Spawn is coming to destroy Mortal Kombat 11
Here's what you need to know about the DLC.
One of Todd McFarlane's most famous comic book anti-heroes is joining the deadliest tournament in all the realms. Coming soon to Mortal Kombat 11 to pummel Sub-Zero, Scorpion, and Johnny Cage is Spawn from the best-selling Image Comics comic book franchise.
Here's everything we know about Spawn and his inclusion in Mortal Kombat 11 as the final character in the game's post-launch downloadable content (DLC).
Back up a sec, who is Spawn?
Spawn is a comic book anti-hero created by Todd McFarlane. In the early '90s, McFarlane, along with some of the comic industry's hottest talents like Rob Liefeld, Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, and Erik Larsen, defected from Marvel to create Image Comics, a publisher focused on creator's rights.
One of the first titles published by Image was McFarlane's Spawn, starring an original character McFarlane made up when he was a teenager. Born and raised in Detroit, Al Simmons was a decorated U.S. Marine who joins the CIA. While on a mission in Botswana, Simmons is betrayed and killed by his superiors.
Sent to Hell for all his deeds on Earth, Simmons strikes a deal with the demon Malebolgia to become a Hellspawn, a powerful supernatural entity, to do his bidding. Back on Earth, Simmons loses all memories except for his name and knowledge of his death, and embarks on a long journey to rediscover himself.
While Spawn is a powerful entity, one of his earliest weaknesses in the comics was a finite power source. Any time Spawn used magic to kill enemies or heal himself, it depleted a finite resource. This encouraged Spawn to rely on his military training, hence why you'll often see Spawn brandish guns, swords, and other man-made weapons despite the fact he can do pretty much anything at will.
Cover of 'Spawn' #1.
To this day, Spawn remains one of the most popular comic book characters outside of Marvel and DC. The first issue, Spawn #1, sold a still hardly-touched record of 1.7 million copies.
A feature film starring Michael Jai White was released in 1997 to underwhelming reviews, while an HBO animated series starring Keith David won critical acclaim and two Emmy Awards. For Mortal Kombat 11, Keith David will reprise his role. Actor Jamie Foxx is slated to take on the role of Spawn in a reboot to be released under Blumhouse Productions and directed by McFarlane himself. Foxx will co-star with Jeremy Renner, who will play police detective Sam Twitch who tracks down a rash of inexplicable murders connected to Spawn.
In 2002, Spawn made his first crossover fighting game appearance in Soulcalibur II. Due to the game's focus on hand-to-hand weapons, the game introduced Agony, Spawn's cape that can transform into a battle axe. Agony remained in Spawn's arsenal in the console video game, Spawn: Armageddon.
Spawn, pitted against Scorpion, in his gameplay trailer for 'Mortal Kombat 11.'
When is Spawn's DLC release date for Mortal Kombat 11?
Spawn will join Mortal Kombat 11 as the final character in "Kombat Pack 1," the first batch of DLC characters from NetherRealm Studios. He will be available for download on March 17 for early access players, and available for all players on March 24.
On March 7-8, NetherRealm held Final Kombat, the last stop in the 2019/2020 Mortal Kombat 11 pro tournament at the Park West Theater in Chicago where Spawn's gameplay trailer debuted.
The event was downsized from a live event due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The event's organized closed off Final Kombat and told spectators to stay home (only the final 16 competitors were allowed to participate in person). In the end, SonicFox came out victorious.
You can watch the full livestream of Final Kombat below.
You can watch Spawn's gameplay trailer below.
What will Spawn look like in Mortal Kombat 11?
On February 21, creator Todd McFarlane revealed on Twitter Spawn's look in Mortal Kombat 11 through a new action figure preview based on his design in the game. The action figure preview confirms that Spawn's look will model itself after Greg Capullo's design from Spawn #32, down to the giant "toe" on his right foot.
New to Spawn's arsenal is the sword of Medieval Spawn. While Spawn had Agony in Soulcalibur II, it appears the game's creators, or McFarlane himself, opted for a different tool for Spawn to use.
In his gameplay trailer, Spawn's in-game model was finally revealed. The trailer confirmed Spawn will have varying skin options, including versions that pay homage to his original comic book color schemes.
Action figure preview of Spawn as he'll appear in 'Mortal Kombat 11.'
Where can I go get my Spawn fix right now?
While you wait for Spawn to drop in Mortal Kombat 11, there are well over 300 comic books of Spawn to read and enjoy. You can start here, with the first volume of the trade paperback collection. Additionally, you can rewatch every episode of the incredible Spawn: The Animated Series on HBO Go and Amazon Prime.
Lastly, you can download Soulcalibur II HD on Xbox, a 2013 re-release of the game that keeps Spawn as a playable character. It's backwards compatible on Xbox One, so there's no need to dig up your old Xbox 360 just to play a few rounds.
Spawn will join Mortal Kombat 11 for all players on March 24.
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