Todd McFarlane Teases What to Expect From Spawn in Mortal Kombat 11

Fresh off revealing a new Mortal Kombat 11 Spawn teaser trailer, Todd McFarlane, the creator of the Hellspawn superhero, has detailed what to expect from the DLC character when he hits the PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia fighting game this month. According to McFarlane, the only requirement he had of NetherRealm Studios was to think outside the box and make him an exciting character. McFarlane says he expressed that the development team take as much creative freedom as they need to make Spawn not only a great video game character, but a great Mortal Kombat character.

“When these guys came to me and asked if they could use Spawn, I said the only requirements were that I need you to make him a really exciting character in your game, so that if nobody knows Spawn, they will go, this guy, he’s my favorite,” said McFarlane while speaking to Shoryuken. “I told them to make Spawn work in their game, play to what your audience likes. Make a cool video game character.

McFarlane continued:

“Take someone that we both know is the Intellectual Property ‘Spawn,’ but literally do whatever it is that you want with him to make him fit your game. Don’t feel tied to the comics, or the show, or the movie. If that means you make up some new stuff to make him cool for your audience, then so be it.”

In the interview, McFarlane noted that at first NetherRealm Studios was taking baby steps with the character, presumably not to stray too far away from the character’s original design. However, McFarlane kept telling them: “Get crazier. Go Bigger!”

“I told these guys, look, I am not in my twenties anymore, I’m older, I’ve got thick skin, get creative,” added the Spawn creator. “Eventually, the guys at NetherRealm got to the point where it all clicked. ‘Wow, we can really do anything!’”

McFarlane continued:

“Being an artist, I know what it is like to feel boxed in, being told what you can and cannot do with the thing you are creating. I assume these people feel the exact same way. By giving them the freedom to create whatever character they want, that is when you get good results. Instead of saying, here are the rules, I say, Spawn in this game is not a continuation of the one from the comics, this is a Spawn for people who like video games, and not just video games, but Mortal Kombat games. They need to think he is cool for who he is in the game. Make him fun, make him cool, with his abilities and his cape, which might not always be red with a push of a button!”

Mortal Kombat 11 is available on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Goolge Stadia. Tomorrow, Spawn’s first-look gameplay will be revealed, and then the following week, on March 17, the character will release into the 2019 fighting game.