If Spawn is copied, he would end up with a lawsuit ala Captain America. Therein lies the crux of the issue, there are enough unique points in Spawn not to warrant a lawsuit. His cape is inspired by the croak of Dr Strange and the bridal gown of the late Princess Dinah but it is unique enough to be spawnesque in stature. The skull and chains are Ghost Rider but not a figure wears it with such aplomb. The spikes and belts are weird accessories but so are sadomachoism and I am sure adherents of PLU would love it. Which lawyers when they scent blood would not jump in, but for the fact that Spawn cannot be accused of imitation. When Nightwatch was released by Marvel, it actually have a last minute change of costume because the cover version is too similar to Spawn and they are afraid of a lawsuit but of course Spoof Comics would not make a parody of Nightwatch, it is just not "big" enough.
This is the second appearance of Spoon in Spoof Comics. It was pure irony that for the criticism of plagiarism, this parody of Batman and Spawn would led a year later to an actual collaboration between Image and DC Comics.
Fans of comicdom know that McFarlane (called Toad McFarout here) gains fame for his drawings of Spider-Man before he embarked on his quest in entrepreneurship. Since this is Personality Comics Inc, with their heavy emphasis on bad girls and adult comics, all the main characters are necessarily turned into heroines. In Page 2, Spider-Man, now Spider-Femme came to the aid of Spoon in her fight against Ghost Ladler, Paddler and Farce. What Spoon refers to in Panel 3 about the overdrawn webs is a reference to McFarlane's infamous detailed Spider-Man illustrations and Panel 5 again alludes to the fact that both Spider-Man and Spawn shares the same creator.
In page 4 are themes borrowed extensively from Spawn. In Panel 2, Daffy Duck replaces Malebolgia as one of the top honcho in hell offering Spoon a way out. In Panel 3, Toad McFarout is a Dink. I always thought Dink is a two-career couple with no kids but I doubt the kindness of the parody writer here. And in panel 4, she shouted "why" which is the famous utterance Spawn did in the beginning of #1. The two famous one-word utterance of Spawn are "Why" and "No" and you would see them use frequently in parody of Spawn, unfortunately both words lack the oomph of "STELLAAAAAAAAAA".
More "Why", this time with dramatic effect as seen in the first issue of Spawn.
In Panels 4 and 5, the infamous drum beat of Spider-Man #1 August 1990 written and illustrated by McFarlane. For a complete list of the drum beats - check out Doom Doom Doom. The character is a parody of Lizard and Batbabe is talking about McFarlane allegedly claiming to take credits for the new Lizard's creation.
Page 21 Panel 1 refers to Alan Moore, the prolific guest writer of Spawn.
My power was so strong in Heck that my ego has ruined my Image. Translated: My power was so strong in Marvel that my ego has ruined Image.
