He’s not the Vindicator or the Victimizer or the Vaporizer. He’s the Violator and he’s returned at long last.
Spawn #290
Writer: Todd McFarlane
Artist: Jason Shawn Alexander
Letters: Tom Orzechowski
Colors: Lee Loughridge
Cover Artist (A/B): Francesco Mattina
Cover Artist (C): Francesco Mattina & Todd McFarlane
Publisher: Image Comics
Original Review Date: October 7, 2018
Recap:
With his old enemies (Overt-Kill, Cy-Gor, the Curse, and the Freak) and new ally (Marc Rosen); Spawn continues his plan. But as their plans unfold both covertly and overtly, it draws the attention of his arch nemesis the Clown/Violator. When the two reunite, whose master plan will be the one to come to fruition?
Review:
A lot went down in this chapter with us getting to see each and every one of Spawn’s allies doing their part across the globe. The Freak is still…well…a disturbing freak. The Curse is still up to his old zealoty ways. Cy-Gor and Overt-Kill make a surprisingly effective duo. Marc…well he’s Marc and kinda is just the only sane human on the team who will play his part more later. But the main draw of this chapter was the callbacks to the beginnings of Spawn and the return of Clown/Violator. Someone we haven’t seen in 35 issues.
Not only do we get to see the pair meet again, but we also get to see them meet back in the alley where it all started. Where he sat upon his throne of trash surrounded by his fellow homeless people and where he attempted to kill himself and inadvertently spawned Jim Downings. The image of his throne was just such a great touch and Clown still looks terrifying and is just the worst. And even with the back-and-forth, the pair have had with their plans over the years I can’t help but wonder if Spawn’s winning streak really is going to continue like he leads us to believe.
On the downside, the art seemed unusually flat this time around. Especially this particular page.
Marc, in particular, feels oddly flat against the rest of the page which is just impossible not to notice.
Final Thoughts:
As a whole the chapter was fine. They’re really going for the nostalgic with this storyline which is probably its greatest strength so far. Art is a bit wonky in places but nothing too irredeemable given the already stylized appearance.
Rating: 7.6/10
Ultronimus Gaming 