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Spawn
Image Comics Fandom
More information on this character is available here: Medieval Spawn.
"No wizard, fair one. Once I was a man....a bad man...now...I know not what I am."
—Hellspawn (Circa 1192)

Medieval Hellspawn (real name Sir John of York) is a Hellspawn from the medieval era of 15th century England.

History[]

This armor-clad Hellspawn was a Hellspawn of a medieval era. He was a knight who fought during a civil war in England. He was released from service to Henry II after he and three others mistakenly killed the Archbishop of Canterbury (they mistook some angry words by the King as an order). He was killed on a battlefield in Ireland by the King's bodyguards as he approached King Henry for forgiveness. For his past deeds of killing (and enjoying it), John was sent to Hell, where he, like others, made a deal with Malebolgia. He was returned to Earth, several years in the future, and clad in medieval-looking symbiotic armor. Upon realizing what had happened (which was helped along with him finding his own grave), John traveled throughout England, doing good deeds in the hope he would be redeemed.

He is tricked by Angela, and soon after killed by her. However, he was later resurrected in modern day.

Legal Issues[]

Neil Gaiman was one of the authors that was contracted to write an issue of Spawn. While doing so, he introduced Angela, Cogliostro, and Medieval Spawn in Spawn #9, with Todd McFarlane co-creating and designing them. According to a report by ICv2, a transfer of rights was supposed to happen on July 31, 1997 where Gaiman's rights in the characters and work he did for the Spawn and Angela comics would be swapped with McFarlane's Miracleman rights, after the payment of money owed to Gaiman. However, in October of 1997, McFarlane filed trademark applications for Miracleman.[1] In 2002, Gaiman would file a lawsuit, with the jury asking whether Gaiman had a copyright interest over the three characters created for Spawn #9, amongst other issues. The jury would hand the victory over to Gaiman.[2][3]

In 2010, Gaiman would file another lawsuit, alleging that McFarlane's Dark Ages Spawn, Domina and Tiffany are derivative of the characters that he owns. The judge would rule in favour of Gaiman,[4] with the judge stating, specifically in the case of Dark Ages Spawn:

"In both cases, the characters were knights who had committed acts in the past of which they were ashamed and took actions to help the defenseless in an apparent desire for absolution. The two characters are similar enough to suggest that either Dark Ages (McFarlane) Spawn is derivative of Medieval (Gaiman) Spawn or it is the same character to which plaintiff owns the copyright.
Much as defendant tries to distinguish the two knight Hellspawn, he never explains why, of all the universe of possible Hellspawn incarnations, he introduced two knights from the same century. Not only does this break the Hellspawn “rule” that Malebolgia never returns a Hellspawns to Earth more than once every 400 years (or possibly every 100 years, as suggested in Spawn, No. 9), it suggests that what defendant really wanted to do was exploit the possibilities of the knight introduced in issue no. 9. (This possibility is supported by the odd timing of defendant’s letter to plaintiff on February 14, 1999, just before publication of the first issue of Spawn The Dark Ages, to the effect that defendant was rescinding their previous agreements and retaining all rights to Medieval (Gaiman) Spawn.)
If defendant really wanted to differentiate the new Hellspawn, why not make him a Portuguese explorer in the 16th century; an officer of the Royal Navy in the 18th century, an idealistic recruit of Simon Bolivar in the 19th century, a companion of Odysseus on his voyages, a Roman gladiator, a younger brother of Emperor Nakamikado in the early 18th century, a Spanish conquistador, an aristocrat in the Qing dynasty, an American Indian warrior or a member of the court of Queen Elizabeth I? It seems far more than coincidence that Dark Ages (McFarlane) Spawn is a knight from the same century as Medieval (Gaiman) Spawn.
"[5]

References[]

  1. "Why Gaiman Sued McFarlane". February 10. 2002. ICv2. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  2. "Gaiman Sweep!". October 2, 2002. ICv2. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  3. Gardner, Eric (January 31, 2012). "Decades-Long Legal Feud Over ‘Spawn’ Comic Book Finally Ends". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 12, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  4. Gaiman, Neil (July 30, 2010). "Cutting stuff, watching parking meters, getting graphic in Sydney". NeilGaiman.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2010. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  5. IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN. July 30, 2010. Archived from the original on August 21, 2010. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
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