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Spawn / Batman #2
Spawn / Batman
Frank Miller, author of The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One and Sin City, brings Batman to New York City in his search for an arsenal of high-tech weapons and robots that use decapitated human heads as their brains. Antagonistic, confrontational and suspicious of each other, Spawn and Batman engage in violent battles before realizing they are both after the same villain. Grudgingly, they decide to work together. The person they seek has been kidnapping and decapitating the homeless for use in the robots, but that's only part of the plan—there is also a nuclear arsenal ready to be deployed. Will Spawn and Batman be able to foil the plan to destroy the world? It's a story filled with many twists and turns and a surprise ending that affected Spawn for years afterward.
56 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 1994
12 people are currently reading
772 people want to read
About the author
Frank Miller
1,354 books5,345 followersFrank Miller is an American writer, artist and film director best known for his film noir-style comic book stories. He is one of the most widely-recognized and popular creators in comics, and is one of the most influential comics creators of his generation. His most notable works include Sin City, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman Year One and 300.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
July 21, 2019
Storyline is a lame excuse to make the Hellspawn battle Bats like two spoiled brats and Miller's depiction of a psychopatic Batman ia almost as bad as the one in All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder.
The top-seller 1994 comic-book is still as bad as I used to remember, but McFarlane's artworks saved this review from the ☆ banishment.
September 22, 2016
I've had this one in my collection for a long time. Perhaps the story is a bit short and underwhelming, but it's hard to hate the artwork. And it's absolutely a joy to see these two fight and then eventually come together. Any time I look at this comic book, I'm taken back to middle school.
March 19, 2016
You can find my review on our blog by clicking here.
Call me insane, but I’m on a mission here. If there’s one comic book legend that I vow to know inside and out, it’s going to have to be Frank Miller. Although Frank Miller has created some the most iconic comic book stories in the industry, he has also made some of the most atrocious garbage that you could wish to never come across. After all, what else would you call The Dark Knight Strikes Again, if not cow manure? Author of The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One, Frank Miller teams up with none other than Todd McFarlane to bring fans a publisher crossover story fancied by any fan: Spawn/Batman. Per usual, Frank Miller doesn’t spare this one-shot comic story the ludicrous plot ideas. In this adventure, Batman encounters a giant mechanical robot and is prompted to follow the clues back to New York City where he faces the mysterious and mystical, yet suspicious, Spawn. As the plot thickens, Batman and Spawn are forced to team-up in order to chase an antagonist that uses homeless individuals to create giant killer machines. Oh, and there’s also a nuke involved.
There’s nothing special about the story. It’s quite simple and very easy to follow. What you have to understand is that there’s two ways this 50 page comic will go. You’re either going to blindly giggle your way through Batman and Spawn’s run-in, and roll on the floor laughing at the final panel. Or, you’ll cringe that the overconfident narration and that complete and utter destruction of Batman and Spawn’s personas. Although it’s quite exciting to see two characters who are very unlikely to ever see each on the big screen or in any long and ongoing series, Spawn/Batman is a hell of a treat for readers. Illustrated by the creator of Spawn himself, Batman gets a dramatic change of heart and looks. However, it’s not a big surprise that they’ve brought some intense sharp characteristics to Batman. All to put him on the same level as Spawn and his razor-sharp and sublime costume. Sharp teeth, pointy shoulder blades, wild shadow-like cape. You name it. Not only does Batman get an interesting design on artwork front, Frank Miller doesn’t miss his chance to mess with the beloved Dark Knight’s personality. Punk. Slob. Stupid. We’ve got ourselves a natural high-school teenage bully who can’t help himself from name-calling. Personally, I couldn’t stop laughing. But I also hated Frank Miller for being on top of himself and making his wish come true; making Batman a bully like he was always meant to be. Ah-hum. I’ll never be able to believe such an analysis, even if it came from some 100 year old Harvard researcher.
The best part of this one-shot story is the last panel. Unexpected, hilarious and so wrong. It quickly takes away the ability to take Spawn/Batman seriously. At first, I face-palmed. Then, I giggled. Only after a minute into it that I settled down and calmly placed the comic back on my shelf. The experience made me understand that I shouldn’t waste any effort in trying to understand why this was created or how a person could spare a moment of their lives in creating this. Spawn/Batman is an extremely short piece of comedy, and nothing more. The simple fact that I was able to acknowledge that gave me the strength to rate it as an acceptable story. If it wasn’t for pity, this..thing.. could’ve easily stooped down to The Dark Knight Strikes Again level. On a lighter tone, I’ll still give some credit to Todd McFarlane and his part in creating Spawn/Batman. The artwork was quite fascinating and wasn’t bad at all. I especially enjoyed the giant page-sized panels where he gave each of our characters a nice poster-worthy pose. Those definitely managed to capture those “they’re so cool” moments and showcase McFarlane’s talents. If anything, this comic book leaves a heavy anvil on my conscious. Imagine all the amazing thing a writer could come up with if they had the opportunity to play with Batman and Spawn in the same comic. Oh well. Maybe some other day.
Yours truly,
Lashaan
Lashaan & Trang | Bloggers and Book Reviewers
Official blog: http://bookidote.wordpress.com
Call me insane, but I’m on a mission here. If there’s one comic book legend that I vow to know inside and out, it’s going to have to be Frank Miller. Although Frank Miller has created some the most iconic comic book stories in the industry, he has also made some of the most atrocious garbage that you could wish to never come across. After all, what else would you call The Dark Knight Strikes Again, if not cow manure? Author of The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One, Frank Miller teams up with none other than Todd McFarlane to bring fans a publisher crossover story fancied by any fan: Spawn/Batman. Per usual, Frank Miller doesn’t spare this one-shot comic story the ludicrous plot ideas. In this adventure, Batman encounters a giant mechanical robot and is prompted to follow the clues back to New York City where he faces the mysterious and mystical, yet suspicious, Spawn. As the plot thickens, Batman and Spawn are forced to team-up in order to chase an antagonist that uses homeless individuals to create giant killer machines. Oh, and there’s also a nuke involved.
There’s nothing special about the story. It’s quite simple and very easy to follow. What you have to understand is that there’s two ways this 50 page comic will go. You’re either going to blindly giggle your way through Batman and Spawn’s run-in, and roll on the floor laughing at the final panel. Or, you’ll cringe that the overconfident narration and that complete and utter destruction of Batman and Spawn’s personas. Although it’s quite exciting to see two characters who are very unlikely to ever see each on the big screen or in any long and ongoing series, Spawn/Batman is a hell of a treat for readers. Illustrated by the creator of Spawn himself, Batman gets a dramatic change of heart and looks. However, it’s not a big surprise that they’ve brought some intense sharp characteristics to Batman. All to put him on the same level as Spawn and his razor-sharp and sublime costume. Sharp teeth, pointy shoulder blades, wild shadow-like cape. You name it. Not only does Batman get an interesting design on artwork front, Frank Miller doesn’t miss his chance to mess with the beloved Dark Knight’s personality. Punk. Slob. Stupid. We’ve got ourselves a natural high-school teenage bully who can’t help himself from name-calling. Personally, I couldn’t stop laughing. But I also hated Frank Miller for being on top of himself and making his wish come true; making Batman a bully like he was always meant to be. Ah-hum. I’ll never be able to believe such an analysis, even if it came from some 100 year old Harvard researcher.
The best part of this one-shot story is the last panel. Unexpected, hilarious and so wrong. It quickly takes away the ability to take Spawn/Batman seriously. At first, I face-palmed. Then, I giggled. Only after a minute into it that I settled down and calmly placed the comic back on my shelf. The experience made me understand that I shouldn’t waste any effort in trying to understand why this was created or how a person could spare a moment of their lives in creating this. Spawn/Batman is an extremely short piece of comedy, and nothing more. The simple fact that I was able to acknowledge that gave me the strength to rate it as an acceptable story. If it wasn’t for pity, this..thing.. could’ve easily stooped down to The Dark Knight Strikes Again level. On a lighter tone, I’ll still give some credit to Todd McFarlane and his part in creating Spawn/Batman. The artwork was quite fascinating and wasn’t bad at all. I especially enjoyed the giant page-sized panels where he gave each of our characters a nice poster-worthy pose. Those definitely managed to capture those “they’re so cool” moments and showcase McFarlane’s talents. If anything, this comic book leaves a heavy anvil on my conscious. Imagine all the amazing thing a writer could come up with if they had the opportunity to play with Batman and Spawn in the same comic. Oh well. Maybe some other day.
Yours truly,
Lashaan
Lashaan & Trang | Bloggers and Book Reviewers
Official blog: http://bookidote.wordpress.com
September 6, 2019
I remember my dad reading this to me one as a kid when I was sick and tired of all the usual bedtime stories I used to get read! Rereading this now as an adult was fun and brought back so many memories!
January 10, 2013
How do you feel about Frank Miller’s Batman? For me, Frank Miller’s take on Batman is always an enjoyable experience, yes even the much reviled “All Star Batman & Robin”, but if you especially hate the Goddamn Batman, you’re not going to like this one either. I like Miller’s take on the character because he writes him as a sociopathic rage machine in a cowl - no one else writes Batman in this distinct way and I think it’s hilarious.
The plot to this brief 50 page one-shot is necessarily uncomplicated, at least morally: evil powerful woman with lots of money and influence is taking homeless people and putting their heads into armoured machines and selling these cyborgs as robots to the military – but really she’s plotting world domination! One of these dead cyborgs appears in Gotham and leads Batman to the source in New York City where he encounters Spawn and the two brawl a few times before defeating the evil woman and saving the world.
The plot is pretty dull and Batman’s fights with Spawn are predictably pointless. Both batter each other, neither decisively wins, nothing is settled – it’s the very definition of meh. But I love the Goddamn Batman too much because he’s too funny. In Miller’s hands Batman is an act first, think later kind of guy, more interested in beating someone senseless than using his (supposedly) high intellect to realise fighting someone like Spawn is a futile exercise.
The Goddamn Batman talks in insults spitting out words like punk, twit, and slob to anyone he encounters which instantly makes this book worth reading for the dialogue alone. And then at the end Batman’s lecturing Spawn, jabbing his chest with his finger calling him a disgusting slob and a twit – what a great speech, imagine if Batman spoke like that in every book! – but the final page made me laugh out loud. Batman - so violent in this book, his aggression can never be sated – as a parting gift hurls a batarang at Spawn’s head, burying itself in his face, green gunk flying everywhere! And that’s Batman vs. Spawn! Amazing. I couldn’t help laughing at the sheer mindlessness of it all.
If you like comedy Batman, aka the Goddamn Batman, pick up this short. It’s by no means a Batman classic or even a good Batman story but it has enough silliness in it which makes it a hoot to read. And Todd MacFarlane’s art isn’t bad even though he draws Batman with curved shoulder blades that look stupid. However, if you’re one of the many critics of Miller’s later Batman work (pretty much everything post- “Year One”), then this is one more book of his to ignore.
Strangely, on the inside cover DC state that this is a companion piece to “The Dark Knight Returns” though there’s nothing in this book that indicates it has any link to it. There’s also a dedication to Jack Kirby who died around the time this book came out but I think he deserved better than this weak effort from Miller/MacFarlane - the disgusting slobs!
The plot to this brief 50 page one-shot is necessarily uncomplicated, at least morally: evil powerful woman with lots of money and influence is taking homeless people and putting their heads into armoured machines and selling these cyborgs as robots to the military – but really she’s plotting world domination! One of these dead cyborgs appears in Gotham and leads Batman to the source in New York City where he encounters Spawn and the two brawl a few times before defeating the evil woman and saving the world.
The plot is pretty dull and Batman’s fights with Spawn are predictably pointless. Both batter each other, neither decisively wins, nothing is settled – it’s the very definition of meh. But I love the Goddamn Batman too much because he’s too funny. In Miller’s hands Batman is an act first, think later kind of guy, more interested in beating someone senseless than using his (supposedly) high intellect to realise fighting someone like Spawn is a futile exercise.
The Goddamn Batman talks in insults spitting out words like punk, twit, and slob to anyone he encounters which instantly makes this book worth reading for the dialogue alone. And then at the end Batman’s lecturing Spawn, jabbing his chest with his finger calling him a disgusting slob and a twit – what a great speech, imagine if Batman spoke like that in every book! – but the final page made me laugh out loud. Batman - so violent in this book, his aggression can never be sated – as a parting gift hurls a batarang at Spawn’s head, burying itself in his face, green gunk flying everywhere! And that’s Batman vs. Spawn! Amazing. I couldn’t help laughing at the sheer mindlessness of it all.
If you like comedy Batman, aka the Goddamn Batman, pick up this short. It’s by no means a Batman classic or even a good Batman story but it has enough silliness in it which makes it a hoot to read. And Todd MacFarlane’s art isn’t bad even though he draws Batman with curved shoulder blades that look stupid. However, if you’re one of the many critics of Miller’s later Batman work (pretty much everything post- “Year One”), then this is one more book of his to ignore.
Strangely, on the inside cover DC state that this is a companion piece to “The Dark Knight Returns” though there’s nothing in this book that indicates it has any link to it. There’s also a dedication to Jack Kirby who died around the time this book came out but I think he deserved better than this weak effort from Miller/MacFarlane - the disgusting slobs!
October 11, 2019
The 90s trash at its finest! Luckily Miller does the script and McFarlane the art and not vice versa. But on the other hand, it couldn't be much worse.
The story is very short so it has to be simple too. Batman discovers some robot with a severed human head inside and all the tracks lead to NYC. He meets Spawn and they fight for a couple of pages while dropping cheesy oneliners. The amount of someone saying "punk" is too damn high! Then fight is broken up by another of those robots and they realize there's another culprit behind all this (Russian one obv).
The only good thing about this one or two splash pages McFarlane did with Spawn and Batman cruising through the night sky but that's it.
The story is very short so it has to be simple too. Batman discovers some robot with a severed human head inside and all the tracks lead to NYC. He meets Spawn and they fight for a couple of pages while dropping cheesy oneliners. The amount of someone saying "punk" is too damn high! Then fight is broken up by another of those robots and they realize there's another culprit behind all this (Russian one obv).
The only good thing about this one or two splash pages McFarlane did with Spawn and Batman cruising through the night sky but that's it.
October 3, 2016
Spawn/Batman is an entertaning piece of the dark era that spawned (no pun intended) during the 90s. It tells a story of two heroes teaming up to defeat a common enemy, that is after a big unnecessary fight. Batman seriously have to take courses on diplomacy, eh?
For those who ask how did this crossover happened, it simply did, with just a hint of being an elseworld story.
Except for the fact that we have Spawn and Batman as protagonists, this comic has nothing much to offer. Like many 80s and 90s comics, it is dark, filled with words and adjectives that would make an emo kid orgasm. Spawn/Batman after all is a 90s comic. The artwork is a blast from the past with all those weird aesthetics in the costume and and exaggerated movements.
Spawn/Batman is an okay story, with an edge amongst other okay stories because this is a team up of the Dark Knight and the Hellspawn.
For those who ask how did this crossover happened, it simply did, with just a hint of being an elseworld story.
Except for the fact that we have Spawn and Batman as protagonists, this comic has nothing much to offer. Like many 80s and 90s comics, it is dark, filled with words and adjectives that would make an emo kid orgasm. Spawn/Batman after all is a 90s comic. The artwork is a blast from the past with all those weird aesthetics in the costume and and exaggerated movements.
Spawn/Batman is an okay story, with an edge amongst other okay stories because this is a team up of the Dark Knight and the Hellspawn.
December 28, 2014
I recently reread this comic since I remembered liking it as a teen and since I saw some other books, films, comics that I still like I wondered whether this would be one of them.
Was it? Not even remotely. Reading this made me realize how good it is not to be a teen anymore since damn, is this book stupid and clichéd. And considered that the author is known for writing Batman and the artists is the one who had created Spawn you would think that both “heroes” are at least in-character but not even that they are. Albeit interestingly Spawn is more in-character than Batman.
Lets begin at the basic writing style of the book. Frank Miller's writing style... is ok, but it can hit on your nerves with all the thrown in words and sentences. And if this weren’t enough the pictures often don’t match what is stated.
Now the story is really cliché and doesn’t even fit either the DC now Image universe. Furthermore its plain stupid what we are told. It couldn’t possibly happen, unless we are supposed to believe that the artwork simply doesn’t match the story and therefore we have these weird pictures that simply should not exist since they make no sense. And if this weren’t enough, its obvious pretty quickly that this guy in a cape is not Batman. Not the one we know at least. In other cases he seems to just know stuff And trust me he seems to switch between idiot and genius constantly.
And of course a good story like this needs a good villain and this one here is, like the rest, clichéd and too obvious and two-dimensional.
And even more, the author not only ignores Batman’s characterization and abilities but Spawn’s as well. Not to mention that the author’s love for Batman might still be so big that he cannot take it to have Batman beaten in a fair fight a fight which we never get to see by the way, I swear all you see are some narration boxes and the Bat symbol coming closer and closer. And maybe that is why Batman is written so winy here.
This comic is a waste of time in my eyes. The doomsday plot is dumb and lacks any depth, the characters are out of character, the artwork doesn’t match and I have no idea why it was created to begin with, with such a story in mind.
My opinion: skip it. There are tons of better Batman and/or Spawn comics out there.
Was it? Not even remotely. Reading this made me realize how good it is not to be a teen anymore since damn, is this book stupid and clichéd. And considered that the author is known for writing Batman and the artists is the one who had created Spawn you would think that both “heroes” are at least in-character but not even that they are. Albeit interestingly Spawn is more in-character than Batman.
Lets begin at the basic writing style of the book. Frank Miller's writing style... is ok, but it can hit on your nerves with all the thrown in words and sentences. And if this weren’t enough the pictures often don’t match what is stated.
Now the story is really cliché and doesn’t even fit either the DC now Image universe. Furthermore its plain stupid what we are told. It couldn’t possibly happen, unless we are supposed to believe that the artwork simply doesn’t match the story and therefore we have these weird pictures that simply should not exist since they make no sense. And if this weren’t enough, its obvious pretty quickly that this guy in a cape is not Batman. Not the one we know at least. In other cases he seems to just know stuff And trust me he seems to switch between idiot and genius constantly.
And of course a good story like this needs a good villain and this one here is, like the rest, clichéd and too obvious and two-dimensional.
And even more, the author not only ignores Batman’s characterization and abilities but Spawn’s as well. Not to mention that the author’s love for Batman might still be so big that he cannot take it to have Batman beaten in a fair fight a fight which we never get to see by the way, I swear all you see are some narration boxes and the Bat symbol coming closer and closer. And maybe that is why Batman is written so winy here.
This comic is a waste of time in my eyes. The doomsday plot is dumb and lacks any depth, the characters are out of character, the artwork doesn’t match and I have no idea why it was created to begin with, with such a story in mind.
My opinion: skip it. There are tons of better Batman and/or Spawn comics out there.
March 4, 2011
It was at this point we began to suspect something was terribly wrong with Frank Miller.
August 8, 2020
The art is the good part, this one is a little silly, but it is fun. Happy to have read it.
May 2, 2023
Was nice to see Todd McFarlane drawing Batman (again) and Frank Miller writing Batman (in his better years). Had a laugh.
June 7, 2013
Como casi todos los crossover entre dos editoriales diferentes, esto apesta más a macaneo económico que a verdadera historia. Una pobre excusa para ver dibujos de forzudos en malla, y capas locas y "oscuridad" berreta. No le pongo una estrella porque tiene dibujos decentes y al menos no es incoherente ni pretensiosa
August 18, 2008
This is your fairly typical crossover type book. The heroes meet, beat hell outta' each other then team up to beat the real bad guy. McFarlane's art in this book is pretty cool but I guess the cartoony thing has gotten to me. Batman's dialogue is goofy. Alfred gets some funny lines, though.
April 18, 2018
Well....that was y'know.....something. I haven't read a Frank Miller book since his Daredevil run, and that was him at the top of his game. This, however, was entertaining yet annoying. Let me just say the dynamic between Batman and Spawn I think was nailed. I don't know a lot about Spawn, but I know enough to say that I liked the dynamic between these 2 characters. Both of them will talk a big game, but when they are alone they will almost collapse from fighting each other and I loved that. Todd McFarlane's art was awesome and I would love to see an entire Batman run in his art. (except Year 2)
This is the period where Frank Miller started to talk like a cave man because the number of words missing from sentences to actually make them whole is just staggering. Why? Why must you take completely logical words out of 95% of the sentences to make the book sound like you are some edgy teenager? And OH MA GOD this book should have been called Punk times 10000!! What the hell is with that? Are you trying to make the genius known as Batman sound about as smart as a doorknob? We will get back to that later. The story overall is a very disposable, but it's the team up that matters. The villain is VERY disposable. She is generic, uninteresting, and her stupid plan isn't clear. Ever actually. Batman's attention to every little detail in a setting and body of his enemy is ever present here and definitely spices up the fights. My favourite scene in this book is a scene between Batman and Alfred. It's a quick scene but was funny, smart, and the epitome of what Batman and Alfred's relationship should be like in the middle of a situation. Why couldn't the rest of the book have written Batman in this way? Because frankly, (Budum tsh!) the writing for Batman in this book is terrible. I already said my piece about how much he says "punk", and I am going to try not to go into that again. First of all, Batman is already the grumpy grandpa Batman from Dark Knight Returns. (which I love) But this is just over top. He never stops trash talking and he sounds like either a hormone filled teenager or the most miserable old fart I have ever heard. He is just not likable and doesn't feel like the hero he is meant to be. My last bit on Batman's writing is how comfortable he is with crippling people. I'm sorry but that is not Batman. Sure in the Dark Knight Returns a police officer says "You're under arrest mister! You've crippled that man!" but that was just implied. Batman clearly says in the comic that crippling and possibly paralyzing criminals for a "cheap shot" is okay. NOPE. I just keep thinking back to a part of Under the Red Hood when Jason Todd breaks someone's collarbone and Batman freaks out on him. That is called being a good teacher and a hero. This is just Miller's dark ass fantasy.
The last problem I have with this comic is how Batman and Spawn eventually team up. It's very very quick. Just think Batman vs Superman or Before Watchmen Night Owl with Rorschach's team up. In the end, this book was as I said, entertaining but annoying because of the unlikable nature of the Batman. Spawn and Batman's relationship was the best aspect, and thankfully it was because that is the whole point. Letter Grade: (C)
This is the period where Frank Miller started to talk like a cave man because the number of words missing from sentences to actually make them whole is just staggering. Why? Why must you take completely logical words out of 95% of the sentences to make the book sound like you are some edgy teenager? And OH MA GOD this book should have been called Punk times 10000!! What the hell is with that? Are you trying to make the genius known as Batman sound about as smart as a doorknob? We will get back to that later. The story overall is a very disposable, but it's the team up that matters. The villain is VERY disposable. She is generic, uninteresting, and her stupid plan isn't clear. Ever actually. Batman's attention to every little detail in a setting and body of his enemy is ever present here and definitely spices up the fights. My favourite scene in this book is a scene between Batman and Alfred. It's a quick scene but was funny, smart, and the epitome of what Batman and Alfred's relationship should be like in the middle of a situation. Why couldn't the rest of the book have written Batman in this way? Because frankly, (Budum tsh!) the writing for Batman in this book is terrible. I already said my piece about how much he says "punk", and I am going to try not to go into that again. First of all, Batman is already the grumpy grandpa Batman from Dark Knight Returns. (which I love) But this is just over top. He never stops trash talking and he sounds like either a hormone filled teenager or the most miserable old fart I have ever heard. He is just not likable and doesn't feel like the hero he is meant to be. My last bit on Batman's writing is how comfortable he is with crippling people. I'm sorry but that is not Batman. Sure in the Dark Knight Returns a police officer says "You're under arrest mister! You've crippled that man!" but that was just implied. Batman clearly says in the comic that crippling and possibly paralyzing criminals for a "cheap shot" is okay. NOPE. I just keep thinking back to a part of Under the Red Hood when Jason Todd breaks someone's collarbone and Batman freaks out on him. That is called being a good teacher and a hero. This is just Miller's dark ass fantasy.
The last problem I have with this comic is how Batman and Spawn eventually team up. It's very very quick. Just think Batman vs Superman or Before Watchmen Night Owl with Rorschach's team up. In the end, this book was as I said, entertaining but annoying because of the unlikable nature of the Batman. Spawn and Batman's relationship was the best aspect, and thankfully it was because that is the whole point. Letter Grade: (C)
April 30, 2022
Having literally just read two collections of comics by writers who don’t get it, Spawn/Batman was all the more refreshing. Todd McFarlane, Spawn, and his art aren’t really my cup of tea. This is about Frank Miller. I still can’t comprehend how recent readers have totally lost the thread of his genius, but it’s even found here. I mean, seriously!
July 10, 2025
Why does frank miller make batman such a prick😂
May 7, 2025
What do you get when two of the biggest comicbook characters (in the 90s at least, Spawn less so now) meet in a tale written and illustrated by two of the biggest names in comicbook writing and illustrating? Not much really. Looks cool though..
August 20, 2023
an increasingly unhinged Batman splits Spawn's face in two...hard cut to "In Memory of Jack Kirby" god so good so amazing
January 2, 2023
If we come to think about it, the idea of a crossover is the most exploited resource in the entertainment industry-whichever media we could talk about-, and with understandable reason; it presents the opportunity to place whichever famous or popular characters, from many different industries and enterprises, together in either a “team-up” display, or a “versus” event that might decide which one of them could overcome or defeat the other. It has been a tool of selling purposes ever since comic books have appear, and even before that with classic films- like the ‘Universal Monsters’ flicks-, or even in literature. So, there should be zero to no surprise when one of the most emblematic and acknowledgeable characters in fiction, such as ‘Batman’, shares frames with one of the most popular and contemporary of names in the industry, Todd McFarlane’s best boy, ‘Spawn’.
Written by the legend himself, Frank Miller, the man responsible for redefine the very image of ‘Batman’ in the late 1980s, with two of the most iconic titles ‘DC Comics’ has ever released: ‘Year One’, and ‘The Dark Knight Returns’, and with the distinguishable pencils of McFarlane, this crossover could be described as an obvious event, that represents everything that established the elements from the 1990s, from narrative to art, and that is something that could either be taken as a compliment, or an insult, depending on your view of that decade’s reputation.
The story presents us with a Batman guarding Gotham City in a typical night-patrol, when suddenly, he discovers a cyborg that attacks him, but little he knows that the robot posses the severed head of a homeless man who still seems to preserve a little conscious, despite his condition. Believing at first that it was a Russian creation, Batman does some research only to find out the homeless man came from New York City-which apparently takes away any possible “multiversal” explanation on how Batman and Spawn came to encounter each other-, and this is where Al Simmons, Spawn’s secret identity, enters the picture. Someone is taking the homeless from New York City, in order to create an army of cyborgs that’ll give hell to both characters, not without having a good chunk of the comic of those two kicking the living hell out of each other.
As anyone can see, there’s not much of a plot, and that’s a shame, considering the talents behind this crossover, and the potential these two characters had by the mere circumstances of the encounter itself. Where’s Batman’s lore in all of this? What about Spawn’s supernatural surroundings and essence? I mean, the basics of the two of them are here, but there’s really not much to it. The direct creator of Spawn is working in the art, but one might assume he’ll also work as a kind of “consultant” by the side of Miller when developing the story, but there isn’t a lot of presentation when it comes to the main story surrounding the character. The same goes for Batman, however, Miller isn’t the main creator, but as I said before, he’s the writer that redefined and presented the definitive conception of the character, to reinvent it for modern audiences. So, it shocks me to find out Miller treated the character as if he had never touched him before; with cheesy and cheap dialogue, and a narration that feels uninspired and serviceable, it doesn’t seem to be the same author that gave us two of the most famous and influential works about Batman, in fact, Batman feels standard, dull and, worst of all, boring. I never liked the expression “edgy” to talk about gruesome, violent, and serious themes because, to be honest, I do appreciate them, and believe they are necessary to provide a darker tone to any kind of story, but of course, one needs to know when it is proper to apply them. In this case, I believe this is the negative side of the expression, at least, when it comes to the character of Batman. He seems ruthless, excessively violent, and eager to embrace his “darker side”, which in this case, it means only that he’ll punch the hell out of Spawn just because he realizes Al can take a punch.
To be clear, I don’t mind “edgy”, and I don’t mind dark themes in stories, but there’s a limit, and a moment when to have it. Miller simply disposes of a generic-stereotypical character to perform the role of Batman, almost as an excuse to have the two characters fighting each other just to make some cool panels, which leads me to my second issue: the art. McFarlane is, perhaps, one of the most emblematic artists that came out of the 90s, and his career only proved how much of an effective business man he is by exploiting his properties with such success, but when it comes to his artistic qualities, the guy is a hit and miss. Yes, he has crafted such iconic and memorable pieces of artwork for stuff such as ‘Spider-Man’ and ‘The Incredible Hulk’, and the first volumes in the ongoing ‘Spawn’ main series has some interesting designs that hasn’t aged that poorly, but other than that, his art only works as a reference, just to have way better artists continue his legacy. Two of the better ones that came to my mind are Greg Capullo, and Angel Medina, who had easily worked in the better arcs of the ‘Spawn’ series, or at least, in the better ones visually speaking.
Here, well, the art is definitely McFarlane’s least striking, I could even go ahead and say is the laziest he has ever crafted. Is it horrible? Not necessarily, but if you dislike his work, this won’t change your mind about him. There’s only a couple of panels that look interesting, or at least, “attractive”, but the rest feels disproportionate, specially when referring to Batman’s physique, particularly in the eyes, who often look bigger for the size of the head, and this is just McFarlane trying to mimic Spawn’s design; you can clearly see he tried to make the two of them “similar”, but the shape of one don’t mix well with the other.
The villain is, perhaps, the most disappointing aspect of the crossover. A woman related to Al’s past, who created the cyborgs for… reasons that, to be honest, either are too dumb to be explained, or simply non-existent. You might believe a crossover between Batman and Spawn could also involve antagonists from their respective worlds to also collide with, and even that could be a cliché, or predictable, but the idea of having ‘Spawn’ dealing with ‘The Joker’, and ‘Batman’ clashing in a monstrous battle against ‘Violator’ could be the very thing to expect of an idea such as this, but no. This is exclusively a 56 pages-long excuse to have two mythical characters battling each other for the sake of comic book, and I won’t lie, that wouldn’t have bothered me, if at least the story would’ve meant something, anything new, or at least fresh. I kind of have a soft spot for this because of the simplicity, and most of the crossovers from the 90s had this “quality” as well, especially the ones using ‘Batman’ as one of the main characters, but I’m also tired of “simplicity” when two of the darkest characters of both, ‘DC Comics’ and ‘Image’ appear in the same title. There was so much potential for this, and I’m surprised on both, Miller and McFarlane, to deliver the minimum out of this concept. I guess collectors and hardcore-and I really mean hardcore-fans might want to acquire this, also if you don’t mind 90s-extravaganza, then I guess it’ll be fine, but other than that, its not really worth it aside of what the title offers as a whole.
Written by the legend himself, Frank Miller, the man responsible for redefine the very image of ‘Batman’ in the late 1980s, with two of the most iconic titles ‘DC Comics’ has ever released: ‘Year One’, and ‘The Dark Knight Returns’, and with the distinguishable pencils of McFarlane, this crossover could be described as an obvious event, that represents everything that established the elements from the 1990s, from narrative to art, and that is something that could either be taken as a compliment, or an insult, depending on your view of that decade’s reputation.
The story presents us with a Batman guarding Gotham City in a typical night-patrol, when suddenly, he discovers a cyborg that attacks him, but little he knows that the robot posses the severed head of a homeless man who still seems to preserve a little conscious, despite his condition. Believing at first that it was a Russian creation, Batman does some research only to find out the homeless man came from New York City-which apparently takes away any possible “multiversal” explanation on how Batman and Spawn came to encounter each other-, and this is where Al Simmons, Spawn’s secret identity, enters the picture. Someone is taking the homeless from New York City, in order to create an army of cyborgs that’ll give hell to both characters, not without having a good chunk of the comic of those two kicking the living hell out of each other.
As anyone can see, there’s not much of a plot, and that’s a shame, considering the talents behind this crossover, and the potential these two characters had by the mere circumstances of the encounter itself. Where’s Batman’s lore in all of this? What about Spawn’s supernatural surroundings and essence? I mean, the basics of the two of them are here, but there’s really not much to it. The direct creator of Spawn is working in the art, but one might assume he’ll also work as a kind of “consultant” by the side of Miller when developing the story, but there isn’t a lot of presentation when it comes to the main story surrounding the character. The same goes for Batman, however, Miller isn’t the main creator, but as I said before, he’s the writer that redefined and presented the definitive conception of the character, to reinvent it for modern audiences. So, it shocks me to find out Miller treated the character as if he had never touched him before; with cheesy and cheap dialogue, and a narration that feels uninspired and serviceable, it doesn’t seem to be the same author that gave us two of the most famous and influential works about Batman, in fact, Batman feels standard, dull and, worst of all, boring. I never liked the expression “edgy” to talk about gruesome, violent, and serious themes because, to be honest, I do appreciate them, and believe they are necessary to provide a darker tone to any kind of story, but of course, one needs to know when it is proper to apply them. In this case, I believe this is the negative side of the expression, at least, when it comes to the character of Batman. He seems ruthless, excessively violent, and eager to embrace his “darker side”, which in this case, it means only that he’ll punch the hell out of Spawn just because he realizes Al can take a punch.
To be clear, I don’t mind “edgy”, and I don’t mind dark themes in stories, but there’s a limit, and a moment when to have it. Miller simply disposes of a generic-stereotypical character to perform the role of Batman, almost as an excuse to have the two characters fighting each other just to make some cool panels, which leads me to my second issue: the art. McFarlane is, perhaps, one of the most emblematic artists that came out of the 90s, and his career only proved how much of an effective business man he is by exploiting his properties with such success, but when it comes to his artistic qualities, the guy is a hit and miss. Yes, he has crafted such iconic and memorable pieces of artwork for stuff such as ‘Spider-Man’ and ‘The Incredible Hulk’, and the first volumes in the ongoing ‘Spawn’ main series has some interesting designs that hasn’t aged that poorly, but other than that, his art only works as a reference, just to have way better artists continue his legacy. Two of the better ones that came to my mind are Greg Capullo, and Angel Medina, who had easily worked in the better arcs of the ‘Spawn’ series, or at least, in the better ones visually speaking.
Here, well, the art is definitely McFarlane’s least striking, I could even go ahead and say is the laziest he has ever crafted. Is it horrible? Not necessarily, but if you dislike his work, this won’t change your mind about him. There’s only a couple of panels that look interesting, or at least, “attractive”, but the rest feels disproportionate, specially when referring to Batman’s physique, particularly in the eyes, who often look bigger for the size of the head, and this is just McFarlane trying to mimic Spawn’s design; you can clearly see he tried to make the two of them “similar”, but the shape of one don’t mix well with the other.
The villain is, perhaps, the most disappointing aspect of the crossover. A woman related to Al’s past, who created the cyborgs for… reasons that, to be honest, either are too dumb to be explained, or simply non-existent. You might believe a crossover between Batman and Spawn could also involve antagonists from their respective worlds to also collide with, and even that could be a cliché, or predictable, but the idea of having ‘Spawn’ dealing with ‘The Joker’, and ‘Batman’ clashing in a monstrous battle against ‘Violator’ could be the very thing to expect of an idea such as this, but no. This is exclusively a 56 pages-long excuse to have two mythical characters battling each other for the sake of comic book, and I won’t lie, that wouldn’t have bothered me, if at least the story would’ve meant something, anything new, or at least fresh. I kind of have a soft spot for this because of the simplicity, and most of the crossovers from the 90s had this “quality” as well, especially the ones using ‘Batman’ as one of the main characters, but I’m also tired of “simplicity” when two of the darkest characters of both, ‘DC Comics’ and ‘Image’ appear in the same title. There was so much potential for this, and I’m surprised on both, Miller and McFarlane, to deliver the minimum out of this concept. I guess collectors and hardcore-and I really mean hardcore-fans might want to acquire this, also if you don’t mind 90s-extravaganza, then I guess it’ll be fine, but other than that, its not really worth it aside of what the title offers as a whole.
January 15, 2019
I think had many people knew this even existed or read it would quickly realize that what they hated in All Star Batman was very much present in this story, all of which takes place within Miller’s Batman universe. Chronologically speaking it would run Year One, All Star, and then Spawn/Batman. They all fit well together, at least in terms of snapshots of that Batman’s timeline. And yet Spawn/Batman was published long before both All Star and even Strikes Back, which is to say anyone who wanted to jump ship at All Star or Strikes Back should have gotten off the fence with Spawn/Batman as it was already leading everything in that direction.
All that to say Spawn/Batman crossover is both random and appropriate. It is as 90s as possible and with that context is fun. Miller’s Batman hurling a batarang into Spawn’s face is priceless. No deep thoughts in the book, but fun to be had notwithstanding.
However, why no robin, given it’s placement in the timeline? Or was it simply one of those many times where Robin is “present” without actually being around?
All that to say Spawn/Batman crossover is both random and appropriate. It is as 90s as possible and with that context is fun. Miller’s Batman hurling a batarang into Spawn’s face is priceless. No deep thoughts in the book, but fun to be had notwithstanding.
However, why no robin, given it’s placement in the timeline? Or was it simply one of those many times where Robin is “present” without actually being around?
April 18, 2017
A second Batman/Spawn crossover, but this one is not a sequel to the first story. This is set in Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns continuity and takes place years before TDKR. And while if this story takes place in New York City, it's more focused on Batman than the previous Batman/Spawn crossover.
Artwork is very good, although a sometimes-grinning Batman looks strange. The story is interesting, I really enjoyed the scene with Alfred, but I didn't like Batman's dialogues - he sounded and acted like an a**hole and a weirdo. 'Don't you touch my cape. Ever. Nobody touches my cape.' Really?! And at the ending, I don't want to spoil it, but what Batman did was quite out of character. I understand that he didn't like Spawn and also probably knew that Spawn wouldn't die from wounds, but Batman just doesn't do that what he did.
Despite the drawbacks that I've just mentioned, it's still an enjoyable story and worth reading.
Artwork is very good, although a sometimes-grinning Batman looks strange. The story is interesting, I really enjoyed the scene with Alfred, but I didn't like Batman's dialogues - he sounded and acted like an a**hole and a weirdo. 'Don't you touch my cape. Ever. Nobody touches my cape.' Really?! And at the ending, I don't want to spoil it, but what Batman did was quite out of character. I understand that he didn't like Spawn and also probably knew that Spawn wouldn't die from wounds, but Batman just doesn't do that what he did.
Despite the drawbacks that I've just mentioned, it's still an enjoyable story and worth reading.
November 15, 2019
This was ok. People are dissing this comic since the day it came out and I don't know why. It's not that bad. It sure could be better but also it could be a lot worse. The artwork was classic nineties and the dialogues were fun. The action is not the best but that's all right. For me the biggest problem with this comic is that it's too fast. Every development in the action or in the relationship between the characters happened way faster than they should. I believe that this comic could be way better if it was bigger so that the relationship between the characters could be developed better and slower. To sum up, I think this is an ok read to kill like 30 to 50 minutes of your time.
July 3, 2018
The art side of a comic can distract you from the weakness of the story/plot, but it did not do so this time.
Really, really nice and slick and dark art but the weak point of this thing is the all-mightily crappy story by Miller. It must have been put together when he was pressed by the deadline and having his morning shit.
Really, really nice and slick and dark art but the weak point of this thing is the all-mightily crappy story by Miller. It must have been put together when he was pressed by the deadline and having his morning shit.
June 2, 2025
It is truly a delight to have two of my favourite superheroes in the same comic, and it's exactly what any fan of Frank Miller and Todd McFarlane would expect it to be, and it was delivered as a once in a lifetime event for fans.
November 10, 2008
Amazing artwork, lousy story. Good for a Todd McFarlene fan, bad for a Batman fan.
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October 2, 2012
Moronic.
EDIT: But not the worst comic out there. THIS is the worst comic: http://atopfourthwall.blogspot.com/20...
EDIT: But not the worst comic out there. THIS is the worst comic: http://atopfourthwall.blogspot.com/20...
April 29, 2015
DEAR GOD WHAT IS THIS PIECE OF GARBAGE?!?!
October 4, 2019
Ran into a copy of this and read it again. Still solid artwork by McFarlane, and I've seen worse from Frank Milller. 4/5
December 4, 2019
Deduct one star for brevity.
December 14, 2021
Uno de los tomos más flojos del "Darknightverso" de Miller y sus colaboradores.
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