Spawn: Godslayer

Last updated
Spawn: Godslayer
Spawngodslayer cover 001.jpg
Spawn: Godslayer #1
Publication information
Publisher Image Comics
ScheduleMonthly
Format Ongoing series
Publication dateMay 2007 – April 2008
No. of issues8
Creative team
Created by Brian Holguin
Todd McFarlane
Written by Brian Holguin
Penciller(s) Philip Tan
Jay Anacleto
Inker(s) Philip Tan
Colorist(s) Brian Haberlin

Spawn: Godslayer, created by Brian Holguin, is a comic book series published by Image Comics. The series is a re-imagining of the popular Spawn franchise, taking place within a medieval fantasy setting rather than the main Spawn universe. Spawn: Godslayer is also the name of a special published in October 2006 set before the events of the series.

Contents

Plot

Spawn: Godslayer is set in a world of epic fantasy. A mysterious warrior with a dark blade is waging war against the gods, killing them one by one. [1]

The protagonist is a warrior prince named Bairn from the island kingdom of Endra-La. During a naval battle, Bairn is wounded and thrown overboard. Sinking to the bottom of the sea and dying, Bairn says he would give anything to see his love, Neva, again. A mysterious, eldritch entity answers his dying plea.

In exchange for saving Bairn, the entity makes the prince his undead servant and orders him to kill the gods of Ur. Neva, thinking that Bairn is dead, devotes herself to the temple of the goddess Llyra and eventually becomes her vessel.

Special

Many years after his ordeal, Bairn sails to Endra-La. Commanding a mighty ship, he breaks through the kingdom's defenses. He finds Neva, now an old woman, in the temple of Llyra. She pleads with him, but he kills her without saying a word. Neva forgives Bairn with her final breath. Enraged, Llyra appears, and Bairn kills her as well, completing his task. [2]

Series

Set immediately after the Godslayer special, Bairn returns to his stronghold, with the spirit of his beloved Neva haunting him. Neva is a phantom to Bairn at first, but becomes visible to him when he attempts to remove his memories with nepenthe. Bairn relates the tale of his death and rebirth to Neva, but before he can say more he is summoned by his dark master to slay the Winter God, Urshrek. In his absence, Neva seemingly makes a pact similar to Bairn's with the mysterious dark master.

Bairn slays Urshrek, and is rescued from the sea by Neva, who has been transformed into an undead warrior similar to the Godslayer. The two sail to Endra-La and recover Neva's bones, which transform her into her original self. She then bids Bairn farewell and disappears.

Bairn, inconsolable after Neva's disappearance, returns to his mission to rid the world of the gods. He eventually makes his way back to his stronghold, once again escaping into dreamless sleep to forget his sins.

Cancellation

Spawn: Godslayer was canceled after its 8th issue due to low sales. A note from the author in the back of issue 8 mentions that the further adventures of the Godslayer cast and the fate of their universe are tales that will have to remain untold, for now. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spawn (character)</span> Comic book superhero

Albert Francis "Al" Simmons, better known as Spawn, is an antihero appearing in a monthly comic book of the same name published by American company Image Comics, as well as in a number of films, television series, and video game adaptations set in the Image Universe. Created by Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1.

<i>Warhammer Fantasy</i> (setting) High-fantasy setting, created by Games Workshop

Warhammer Fantasy is a fictional fantasy universe created by Games Workshop and used in many of its games, including the table top wargame Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) pen-and-paper role-playing game, and a number of video games: the MMORPG Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, the strategy games Total War: Warhammer, Total War: Warhammer II and Total War: Warhammer III and the two first-person shooter games in the Warhammer Vermintide series, Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide and Warhammer: Vermintide 2, among many others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highfather</span> Fictional character

Highfather is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. An integral part of Jack Kirby's Fourth World mythos, Highfather is a New God, leader of the planet New Genesis and the positive counterpart brother to the evil Darkseid.

<i>Sojourn</i> (comics) CrossGen comic book series

Sojourn is a fantasy comic book series published by CrossGen. The series follows the adventures of the archer Arwyn and her companions as they battle undead dictator Mordath. Unlike other CrossGen comics, Sojourn does not center on a Sigil-Bearer, but instead depicts a villainous Sigil-Bearer whom the heroes are tasked with defeating. It ran for 35 issues from 2001 to 2004 until it was forced to end by the bankruptcy of CrossGen. For a time, this series was Crossgen's highest grossing comic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Frost-Giant's Daughter</span> Conan short story by Robert E. Howard

"The Frost-Giant's Daughter" is one of the original fantasy short stories about Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ninjak</span> Comics character

Ninjak is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by Valiant Comics. The original incarnation of the character was created by Mark Moretti and Joe Quesada, The character was first introduced as a ninja and spy in the Valiant Comics series Bloodshot in July, 1993. His appearance in that series served to encourage interest ahead of his own self-titled series, which began in November that same year. Acclaim Entertainment bought out Valiant Comics in 1996, after which Ninjak and other characters were rebooted. The Acclaim Ninjak series lasted only a year. Valiant Comics later returned and rebranded as Valiant Entertainment, and a new version of Ninjak, more in-line with the original incarnation, was introduced to readers in 2012.

<i>Curse of the Spawn</i>

Curse of the Spawn is a spin-off of Todd McFarlane's popular Spawn comic book series. The book introduced other Hellspawns and characters in the "Spawniverse". It was published by Image Comics from September 1996–March 1999 and has been collected into multiple trade paperbacks. There were 29 issues in all.

<i>Amber and Ashes</i>

Amber and Ashes is a fiction, fantasy novel in the Dragonlance book series and is the first of a trilogy called "The Dark Disciple", based around the character Mina. The book takes up where the War of Souls left off. This trilogy will explore the Chaos that is post-war Krynn. It is authored by Margaret Weis, who was a co-founder of the Dragonlance series, along with Tracy Hickman. This is Weis's fourteenth novel in the series, and first solo hardcover since the publication of the extremely popular Dragonlance title The Soulforge in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ares (Marvel Comics)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Ares is a fictional character, a deity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is based on the Greek god of the same name. He first appeared in Thor #129 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Ares has commonly appeared as an enemy of Thor and Hercules and starred in his own self-titled series in 2006.

The Sundering is a series of two fantasy novels by Jacqueline Carey made up of Banewreaker, and Godslayer. The books portray a conflict between light and dark, with many of the common conventions of fantasy fiction. The world and many of the characters of the novels are similar to those found in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, as Carey presents a similar story as a tragedy told from the "dark" side's perspective. Though one side can be considered light, consisting of Elf-like creatures, Men, and Dwarves, and the other dark, with an army of Trolls, neither can be considered solely "good" or "evil".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nekron</span> DC Comics supervillain

Nekron is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of the Green Lantern Corps. Created by Mike W. Barr, Len Wein and Joe Staton, the character, who exists as an embodiment of Death, first appeared in Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #2. He is the primary antagonist in the 2009-2010 Blackest Night storyline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amatsu-Mikaboshi (character)</span> Comics character

Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the Chaos King, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as a supervillain and demonic god of evil who is best known as an enemy of Hercules and Thor, and as the main antagonist of Chaos War. He is based on the Mikaboshi of Japanese mythology.

<i>Dead Gods</i> Dungeons & Dragons adventure for Planescape

Dead Gods is an adventure module for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

<i>Conclave of Shadows</i> Series of fantasy novels by Raymond E. Feist

Conclave of Shadows is a series of fantasy novels by Raymond E. Feist, part of The Riftwar Cycle. The series picks up events following The Serpentwar Saga, and deals with the secret titular organization formed by the great magician Pug, and its initial struggle against evil necromancer Leso Varen while in the employ of Kaspar, Duke of Olasko.

A god-slayer is one who kills gods.

<i>Immortal: Unchained</i> 2018 video game

Immortal: Unchained is an action role-playing game developed by Toadman Interactive and published by Game Odyssey for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The gameplay is inspired by the Dark Souls series with a focus on futuristic firearms, while the setting and plot are inspired by Norse mythology and the events of Ragnarok.

<i>Tales from the Dark Multiverse</i> Comics series

Tales from the Dark Multiverse is an American superhero/anthology comic book limited series published by DC Comics, beginning on October 16, 2019. The series takes some of the most famous events in the DC Universe and puts a twist on them.

<i>Mythica</i> (film series) 2014–2016 fantasy film series by Anne K. Black

Mythica is a series of primarily direct-to-video fantasy films. The films are produced by Arrowstorm Entertainment, with first film Mythica: A Quest for Heroes being partly funded by a Kickstarter campaign that collected $94,294. There are five films in the Mythica series, all produced and co-written by Jason Faller and Kynan Griffin. The films star Melanie Stone as Marek, an escaped slave girl and budding magician, and co-star Kevin Sorbo as Gojun Pye the magician who trains her, along with Adam Johnson, Jake Stormoen, and Nicola Posener as those that team up with Marek on various quests together.

References

  1. Spawn: Godslayer Archived 2008-04-20 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Spawn: Godslayer (One-Shot)
  3. Spawn: Godslayer #8