SPAWN #300 REVIEW
Summary: The main story is phenomenal, and while the back-ups vary in quality, it’s still an outstanding book as a whole. Congratulations Todd. Here’s to another 27 years!
4
Happy Birthday!
SPOILERS INHERENT IN REVIEW!
OK, so its confession time. I really didn’t start reading Spawn until issue 230. When it debuted, I was 4. I saw the movie when I was 11 and thought it was really cool, and I already kind of knew Al Simmons backstory from sitting in my local comic shop, but I only had so much money as a kid and it was normally spent on Avengers Vol. 3, Green Lantern and Superman titles (with the occasional sprinkling of X-Men). Spawn just wasn’t my cup of tea.
I was in the same store years ago when somebody brought up Spawn and I said something to the effect of “That’s still running? Hasn’t he avenged his death yet?” I said that jokingly, only to get the following in return “Dude, he’s been dead for like… 3 years. Jim Downing is the new Spawn.” I was dumbfounded and for some strange reason, really wanted to find out what the heck had happened. So I picked up issue 230 and was hooked. I immediately went scurry for all the issues that I could and read from 185 to the (then current) end. I was psyched to here Al was returning and was happy to see the end and explanation of Jim Downing…
So yeah, that never happened and even if it has been explained, I STILL don’t understand what Downing was. But that’s besides the point. Since his return, Al Simmons has been preparing for war. The forces of heaven and hell killed Wanda and now they are going to pay. Spawn has been gathering old villains to help him take down both sides, but the Violator has returned and Al may be in trouble. Following a 3 issue arc where the whole series was explained (honestly, if you want, you could pretty much skip 297, 298, and 299 and not miss anything) we arrive at the big 300. So what happens?
Well, we open up on a little girl (no more than 10) killing most of her family. Well, that was a pleasant sight. We then switch to the now infamous news reports we’ve had for the past 27 years. These reports are about random normal people committing murder, suicide, and other crimes. We then switch to Spawn saying everything has been a lie. His costume, powers, everything! He confronts Violator and Godsend and … gets his ass kicked. Violator kills him and strips him of his costume. That’s the end of Spawn… or it would be except Spawn’s not dead… OH NOOO… Spawn rises, without his costume, still fully powered and the look on both Violator’s and godsends face is priceless. They were so sure that they had him, but Al Simmons truly had an ace up his sleeve. The main story really ends with Al Simmons in a makeshift costume pretty much stapled, imbedded, and punctured into his body, barb wire and all. The counter has finally reached 00:00:01.
The art is fantastic as is the story. The story has always been about Al Simmons, but we the reader have always assumed it was about the costume. I can’t wait to see what’s next,
Spawn #300 Score: 4 out 5.
As for the back-up stories, I’ll be brief.
Redemption: Al fights Eddie (Redeemer) and Eddie breaks free of heaven’s influence to turn into a pretty nifty costume.He’s now known as Reaper and Al’s army has grown.
Score: 4 out of 5.
Lost and Found: Mark tries to escape his bunker but finds that he is in the middle of nowhere. A demon pops up and… stuff happens? It’s not a good sign that I can’t tell if Jim Downing just woke up or if that final page is Mark having an awakening.
Score: 2 out of 5.
Omens: Jessica finds one of Spawn’s hideouts and ends up experiencing a ton of Al’s memories. While it’s a nice story, it’s not really important to the grand scheme of things (yet.) …
JUST KIDDING! In a totally hilarious 90s-esque moment, Jessica is now – SHE-SPAWN! SHE MAY NOT HAVE POUCHES BUT SHE’S GOT A HELLUVA BIG GUN.
Score: 3 out of 5.
& Prophecies…: A lone figure walks up to a temple. He is welcomed inside by a voice. That’s it. I think that it’s Coglistro but we don’t actually find out.
Score: 2.5 out of 5.
The main story is phenomenal, and while the back-ups vary in quality, it’s still an outstanding book as a whole. Congratulations Todd. Here’s to another 27 years!
(Now if we could only get Jim Lee’s original Wildc.a.t.s back. No offense Mr. Ellis.)
Total Score: 4 out of 5 for the whole issue.
About the Author
Matt Fischer Lover of all things nerdy. Reader of Comics for over 25 years. DC encyclopedia. X-Men historian. Spider-Man and Marvel lover. Indie side guy.
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