Spawn #6: Payback, Part 1 Review
Medium: Comic
Release date: 11/1/1992
Review date: 11/8/2024
Score: 4/10
Hey, have any of you ever used, or even heard, the descriptor “a few sandwiches short of a picnic?”
No?
You’ve never heard anyone referred to as “a few sandwiches short of a picnic?”
Huh, interesting.
Anyways, I think “Spawn” #6 is the most super hero-y of all the series’ issues so far, which is, uh, something, I guess. We get introduced to Overt-Kill, a super villain working in the service of the mob who gets tasked by the local New York leaders to take out Spawn in misplaced retaliation for the Violator killing a number of their higher ranked goons in earlier issues. Overt-Kill is under the impression that Spawn is a Youngblood because by god Todd is going to make you check out some of Image’s other titles whether you like it or not, and was apparently embarrassed by the Youngbloods earlier (maybe he appears in one of that series’ issues?), so he personally wants to get Spawn too. The two (psychically?) agree to meet in a warehouse full of random wheels and cogs to throw down, and Spawn gets one of Overt-Kill’s hands completely crushed in one of the cogs but oh no! Overt-Kill is actually a cyborg, so he’s fine. Al then says he’s fought cyborgs in the past when he was a government hitman but they weren’t this advanced, which OK, I guess we’re getting the Spawn Universe Cyborg world building out of the way now, fun. Overt-Kill then beats on Al for a while until he thinks he’s dead but he’s actually not because get this, Overt-Kill’s life vitals detection, uh, radar? was housed in the cyborg’s hand Spawn crushed. I know what you’re thinking - badass, right? Totally not one of the most convoluted plot contrivances you’ve ever heard, right? Exactly, Todd’s a top shelf comics writer, respect your betters, peasant. During the fight with Overt-Kill, Spawn refuses to use his powers since he doesn’t want to decrease the amount of time he has left before his devilish captor claims his soul, so following his defeat at the cyborg’s hands (hand) Spawn decides to “get serious” and breaks into an old army base he’s familiar with to steal some guns for the next issue.
I feel like most series have a main idea, or even gimmick, by issue #6, but “Spawn” feels kind of rudderless - the first four issues were thematically in line, what with Al moodily questioning his situation and existence, but didn’t really go anywhere, only for the last issue to try and keep that mood going but didn’t really end up anywhere with the Kincaid stuff, and now this issue introduces a kind of silly super villain for Spawn to get in a shootout with in the next release. What is the vibe of this comic supposed to be, is it a moody, dark tale of a former hitman now turned Hellspawn, or is it a goofy ass superhero comic? “Porque no los dos” you may ask, which is a fair question for if the series were on like issue #100, but this early on I want a bit more consistency from a title. The series choosing not to follow up on Spawn’s demonic master or evil former boss Jason Wynn, or really any of the other narrative threads the series has spooled out so far and instead do a dumb “Youngblood” plot line feels more like Todd and the rest of the “Spawn” creative team not really knowing what to do with the series rather than them just being a bit loose with it.
I’m not understanding Spawn’s “It Girl” status yet, sorry.