Spawn 2

"The Hellspawn has returned to Earth, soulless, his mind ravaged, his memories shattered." And a good morning to you, too. Todd McFarlane's titanic struggle between heaven and hell for one man's soul continues in this animated feature culled from second season episodes from the HBO series, which enjoys a devoted following. The black-caped, glowing green-eyed Spawn is the incarnation of Al Simmons, an assassin assassinated, who made a bargain with you-know-who to return to Earth to see his beloved wife. The catch is that he is now a soldier of the devil's army (though he can use his powers for good). There's no denying the artful animation or the script's intelligence. But the uninitiated not familiar with the phenomenally successful comic book, the live-action film it, uh, spawned, or the first season of the HBO series, will find this rough going. It is apparently a sign of the zeitgeist that this superhero saga is so relentlessly violent, often grotesque and downbeat. Probably a must for die-hard fans. (K. Lee Benson)