Season 1 Overview
Season one of Spawn was a lot of things. Violent. Grotesque. Vulgar. Or
in one simple word, it was adult. There was nothing about this show that
felt like a cartoon. Sure, it looked like it but it certainly didn’t
give off the usual cartoon feel.
When I first saw Spawn, I had only read the Batman / Spawn comic (mind
you the Image version, not that tripe DC Comics put out). I knew of the
character, but like all overprotective parents, I wasn’t given access to
the live-action movie or the comic books. I could purchase the
occasional Spawn figure (with my first being the excellent Spawn V from
Series 17) and as my collection of Spawn action figures grew, so did my
interest. I began picking up the monthly series and a friend allowed me
to read her Spawn collection. I quickly finished the comics and dove
straight into the movie which I found a complete waste of time and
really disappointing.
Needless to say I had heard a lot about the animated Spawn. It wasn’t
like the movie and it was more extreme than the comic books. I first saw
the show via a friend a few years ago and loved it. It was everything I
had wanted the movie to be and I finally purchased my DVD set of them
about a year ago. But that doesn’t tell you anything about this season,
just how I came about to (eventually) doing this website.
The main thing that season one does is set up our understanding and
perceptions of Spawn’s world. We start out along with Spawn, as confused
as he is and learning as he is. It’s a great ride, especially when we
get to see Spawn in action.
Spawn’s supporting cast is as interesting as him. The ever annoying
Clown had great dialogue over the course of this season. Terry, Wanda,
Sam and Twitch’s parts were all minor in this season—as they should be.
We get into them more as we progressed through the show.
This first season’s overall story arc was that of Billy Kincaid, child
killer. The plot culminated in the final episode, “Endgame” and was
nothing short of a rousing finale. The music, mood and tension of it all
was extremely well executed and remains one of my favorite episodes. One
of my only complaints is the death of Kincaid—the way Spawn does it in
the comics is completely brutal and evil. I understand why the show
couldn’t do it (taking a different direction), but it would’ve been
awesome to have seen that iconic image animated.
With shaky animation, design changes and a lackluster score, season one
certainly didn’t show off its skills the best. With what it did have
however, it hooked its audience and kept them coming back for a second
and third season. The first season of Spawn is nothing that will impress
you past the gore, but the underlying story about a man seeking
redemption and just trying to get back in the arms of his loving wife
will definitely keep you interested.
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