A few days ago Marvel announced that Neil Gaiman’s character
“Angela” would join the Marvel universe starting with an epilogue in Age of
Ultron #10 before appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy #5.
I haven’t read Spawn in over a decade but I remember Angela
fondly. She was a popular character. Hopefully Marvel has purchased Angela and
isn’t just using her to generate short-term excitement. Don’t get me wrong, I
love things like when Invincible appeared in a Marvel Team-Up issue, but if
you’re going to do something significant with a character in continuity you
want to have the ability to refer back to it.
But I’ll see how I feel about it more when Guardians of the
Galaxy #5 comes out.
But wow, tough break for Todd McFarlane. It seems like ever
since he started Spawn it’s been a tough road of lawsuits. That’s why am hoping
that Marvel has purchased the rights to Angela and isn’t just borrowing them or
licensing them from Neil Gaiman. McFarlane made that mistake once by making Rob
Liefeld’s character, Chapel integral to Spawn’s origin. When Liefeld made an
angry exit from Image Comics and a clean break from his friendship with
McFarlane, McFarlane lost the ability to include Chapel in future stories.
I don’t want to rehash old history I just think it’s a poor
idea to co-mingle characters in important events. If you want to have a
crossover that’s fine but if Angela’s going to have any lasting impact in the
Marvel Universe, Marvel needs access to the character beyond the event. As for
the title, Spawn itself, I was a huge fan at one time and it might be time to
revisit it. I did enjoy the first few issues of his new title, Haunt.
So for now, I welcome Angela to the Marvel Universe and hope
that she stays for good.
