Albert Francis "Al" Simmons, better known as Spawn, is a fictional antihero appearing in a monthly comic book of the same name published by American company Image Comics, as well as in a number of films, television series, and video game adaptations set in the Image Universe.

The deal is revealed to be a trick, as Simmons is brought back to life five years after his death, unrecognizable to his wife and missing many of his memories.

With little other choice, Simmons adopts his new hell inspired identity as Spawn in an effort to atone for his past sins and use his newfound powers for good.

[9] In October 2008, issue #185, which marked both a new creative direction and Todd McFarlane's return to the book, sold out at the distribution level and received a second printing.

[11] As of September 2010, Spawn was ranked at #115 in the top 300 sales figures chart reported by Diamond Comic Distributors.

This issue featured work by Greg Capullo, David Finch, Michael Golden, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Marc Silvestri, Danny Miki, and Ashley Wood.

[21] McFarlane also stated in an interview that he wants Spawn to outlive him the same way characters like Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, and even Disney have endured past their creators.

Al Simmons eventually becomes a highly decorated officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel while serving with Force Recon.

Simmons later joins the U.S. Security Group, an umbrella agency encompassing the CIA, NSA, and NSC, commanded by Director Jason Wynn, and becomes a capable assassin.

As a result of this, Simmons' friend and partner Bruce Stinson (codename Chapel) is secretly hired to kill him.

Malebolgia returns Simmons to the living realm with a severely burned body, and a demonic guardian named the Violator.

He wanders in a state of confusion with only vague memories of his former life, including his own name, his marriage to Wanda and the fact that he was once deceased.

Using CIA files, he tracks down his wife and finds her married to his former best friend Terry, with whom she has a daughter named Cyan.

Spawn is thrust into several antihero adventures, taking down street gangs and organized crime in New York City.

After this, Tony Twist sends a reprogrammed Overt-Kill after Terry, and Spawn is forced to reveal his identity while saving his friend.

His shroud, spikes, chains and skulls are all part of an organism bonded to his central nervous system that protects Spawn even if he is unconscious.

After recovering, Spawn learns the Greenworld has imbued him with a gift, which he uses to contain Urizen by splitting the ground and imprisoning him inside the earth.

[24] After his battle, Spawn learns Malebolgia had caused Urizen's release in an attempt to start Armageddon and conquer the forces of Heaven.

Chris meets with his mother and travels to Hell along with Sam Burke and Twitch Williams to rescue Spawn from Mammon.

After a series of odd murders, Spawn finds the Clown has come back, possessing the body of mortal Barney Saunders, who is having an affair with a woman named Wilma Barbara.

Ab and Zab create a hell where visitors are forced to view their deepest fears, which are eaten by demons called sin-eaters.

After reuniting with Sara and telling him about his transformation, Jim wanders off again and meets Wanda Blake, Al Simmons' ex-wife.

In Resurrection, Spawn is revived and is later told by God in dog form that Wanda has died and is now trapped in Hell, where Al must rescue her.

God and Satan are no longer twins because McFarlane lost the right to use the Man of Miracles character due to a copyright dispute with Marvel.

Next under the label is Rat City, a sci-fi ongoing series set 100 years in the future releases in April 2024.

McFarlane had agreed that Gaiman was a co-creator of the characters and paid him royalties for reprints, graphic novels, and action figures.

From 2015 to 2020, with "Resurrection", "Satan Saga Wars", "Hell on Earth", "Dark Horror", "Enemy of the State", and "Vengeance" volumes, the trade paperbacks have started in sequential order again collecting issues #251–297.

Spawn Collection Volume 1 was ranked 17 in the top 100 graphic novels for December 2005 period, with pre-order sales of 3,227.

These releases were originally published in fifteen 5–6-issue volumes in the UK by Titan Books, with titles named by religious themes.

[87] The cover of the album, by Greg Capullo and Todd McFarlane, depicts Spawn himself, though due to legal issues, Iced Earth could not use the names of the characters in the songs.