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Al Simmons, a CIA agent, was murdered by his employer, Jason Wynn, after witnessing his boss" "indiscretions". Simmons was then sent to hell, where in a desperate attempt to see his wife one last time, he made a deal with the demon Malebolgia, and unwittingly, became a "Hellspawn", a General in Hell"s Army. Spawn has tried to retain his own humanity while finding a way out of Malebolgia"s control and battling a variety of enemies, both supernatural  and criminal.

Now known as Spawn, Al"s first few adventures are anti-hero in nature: he takes down street gangs and organized crime (including their enforcer Overtkill), and he kills a child molester/murderer named Billy Kincaid. Spawn encounters an "Anti-Spawn", who is actually Jason Wynn (unknown to Al), and the Redeemer (a God-fearing man transformed in a similar fashion as Wynn). He survives an assault by Angela, an angel whose mission, as dictated by Heaven, is to hunt Hellspawn for sport and claims the Medieval Spawn, a medieval Predecessor to the modern-day Spawn, as one of her trophies. As this occurs, he takes over the alleys that comprise "Rat City" and befriends the homeless within it, becoming their champion. In particular, an old bum named Cogliostro  seems to know a lot about him. Cogliostro and the Clown act as polar guides for Al, trying to convince him to use his powers for good and evil respectively. The Clown shows that he can transform into his real form, a demon known as the Violator. In his earliest adventures, he also encounters Harry Houdini, who teaches Spawn some new tricks, saves Terry from being murdered by the mob. Spawn also brings his friend Bobby back to life after he"s been killed by Chapel. In a spin-off issue, Spawn encounters Batman who subsequently throws a bat shuriken  at him, slicing Al"s face in two. Even though Spawn could use his limited energy to heal, he turns to his loyal friend Bobby, who instead ties it shut with a shoe lace. This shoe lace would eventually be removed by Terry Fitzgerald, and later worn as a necklace by Terry"s daughter, Cyan Fitzgerald. "Shoestring face" Spawn would remain one of the iconic visuals of the character.