Violator is the oldest and most powerful of five hell-born demons known as the Phlebiac Brothers, and his main purpose is to guide Hellspawns towards fulfilling Malebolgia's desire: to cultivate evil souls on Earth for Hell's army.

[2] However, Violator views humanity as weak and so asserts that demons should lead the armies of Hell, not Spawn.

The Violator's current humanoid disguise is that of Clown, a 3'10"[3] overweight, balding man with menacing face-paint and three fingers on each hand.

Violator has to deal with an unexpected trip to hell, an insanely murderous angel and the facility's director of security, the stone-bodied Badrock.

[5] After suffering a humiliating defeat in Hell during Spawn's return to claim the throne of the 8th sphere, Clown reappeared on Earth on the order of Mammon to wreak havoc in Spawn's life as part of the larger plan to give Nyx an opportunity to betray Al.

He was a "mental adviser" to Jason Wynn, his former contact and partner in the deal that cost Al Simmons his life.

It was revealed that the Violator was possessing hundreds of civilians and forcing them to run amok, committing acts of violence and vandalism, all with a smile on their faces.

After their attacks brought Spawn to the brink of death, leaving him bleeding and broken on the streets of Rat City in his Al Simmons persona, the Clowns vanished.

The Violator has not been seen since, but has revealed that he has been turned loose on Earth with no strings attached, and it is only a matter of time before he returns to plague Spawn anew.

Clown hijacked the body of Barney Saunders, who had been having an affair with a married woman named Wilma Barbera.

Trying to escape discovery by Wilma Barbera's husband, Barney Saunders jumped down the garbage chute only to be trapped there a couple of days before the bright light event (Spawn's destruction and recreation of the world), and doomed to be eaten alive by rats and roaches.

The Violator is revealed to be the cause of all the havoc of an apartment complex, freeing the residents of restraint and allowing them to fulfill their desires and violent urges.

Mere moments from Violator's victory, Barney Saunder's spirit gains control when his body sees his lover Wilma.

Barney reveals that he was angry at his lover for not coming to save him when he was starving in the garbage chute and takes her with him, stranding The Violator, Saunders and Wilma in Hell.

Clown plans to put together his own army to bring down the kingdom of Heaven (against the wishes of the "Elders", supposedly very powerful rulers of Hell).

Clown is absent for a while, but then reappears in New York City to find an Angel crucified to a wall (done so by the newly ordained Hellspawn).

[8] Being a relatively mid-level demon within Hell's hierarchy, the Violator possesses considerable strength and resilience to injuries; enough to tear out a Hellspawn's heart with one hand and survive multiple high-caliber gunshots that would instantly kill or cripple a human being.

The character appears as a major antagonist in the 1997 live-action Spawn film portrayed by John Leguizamo in Clown form.

In an effort to spread chaos and destruction, he convinces Wynn to attach a device in his body that would cause an apocalyptic disaster in the event of his death.

Simmons later confronts Wynn and extracts the device before the Violator attacks again, dragging Spawn into a showdown in Hell.

Simmons rejects his role as the leader of Hell's army, and alongside Cogliostro, fights off the Violator back on Earth, decapitating him in the end.