Todd McFarlane

Al Simmons has returned to his roots and fallen back on his training. Keeping to the shadows with a gun at his side, Al is on the hunt for the one person who may have answers to his questions.

Spider-Man hunts the Lizard throughout New York City in order to stop the villain's bloody and homicidal rampage, but when he finds out about his adversary's motivation, he begins to question his own sanity.

While a strange assailant stalks the city, ripping out human hearts, another otherworldly being arrives. As his mind reels, our tortured hero remembers that he struck a deal with the devil in order to return to his beloved wife - five years after his death.

Spawn is suddenly felled by painful flashbacks of his own death. But he shakes off the memories and visits Mob consigliere Antonio Twistelli, telling him that he welcomes a rematch with Overtkill. They meet at midnight, fighting to a standstill before Spawn pulls out his heavy weaponry. Even cybernetics offer no protection from such powerful ordnance, and Overtkill is defeated.

Spawn, the escaped felon, goes on national television to expose his enemies.

The Mob is fed up with losing their men to an unknown assailant. Finally deciding that Spawn is the killer, they send hit men to kill him. When Spawn defeats these attackers, the mob calls in Overtkill, a cyborg assassin. This foe is unlike any Spawn has ever faced, so he flees their battle to prepare. Luckily, he knows a secret armory stacked with the latest firepower.

The Clown's story continues. Medieval Spawn survives the Violator's blast, but he is horribly disfigured. Even in this state, however, he is able to best Violator with the help of his living suit's imprisoning tendrils. The Violator's severed head is hoisted aloft as a grisly trophy of their demonic battle. Ironically, the woman he sought to protect from the Violator is sickened by Spawn's true form and flees in flight.

When Spawn suddenly remembers the identity of his killer, he sets out to confront him. His murder, a government assassin like himself, shows no fear, boasting "I killed you once - I can do it again!" The odds however, have shifted in favor of Spawn, a point he drives home by disfiguring the destroyer's face with a horrific brand.

Violator and Spawn fight brutally until Malebolgia intervenes, explaining to them that they are both his minions in his battle against Heaven. Malebolgia also punishes Violator for his unscheduled killing spree, locking him in his clown form.

Watching from the shadows, Spawn is shocked to find that Wanda has married and had a daughter with his best friend, Terry Fitzgerald. His anguish becomes physical when the ugly clown reappears, transforms into the Violator, and rips out Spawn's heart!