SPAWN STARTED AS MOST IN THE BIGGINNING WAS A COMIC BOOK.  THEN CAME THE FIGURINES SO THAT YOUR COMIC BOOKS COULD COME TO LIFE.  SPAWN IS KNOWN AS A ANTI SUPER HEREO, WHICH MEANS HE'S GOOD OF HEART BUT BILLY BAD ASS BY NATURE.  I HAVE BEEN COLLECTING SPAWN SINCE HIS CREATION ABOUT 17 YEARS OR SO, EVEN BEFORE  IT WAS A COOL THING TO DO.  BECAUSE SPACE IS LIMITTED HERE'S THE GIST,  TODD MCFARLANE CREATOR OF SPAWN WORKED FOR DC COMICS, CREATED SPAWN , WITH THE LAST OF HIS MONEY SERIES ONE WAS BORN ALSO MCFARLANE TOYS.  ANY PRODUCT MARKED SPAWN IS NOT  ALWAYS FROM MCFARLANE TOYS, YOU HAVE THE KNOCK OFFS SUCH AS WETWORK. AND A FEW OTHERS.  EACH FIGURINE HAS  A VARIANT WETHER IT BE MASK, NO MASK, PAINT MAY VARY. EVEN THE EXPRESSION ON THE FIGURINE COULD BE DIFFERENT.  THE YEAR, WETHER IT WAS A CLUB MEMBER ITEM, WETHER YOU WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO GE TODD TO SIGN THE ITEM, ALL THESE ITEMS IS WHAT MAKE THE SEARCH SO VALUABLE, IT ALSO HELPS THAT EACH FIGURINE IS LIMITTED TO A CERTAIN AMOUNT FROM THE GIT GO .  THIS SEEN AS A BRILLIANT MARKETING SCHEME.   BUT MOST OF ALL THE GREAT DETAIL DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS TURNED SPAWN FROM PLASTIC FIGURINE TO A LIFE LIKE BEING/SUPERHEREO.  I WAS NEVER ONE TO COLLECT ANYTHING BUT I NOE HAVE OVER 500 SPAWN FIGURINES, 22 POSTERS, 19 BALLCAPS, 9 T SHIRTS, 4 SILK JACKETS, STICKERS CARDS, MOVIE PROGRAMS,   AND MUCH MUCH MORE.