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How the Spider-Verse movie helped Venom co-creator Todd McFarlane realize there weren’t enough Spawns in comic books
Spawn creator and Image cofounder McFarlane wanted to make sure Al Simmons and other characters were rare in their universe. But now, he knows fans are willing to accept a lot of variants
FeaturesbyGrant DeArmitt, Staff Writer
Published on Wed Jul 15 2026
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I don’t know what it is about comic books in particular, but for some reason, fans of the medium just love when there’s a variant version of their favorite character. Todd McFarlane, who some would say is deeply in touch with his fans, probably knew this when he started introducing different versions of his iconic Spawn character. So it makes sense that, as he looks back on Spawn some 30-plus years after his debut, McFarlane has few if any regrets about the various Hellspawns that populate his universe.
Except that maybe, in the current comic book media landscape, he hadn’t created enough
I spoke to McFarlane recently, as he was hard at work on introducing yet another Hellspawn-adjacent character into the Spawn-Verse: the titular Spawn ’77, which takes elements of McFarlane’s original idea for the character and works them into a new story. At one point in our discussion, McFarlane touched on developing the story of Spawn ’77 alongside artist Mark Spears
“The only sort of caveat I gave him,” McFarlane explained, “Was obviously: it can’t be Al Simmons. Because he comes in 1992 right when we start Image. According to the folklore of Hellspawn, that would mean that there’s one every 15 years, and I’ve been saying that they come along once every 100 years or so. There’s a bigger gap in between because they pop up every 15 years, then you start watering it down.”
In case you don’t know, reader, Al Simmons is the original character to take on the mantle of Spawn. As McFarlane explains, he wanted to make extra sure that Al and his demonically-enhanced fellows stood out as rare within the universe he was creating
Turns out, though, he might not’ve needed to try so hard
“All that comes before the Spider-Verse and all the Batmans, though,” the Image cofounder continued, “Like, I used to think if I had 4 or 5 Hellspawns; I thought I was overdoing it. Now I find out that I’m under doing it! If I stacked my Spawns against their Spideys and Bats, I lose that war.”
Interested? Here’s where to find your closest local comic store, courtesy of Sweet, and here’s a guide to how (and where) to read comics online
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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs
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