Nightwatch has to be the most blatant rip-off character Marvel has ever made
And that's saying something because, let's face it: as iconic as many of their characters are, they're not always the most original, to put it nicely. But Nightwatch, just wow... He is so ridiculously identical to Todd McFarlane's Spawn, in both appearance and abilities.
![](https://tools.similarworlds.com/proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fwhat-can-nightwatch-do-v0-ed7vbtabmsyc1.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D640%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D9c85f4b0049daf5f85b5d3ea76fcdce87cfb1f06)
Spawn was created in May 1992 right after McFarlane left Marvel to form Image Comics and quickly emerged as one of the few third party comic characters whose popularity rivaled the likes of Marvel and DC. Nightwatch was created less than a year later in February 1993. They didn't even try making it subtle! I guess McFarlane departing Marvel (after he was fed up with the company's creative interferences of his work) and immediately making a popular comic book character left a bitter taste in their mouths, because obviously someone in Marvel thought "Screw that, we'll make our own Spawn!" Guess which one stood the test of time?
![](https://tools.similarworlds.com/proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fwhat-can-nightwatch-do-v0-ed7vbtabmsyc1.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D640%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D9c85f4b0049daf5f85b5d3ea76fcdce87cfb1f06)
Spawn was created in May 1992 right after McFarlane left Marvel to form Image Comics and quickly emerged as one of the few third party comic characters whose popularity rivaled the likes of Marvel and DC. Nightwatch was created less than a year later in February 1993. They didn't even try making it subtle! I guess McFarlane departing Marvel (after he was fed up with the company's creative interferences of his work) and immediately making a popular comic book character left a bitter taste in their mouths, because obviously someone in Marvel thought "Screw that, we'll make our own Spawn!" Guess which one stood the test of time?