Spawn: Todd McFarlane Explains The New Costume

Spawn is a character that has worn a lot of different costumes over the years. Most superheroes have had their share of wardrobe changes, but this character has always managed to maintain an edge. Nothing is changing in that department as Spawn #301 nears release. There is a new look in Spawn #300 though, and that might catch some fans by surprise if they just saw the cover. Make no mistake this is still the same hero that has been holding this current run down though.

Comicbook.com's Jim Viscardi sat down with Todd McFarlane to talk about his approach to the big milestone. The costume was invariably going to come up as the iconic look is taking a backseat for a new version. Fans of the character shouldn't be alarmed though, this isn't a wild pivot by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it seems a bit fitting that the man responsible for one of the most iconic costume iterations in modern comics would look to the same device around a big milestone.

CB: So what I want to touch on first is Spawn's new look. What for you, the traditional Spawn look has been so iconic, and this is, obviously, a version of that, but when did you know you hit this new look and what does it mean for the character going forward?

"A couple of things. Visually I had it in my mind for a while. I mean I knew what this climax was going to be and it's 300. I just felt like it needed to have some visual impact," McFarlane began. "I mean we're a visual medium, but I mean besides the story needed to make sense, the visual was there. And then when I went to try and sell Greg Capool on the idea and he was in the midst of remodeling his house and so when I was chit-chatting with him that day, I could see he was a little bit distracted because things were going on. So I just went, "Greg, let me just act it out. Let me just before I leave", because I had to leave, go home, "I don't want to tell you the whole story. Let me just act out the end." And then I just set it up for him and I just went, "Okay. After the explosion, there's this ash, and if you think about like the look of 9/11, the ash that was on the ground and so I go "And here's what happens.""

He continued, "And he just starts walking. I could see it, if I was filming it, I could just see it. And he's just walking and then literally building himself into it. And part of it was, I just wanted to basically get the point across. Spawn is not the costume, right? I mean I've been playing that trope for a while, but it's time for Al himself to embrace all of this. And he has been since 250. Anybody who's been reading the book from 250 onward, it's just been him moving the chessboard around to get to this moment. So he's been basically conniving without really letting anybody know. Though if you've been reading the book, I've been placing hints and he said it out loud."

The idea that the hero isn't just the cape on their back is something that will resonate with those that have been there over the long haul, as the creator mentions. Visual impact will be felt from all sides, but at the end of the day, this is a story about a man. So, that focus will be on display as well.

"And besides, I wanted to just show that the man, it's the man that's making the hero, not the costume. It's always the human being," McFarlane explains. "And he's also a minority character and early on, obviously, one of the first things I did is I stripped him of his skin and put the costume head to toe so you couldn't tell. And I want to embrace who he is as an individual. Not make it a big deal, but just say he doesn't have to hide from that anymore."