Before ‘Invincible’ Season 4, Watch This 10/10 Series About a Completely Different Hero From the Comics

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Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with a substantial amount of experience under his belt. Collier, or "CJ" to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. Using his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he's been able to tackle a wide variety of articles.

Invincible made a comeback yesterday when the Season 4 trailer dropped, featuring Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) taking a far deadlier approach to protecting the Earth in the wake of the Invincible War. Fans will be happy to see that the bloody violence and deep themes that make Invincible one of the best superhero stories ever put on screen are still intact, but before Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley brought their comic book masterpiece to (animated) life, there was another dark, bloody, and thought-provoking Image Comics character with his own animated adaptation. That adaptation is Todd McFarlane's Spawn, which you might have seen in your HBO Max queue.

Based on McFarlane's comics of the same name, Spawn tells the story of Al Simmons (Keith David), a former Marine turned mercenary who's betrayed and killed by his boss, Jason Wynn. Winding up in Hell, Simmons strikes a deal with the demon Malebogia to lead an army to conquer Earth, in exchange for reuniting with his wife Wanda. Since this is a deal with the devil, things don't go Simmons' way: he returns to Earth, but with no memory of who he is and five years after his death. To make matters worse, Wanda married Simmons' best friend, Terry Fitzgerald, and has a daughter with him. Renamed "Spawn", Simmons battles forces from Heaven and Hell while struggling to hold onto what humanity he has left.

'Todd McFarlane's Spawn' Captures the Brutality of The Comics

Spawn stands in a city at night with a large moon behind in the Spawn animated series.

A veritable army of creative talent helped bring Todd McFarlane's Spawn to life, with directors including Eric Radomiski (Batman: The Animated Series) and Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Love, Death + Robots) translating the gritty, blood-soaked atmosphere of the comics to animation. Whenever Spawn moves, he becomes a living shadow, with the only color coming from his glowing green eyes and his flowing red cape. His archnemesis, the Violator, has arguably one of the most disturbing transformations in the series as his clownlike flesh sheds to reveal the bony, bug-like monster within. It's no wonder the series won an Emmy back in 1999; it looks and feels different than other animated comic book series.

Part of that was by design, as Todd McFarlane had a large creative presence on Spawn. In addition to serving as an executive producer, McFarlane also introduced each episode, discussing the history of Spawn and why it was unlike anything the audience had seen at that point. It turns out that it took the networks a bit of convincing too, as McFarlane was approached by different studios who wanted to make Spawn into an animated series...but strip away the essence of what makes Al Simmons who he is. During an interview, McFarlane revealed why he chose to take Spawn to HBO:

"People have such a stereotype about animation — they immediately think cartoons and Disney. They're not used to seeing Silence of the Lambs, The Godfather and Seven all in one cartoon, but that's what they're getting."

True to McFarlane's words, Spawn is packed full of brutal violence and real-world themes in addition to the fights with angels and demons. Spawn faces mob bosses, racist serial killers, and psychotic priests throughout the series, showing that the darkest evil can take place in human form. None of it would work without Keith David, who brings Spawn to life with a powerful vocal performance. Throughout the series, David's voice spikes with rage, trembles with sadness, and often stays as a somber baritone; it's clear that he understands the tragedy inherent in Spawn's character.

Spawn Is Still One of Image Comics' Biggest Characters — and Even Fought Invincible

Todd McFarlane's Spawn ended on a cliffhanger, yet the character continues to have a major presence in pop culture. In addition to being the star of a live-action movie in 1997, Spawn also appeared in multiple video games including Mortal Kombat 11, where Keith David once again reprised his role as the hellish anti-hero. Todd McFarlane has also aimed to get a Spawn movie off the ground for years, and is currently on the hunt for a director. Spawn's biggest success remains in comics, as he's the independent character with the longest running comic book series in history.

In addition to paving the way for Invincible, Spawn has encountered Mark Grayson at two different points. The first is Invincible #60, where Spawn is battling an alternate Mark who yells out that he killed the antihero. The second was the Image United miniseries, which pitted Invincible and other Image Comics icons against a demonic version of Al Simmons calling himself "Omega Spawn". Though Spawn hasn't appeared in Invincible, Robert Kirkman revealed that Season 4 will feature an original storyline pitting Mark against the forces of hell; it'd be the perfect moment to have Spawn make a cameo, and bring Keith David back to voice him once again.

Todd McFarlane's Spawn is available to stream on HBO Max. Season 4 of Invincible premieres on March 18, 2026.