SPAWN #36 - October 1995

Set Up - Part Two

Credits: Todd McFarlane (story), Greg Capullo (pencils), Todd McFarlane (inks), Tom Orzechowski (copy editor & letters), Steve Oliff, Quinn Supplee, & Olyoptics (colors)

Summary: Spawn escapes with Jason Wynn and is pursued by Terry Fitzgerald and the security force. When Spawn and Wynn land inside a nearby building, Wynn kills a security guard and pins the murder on Spawn. Spawn is forced to retreat to the roof, where a helicopter fires a missile that destroys the top floors. Soon, a hospitalized Wynn is visited by Violator, who promises that he’ll restore Wynn’s reputation. Spawn visits Wanda, to warn her that Terry is aligned with Wynn. He reveals his true identity to her, which she refuses to believe. When Cyan walks in, Spawn reluctantly exits. Meanwhile, Sam and Twitch learn that Chief Banks has been cleared of all wrongdoing. They vow to learn who’s covering for him.

Review: We have another “big event” issue, just four issues after the previous one. McFarlane actually has quite a few pieces in place now; Spawn knows who ordered his murder, he mistakenly believes his best friend is aligned with the killer, and he’s revealed his identity to his wife. Does this actually go anywhere? Let’s just say that I honestly forgot Wanda learned Spawn’s identity in this issue. Since she doesn’t seem to believe him during the big revelation scene, I now have a suspicion that she’ll dismiss Spawn as an imposter and the whole affair will be forgotten in a few months. I am glad McFarlane is starting to tie some threads together, but some of this is rather awkward. We’re now supposed to believe that pencil-pusher Terry is leading a heavily armed security force? And Jason Wynn is just so powerful that he can cover for a corrupt police chief even when he’s implicated by Wynn’s internal files? Sam and Twitch also have an odd reaction to the cover up, since they only threaten to release the files to the media if Chief Banks threatens their jobs again. Gee, what selfless, stand-up civil servants these guys turned out to be. As ridiculous as the opening action sequence can be, I do think it looks great. Capullo’s storytelling adds a lot of tension to the chase scene, and it’s fun to see Spawn running around evading gunfire like a traditional superhero. He’s usually stuck skulking around dank alleys for months at a time, which is unfortunately the direction McFarlane returns to soon.