One of artist Todd McFarlane’s earliest influences for his notorious comic book anti-heroSpawnwas actually the originalStar Warsfilm – which almost led tothe Image Comics character’siconic black design instead being “cobalt blue,” with the idea being that he hailed from outer space, rather than originating in the depths of hell.
As reported by Popverse, during his latest appearance at WonderCob, McFarlane shared some art from his formative years with the audience –including a prototype for his later Spawn character design.
McFarlane explained that this early drawing was done during his teenage years,whenStar Warsfirst came outand was all the rage. Though the Lucas-influenced origin of the character was later substituted for his “hellspawn” incarnation, the artist still stuck remarkably to his original vision for his superhero’s design.
Star Wars Influenced Teenage Todd McFarlane To Draw His First Version Of Spawn
The Space Opera’s Sprawling Influence, Explained
According to Popverse’s account of Todd McFarlane’s comments at WonderCon, he was sixteen-years-old when he first drew the character that would evolve into Spawn – and like many people his age in the late 1970s, he had just had his mind blown by the originalStar Warsmovie. The scope of the cultural influence ofStar Warson generations of creators is as vast as the space saga’s story itself, but McFarlane’s explanation of the direct link between the George Lucas film and his eventual ownpop culture icon Spawnpresents a notable example.
The prestige of Spawn’s unforgettable design is all McFarlane’s, but the starting point for coming up with it in the first place was the awe produced byStar Wars.
That is,Star Warsdidn’t just influence sci-fi, or movies – its impact has been felt in every medium of popular entertainment over the past fifty years. The creative lineage between theStar WarsandSpawnfranchises shows howthe inspiration Todd McFarlane took from the film gestated over a period of fifteen years, eventually culminating in the birth of Spawn in 1992.The prestige of Spawn’s unforgettable design is all McFarlane’s, but the starting point for coming up with it in the first place was the awe produced byStar Wars.
Todd McFarlane Took His Star Wars-Inspired Character Design & Turned It Into One Of Comics' Most Original Heroes
From “Alien” To “Hellspawn”
Thoughthe impetus to draw Spawnbegan withStar Wars, the success of the character is attributable to the way the character developed into something unique by the time Todd McFarlane was in a position to write his own independent superhero story. In other words, while the visual basis for Spawn might have started with his sixteen-year-old self’s sketch, the character took shape much later.The idea of a superhero based in hell, with demonic powers, is what madeSpawnamong the most thrilling comics of the 1990s, and the truly iconic things about the hero were all subsequent innovations.
