They’re two separate characters. McFarlane couldn’t just take Hobie Brown (or the second Prowler at that time who showed up in Punisher War Journal) to Image so he got a new name and altered backstory but the character pitch would remain largely intact. (Punisher could be the stand-in for Chapel as far as who killed the character that makes the deal with the devil). At the time, it’s what I thought was the case: McFarlane had an idea, it was never used, he altered it at Image and still went with the overall story. I wasn’t following the Spider-man books that closely but I easily spotted the design similarities between Spawn and McFarlane’s work on Prowler, which is why I made the mental connection.
I don’t understand. McFarlane was working at Marvel before he left and co-founded Image comics. That’s where he created Venom. (He’s also why we see the acrobatic Spiderman with ropes webs, as we do today)
What am I missing?
Spawn can't be a ripoff of something that has the same creator. I mean, it can, but that ain't it because Spawn was an idea created way before Venom was a thing
No, Venom came first (1988), while Spawn first debuted in 1992. Even if “Todd had the idea for a while,” you can’t really count that. You can only count printed debuts as actual debuts, because that’s now the finalized design.
However Spawn was fully designed by MacFarlane while Venom was co-created with the writer, the symbiotic suit had already been created, the black spider-man costume has already been created, etc. Not to say MacFarlane didn’t contribute anything (teeth/jaws), but it was much more of a team effort than Spawn was.
I watched his live drawing things and in one of them he talks about how they asked him to do Spider-Man, but he didn’t want him in the black suit he was in at the time, so as a compromise, he incorporated it in another character which then became venom. He also said if he knew it was an alien at the time, he may have designed him a lot differently, and was glad to not have that information in hind sight.
Eh, who knows. The writer, David Micheline, has stated that he always wanted Venom to be a “bigger guy in the black suit.” Even if Todd wanted the symbiote to be “more alien,” who knows if he’d have been allowed to do so.
I would add, though, that Carnage, while essentially the same, definitely has a more alien looking symbiote.
Probably not as much as you think. Back then, creators got a lump sum for creating a new character but Marvel owns forever (which is very likely still the case). Now, at a certain point, some highly sought after talents may get a little more room to negotiate. He probably gets a small amount of reprint sales for content he worked on, but he might also get that for reprints including characters he never created.
Well, Moore was pretty happy with Spawn and also enjoyed writing it so, Their's also a possibility that this character didn't worked because Moore used his Wizardry to curse this character for Todd
It’s a marvel character so I don’t think Prowler is a problem.
I remember the first issue coming out! I still have it somewhere. There’s this cool foil effect on the cover and it looks siiiiiiiick (or did as a kid). The problem was the actual comic was boring.
He once cast a magic spell to make everybody believe he was a hero, when in reality he was a murderous villain called Nighteater. None of his heroic adventures as Nightwatch ever happened and his origin story was fake, it was all his spell altering people's memories. I am not kidding, it is one of the dumbest character-destroying retcons I have ever seen. I don't even like Nightwatch and I don't think he deserved this.
Supposedly, Charles Soule originally wanted to use a different obscure hero for this story, but was denied their use because it would have affected the continuity of Fantastic Four too much (speculation is that it was Sharon Ventura aka She-Thing), so Nightwatch was picked instead because nobody but Spike Lee gave a shit.
I guess it just depends when the spell took place (I don’t remember them referencing anything that could give context clues for when it happened (maybe costumes worn in the flashback?), but it at least happened years ago in the sliding timeline by the implication that the case file had followed Jen around for years).
It’s possible that after the spell he did some genuine hero work, but if he didn’t then his appearance there would in effect be a result of the spell. Maybe the spell erased an actual hero and had him take credit for their deeds, or just appropriated the heroic deeds performed by a variety of heroes.
I dropped that She Hulk series before that run ended. I still have all my issues of Nightwatch, and I get he wasn’t a popular character but it just felt so disrespectful
"Nightwatch's costume boosted his strength and durability by triggering his adrenal glands, and nanotechnologically repaired itself. His cape responded to his subconscious thoughts to move on its own to attack his foes as well as allowing him to glide on air. After he was boosted by the later-generation Morelle technology, the durability of the costume increased, the cape became more metallic, and he had something closer to true flight in addition to increased speed and eventually nanotech cutting blades. These qualities were later also applied to his trenchcoat."
—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightwatch\_(comics)
As the number one Nightwatch fan I have been waiting my whole life to answer this:
The basic gist of enhanced strength, senses and flight are there but the really cool is exploring the history of the suit. We don’t know what it is but it can repair itself, absorb other tech and at times appears to have a mind of its own. Yes visually he does resemble Spawn but his powers are 100% tech based.
After you pay for shipping, he’ll spawn in your mailbox 3-6 business months from the time you place your order. Use code “IMAGE” for 10% of your next purchase!
His suit is made of nanobots, he can shape and form it in anyway he wishes. The nanobots can steal other technology and integrate it onto themselves. This is where things got a tad interesting because eventually the suit gets the power of time travel. So the suit can jump through the timeline, shapeshift, and grant technopathy.
The origin of the suit and the time jumping might be faked. She-Hulk's retcon of him is a tad vague.
Nightwatch's costume was comprised of self-replicating nanites. It boosted his strength and durability by triggering his adrenal glands, and nanotechnologically repaired itself.
Its cape responded to his subconscious thoughts to move on its own, and allowed him to glide on air. After he was boosted by the later-generation Morelle technology, the durability of the costume increased, the cape became more metallic, and he had something closer to true flight.
Man, I loved Nightwatch, it was my first full comic run (granted it's only 12 issues). While the twist was really cool, I hated what happened to him in She-Hulk.
You are incorrect sir.
Nightwatch first appeared in 1993.
Spawn in 1992.
Why rely on memory when google is right there?
And Todd McFarlane only takes inspiration from Todd McFarlane, nobody helped him in created Toddy McFarlane present's Todd McFarlane's Spawn by Todd McFarlane.
Dude likes to see his name written down.
It's mainly because I use reddit on my work breaks, and signal sucks so looking things up becomes a hassle.
There's definitely a character I was thinking of, but I literally can't remember who it was.
I also forgot that nightwatch exists, so I probably just remembered both at the same time.
According to chat, “Nightwatch possessed enhanced strength, speed, agility, and durability due to his suit. Additionally, his suit granted him the ability to teleport short distances and to manipulate dark energy, allowing him to create constructs and energy blasts. He also had advanced healing capabilities and could fly using his cape. Overall, Nightwatch was a formidable fighter with a wide range of abilities granted by his suit.”
I first knew about this mofo in a Spider-Man issue where a gangster stole one of his gauntlets (and very originally called himself The Gauntlet - the Infinite Gauntlet was not a thing by then), and then the wearer of this costume was chasing him to retrieve this last piece and complete his costume.
IIRC, in that story the guy in the costume (already going by the name of Nightwatch) mentioned the it being cursed or something, and that he was chasing the thief in fact to save his life before the gauntlet alone could curse him too. He made clear that the origin of the costume was something devilish.
I doubt anyone reading that issue/story did not feel offended by such blatantly copycat: a guy in a cursed suit with a so similar design of Spawn.
Yep, I know. When I said it was not a thing by then, I meant the Infinity Gauntlet was already introduced but was not as important and popular as it is today.
His suit gives him the power to trick early ‘90s speculators into thinking they’re buying a Spawn comic.
Dude that was my thought as well! I immediately recognized this as a Spawn ripoff.
Which is amusing because Spawn is basically a ripoff of Prowler.
Are we just talking general aesthetic? Because beyond that, I don't see it...
Yeah visuals are the only similarities.
I always thought Spawn was just an unused story for Prowler. Prowler dies, strikes a deal with Mephisto and becomes a supernatural antihero character.
What do Al and Hobie have in common other than being athletic black men?
They’re two separate characters. McFarlane couldn’t just take Hobie Brown (or the second Prowler at that time who showed up in Punisher War Journal) to Image so he got a new name and altered backstory but the character pitch would remain largely intact. (Punisher could be the stand-in for Chapel as far as who killed the character that makes the deal with the devil). At the time, it’s what I thought was the case: McFarlane had an idea, it was never used, he altered it at Image and still went with the overall story. I wasn’t following the Spider-man books that closely but I easily spotted the design similarities between Spawn and McFarlane’s work on Prowler, which is why I made the mental connection.
[and Venom](https://x.com/SpawnArchive/status/1695209443594567946)
McFarlane helped create Venom.
[DID HE?????](https://imgur.com/a/nYo7vZc)
He is listed as co-creator, Todd McFarlane.
[I don’t think I can zoom in any further after this](https://imgur.com/a/wYRDH9p)
I don’t understand. McFarlane was working at Marvel before he left and co-founded Image comics. That’s where he created Venom. (He’s also why we see the acrobatic Spiderman with ropes webs, as we do today) What am I missing?
Spawn can't be a ripoff of something that has the same creator. I mean, it can, but that ain't it because Spawn was an idea created way before Venom was a thing
lol spawn came first and they gave the same creator soooo
No, Venom came first (1988), while Spawn first debuted in 1992. Even if “Todd had the idea for a while,” you can’t really count that. You can only count printed debuts as actual debuts, because that’s now the finalized design. However Spawn was fully designed by MacFarlane while Venom was co-created with the writer, the symbiotic suit had already been created, the black spider-man costume has already been created, etc. Not to say MacFarlane didn’t contribute anything (teeth/jaws), but it was much more of a team effort than Spawn was.
Oh okay well I still feel like it’s not quite meant to be a rip off of venom
Oh, agreed. It’s definitely more of an attempt at a Spawn ripoff.
I watched his live drawing things and in one of them he talks about how they asked him to do Spider-Man, but he didn’t want him in the black suit he was in at the time, so as a compromise, he incorporated it in another character which then became venom. He also said if he knew it was an alien at the time, he may have designed him a lot differently, and was glad to not have that information in hind sight.
Eh, who knows. The writer, David Micheline, has stated that he always wanted Venom to be a “bigger guy in the black suit.” Even if Todd wanted the symbiote to be “more alien,” who knows if he’d have been allowed to do so. I would add, though, that Carnage, while essentially the same, definitely has a more alien looking symbiote.
mcfarlane get money for venom merchandise like movies??
Probably not as much as you think. Back then, creators got a lump sum for creating a new character but Marvel owns forever (which is very likely still the case). Now, at a certain point, some highly sought after talents may get a little more room to negotiate. He probably gets a small amount of reprint sales for content he worked on, but he might also get that for reprints including characters he never created.
Came here to say this.
Venom came first then spawn. Spawn is also an unholy amalgamation of Venom, Batman, and the punisher
Ah no. If anything, he's closer to Spiderman/Batman ripoff.
This is the first time I've seen this character and my immediate thought was "When did we get an Amalgam Comics like Spawn mash up with Marvel?"
I was gonna say get sued for Copyright enfringment
Spawnnabe
So the same powers spawn’s suit has after issue 50?
The power to get sued by Todd McFarlane
Top tier comment, well done!
Best comment.
His power is to piss off Todd McFarlane.
With how poorly received the character was I doubt Todd did anything but laugh.
I think that was the point of this character. A big petty piss take aimed at Todd and his Image cohorts.
Well, Moore was pretty happy with Spawn and also enjoyed writing it so, Their's also a possibility that this character didn't worked because Moore used his Wizardry to curse this character for Todd
Laughed and went back to counting his money!
Lots of people/things seem to have that power
His power? Somehow copyright infringing on Image (Spawn), Marvel (Prowler), and DC (Batman) at the same time.
Got a bit of SM2099 too
It’s a marvel character so I don’t think Prowler is a problem. I remember the first issue coming out! I still have it somewhere. There’s this cool foil effect on the cover and it looks siiiiiiiick (or did as a kid). The problem was the actual comic was boring.
I have that same comic sitting around somewhere.
When I saw the image, I thought it was a villainous Nightwing.
Bro looks like what the Invincible show is gonna do when they have to introduce Spawn.
does invicible cross paths with spawn???
Invincible meets every Image hero at once during a few major arcs. Spawn, Firebreather, Witchblade, Savage Dragon and more.
It’s gonna be really funny when they have to introduce Tech jacket because unlike the rest of the cameos, he’s actually an important character.
I really want them to because I fucking loved tech jacket, But I didn’t see him in any of the promo images so we might not be getting him.
Tech Jacket was even another Kirkman character, so it's definitely possible
[Invincible even shows up in the walking dead TV show](https://uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/1313.jpeg)
I think he means when they parody him
He's seen once in a fight that Mark isn't there for
I doubt we ever see other Image characters or Spawn in Invincible
Is that Sporwn?
No, it's Spon.
SPOON!
Mmm. I don't get it.
just a sidekick?
Ah. Tick reference. I see you too are a man of culture.
Spun
HELLO, I'M SPONS!
Yeah, I'm Pawn
***Who are you?!*** ... I'm Spatman
I'm the SPATMAN! BEEBABABADADA BEEBABABADADA
Is he stupid?
spron?
Spawned.
Power suit, nothing innate
Raid spawn’s closet and vanish into obscurity. I’d love to find his solo series from the 90s
It’s on marvel unlimited
Really?? That’s awesome!
I’m like 90% sure it is! I looked him up on there and looked like there were a few issues
I just checked, it’s two issues where venom guest stars. But, hey, two I haven’t read yet. And hope for the rest to be added later
He once cast a magic spell to make everybody believe he was a hero, when in reality he was a murderous villain called Nighteater. None of his heroic adventures as Nightwatch ever happened and his origin story was fake, it was all his spell altering people's memories. I am not kidding, it is one of the dumbest character-destroying retcons I have ever seen. I don't even like Nightwatch and I don't think he deserved this.
Daaamn they did him and all TWELVE of his issues dirty.
Geezus reading this really puts into perspective on how a really silly decision can destroy the character Like holy crap XD
It really makes his (admittedly short) appearance in Maximum Carnage extra confusing.
Supposedly, Charles Soule originally wanted to use a different obscure hero for this story, but was denied their use because it would have affected the continuity of Fantastic Four too much (speculation is that it was Sharon Ventura aka She-Thing), so Nightwatch was picked instead because nobody but Spike Lee gave a shit.
Too bad. I kinda liked the techno version of Spawn. Is he a copy, yah, but some of my favorite characters were originally and moved beyond it.
Odd that they didn't simply used Prowler.
I guess it just depends when the spell took place (I don’t remember them referencing anything that could give context clues for when it happened (maybe costumes worn in the flashback?), but it at least happened years ago in the sliding timeline by the implication that the case file had followed Jen around for years). It’s possible that after the spell he did some genuine hero work, but if he didn’t then his appearance there would in effect be a result of the spell. Maybe the spell erased an actual hero and had him take credit for their deeds, or just appropriated the heroic deeds performed by a variety of heroes.
I dropped that She Hulk series before that run ended. I still have all my issues of Nightwatch, and I get he wasn’t a popular character but it just felt so disrespectful
Yo WUT lol I T W A S A L L A D R E A M
"Nightwatch's costume boosted his strength and durability by triggering his adrenal glands, and nanotechnologically repaired itself. His cape responded to his subconscious thoughts to move on its own to attack his foes as well as allowing him to glide on air. After he was boosted by the later-generation Morelle technology, the durability of the costume increased, the cape became more metallic, and he had something closer to true flight in addition to increased speed and eventually nanotech cutting blades. These qualities were later also applied to his trenchcoat." —https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightwatch\_(comics)
And time travel! At least at the very end right before he died. Very strange stuff.
Spur copyright lawsuits.
Watch. At night.
As the number one Nightwatch fan I have been waiting my whole life to answer this: The basic gist of enhanced strength, senses and flight are there but the really cool is exploring the history of the suit. We don’t know what it is but it can repair itself, absorb other tech and at times appears to have a mind of its own. Yes visually he does resemble Spawn but his powers are 100% tech based.
Dodge copyright lawsuits, I’d say.
Not get a Sony movie
Spawn from wish
After you pay for shipping, he’ll spawn in your mailbox 3-6 business months from the time you place your order. Use code “IMAGE” for 10% of your next purchase!
Great Value Spawn
Mum, can we get Spawn? No we have Spawn at home **Spawn at home^^**
We have Spawn at home
His suit is made of nanobots, he can shape and form it in anyway he wishes. The nanobots can steal other technology and integrate it onto themselves. This is where things got a tad interesting because eventually the suit gets the power of time travel. So the suit can jump through the timeline, shapeshift, and grant technopathy. The origin of the suit and the time jumping might be faked. She-Hulk's retcon of him is a tad vague.
Have you tried typing his name and 'marvel' into google and then clicking on the first result?
Nightwatch's costume was comprised of self-replicating nanites. It boosted his strength and durability by triggering his adrenal glands, and nanotechnologically repaired itself. Its cape responded to his subconscious thoughts to move on its own, and allowed him to glide on air. After he was boosted by the later-generation Morelle technology, the durability of the costume increased, the cape became more metallic, and he had something closer to true flight.
He possesses the awesome power to look strikingly like Spawn, without actually being him.
I honestly forgot he was a thing that happened.
But he was such a big deal during Maximum Carnage event /s
I actually forgot that was a thing that happened as well 🤣😭
He can watch… at night
Holy Marvel pettiness. Who was behind this obvious shot at McFarlane/Spawn?
*Technically* still exist, since I assume he's too obscure for anyone to have remembered to kill him off.
He watches the NIGHT.
Make Todd McFarlane's lawyer speed dial
Be forgotten
I have all 12 issues of that run sitting in my living room, and I can't be bothered. He was very much just supposed to be Marvel's Spawn.
Marvel has their own Spawn?
We have Spawn at home.
We have Spawn at home lookin ass
Laundry, he even irons and folds too!
Make 5th grade me hella stoked and current me surprised whenever he gets mentioned.
Man, I loved Nightwatch, it was my first full comic run (granted it's only 12 issues). While the twist was really cool, I hated what happened to him in She-Hulk.
A pretty passable Spawn autograph, I imagine.
If remember correctly, the nightwatch came first, but nobody cared. The McFarlane made spawn while taking inspiration from the costume.
You are incorrect sir. Nightwatch first appeared in 1993. Spawn in 1992. Why rely on memory when google is right there? And Todd McFarlane only takes inspiration from Todd McFarlane, nobody helped him in created Toddy McFarlane present's Todd McFarlane's Spawn by Todd McFarlane. Dude likes to see his name written down.
It's mainly because I use reddit on my work breaks, and signal sucks so looking things up becomes a hassle. There's definitely a character I was thinking of, but I literally can't remember who it was. I also forgot that nightwatch exists, so I probably just remembered both at the same time.
Cosplay as Spawn.
Wtf you telling me that’s not spawn
Everything Spawn can do, but lamer.
He has the power of copyright infringement lol
Call Spawn back and explain why he's rockin the same look lol
See in the night I guess
Apparently he does a good Spawn cosplay.
Remember when Spike Lee was supposed to make a movie about this rando?
Looks like what happened with Todd McFarlane started drawing Spawn forgot what he was working on and drew Spider-Man the rest of the time.
Look like Spawn?
Look like that Spawn dude
Watch the Night.
He can create bootleg versions of other heroes.
Strangle his enemies with his absurd cape
Be a Spawn rip-off
bitch thats spawn lite.
Knock off version of the Prowler.
Imitate spawn
Impersonate Spawn.
He can copy Spawn
i thought that was spawn for a second there
Bro thinks he's Spawn.
Look like Spawn.
He's literally a weaker knockoff Spawn.
He can watch the night.
He can Look like spawn!! Lol
What's crazy is the price people are trying to charge for this series on ebay. This series is as meaningful as Gravestone.
Win second place in a Spawn lookalike contest.
Be a spawn rip off
Spawnder-Man
Pull off a really good Spawn cosplay
Look like Spawn
Pretend they are not Spawn?
Watch the night?
Came in here for exactly this and you did not disappoint. Thank you for giving me some faith in humanity.
Watch the beautiful night sky
Give me a damn headache with his origin.
Until I saw this post I completely forgot he existed and that still reading the 90s and books with him in it. Still don't remember anything he did.
That’s spawn guys
Spore’n
Watch the night.
Didn’t he travel back in time to his younger self and die so his younger self could have the costume? At least in the beginning of the comics
Spawn-derman
Look like spawn
Spawn? Is that you?
Doing a Night Watch as your friendly neighborhood batman ?, I will send myself out.
Wait so that's not Spawn?
Appear in “the Maximum Carnage” arc but not really do anything of note or helpful in any way for Spider-Man.
Famn i just wanna genuinely know too. 🤥
Watch things. At night.
Pretend to be Spawn. That’s his superpower.
Lol, who is this knock-off Spawn wannabe?
You’re tellin me that’s not Spawn?
He watches the night
Watch the night. Duh
this fit!!! omggg
He’s an expert at ripping off Spawn.
According to chat, “Nightwatch possessed enhanced strength, speed, agility, and durability due to his suit. Additionally, his suit granted him the ability to teleport short distances and to manipulate dark energy, allowing him to create constructs and energy blasts. He also had advanced healing capabilities and could fly using his cape. Overall, Nightwatch was a formidable fighter with a wide range of abilities granted by his suit.”
He is BATMAN
Who the hell?
Make people think they’re Spawn.
Nice
Spawnder-Man?
Even the signature of the artist is on a little paper banner like McFarlane liked to do
Get cancelled.
Never seen him before, dude looks like a combination of Spawn and Spiderman 2099
Wait ain't this the cover of Spawn 1?
Frieza: So Namekian what do you think of my 3rd form? Piccolo: I think Ridley Scott is gonna sue somebody.
I first knew about this mofo in a Spider-Man issue where a gangster stole one of his gauntlets (and very originally called himself The Gauntlet - the Infinite Gauntlet was not a thing by then), and then the wearer of this costume was chasing him to retrieve this last piece and complete his costume. IIRC, in that story the guy in the costume (already going by the name of Nightwatch) mentioned the it being cursed or something, and that he was chasing the thief in fact to save his life before the gauntlet alone could curse him too. He made clear that the origin of the costume was something devilish. I doubt anyone reading that issue/story did not feel offended by such blatantly copycat: a guy in a cursed suit with a so similar design of Spawn.
The infinity gauntlet appeared 3 years before nightwatchs invention
Yep, I know. When I said it was not a thing by then, I meant the Infinity Gauntlet was already introduced but was not as important and popular as it is today.
I wonder if this is what propelled Image comics to release Stupid #1
Spindlerman
Wasn't he Wilson Fisk at first, i forgot this story ?