In less than a decade, Todd McFarlane’s Spawn franchise has seen a massive resurgence in popularity. Not only has the main comic book begun selling more than it has in years, but there have also been several spinoffs released to similar success. These new publications have introduced several new characters, some of whom are tied to or based on previous elements of the franchise’s mythos.
Several new hellspawns in the Spawn mythos have shown up since 2019, with many of these characters getting spinoff books. Likewise, there are also new villains and upgraded versions of familiar faces, almost all of whom have been given their own slick McFarlane Toys action figures. The decade has been kind to Spawn, especially since there are so many cool new characters to follow in the comic book.
10 Taylor Is the Begrudging Sidekick of Gunslinger Spawn
First Appearance: Gunslinger Spawn #1 by Ales Kot and Brett Booth
One of the side characters in the Gunslinger Spawn ongoing comic book is Taylor Bartlett, who gets caught up in the Gunslinger’s violent world of angels and demons. Teaching Gunslinger/Javier about the modern world, Taylor Bartlett is saved by Gunslinger Spawn when it’s revealed that his father is in league with rogue angels. From there, the two are largely inseparable, with one teaching the other while being kept safe by him.
Taylor is frequently overwhelmed by everything he encounters, making him fit perfectly into his world by way of juxtaposition. Though they’re quite different from each other, both are useful to the other, especially once Taylor learns the truth about the paranormal events happening in the world. He’s one of the few true civilians operating in modern Spawn comics, which makes him even more unique.
9 Soul Crusher Has One of the Coolest Spawn Universe Designs
First Appearance: Spawn #270 by Todd McFarlane, Tom Leveen and Szymon Kudranski
Unlike many of the newer Spawn characters, Soul Crusher has no direct ties to Hell or otherworldly spirits. Soul Crusher is the second person to use this name, and his strange yet militarized appearance belies his strength. Cybernetically enhanced and armed to the teeth with weapons, he’s one of the humans best suited to taking down supernatural threats, be they from Heaven or Hell.
Soul Crusher isn’t necessarily a villain, but he is an enemy of Spawn and The Scorched. Standing against all forms of paranormal power, he also blames the hellspawns for the death of one of his own allies. Nevertheless, Soul Crusher has still helped these individuals on occasion to ensure their mutual survival, even if he hated every second of it.
8 Focus Is a Speedster In the Spawn Universe
First Appearance: Gunslinger Spawn #15 by Todd McFarlane and Brett Booth
Most of the superpowers in the Spawn Universe are magical, and as a result, they’re very loosely defined. Spawn, for instance, has superhuman physical faculties and essentially any other abilities he might need in any given situation. One newer character to the mythos is Focus, and he gives a more traditional «superhero» take on superhuman powers with his incredible swiftness.
Focus has superhuman speed due to esoteric experiments, and his powers have nothing to do with Hell, Heaven, or the supernatural. Even Gunslinger Spawn is taken aback by him, thinking he’s one of the rogue paranormal agents sent to kill him. While he hasn’t been seen a lot, he offers some genre diversity in the franchise as a version of DC Comics’ The Flash.
7 Monolith Is a Big Time Threat — and an Even Bigger Ally
First Appearance: Spawn #313 by Todd McFarlane and Carlo Barberi
One of the newest Spawn characters who’s taken on a life of his own is Monolith, who somewhat resembles another character from the same creator. Monolith is a massive orange hellspawn. He resembles the alternate color scheme for Necrid from Soulcalibur II, designed by Todd McFarlane. His incredible size is matched by his strength, and he only serves those with even more power, like Omega Spawn.
Monolith can easily overpower Al Simmons when he debuted, showcasing his power and brutality. Thankfully, he tired of working for Omega Spawn and eventually became an ally of Spawn. Since then, Monolith has had toys of his own by McFarlane Toys and even a spinoff comic book series.
6 Recent Spawn Comics Have Introduced Clown's Daughter
First Appearance: Gunslinger Spawn #13 by Todd McFarlane and Neil Gaiman
With her somewhat Vaudevillian appearance, Dakota only hints that she’s actually the daughter of the demonic Violator, a.k.a. Clown. Unlike her vicious father, she has a largely normal design, but she also has ties to some incredible beasts. Eschewing more demonic abilities, Dakota’s main power is the gift to control and communicate with an army of dinosaurs.
She can even change the appearance and size of these creatures, giving one to Gunslinger Spawn to ride as a steed. Despite her roots, Dakota hates her clownish father and does everything she can to stand against him. This sees her becoming an ally to Taylor and Gunslinger Spawn, even if she initially tried to kill the latter.
5 Cogliostro Has Taken On a Sinnful New Form
First Appearance: Spawn #9 by Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane
Cogliostro is far from a new part of the Spawn mythos. The character was introduced by writer Neil Gaiman within the comic’s first year of publication. However, his newest form is radically different and also showcases his changed allegiance to Al Simmons. Currently, Cogliostro has become the villainous armor-wearing Sinn, as he was long ago revealed to be the Biblical figure Cain.
Using his own magical powers and resources, Sinn has opposed the «growing threat» of Spawn and those like him. He even killed Nyx, the first She-Spawn, though she later got her revenge on him. Far from a wandering sage in an alley, Sinn’s design ironically resembles DC Comics’ Lex Luthor in his Warsuit.
4 The True Omega Spawn Has Finally Appeared
First Appearance: Image United #1 by Todd McFarlane
Omega Spawn debuted years ago in the failed crossover Image United, with what was produced of the story largely seen as non-canonical for the franchises involved. Thankfully, a true canon version of Omega Spawn finally showed up in the pages of the Spawn comic book, giving him a brutal power level and matching backstory.
The oldest of all the hellspawns, Omega Spawn had power that rivaled his dark Malebolgia himself and arguably surpassed it. Omega Spawn’s appearance resembles a far more demonic version of Spawn himself, hence the name. He even has a cult at his beck and call, making him far more resourceful than any other supernatural threat. Worst of all, his conquest had gone cosmic when he was summoned back to Earth, proving how grandiose his threat level had become.
3 The Deviant Is the Spawn of the Future
First Appearance: Rat City #1 by Erica Schultz and Zé Carlos
Rat City is one of the newest Spawn spinoff titles, and it’s introduced a completely new timeline to the franchise. The «Deviant» is the hellspawn of the futuristic Rat City, a cyborg named Peter Cairn. After Al Simmons’ time bomb in the past causes his own magical/demonic energy to explode in the future, it bonds with Cairn. He becomes a high-tech, cyberpunk take on Spawn.
The Deviant is similar to Al Simmons, and he’s portrayed as a man who is down on his luck and caught up in something much larger than he imagined. This included government conspiracies and hell-born powers, but with a cyberpunk twist. Analogous to Spider-Man 2099 or Batman Beyond, The Deviant has already received his own action figure from McFarlane Toys, cementing his status as one of the brand’s newest hit characters.
2 The Scorched Is the First Spawn Universe Team
First Appearance: The Scorched #1 by Sean Lewis, Paulo Siquiera and Stephen Segovia
Spawn has always been more of a supernatural horror story than a straightforward superhero property, but things have gone down a bit more of a traditional route lately due to one team. The Scorched group is a team of hellspawns who work for and independently of Spawn. Leading the charge is Jessica Priest, a former enemy of Al Simmons (and his true killer after his ties to Chapel from Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood were retconned), who has now become She-Spawn.
The Scorched is essentially the Spawn equivalent of the Justice League or the Avengers, though they deal with supernatural threats and sometimes terrorists. This gives them an edge that fits the shared universe, as they aren’t concerned with getting cats out of trees or anything of that nature. Most importantly, they rarely get along, with the dysfunctional team having only Spawn’s agenda to guide them.
1 Gunslinger Spawn Is the Spawn Universe's Biggest Modern Hit
First Appearance: Spawn #119 by Brian Holguin and Todd McFarlane
Easily one of the most successful Spawn spinoff characters is Gunslinger Spawn, with the debut of the modern incarnation of this character being synonymous with the revival of the Spawn property as a whole. A slick, gun-toting hellspawn from the Old West, Javier was accidentally brought to the future by Al Simmons. Having his own vengeful agenda, he helps Spawn and others like him for as long as it suits him, but he has independent pursuits.
Gunslinger Spawn already has several toys and comic books of his own, and he ranks as the most popular of the secondary hellspawns. He might be the weakest of the bunch, but this just sees him using his old faithful skills as a gunfighter. It helps that his design is so close to the classic Spawn costume, albeit with exclusive aspects that make him visually so compelling.
