just to be reunited with his wife. But in the animated series, he basically stalks her, constantly torturing himself by reliving his past in a way that really expresses his fractured psyche.
Another element that really separates the comic and the animated series is the artwork. The comic is far too bright and colorful to have any kind of horror atmosphere, whereas the animated series uses lots and lots of shadows and noirish elements to really make it feel like you're watching a horror series.
Also, can't leave without mentioning the voice acting of the show. It's pretty excellent for the most part, and I probably wouldn't enjoy the comic half as much as I am if I didn't have Keith David's voice in my head whenever Spawn talks.
Skip the first minute to avoid a bad Disturbed song.
TL;DR: The Spawn comic is fun but nothing great, so watch the far superior animated series. And make sure you watched the uncensored version, as there is an inferior, censored version of the show.