Todd McFarlane Reveals Return Of Medieval Spawn

Fresh off his record-breaking Spawn #301, in which the long-running Image Comics series became the longest-running creator-owned comic book of all time, legendary comics creator Todd McFarlane has shared an image with fans on social media that promises the return of a fan-favorite supporting character from the early days of the series. McFarlane took time out yesterday to give a look at a cover to #303, drawn by McFarlane himself and featuring a new look at Medieval Spawn, a character who took the early issues of Spawn by storm and got turned into toys, statues, and got his own crossover miniseries with Witchblade.

The character was also embroiled for a while in legal questions stemming from a long-running disagreement between McFarlane and The Sandman creator Neil Gaiman, which is part of why he vanished from publication for so long and then returned with a vengeance in recent years once the lawsuits were settled and everyone’s ownership rights were sorted out.

You can check out the post below.

Medieval Spawn, as the name suggests, was a Hellspawn of a medieval era. He was a knight named Sir John of York, who fought during a civil war in England. He was released from service to Henry II after he and three others mistakenly killed the Archbishop of Canterbury (they mistook some angry words by the King as an order). He was killed on a battlefield in Ireland by the King’s bodyguards as he approached King Henry for forgiveness. For his past deeds of killing (and enjoying it), John was sent to Hell, where he, like others made a deal with Malebolgia. He was returned to Earth, several years in the future and clad in medieval looking symbiotic armor. Upon realizing what had happened (which was helped along with him finding his own grave), John traveled throughout England, doing good deeds in the hope he would be redeemed. He was eventually slain by the demon hunter Angela.

Of course, due to a complicated legal situation, Todd McFarlane no longer owns Angela, so Medieval Spawn may have to tweak his backstory a bit.

While popular with fans, Medieval Spawn only had a handful of appearances in the early days of the comic. It did, however, help lay the groundwork for numerous additional Hellspawns to play significant roles in the series besides the main protagonist.

Spawn #303 will be available in stores and online on December 4.