The '90s weren't exactly a great time for fans of superhero movies. Instead of a Superman reboot, we got Shaquille O'Neal as Steel. And just before Blade arrived on the scene to light the first sparks of a Hollywood superhero renaissance, there was Spawn. This supernatural avenger quickly rose to prominence in the early '90s amid a new wave of characters from upstart publisher Image Comics. But despite his success in comics, animation, and toys, Spawn found little success on the big screen.

Emphasize the R-Rating

Explore the Legacy

Don't Rehash the Origin

Downplay Spawn

Action and Atmosphere

That hasn't stopped creator Todd McFarlane from pursuing a follow-up film. And at the Toronto Fan Expo earlier this month, he suggested that the long-gestating Spawn reboot may finally be taking shape and could even go into production next year . But is there any reason for excitement given how lousy the first movie was? Actually, yes. There's far more potential with this franchise than that adaptation would have you believe. And we have a few ideas of how this reboot can better take advantage of all the franchise has to offer. If movies like Kick-Ass and 300 have proved anything, it's that there is a market for superhero movies aimed squarely at adults. Maybe not an Avengers or Dark Knight-level audience, but not every comic book movie is destined for a billion dollar box office total.One of the flaws that brought down the original Spawn was the decision to trim the final product in order to earn a PG-13 rating. While the R-rated Director's Cut later released on DVD certainly has its flaws, it's clearly superior to the theatrical version. Anyone who has ever read a Spawn comic knows this is not a PG-13-type of franchise, nor is there any benefit to trying to squeeze it into that mold.One of the reasons the animated series was so much better executed is that it knew its audience. That series appeared on HBO's late-night lineup. It was aimed squarely at adult viewers and didn't shy away from the violence, brutality, and sexuality of Spawn's world. It was more true to the source material, and as many fans will claim, managed to surpass it. That's what McFarlane and his producers need to be looking towards for inspiration.Now that R-rated comic book movies are more commonplace in Hollywood, there's no excuse for the Spawn reboot not to revel in its adults-only status. Unlike Tigger, the wonderful thing about Spawn is that he's not the only one. Though Al Simmons was the star of the original movie, animated series, and the majority of the comic series, he's ultimately just one player in a long line of Hellspawn that have fought in the battle between Heaven and Hell for thousands of years.The first movie touched on this aspect of the Spawn mythos when it introduced Cogliostro as an aged mentor to Simmons. The comics have also introduced Medieval Spawn (a knight named Sir John of York), Nyx (a female, Wiccan Hellspawn), Mandarin (a Hellspawn from the Sung Dynasty), and Gunslinger Spawn (pretty self-explanatory), among many others. A character named Jim Downing was even introduced as an ongoing replacement for Simmons in recent years.While having so many versions of Spawn helps McFarlane Toys keep churning out new action figures year after year, they also contribute to a strong sense of legacy within the franchise. Just as the mantle of the Flash and Green Lantern is passed down in DC Comics, the Spawn identity is one that has been worn by many heroic and troubled figures over the centuries. Why not reflect that legacy in the movie?The new Spawn could be reminiscent of the Highlander franchise, sprinkling in flashbacks to the Hellspawns of yesteryear and exploring the wider scope of this universe. Depending how successful the reboot is, it could even set the stage for various period-specific spinoffs. This is a concern with just about any superhero movie, regardless of character. The more superhero properties that make the jump to Hollywood, the less interested we are in origin stories. Origin stories are almost inherently formulaic. A character experiences a personal tragedy, gains new abilities, struggles at learning how to harness them, and overcomes their first great foe in their rise to prominence. Sound familiar?The fact is that Spawn's origin has already been told on the big screen. And even though the first movie is largely forgotten by casual moviegoers, there doesn't seem to be a great deal to be gained by revisiting that well. The first movie stuck reasonably close to the established origin of the comics. Rehashing that story, even in a more faithful manner, is only going to bore hardcore fans and leave others with the impression that Spawn is a Ghost Rider clone. And if that basic origin story didn't hook casual audiences the first time around, what guarantee is there the reboot would be more successful?We'd much rather this reboot follow the example of movies like Punisher: War Zone and Incredible Hulk. Neither of those movies was technically a sequel to the ones that preceded them, but nor did they waste time retreading that familiar ground. The Spawn reboot is better off just throwing viewers into the deep end with a lead hero who is already established. Whatever details about his past are necessary to the plot can be revealed along the way. Skipping the origin story allows McFarlane and his collaborators more freedom. They can stick to familiar villains like Violator and Malebolgia, or they can blaze new ground and include characters who didn't make the cut in the original movie or the animated series. This may seem a bit counter-intuitive. Why would you reboot the Spawn franchise by shifting focus away from the title character? But one thing that comic books like Gotham Central and the most recent volume of The Punisher have shown is that there's great opportunity to be had in using an iconic character sparingly. Gotham Central focused on the men and woman of the Gotham City Police Department. Batman only sporadically appeared, and even then usually as an ominous, quiet presence. While Frank Castle played a more direct role in Greg Rucka's Punisher series, Rucka purposely removed Castle's trademark narration and framed his stories from other characters' points of view instead.There's no reason this approach couldn't be adapted for superhero movies as well, and Spawn would make an excellent candidate. Rather than ask viewers to latch onto a former assassin-turned-enforcer for Hell, it might be easier to choose a neutral character with a more "man on the ground" perspective on the conflict between angels, demons, and cybernetic monstrosities. As it happens, the Spawn universe has two such characters - Detectives Sam Burke and Twitch Williams. Sam and Twitch first appeared in the core Spawn series as investigators into Spawn's nightly exploits. Later they spun out into their own series, which saw them run up against the many strange and unusual sights Spawn's New York City has to offer.We could think of far worse ways to frame the reboot than through the eyes of Sam and Twitch. The truth is that their solo series featured some of the better executed stories of the Spawn franchise. And it seems that, circa 2007 , McFarlane was even considering this approach. His plan at the time called for a film where Spawn himself was silent and Twitch was the central protagonist.It's not clear whether McFarlane is still pursuing this angle with his current screenplay draft. But given his repeated desire to produce the film quickly and on a modest budget, downplaying Spawn may be the only sensible approach to take. Again, the original Spawn is not a great film, but no element has aged worse than the special effects. The CG effects in the movie are more worthy of Playstation 1-era cutscenes than a blockbuster superhero film. Standards have only skyrocketed since then thanks to the awe-inspiring spectacle of movies like The Avengers and the heavily stylized approach of 300 and Sin City. To succeed, Spawn is going to need to do a better job of competing with its peers this time.This is hardly an insurmountable challenge, however. As a super-powered crusader, Spawn offers a unique blend of physical strength and both supernatural and projectile weapons. His undead body is powered by necroplasm, which can manifest in all sorts of interesting ways. His suit is alive, allowing for various transformations and fluid attacks akin to Spider-Man's symbiote costume. And he's not averse to blowing away enemies with a giant gun or two. This range of abilities, coupled with the otherworldly foes he frequently battles, could allow for some unique and visually striking action scenes.The other aspect of Spawn's powers that the reboot would do well to reflect is his limited power source. The comic often displayed a meter that would slowly count down from 9,999 as Simmons unleashed his necroplasmic magic. The mystery of what would happen when the meter ran out added a sense of danger to his adventures and influenced Simmons' continued reliance on firearms and physical attacks.Outside the action sequences, we'd like to see a more defined atmosphere with this reboot. Spawn shouldn't offer a traditional version of New York, but one that reflects the dramatic intersection of the mundane and supernatural worlds. The designers should look to books like Hellspawn for inspiration, where Ben Templesmith and other artists brought a new level of surrealism and style to Spawn's adventures.The question, of course, is how much McFarlane and his collaborators can accomplish on what looks to be a modest budget. There's no point trying to outdo the sheer spectacle of Marvel and DC's superhero projects. But at the same time, Spawn's world demands a certain level of visual fidelity that his first movie failed to achieve. If the reboot can't do better, there's no point in even moving forward.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter , or Kicksplode on MyIGN