10 Best Versions of Spawn in Image Comics, Ranked

Spawn is a hugely popular superhero, known outside of the major publishers like DC and Marvel. The Spawn comic series was one of the first big successes for Image Comics and has been running for over three decades, growing into a large universe with many spin-off titles. While the main story centers on Al Simmons, the anti-hero Spawn, the series has introduced hundreds of other Hellspawns – beings who have existed throughout history. These Hellspawns are typically people who died, went to Hell, and were then turned into soldiers for the demon Malebolgia in his endless war with Heaven. They come in many forms, with some fully embracing their monstrous appearances, and others fighting against their nature to become protectors of humanity.

Hellspawns are incredibly powerful beings due to the living suits they wear, which are made of a dark energy called necroplasm. These suits grant them a wide range of abilities, including superhuman strength, flight, the power to create weapons, telepathy, energy blasts, healing, and even control over the undead. Some of the strongest and most heroic Hellspawns have united to form the Scorched, a team dedicated to protecting the world from both Heaven and Hell. They represent the most complex and well-developed versions of the Spawn character in Image Comics.

10) Plague Spawn

Plague Spawn originated when Malebolgia needed soldiers for his war with Heaven. Created by fusing the skulls of a white demon and a black angel, Plague Spawn was a wildly powerful and relentless monster. He dominated Hell, destroying both angels and demons, before Malebolgia finally managed to contain him. Fragments of Plague Spawn were then used to create the living suits worn by all other Hellspawn. But when a massive tear in reality freed him from his prison, he easily defeated even Omega Spawn, a being capable of conquering planets. Completely independent and universally feared, Plague Spawn served as the original model for all future Hellspawn.

9) Mandarin Spawn

Centuries ago, during China’s Southern Sung Dynasty, a disfigured farmer named Chenglei was sold to a cruel governor who tortured him for amusement. After Chenglei died, he made a pact with the demon Malebolgia and was reborn as the incredibly powerful Mandarin Spawn. Driven by revenge, Mandarin Spawn decimated countless enemies, but instead of killing the governor, he condemned him to an eternal, agonizing imprisonment. In modern times, Mandarin Spawn attempted to conquer the world with a demonic army, but was defeated by a group known as the Scorched. Eventually, seeking to atone for his actions, he allied with Al Simmons, offering his power to help defend humanity against the threats from Hell.

8) Monolith

Monolith, a massive alien creature and the first of his kind introduced to the Spawn Universe, dramatically expanded its reach into outer space. He hails from a world destroyed by monstrous Planet Eaters and was among the last survivors, forced to serve the evil Omega Spawn. Initially, Monolith reluctantly fought alongside Omega Spawn in a campaign to conquer Earth, battling many of Earth’s heroic Hellspawns. He possesses incredible strength, easily overpowering even Al Simmons. However, tired of being controlled, Monolith ultimately turned against Omega Spawn, helping the Earth’s Hellspawns defeat him. Since then, this towering alien has become a galactic anti-hero and often joins the Scorched team.

7) Omega Spawn

Omega Spawn is a massively powerful, ancient being from the future, and one of the original Hellspawn. He’s a galactic tyrant who wants to reshape the entire universe into a terrifying reflection of himself. In the distant past, he almost defeated Malebogia and ruled both Hell and Earth. Eventually, he decided Earth wasn’t worth his time and focused on conquering the universe instead, destroying countless worlds over centuries. When a rift in space-time brought him back to modern-day Earth, he resumed his plans for conquest as a stepping stone to his larger cosmic war. Fueled by incredibly destructive energy, Omega Spawn is considered one of Al Simmons’ greatest enemies.

6) Deviant

In 2107, a new hero arose in the gritty, futuristic city of Rat City. Peter Cairnn, a veteran of World War III who lost both legs in a bombing, received advanced cybernetic replacements and nanites to help him recover. Unbeknownst to everyone, the bomb was powered by Hellspawn energy that merged with the nanites in his system, transforming him into a powerful being. Now known as the Deviant, Peter fights against the ruthless Pharmatech Solutions (P.T.S.), a corporation determined to steal his powers and use them as weapons.

5) Medieval Spawn

Medieval Spawn is similar to Marvel’s Venom in that he’s a combination of two individuals sharing one body. Originally, he was Sir John of York, a knight from the 1500s. After being executed for accidentally killing an innocent person, Sir John was brought back as a Hellspawn. Transported to the present day through a tear in space and time, he was nearly beheaded by Al Simmons. However, when reporter Marc Rosen examined the Hellspawn’s helmet, their souls merged. Now, whenever Marc wears the helmet, he and Sir John function as the heroic Medieval Spawn, and together they became one of the original members of the Scorched.

4) Spawn (Jim Downing)

The night Al Simmons died, Jim Downing woke up from a coma, but he had no memory of who he was. Jim was one of many people connected to Al’s powerful, demonic suit – the source of Spawn’s abilities. As the last of these connected souls when Al died, Jim inherited the suit and became the new Spawn. Now wielding Al’s former suit, Jim fought against demons, angels, vampires, and other villains. However, he struggled to remember his past and control the suit’s power. When Al returned for his suit, Jim gave up being Spawn and instead began working for Greenworld, a living planet ruled by the goddess Gaia.

3) She-Spawn

Jessica Priest had a surprising journey: she went from being Al’s enemy to one of his closest allies. They both worked as mercenaries for the villain Jason Wynn. Following Wynn’s orders, Jessica killed Al to silence him, an act that ultimately led to Al becoming Spawn. Jessica herself shifted towards becoming an anti-hero after befriending the witch Nyx, who was later murdered by the villain Sinn. In an attempt to bring Nyx back to life, Jessica cast a resurrection spell, but it backfired, transforming her into a Hellspawn. Seeking answers about her new existence, she turned to Al for help. Now fighting alongside Spawn as She-Spawn, Jessica went on to found and lead the superhero team known as the Scorched.

2) Gunslinger Spawn

Jermey “Javi” Winston, Al Simmons’ great-grandfather, is a well-known figure in the Spawn Universe. Once a priest in the Old West, Jermey’s life was tragically turned upside down when a greedy businessman murdered his family to steal their land. Wrongfully accused of the crime, Jermey was executed, but not before making a deal with the demon Mammon. This deal brought him back as the Gunslinger Spawn – a vengeful Hellspawn who brutally killed everyone responsible for his family’s death and his own. Thrown forward in time by a strange rift, the Gunslinger Spawn found himself stuck in the present day. Despite wanting to return home, he became a vital, though hesitant, member of the Scorched, using his incredible shooting skills to help the team.

1) Spawn (Al Simmons)

Al Simmons, the original Spawn, was instrumental in establishing Image Comics as a leading publisher. A skilled mercenary, Al was betrayed and murdered by those he worked for. In Hell, he made a deal with the demon Malebolgia: he’d lead Hell’s armies in exchange for a chance to reunite with his wife, Wanda. However, Malebolgia deceived him, sending Al back to Earth five years after his death, physically changed and heartbroken to discover Wanda had remarried. Fueled by revenge, Al launched a solitary war against Hell. Throughout his adventures, he repeatedly saved humanity, even protecting it from the combined might of both Satan and God. Al’s compelling backstory and extraordinary abilities made his comic series the longest-running independent comic book in history.

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2025-12-17 23:16