This Todd McFarlane supervillain needs no introduction. To summarise, the most recurrent villain of the 1990s comic book series, this terrifying clown and Spawn’s arch-nemesis is not to be underestimated.
Many of you may have DC’s Joker at the top of your list of the most horrifying clowns, but we recommend that you reconsider and award the title to this persistent tormentor instead. If you’ve ever been unsure about the severe nature of Spawn’s comic book beginnings, look no farther than this guy!
The Violator was initially dispatched to Earth as Spawn’s demonic protector in the second issue of Spawn. Most likely, you’ve seen him as an overweight, balding man, standing around 3 feet 10 inches tall and wearing clown paint in the shape of an M on his face.
That is, after all, his disguise, for his real demonic form is a wildly disproportionate, ferocious-looking nightmare with a penchant for murder and mayhem. Throughout the series, Violator has been revealed to search for methods to torment Spawn as if it were his hobby, and while he has been slain several times, he has always managed to come back stronger and deadlier than before.
Before we dive into his origins and explore the intricate aspects of his character, we’d like to share something that we think a lot of you did not know. You might as well wonder how is it that Todd McFarlane came up with such an interesting name in the first place?
Well, full credits to a cold, rainy night that had McFarlane waiting inside his car for his wife. He chanced upon a sign on the wall that stated ‘No parking anytime. All violators will be towed.’ That is when the name caught his attention and he thought how nasty would a name like Violator sound as a villain. The rest as you all know is history!
So, coming back to today’s video, we will be talking about The Violator and exploring in detail the origin of the most horrifying villain from the Spawn Universe. You better be ready for this!
Let’s Take A Peak At The Birth Story Of The Violator
We are winding the clock back to the 16th century when Dr. John Dee attempted to summon the spirit of a very powerful degree, the thePhleboton Spirit of the Upper Ayres. But right after arriving before the English mathematician, the demon disclosed his grand desires for murder, chaos, promiscuity, and mostly things depraved.
Dr. Dee, despite the disclaimer, was hell-bent on summoning the spirit much so that he offered his own wife to the spirit to fulfill his urges and satisfy him. But this eventually led to the wife’s death when she gave birth to the spirit’s offspring – a hideous looking demon or let’s say the infamous Violator to be more precise. Well, four more children were born in the same manner leading to the total death of five mortal women in the process. The five together were known as the powerful Phlebiac Brothers.
In spite of being the oldest amongst his brothers, Violator was criticized and abused by his younger siblings day and night. Even his own father did not leave him, often siding with his brothers and punishing him much to his shock. With Violator finally growing tired and having had enough, he ended up slaughtering his own father out of fury.
His actions pleased Malebolgia, the de-facto grandmaster of Hell who not only made him the chief lieutenant in Hell but also had him in charge of grooming and training new Hellspawns that Malebolgia created. The purpose was to raise an army for Hell, one that is capable of destroying Heaven and having demons lead it. Violators always felt that humans were not worthy of such power and mostly looked down upon them.
What’s The Main Purpose Of the Violator And His Connection With Spawn?
Most certainly not a demon to be taken easily, much of Violator’s actions were aimed towards proving his superiority to Malebogia and impressing him. No matter how much he didn’t really fancy the Hellspawns, he had a job to do, and that included him toughening them up for what lay ahead of them.
Mind you, the Violator cannot kill a Spawn if he does not have a direct order from his higher-ups. His main task was to weaken them, drive them to cause unspeakable chaos, and in the process waste their powers. The Hellspawns post exhausting their Necroplasm are to return to Hell to serve Malebolgia’s army.
Al Simmons was inevitably one of the most memorable Hellspawns to be under his thrall. The Violatordid his best to turn Spawn towards his intended goal of wasting his powers and making him wreak unthinkable havoc. But somehow, his morality would always get in the way of Violator’s teachings.
As a result, Violator’s attacks on Spawn were more like the former seeing the latter as a rival than a threat and this eventually landed him in a mess with Malebolgia. The powerful ruler of Hell punished the Violator for acting against his wishes by stripping him off his powers and confining him within the body of a hideous-looking Clown.
Story Arcs and Appearance
The violator’s killing spree ended up provoking the Mafia who were absolutely furious by his actions. They ended up capturing him and coerced him to confess his crimes against them. Hell, they even went to the extent of trying to kill him but Violatormanaged to break himself free and evade them. It was precisely then that Tony Twist employed the mercenary, Admonisher, to hunt down the Violator.
The remaining Phlebiac Brothers saw him struggling and fighting for his life. They finally came to a joint decision to come to Earth and rescueViolator from meeting his end at the hands of a petty human. While this did taint the Phlebiac reputation, the brothers mutually decided that Violator’s death in their hands would be a much more delightful treat for them.
However, in the midst of the commotion between Admonisher and the brothers of Violator, the demon ended up breaking free yet again and even had Spawn fooled into reinstating his magical powers plus his ability to shape-shift himself.
Following the first few weeks, he laid low and eventually came back to New York City.Then he had the young Cyan Fitzgerald kidnapped and framed Jason Wynn for the action. Of course, Spawn was furious with Violator for having put his family in danger’s way and ultimately used his Necroplasm to banish him from the premises of Earth.
Post the death of Malebolgia, Violator tried to step in as the new ruler but met up with a challenge from Spawn for the throne. No points for guessing that it was Violator who was defeated that too very quickly and Spawn embraced the power of Hell. This made Violator yearn for his revenge against Spawn even further. So much so that he ended up possessing Jason Wynn and also built up an army of clowns through his demonic possession just to draw out Spawn and take his power.
Is Violator More Powerful Than Spawn?
As a demon of such high standing, there are no second thoughts about the Violatorbeingincredibly powerful. Right from ripping out a Hellspawn’s heart with one hand to literally breathing flames, the Violator possesses superhuman strength, endurance, agility, stamina, and the power of immortality he has it all.
Bursting through wooden walls effortlessly, growing in size to an extent that he can simply crush a human with his jaws, smashing through rooftops, ripping off Spawn’s arm, snapping a tree in half using just a hand, throwing people with just enough force to shatter concrete or let’s say decapitating his younger brother and beating his head into a bloody pulp – yep, that’s all him.
In fact, the Necroplasm magic that he boasts of, gives him quite a few abilities such as teleportation, raising the dead, telepathy, size alteration, possession, necromancy, shooting energy blasts, and shape-shifting amongst various other powers. Mind you, he is also capable of healing even if he has his brain or heart ripped out for that matter.
Would you be surprised if we told you that the character of the Violator can also pull through a myriad of high-caliber gunshots that would in general kill a human being immediately? Even when he is an overweight clown in disguise, he is pretty strong. Okay, when we said strong, we meant strong enough to punch right through someone’s skull, strong enough to kick Spawn pretty far away, and strong enough to catch a falling Spawn, one who easily weighs over 200 lbs.
Another high point of his character happens to be his art of deception. It goes without saying that the Violator is exceedingly deceptive. He can play with the minds of the same people over and over again and still have them believing him and falling for his tricks all over again. Also, he is quite the strategist and can easily warp reality.
But having said all of that, yes, he does have his share of weaknesses too. TheViolator can be destroyed by someone who is either an equal to him or of a higher power such as a Hellspawn for that matter. In fact, heavenly weapons can also kill him.
Spawn: The Animated Series
Also known as Todd McFarlane’s Spawn, this adult animated superhero tv series aired on HBO from 1997 till 1999. Based on the very character from Image Comics, the series ended up being a recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards. Developed by Alan B. McElroy, the series brags a current IMDb rating of 8.1 and revolves around the story of former Marine Force Recon Lieutenant Colonel Al Simmons.
While working as a government assassin in covert black ops, Simmons gets betrayed and killed by his close friend during the mission. His soul goes to Hell where he makes a deal with the devil. He agrees to become his Hellspawnin exchange for being allowed to see his beloved wife, Wanda one last time.
Simmons comes back to the living world but as a Hellspawn with minute memories of his past. Tricked by Malebolgia, he has been given a body that was a decaying, maggot-ridden,ghost-like corpse. With a face heavily malformed, he barely looked like a human and even had an enormous living red cape attached to his body. Simmons, in due course, grasped the fact that it has been five years since he died, and post finally being able to track down his wife, he finds her married to his former best friend, Terry Fitzgerald. The duo also has a daughter together called Cyan. Post understanding that he is no more the man in Wanda’s life, Simmons vows to protect her and her new family at all costs.
The animated series later shows Spawn initially taking refuge in the dark alleyways, killing just about anyone whom he found entering his newfound terrain. It is then that Malebolgia sends Violator as Spawn’s demonic guardian in order to make him carry out violent acts of savagery all in the name of Hell.
Simmons as Spawn literally fights against the temptation of evil; in fact, he not only gets pursued by the forces of Hell but also has the assailants from Heaven literally after him.
The latter exists to destroy the Hellspawns and crush the forces of Hell so as not to give them an advantage in the intensifying war brewing between Hell and Heaven. Eventually, help comes to Spawn in the form of Cogliostro, who was previously a Hellspawn himself and had managed to overcome the demonic powers within him.
The later episodes of the animated series even show Spawn learning to shapeshift and no points for guessing that he chooses to appear as Terry and makes love to Wanda. She becomes pregnant, setting in track the prophecy of the child of a Hellspawn, one who plays the ultimate deciding factor in Armageddon.
Spawn (1997) Live-Action Movie
Mark A. Z. Dippé’sAmerican superhero flick boasting a screenplay by Alan B. McElroy begins with Al Simmons, a US Marine Force Recon Lt. Colonel and CIA operative being given a task by his superior, Jason Wynn, to invade a biochemical weapons plant in North Korea.
But unknown to Simmons, Wynn has already instructed Jessica Priest, his top assassin to assassinate him during the mission. Simmons is transported to Hell, where Malebolgia, makes him a Faustian deal.
Simmons will be able to return to Earth and see his fiancée, Wanda Blake if he ends up becoming his eternal servant and leader of Hell’s army in Armageddon. Simmons thinking it is a fair deal accepts the terms and conditions and is transformed into a Hellspawn.
He returns to Earth and tries to reunite with Wandaunaware that five long years have passed since his death and Wanda has moved on in life is currently married to Simmons’ best friend, Terry Fitzgerald.In the meantime, Malebolgia has sent his demon Violator in the guise of a ridiculous-looking clown to keep track of the actions of Spawn, acting as his mentor and setting him onto the path to ultimate evil.
Upon learning that the Devil has cheated on him, he seeks revenge on his former boss and killer, Jason Wynn, who has also made a deal with the Violatorin secret to develop a deadly virus to take over the world and bring about an apocalypse.