Someone once told me, “Now that you’ve got it, what are you going to do with it?”
The adult in my life meant some weird toy that I’d yearned for over several agonizing weeks. Still, the phrase also rings contextually true for the current predicament of one Tasha “Bloodletter” Thornwall. Across the first three issues of Bloodletter, our hero’s singular goal has been the annihilation of Spawn, and she was willing to burn down the world (including her only real friend, Casper) to achieve that lofty goal.
So, now that she finally gets her hands on one Al Simmons in issue #4, what’s it all mean for Bloodletter? And what does it offer for the character’s development, emotional wellbeing, and even long-term prospects?
If absolutely nothing else, it’s once more grounds for further visual feats from artist Christian Rosado and colorist DC Alonso. If you love the Spawn-verse’s magically-tinged battles, this one will knock your socks off. The tone is perfectly balanced between Sandman-ian drama and darkness and ’90s comic intensity; the colors pop and sizzle (while distilling some sense of identity for each combatant); and it’s the right mix of a proper fight and what I’d call a “violet conversation.” (Which is to say, there’s an ebb and flow visually that mirrors a kind of dialogue, if you will.)
Courtesy of Image Comics.
Bloodletter is all piss and vinegar here, and you can feel the overt intensity as she bashes against Spawn in an effort that’s both desperate but nonetheless inspiring. Meanwhile, Spawn is a little more reserved and strategic, and you can feel that he’s fighting from the top in a way that makes sense for the character’s history and significance. Heck, even the lettering of Bloodletter’s spells (courtesy of AndWorld Design) has that perfect weight and heft to add to the proceedings.
Sure, I was sort of hoping their big throwdown might be saved for the fifth and final issue, which offered a chance to really tease it out before delivering the goods. But I appreciate that writers Tim Seeley and Joseph Illidge have continued to play with our expectations and perspectives, and they made this fight feel like a little treat as opposed to the story-ending conclusion it might have been otherwise.
In that way, the fight still gets to be big and exciting but it’s also deliberately limited, and Bloodletter continues to build in this unique and intriguing manner that makes it so much more than a revenge story. If anything, having the fight now makes me even hungrier for issue #5, and my head is practically dizzy with new ideas and theories. And the possibility of a round two is also viscerally exciting.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
Only, maybe their beef goes on a little longer/deeper than just another scrap. Because for all the brutality of their encounter, Spawn’s biggest blows come at the very end of their duel. Just when you think the big guy might be down for the count, he lets forth some words of wisdom that smack Bloodletter harder than any necro-chain ever could.
I don’t want to spoil it whatsoever, but Spawn utterly cuts to the core of Bloodletter, letting her know that all the terrible stuff she’s done just to get to him not only might’ve been for nothing, but there may be other consequences to these actions. (Here, the art team’s visual depiction of Tasha’s mood continues to excel, and we see her wailing and snarling against this turn in a way that’ll truly bring you into the sorrow of it all.)
This turn of events has a few resulting upsides. For one, as I had already mentioned, it makes the Spawn-Bloodletter fight not just a mere one-off, and that’s going to give Tasha ever sturdier legs going forward. (There’s several directions she could go, actually, and they all promise character growth through endless pain/struggle.) Secondly, it makes you question Bloodletter’s own hatred of Spawn, and why she might be wrong about him — perhaps they’re closer than she’s ever imagined, and that’s a lesson that’s going to take time to truly resonate.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
Plus, we see one of my favorite sides of Spawn: He’s sort of a brutal dickhead, but he makes people see the truth of their circumstances in a way that’s disarming and utterly visceral. Spawn’s not just a one-sided “threat” here, and the creative team are honoring his lineage by reminding us of what has made this character work for 30-plus years.
But mostly, this so-called final battle puts the emphasis where I’d like it to be, on Tasha and her former (?) friend/ally, Casper. Again, not to spoil too much, but after the epic scrap, it’s clear that Bloodletter has to contend with her betrayal (from issue #3) and what Casper’s Celestial/Angelic status means for our hero’s plans going forward. And that level of intimacy isn’t just rich and compelling, but it feels like the best path forward for Tasha.
All of Bloodletter so far has been about pairing her with Spawn in order to maximize the story and establish this upstart character. Anything else (like side mission turned main cause with the Casper “stuff”) will inevitably 1) create a more solid personal corner for Bloodletter to operate in and 2) establish the character in other, equally vital ways/means. It’s great to see the creative team putting in real time and energy to take a “simple” narrative (“Kill Spawn!”) and turn it on its head in the name of building one of the more compelling new Spawn characters in quite some time.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
So, what did I do with that toy once I got it? I made a lot of mini-Batman sequels and crashed the ship into nearby walls. Not exactly life-changing stuff, sure, but it was the fuel for important personal development. Bloodletter‘s had a similar response — the “toy” (a Spawn battle) was just the start of something increasingly fresh and vital for this character. A chance, I’d argue, for our lead to become even more real, textured, and utterly human.
With blows both physical and spiritual, Bloodletter #4 does so dang much with what it’s been given, and we’re all the ones reaping the corresponding lessons and rewards.
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