How Spawn’s confrontation with Donald Trump earned Todd McFarlane an angry phone call from Breitbart

Spawn has battled many enemies over the years, from Overtkill to Hellspawn. However, none of his battles have as controversial as the one he had with a Donald Trump cosplayer. During a panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2023, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane recalled an incident where a scene from one of his comics caused him to get an angry phone call from the right-wing news outlet Breitbart.

Spawn’s encounter with Donald Trump occurred in the 2016 comic Spawn Kills Everyone. “Spawn went to San Diego Comic-Con, and everybody cosplays, and he thought that they were all the real people. He figured if he could kill all the people, then his movie would be the most famous movie, since there are no more heroes,” McFarlane explained.

“Every page was him killing another hero who was a cosplayer. One of the cosplayers was wearing a Donald Trump mask. So, he killed Donald Trump. I’m not picking sides; I’m just trying to have fun.” However, not everyone found it fun. The scene with the Trump cosplayer was written up by various right-wing outlets, including Breitbart.

“Somebody from Breitbart phoned me, and said ‘We want to talk to you.’ I said, ‘Okay, let’s talk.’ And they were like ‘Do you feel good about what you did? About killing Donald Trump.’ I asked if they read the book, and they said ‘We read the book and it’s disgusting.’ You understand that was make-believe right?”

McFarlane was quick to point out that the comic also had a scene where Spawn kills him. “Did you notice that on all the people he killed, there was one person he devoted two pages to killing – he killed me. If you think killing him (Trump) in one page is terrible, I spent two pages killing me! I’m not making any statement, do your homework before you start getting riled up.”

At the time, McFarlane was quoted in the New York Daily News as saying "I'm Canadian, I don't get to vote. My blood boils when I run into people who do not believe in equality, or in [humanity]. This guy, Donald Trump, in the simplest form has put the con in conservative."

Despite Breitbart’s protests, Spawn’s rampage didn’t end there. The popularity of Spawn Kills Everyone led to a sequel titled Spawn Kills Everyone Too. The next installment, which is called Spawn Kills Every Spawn, was announced at the same panel. Whether you’re a president, comic creator, or multiversal counterpart, Spawn will come for you at one point or another.