Spawn #295: Want to See Another Trick?

The march to issue #300 brutally continues in Spawn #295 as the Violator unknowingly falls victim to Spawn’s grand scheme, pushing Al Simmons even closer to reaching the full potential of Spawn’s powers.

The fury of Spawn’s plan to save humanity’s souls reaches new peaks in Spawn #295. It’s a classic bait and switch story that sees Spawn hung violently from a cross in the middle of a desert while the Violator tortures him relentlessly. Little does the clown know, Spawn has planned all of this and soon displays his own abilities to bring his former foes back to life and literally place the Violators head on a spike. Aside from the sheer awesomeness of this moment, we see something interesting happen with Spawn. His newfound power has shifted the tide in his favor, leaving a great opportunity for him to essentially check each item on his list. Characters that once easily manipulated Spawn, like the clown, are finding it incredibly difficult to get anything past him.

None of this is without reason, though. Spawn is currently attempting to scare the forces of heaven and hell away from humanity, and this requires remarkable levels of strength. These last few issues have seemingly been positioning Spawn as a controller of his own fate and capable of challenging almost anyone, but with the hype surrounding issue #300, we can be sure a worthy adversary is waiting in the midst.

This issue is significant in the countdown to issue #300 because it establishes Spawn in a position of unheard of power just before the next two issues delve into his complicated past to catch readers up. McFarlane is hitting all of the notes very meticulously. Building Spawn up as nearly everything goes according to his plan is a deliberate attempt to strengthen the story that is looming ahead.

Jason Shawn Alexander is using this momentous story line to showcase some of the best visuals the series has ever seen though. Once again readers are treated to magnificent panels with gorgeous colors (thanks to FCO Plascencia), giving the story a feel that is both epic and tragic, but still rooted in horror. I’ve used the word before, but the artistic direction is nothing short of iconic.

With Spawn’s message sent and his missing military files recovered, war seems to be just around the corner. With the amount of impressing work that has gone into the story so far, I truly can’t wait to see what’s in store.