Spawn has had quite the rogues’ gallery, more like a swarm of unrivaled villains, to be honest. Overt-Kill, a born troublemaker known as Nicholas Rocca, is one of these powerful, sadistic crooks.
The character originally appeared in Payback, Part 1, the sixth issue of the comic book series, and was created by Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, and Stan Lee. Despite the fact that Spawn is the key character, and, in this case, the most ‘anti’ of all antiheroes, Overt-Kill is unlike anyone he has ever met.
He had features similar to Spawn’s Al Simmons when he was a human with a dark background, but if you want to learn more about this character, watch today’s video, in which we’ll go into the beginnings of this cyborg assassin.
Please keep in mind that this character was once known as Overkill before being renamed Overt-Kill. If you remember Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, you’ll recall a figure named Overkill, who was a recurrent foe of the Guardians. Now that we’ve established that, let’s go on to the video!
Overt-Kill Origins – A Cyborg Who Works For The Mafia
Born as Nicholas Rocca in Sicily, the character was already a hoodlum running his own extortion racket at the tender age of 13. His activities as a violent thug grabbed the attention of Sicilian mafia don Luciano Bartino and no point in guessing that Bartino eventually had him employed as his hitman. All was going well for Rocca until one of his tasks led him to slay the son of a rival mafia boss.
This made the concerned mob boss ambush him as a counterattack, something that resulted in Rocca getting fatally injured. Well, he would have certainly died had it not been for his half-brother, Dr. Eylan Hessman. For those of you who are not aware of Hessman, besides being Rocca’s half-brother, he was also an obsessive but brilliant scientist, having achieved impeccable results in the field of robotics and biomechanics. So, it should not surprise you at all when we tell you that Hessman ended up striking a deal with Bartino telling him to fund his research in exchange for rebuilding Rocca into an ultra-killing machine. Of course, Bertino agreed to post a bit of coaxing by Antonio Twistelli.
After Rocca was resurrected as a cyborg, he embraced his new version as Overt-Kill and carried out assignments deadlier than before. Twistelli hired him once and even had him hunt down Spawn. Would you believe us if told you that the anti-hero didn’t really stand a chance against the all-new powerful Overt-Kill and was almost on the verge of getting defeated? It’s a different thing that Spawn was able to incapacitate him at the last minute. Overt-Kill came back again and there was a time when he was both rebuilt and employed by Jason Wynn and sent after Spawn again but the latter was able to defeat him.
Mind-Blowing Story – Spawn Vs Overt-Kill Explored
“PAYBACK” PART 1 SPAWN ISSUE #6
The readers are taken to Sicily, the Italian island’s business district. Clearly, there has been an interruption in the morning schedule. The message from the mafia is pretty clear – you mess with them and they will mess you up. Also, there is no escaping when the message comes in the form of Overt-Kill, who is happily seen demolishing buildings. This one-man wrecking crew is enough for the army too that show up eventually and it goes without saying that even the military combined does not stand a chance against him. Overt-Kill does his job and leaves without a single scratch.
Meanwhile, Freddy, who happens to be a vagrant roaming around the streets, gives away the location of Spawn striking a deal with the men of Antonio Twistelli in exchange for ten ounces of drugs. The mobsters end up shooting Freddy and report back to their boss; the latter entrusts his men with the job of killing Spawn. Now, speaking of Spawn, he is seen at an alley with a few other vagrants.
Since they always find him sitting there all by himself, they tell him not to be afraid of him and to share his story with them. Spawn makes up his mind to live by their rules and tells them a story of a mother, father, and a baby. In other words, he tells them his back story.
As for Twistelli’s men looking out for Spawn, they randomly start shooting the homeless leaving behind a trail of bodies, all in the hopes of finding Spawn. Eventually, Spawn shows up and tackles them. This enrages Twistelli enough to assemble a meeting with the rest of the mobsters and taking their votes, he assigns the task to Overt-Kill to help them deal with their problem. Now with Overt-Kill and Spawn indulging in a face-off, the duo gets into a heated fight.
Overt-Kill easily gets an upper hand on Spawn and just as he is about to rip off Spawn’s head, the latter tears apart the hand of the cyborg, one that leads to his external life sensors getting damaged. But that doesn’t stop the cyborg from beating Spawn black and blue giving him two cracked ribs along with a broken arm but in spite of that, the latter avoids using his powers against the mafia-directed cyborg. Overt-Kill thinking he has killed Spawn addresses him as a friggin’ waste of time and walks away.
The issue ends with Spawn recharging himself using his Necroplasm and going to an army base, one where he had spent his life as a mercenary to stock up on firearms.
“PAYBACK” PART 2 SPAWN ISSUE #7
While looking for ways to stop Overt-Kill, Spawn stocks up enough firepower from the army base. With the military coming back, he decides not to fight them and simply teleports away to a deserted alleyway in the bowery. Somehow, Spawn has always found himself coming back to the same alley ever since he returned from the grave tricked and deceived. Another vagrant calling himself Uncle Bobby helps him sit back and decides to keep a check on him for the night. Not only does he offer him his drink but also goes to the extent of taking off Spawn’s mask only to burst into laughter. Clearly, he isn’t afraid of Spawn’s charred face.
The readers are next taken to another part of New York, one where Antonio Twistelli is seen telling Overt-Kill how grateful he and the rest of the mobsters are to him now that he has killed Spawn. Looking at his hand, Twistelli offers to aid him covering the cost of his damage and also offers him his private plane, which he wants the latter to use whenever he wants to go back home. Of course, Overt-Kill wishes to recover completely before he heads back to his homeland to which Twistelli ends up asking the cyborg who will he work for when Bartino dies.
Coming back to Spawn, he is seen experiencing a rather painful flashback, a piece of his forgotten past, one where is trying to recall the face of his killer. He’s shown to be given a clue; a Grim Reaper appears and tells him that even if he wasn’t paid to kill him, he would have done it anyway and further tells him that there is not any room for traitors before killing him. Spawn comes back to reality screaming and sees Uncle Bobby right before him.
Call it a coincidence but Wanda Blake is also seen waking up in the middle of the night screaming and crying, ‘Stop! Don’t kill him!’ We learn that it has been five years since Al Simmons died and while Wanda did accept the fact, it has been the last three weeks where she just cannot stop herself from thinking about Al and how his soul is getting tortured. With Wanda waking up screaming, her new husband Terry Fitzgerald tries to comfort her. But Wanda is inconsolable telling Terry that she is certain Al was murdered by someone and not killed in action. Terry tells her that he will check the files again in the morning.
As for Spawn, he decides that it’s high time he gives the mafia an eye for an eye. Thinking his cape would only get in his way, he takes it off, picks up the guns and leaves only to have the cape follow him unbeknownst to him. With Wanda having recurring dreams of Al, she decides to visit the local animal shelter. A few days ago, a man from the shelter did come and visit her but when Wanda gives his description there, she learns that there is no such man who is employed there. This only leads her into thinking if Terry is into some kind of a trouble and if the guy who came to visit her was some kind of a government agent keeping a spy on them.
Spawn, on the other hand, breaks into a midtown building and pays Twistelli a visit further telling him to send his cyborg at the Emerson Piers sharp at midnight. Of course, Overt-Kill shows up and he is even more annoyed to see his enemy alive. Addressing Spawn as a ‘Cocky Sonovabitch’, he indulges in a crazy battle and the war between them ends with Spawn decapitating Overt-Kill, throwing his head away and also blowing up the entire place so as not to leave behind any trace of evidence.
Overt-Kill In Todd McFarlane’s Spawn
Serving as the primary antagonist in the episode titled, ‘No Rest, No Peace, the cyborg hitman arrives to New York City after Tony Twistelli assigns him with the task of putting an end to his problems or in other words, eliminating Spawn.
The ruthless cyborg decides to get the attention of Spawn by ripping apart the vagrants in the alleys and making use of their bodies in order to leave a message for him for the final showdown. This serves the purpose and Overt-Kill makes a grand appearance.
The duo is seen fighting against each other and the battle ends for the time being with Spawn piercing a lead pipe through the cyborg’s eye impairing his vision in the process. Later, Spawn is seen tracing down Overt-Kill to a facility, where the latter has come to get himself fixed. Spawn blasts his way through the repair facility and ends up dismembering the cyborg. Whatever is left of Overt-Kill is sent back to Tony Twistelli so that the mob boss does not even think of messing with Spawn again.
What Makes Overt-Kill So Deadly?
Well, anyone who is capable of shooting laser blasts that too from an eye that is cybernetically augmented, you should know that you just cannot take that person lightly. To top things, that person happens to be a cybernetic assassin, one who can literally knock a person down and also make a hole through the chest thanks to his ability to generate varying waves of energy.
Next, the person boasts of superhuman strength, speed, and durability and has this barium armor, one which is highly durable and safeguards his body throughout. The armor is also capable of enduring extreme levels of damage along with piercing shots and explosive rounds. Speaking of the person’s equipment, it goes without saying that he is in possession of extremely powerful weapons such as laser cannons, armor-piercing guns as well as mounted rockets.
Are you still thinking about what makes Overt-Kill so deadly?
We suggest that you stop thinking right away.