Fan favorite comic book character Spawn made his debut in Mortal Kombat 11 last month after months of anticipation. Now that he's finally available to players, Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon shared some more details on how the legendary fighting game series scored the iconic antihero for the Kombat Pack roster.

Speaking on Spawn's arrival in an interview with IGN, Boon credited his inclusion as the result of mutual interest between Mortal Kombat development studio NetherRealm Studios and Todd McFarlane, Spawn's creator, as well as heavy interest from fans of both properties.

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"We have always wanted to have Spawn in one of our Mortal Kombat games. I’ve heard a number of times that Todd McFarlane expressed interest in seeing Spawn in Mortal Kombat," Boon said. "As far as the fans are concerned, Spawn is probably one of the most requested characters ever to be in the franchise. He really is a perfect fit."

spawn creator wants new game

According to Boon, NetherRealm's plans for Spawn only required minor changes to keep their depiction of him on the same page as his depictions in previous media, including the comics and the HBO animated series. "There really wasn’t much that we wanted to do that got shut down as far as actual content was concerned. There were a couple of minor adjustments we made to stay within the character and history of Spawn, but those changes were not related to toning anything down. It was almost like Spawn was one of our characters."

Boon also took the opportunity to shout out Spawn's longtime voice actor, Keith David. "I was not at the recording sessions when he did the voice of Spawn for us, but I immediately identified his voice when I heard the results of the recording sessions," he said. "He really is a great sport, and I hope we can work together again in the future."

The collaboration is just one of many guest characters the Mortal Kombat franchise has scored in recent entries. The PlayStation 3 version of Mortal Kombat 9 featured God of War's Kratos, while Mortal Kombat X included four horror film icons in its DLC: the Alien and Predator, Jason Voorhees and Leatherface.

MK11 also brought the Joker into the mix in the Kombat Pack before Spawn's debut, allowing the Batman villain to lean into his sadistic tendencies in a manner that the T-rated Injustice series and his last Mortal Kombat game, 2009's Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, couldn't allow. Spawn's powers were similarly toned down for his last fighting game appearance in SoulCalibur 2 seventeen years ago, but for Mortal Kombat 11, the Hellspawn's fury is represented in a gloriously brutal fashion.

Fan reception to Spawn's arrival has been pretty positive, with gameplay flourishes like his Fatalities and Brutalities making him a natural inclusion for the franchise. While McFarlane hasn't confirmed any further video game appearances for the occult antihero, the Mortal Kombat 11 rendition of Spawn makes a rather strong case for his own dark action title to star in. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

Mortal Kombat 11 is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.

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Source: IGN