Spawn Resurrection #1
Image
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Art: Jonboy
Color: FCO Plascencia
Editor: Todd McFarlane
There has always been something about Spawn that makes me think to myself… Awesome! The story of Spawn has been very complex with angels, demons, sins and promises making up much of the back story and purpose for Al Simmons to having dawned the Hellspawn necroplasm suit. This issue does a great deal of hitting the pause button, recapping everything that has happened since the very first issue (including details about issue #181 when Al blew his own brains out to make a change in the constant war) and how he left an unsuitable replacement for the Spawn to take over in Jim Downing. Something that is very unique and different about this fresh start, other than Al Simmons taking back over the role of Spawn, is that the mission this time for Al isn’t some demented twisted words of a demon, but instead being the force of interference for God.
This issue, as stated, is largely an episode of “Al Simmons, this is your life” as he is shown the past. He’s shown how everything he has ever lived for was ripped away from him and how everything is a lie. Also in this issue, to make the story feel even more relevant and relatable, some of the panels are filled with current events and hot button issues (Hands up don’t shoot and Can’t Breath are the main key panels that struck me as risky but strong plot point). By the end of the “Remember this? Remember how you were lied to and cheated on?” phase of the comic, there was still plenty of reasons for Al to take back the name of Spawn and keep the peace.
As much as the story was proving to Al that this talking dog from Al’s youth was God (because God can be anything), I felt like I had the same emotions as Al, “Why now? Why interfere now? Why didn’t you help?”. God simply points out that Al wasn’t there to help either. Al as Spawn had the ability to protect the freedom of the people but instead he took his own life sending him to Limbo. When Al picked up God’s spirit sword, which had resemblance to an oversized Final Fantasy weapon, that made the story somehow that much more interesting and I knew I was ready for more Spawn. One final plot point that has me wanting to keep reading on, is the fact that I am always suspicious of the first character that the main character interacts with (See Scooby Doo, the villain is almost always the first person the gang talks to), so I wouldn’t be surprised if Al was lied to again for some ulterior motive. (If you didn’t get enough Spawn in this issue, don’t worry, Image subtly reminds you over the final few ads that you too can get own the whole Spawn collection, and it is tempting!)