WARNING! Spoilers ahead for Spawn #339Ever since his debut in 1992, Spawn has been torn between the forces of Heaven and Hell. Recently, however, he’s learned that one of his allies isn’t as beholden to those two biblical armies, as the supernatural Haunt is somehow immune to the effects of both angels and demons.
The revelation comes in Spawn #339 by Rory McConville, Todd McFarlane, Carlo Barberi, Jay David Ramos, Ivan Nunes and Tom Orzechowski. The story sees Spawn teaming up with Haunt to storm the gates of Heaven in their hunt for Sinn, the evil new incarnation of Spawn’s former mentor Cogliostro. To get there, the pair must travel through a “Dead Zone,” an area where Spawn and other denizens of Heaven and Hell aren’t able to access their powers. Curiously, Haunt discovers he’s still able to make use of his ectoplasmic suit and the varied abilities it grants him. Surprised at this, Spawn asks who created his suit, to which Haunt responds he doesn’t really know.
Unlike Spawn, Haunt Isn’t Affected By the Powers of Heaven & Hell
Haunt has recently made his reappearance in the Spawn universe after a long absence. The character debuted back in 2009 in his own self-titled series, a collaboration between Robert Kirkman, Todd McFarlane, Greg Capullo and Ryan Ottley. Haunt is actually the merged form of two brothers, Catholic priest Daniel Kilgore and his secret agent brother, Kurt. After Kurt is murdered, he comes back as a ghost haunting his brother, bringing with him the ability to merge with Daniel into the superhero Haunt. In this form, the brothers possess a suit made of ectoplasm that gives the composite hero various supernatural powers. The Haunt ongoing series lasted for 28 issues before it was canceled in 2012, after which the character made the occasional appearance in the pages of Spawn. McFarlane and company brought the hero back in a big way in 2021’s sales juggernaut King Spawn #1, and he’s made regular appearances in the varied Spawn titles ever since.
The revelation that Haunt’s ectoplasmic suit is able to retain its abilities in the “Dead Zone” is an intriguing twist for the Kilgore brothers, as is their ission that they don’t truly know where their ectoplasmic suit comes from. This is something that could be setting up some major events for the Spawn comics down the line, especially given Sinn’s power-play to take the throne of Hell and wage war with Heaven. Add in the fact that there is a poison in Haunt’s suit that is slowly killing him - the cure for which supposedly lies within Heaven itself - and the resulting story promises even more revelations about Haunt’s origins ahead.
However events play out, the revelation that Haunt can use his powers where the forces of Heaven and Hell can’t may hold huge ramifications down the line for Spawn.
Spawn #339 is on sale now from Image Comics.
