Todd McFarlane's Spawn

Original Air Date: 1997-1999

Network: HBO

Airing on HBO in the late '90s, this short series was a for-adults-only adaptation of McFarlane's comic book. Unlike the rather cheesy, toned down live-action Spawn of 1997, this animated series held nothing back in the violence department, making full use of its home on pay cable. Todd McFarlane himself introduced each episode in a live-action segment, in the style of Alfred Hitchcock or Rod Serling.

Much like the comic, the animated series followed a man who, upon dying, sold his soul to the devil in order to remain on Earth and see his wife. He was turned into a creature others call "Spawn," who we learn is expected to lead an invasion into heaven. Meanwhile, Spawn is forced to watch his former wife, Wanda, marry his best friend and have a child with him. The series is an interesting take on free will and the old adage, "Be careful what you wish for because you might just get it."