Raiders of The Lost Media - Spawn/Batman: Inner Demons

 

Alright, time for another installment of Raiders of The Lost Media, and this time, it's all about a crossover between Spawn and Batman that never got published.

Part One - What is Spawn/Batman: Inner Demons?

Spawn/Batman: Inner Demons was a planned crossover between the DC Comics character Batman and the Image Comics character Spawn. Had this crossover happened it would've been the characters third meeting after the 1994 comics, Spawn/Batman and Batman/Spawn: War Devil.

Part Two - The Story

We don't know too many details about the story, the only thing we have an official solicitation and it goes...

"It's been over a decade since their first meeting. The Dark Knight and the even darker one. But this time is perhaps the most dangerous meeting of all. A battle for our heroes' very souls and sanity. Sure Batman knows how to fight The Joker, Spawn and The Clown, but what if Spawn had to deal with Batman's legendary nemesis? And for that matter, is Batman really capable of fighting a true demon from Hell? Two great heroes must face each other's greatest villains!"

Part Three - Background & Cancellation

As I mentioned previously, these two characters had two crossovers. And because those comics were such a success, naturally both DC and Image wanted to do another crossover. That comic was titled, Spawn/Batman: Inner Demons. The comic would've been written and inked by the creator of Spawn, Todd McFarlane, and it would've been drawn by McFarlane's long time collaborator, Greg Capullo. Who funny enough would go onto being a Batman artist. The comic was planned for a 2006 release.

So why didn't it happen? Well, in 2015, Todd McFarlane would reveal why, although he didn't go into much detail. He just says...

"For a variety of reasons (mostly on my shoulders) the book never got off the ground, but a few pages and promo pieces were done for it."

Part Four - Availability

The only thing we really have are a promotional cover, a textless cover, and two possible interiors (one of which I'm using).

Part Five - Was There Ever Another?

After 2006 came and went then years went by, it almost seemed like we'd never get another crossover. But that all changed on Dec 13th, 2022, when the simply titled, Batman/Spawn was released. However, while both The Joker and The Clown do appear, they're not the main villains of the story, that role goes to The Court of Owls, and the story seems different when compared to the official solicitation.

That's all for now. Come back on Saturday, Nov 11th, for my review of the newest MCU movie, The Marvels. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.