Spawn is usually something of a lone wolf, with his vengeful ways seeing him alienate those around him. Of course, his nature as an undead hellspawn tends to make it hard to resume a normal life. Despite all these brutal realities lived by Al Simmons, he actually has several individuals who have come to his aid on occasion.
From fellow hellspawns to more human allies, Spawn’s supporting cast of allies includes some incredibly unlikely individuals. Some were previously enemies of his, while others actually hail from or were sold to different comic book publishers. Regardless of where they started, fate put these people in Al Simmons’ journey to unleash hell upon everyone who stands in his way.
Terry Fitzgerald Was Spawn’s Best Friend
First Appearance: Spawn #3 by Todd McFarlane
Long before Al Simmons died, one of the people who made his life worth living was Terry Fitzgerald. Named after an actual associate of Todd McFarlane’s, Terry married Wanda after Jason Wynn had Al killed. Together, Terry and Wanda had a daughter named Cyan, creating a family that Al could never give to his former wife.
Since then, Terry has become aware that Al is Spawn and worked alongside him in his continuing war against Heaven and Hell. In many cases, Terry acts as his moral guide, butting heads with him in a way that gives him a remaining tie to humanity. While they don’t always see eye to eye, Al and Terry are still incredibly close, mainly due to their shared love of Wanda.
9Wanda Was Spawn’s Greatest Love In Life
First Appearance: Spawn #1 by Todd McFarlane
The very reason that Al Simmons became Spawn was to come back and see his wife, Wanda, one more time. This wish ended up being his undoing, but even after coming back as a vicious hellspawn, Al’s love for her remained. Many times throughout his comic books, he rarely interacted with her directly, instead pining for her from the shadows while also warding off the darker elements that threatened her new family.
Wanda would herself become more intimately involved with these paranormal events, especially after giving birth again. She was eventually killed in a riot, and her death has remained intact ever since. Despite losing the woman that he had pledged to protect no matter what, Spawn is still heavily influenced by Wanda and what she personally stood for.
8Angela Fought Spawn First Before Becoming Thor’s Sister
First Appearance: Spawn #9 by Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane
Originally, Angela wasn’t an ally at all to Spawn. Instead, she was a brutal angel sent by Heaven to hunt him down, with only his superior power level being able to save him. Despite her intentions, Spawn assisted Angela when she was on trial and they fought side-by-side. Angela was killed off when Spawn finally took the fight to Malebolgia, but Heaven resurrected her afterward.
Due to legal stipulations and various court battles, it was decided that prominent writer Neil Gaiman had ownership of the character. Since then, he sold the rights to her to Marvel Comics, having been a part of that company’s shared universe for over a decade. In her new history, Angela is the sister of the powerful god Thor and has no ties to the Spawn mythos.
7Harry Houdini Conjured Up a Friendship With Spawn
First Appearance: Spawn #19 by Tom Orzechowski, Andrew Grossberg and Greg Capullo
Spawn has actually fought alongside none other than Harry Houdini, the famed real-life magician and stage performer. In this universe, Houdini faked his death and mastered far more true magic than his stage shows led others to believe. These abilities included transporting himself and others to different dimensions, which he uses in an attempt to outright bomb demons.
Houdini actually teaches Spawn about magic and the nature of his costume, which is essentially a symbiote similar to fellow Todd McFarlane creation, Venom. In this capacity, he’s one of the few forthright mentors that Al Simmons gets, especially given how esoteric characters such as Cogliostro can be. Sadly, the presence of Houdini hasn’t been referenced in decades, but he helped Spawn out a lot while he was there.
6Jessica Priest Went from Killer to Antihero
First Appearance: Spawn #61 by Todd McFarlane and Greg Capullo
Jessica Priest was originally portrayed as the true killer of Al Simmons, with her presence being a way to circumvent the legalities of Chapel from Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood. She was initially just an assassin for higher at the beck and call of Jason Wynn, Spawn’s corrupt former employer. Eventually, however, she became an ally of Spawn and a hellspawn in her own right.
Currently, Jessica Priest operates as She-Spawn, even wearing a costume similar to the one used by Al Simmons. With this, her training and her supernatural powers, she leads the hellspawn strike force known as The Scorched. She and Spawn tend to disagree and argue quite a bit, but they are far less antagonistic than they were initially.
5Gunslinger Spawn Is One of the Newest Spawn Characters
First Appearance: Spawn #119 by Brian Holguin and Todd McFarlane
The original Gunslinger Spawn was actually an ancestor of Al Simmons, but the current version is completely unrelated. Also known as Javier, Gunslinger Spawn is from the time of the Old West and has his own vengeful agenda. He’s actually physically and magically one of the weakest hellspawns, which is why he relies on his firearms so much
The Gunslinger tends to run roughshod on even his allies, which is why he usually has more than a stern word or two for Al Simmons. Their work together is largely contingent on being out of each other’s way and helping each other get what the other wants. At the same time, Spawn can’t deny how useful Javier is, especially since he can relate to his yearning for dark justice.
4Marc Rosen Has Helped Al Simmons In Different Ways Throughout the Years
First Appearance: Spawn #187 by Brian Holguin and Todd McFarlane
Marc Rosen was formerly a friend of Al Simmons’ brief replacement, Jim Downing, with Marc working as a reporter. His cases eventually begin to involve the many supernatural happenings around New York, especially after Jim is revealed as the latest hellspawn. Once Al returns as the current Spawn, Rosen befriends him and begins working with him, namely after Al seals off the Deadzones to Heaven and Hell.
More recently, Marc Rosen has become bonded to Medieval Spawn, having placed the hellspawn’s haunted helmet on his head when this happened. Through this newfound power, he’s been able to help Spawn more directly while also working alongside The Scorched. Of course, having known about Jessica Priest’s former allegiances, he has more than a few trust issues with her.
3Sam & Twitch Keep the Spawn Universe Grounded
First Appearance: Spawn #1 by Todd McFarlane
Debuting in the first issue of the Spawn comic book, Sam and Twitch are two New York detectives who get caught up in several situations that are ultimately tied to Al Simmons. Respectively cynical and monotone, these two unorthodox cops are actually some of the few on their police force who aren’t corrupt. This sees them working with Spawn on quite a few cases, even if some of the more paranormal elements of the franchise sometimes leave them holding the bag.
Sam and Twitch ground not only Spawn but the overall Spawn universe, with their cases highlighting that some of the darkest demons are those of the human variety. They currently have their own comic book, which is one of the many newly launched Spawn titles, coinciding with the brand having a resurgence in the 2020s. Given that Spawn is back on top, it only makes sense that the two cops who have been there for him for so long would also see a comeback.
2Haunt Is Another Supernatural Todd McFarlane Creation
First Appearance: Haunt #1 by Robert Kirkman and Todd McFarlane
Like Spawn himself, Haunt bears more than a slight resemblance to both Spider-Man and Venom from Marvel Comics. Essentially two people in one, Haunt is both Catholic priest Daniel Kilgore and the spirit of his murdered brother Kurt, who was a secret agent. Powered by a suit made of ectoplasm, their union is the manifestation of their brotherly bond, which had actually become somewhat tattered before Kurt’s death.
Haunt has since become a part of the overall Spawn Universe, even working alongside Spawn and The Scorched. Daniel Kilgore was also visited in his civilian priest form by people such as Jim Downing, the successor to Al Simmons. While he isn’t a hellspawn, Haunt is more than willing to use his similar powers to fight against supernatural threats.
1Batman Is Spawn’s Most Unexpected Ally
First Appearance: Detective Comics #27 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger
Image via DC Comics
Image via DC and Image Comics
Image via Image Comics
Image via DC Comics
Todd McFarlane did not create Batman, though he did do a few covers for his comic book (namely for a sequel to Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One). Likewise, the Caped Crusader has had more than a few run-ins with Spawn. One of these adventures was penned by Frank Miller, which explains the dark, cynical and edgy antagonism showcased by the Dark Knight. Batman and Spawn ended up as begrudging allies by the end of the story, though the latter also ended up with a Batarang to the face.
Spawn and Batman were at each other’s throats a lot less in subsequent crossovers, but they still occupy very different worlds. At the end of the day, however, they’re both driven by guilt and vengeance, though one is much more of a violent antihero. If nothing else, the two could definitely bond over their mutual hatred of villainous clowns.
Spawn
WriterTodd McFarlanePencilerTodd McFarlanePublisherImage Comics (from 1992 onwards), with Malibu Comics publishing the early issues (1992-1992).ArtistsGreg Capullo, J.H. Williams III, Clayton CrainInkerGreg Capullo, Brian Haberlin, Danny Miki, Scott ClarkColoristMcLure, Brian Haberlin, Tom Simmons, J. David Reed