McFarlane and Co take a swipe at the insatiable beast that is comic-con fan culture. But do their pint-sized punches land?
Written by Todd McFarlane
Illustrated by JJ KirbyDo you have a favorite hero?! Better change it… they’re DEAD! If you ever wondered who the strongest hero is, THIS BOOK ANSWERS IT! It’s SPAWN… he kills EVERY HERO!
On the surface of things, this book sounds like a pretty simple affair. A cut and dry contest of champions between Spawn and the rest of the superheroic community in the same vein as Marvel’s previous outings ‘Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe’ and…well ‘Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe’ too. The truth of the matter, though, is a little different. I opened this issue wondering how McFarlane was going to explain a crossover that seemed steeped in characters from the big two, and which of Spawn’s insane superpowers he was going to have to employ to take out some of their higher tier heroes, but instead, he turns his attentions to… San Diego Comic Con.
This issue follows a foul-mouthed, fourth wall breaking Chibi-fied version of Al Simmons who has inexplicably found himself in the ‘real’ world. As he attempts to shamelessly plug a new Spawn movie (a revelation which made me go ‘huh, they’re pushing for a new Spawn movie?’) This miniature pot-bellied Spawn carves a bloody swathe through unsuspecting cosplayers, security guards, and comic book creators alike, to get himself on stage in the hallowed Hall H and get his announcement to the masses.
And…well… that’s pretty much it as far as story goes. There’s not much in terms of content beyond the strapline, and even as a one shot it does feel a little underserved in terms of narrative. Unsurprisingly, the Necroplasm-wielding hellspawn finds little resistance in the cowering nerds that he slices and dices, and so most of the deaths and dismemberments are relatively short lived. The battles are as bloody and bombastic as you’d expect from the king of 90’s overkill, but there’s something about seeing Spawn mowing down unsuspecting members of the public (not to mention his own fanbase) in their cultural Mecca that leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. It seems as though McFarlane, even after his years in ‘the biz’, still views nerds as objects of ridicule who deserve gunning down a peg or two because of the bloated spectacle they’ve allowed their hobby to become.
To go along with the overt violence and large helpings of silliness McFarlane has enlisted Kirby, whose dynamic, cartoonish art style helps cement this book as ‘of our world and yet decidedly not’. The exaggerated body-types and various levels of comic-accurate cosplays he manages to put on display feel fun and full of energy. There are some moments in the issue where the melange of action gets a little too confusing, and I feel like perhaps this high-concept book could have benefitted from some more splash panels and a slightly slower pacing to allow the art to breathe a little better, but overall it feels like Kirby treads the line between comedy and carnage relatively well.
The choice to have Spawn talk directly to the audience, as well as the self-aware spiel that he fires out as he’s indiscriminately murdering Hulks, and Venoms, and Iron Men, doesn’t feel too similar to the relatively stoic Al Simmons that Spawn fans might be expecting. In fact, I assumed early on that McFarlane might have snuck The Violator under the mask, which might have at least explained the cartoonish levels of enjoyment that Spawn seems to be experiencing in this issue. While it’s nice to see less of a grimdark rendition of a character from the heyday of that era, McFarlane’s script, packed with comic-book in-jokes and ‘current affairs’ references, (there’s a comparison made between Red Skull and Donald Trump that, while potentially accurate, feels very forced) reads like it was written for Deadpool, not Spawn. There’s a special blend of self-aware humour and hyper-violence that only really works for certain characters, and trying to retroactively fit it into a character who’s always taken himself very seriously seems like a strange narrative choice.
As I previously mentioned, it seems strange to me that a man who’s made his millions off selling merch, toys, and tie-in scale models should be taking such a hard swipe at the community that buys those things. Especially when this book seems to be simultaneously trying to reinvent Spawn and remind the world that he’s still relevant. While McFarlane at least has the decency to take equal amounts of pot-shots at himself as well as the rest of the industry, this stand-alone still comes off as more than a little pointless in my opinion. A strange outcome, considering quite how pointy its protagonist actually is.
Final Verdict: 4.2 – Brimming with blood and guts, but not much else, “Spawn Kills Everyone” promises hero-on-hero carnage, aims for biting satire, but ultimately fails to deliver either.
