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Namco, Todd McFarlane Productions Unveil a Nameless Face From the Past in Spawn: Armageddon

Introducing: Mammon, Spawn’s Newest Acquaintance, Character is Revealed in Spawn: Armageddon

SAN JOSE, CALIF. and TEMPE, ARIZ., October 6, 2003 - Namco Hometek Inc. and Todd McFarlane Productions announced today the official name of Mammon, a character known by many Spawn enthusiasts for his mysterious appearances in numerous past comic book episodes.  Until today, Mammon has been portrayed as a background character that appeared in dark, hidden shadows. Mammon is now slated to take on a much more proactive, even major, role in both the upcoming video game as well as in future episodes of the Spawn comic book series, with appearances beginning in issue 133.  The video game, Spawn®: Armageddon, is scheduled to release in November 2003 on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Nintendo GameCube and the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft.

 MammonEver enigmatic in his past actions and future intentions, Mammon has been described by “insiders” as Spawn's personal guide and mentor whose wisdom is often sought during Spawn’s ongoing conflicts between the forces of Heaven and Hell.  Though his motives remain unclear to Spawn, Mammon is extremely knowledgeable and Spawn has little choice but to use Mammon’s wisdom to his advantage.

“Bringing Mammon, his personality and the intense history between Mammon and Spawn to the forefront of the franchise’s storyline is something that I’ve been thinking about since I originally wrote the character into the script,” said Creator, Todd McFarlane.  “When the opportunity arose to introduce Mammon through the Spawn video game, it was obvious that this was the way to roll out the red carpet for the character.  Good, Neutral or Evil, it’s safe to say that Spawn fans will have the opportunity to get to know Mammon in much greater detail over the next several comic book episodes and, of course, the new Spawn game.

The true nature of the relationship between Spawn and Mammon remains ambiguous. Mammon keeps a low profile when he isn't talking with Spawn, preferring to let Spawn act for him. He wears many faces, but usually prefers to exhibit the air of a well-mannered and intelligent gentleman.  

“We are proud that Todd McFarlane has chosen Namco’s game as a place to reveal more about this intriguing character,” said Glen Cureton, Producer at Namco Hometek Inc.  “Fans of Spawn can finally put a name to this mysterious character, who has played, and will continue to play, such an important role in the dark hero’s story.”

Additional information about Spawn: Armageddon can be found at www.namco.com.

About Spawn
Spawn is comic book first published by McFarlane and friends who spun off from the mainstream comic publishing industry in 1992.

Spawn is a dark hero, troubled with the dual aspects of good and evil found in all people. With an appeal to adults, Spawn broke the mold in American comics, selling 1.7 million in its first issue. Published on a monthly basis, Spawn has continuously gained new fans, and is now read by people in 80 countries around the world, translated into 30 languages. It has established the surprising record of a total of 24 million sales in the US.

Aspiring to bring this character to perfection as a toy, Todd McFarlane started up a toy manufacturer in 1994 and began selling Spawn figures. Featuring details not found on any other toy, Spawn toys became a huge hit, igniting a global boom in figures. A total of 2.8 million figures have been sold around the globe, with new products coming out one after the other.

Spawn also developed into a television animated series, broadcast on American cable networks, and was made into a Hollywood film in 1997. Announcements have been made for a theatrical movie at the end of 2004.

About McFarlane Toys
The international award winning McFarlane Toys Company is one of America’s top action figure manufacturers with several successful movie-licensing tie-ins, including Warner Brother’s The Matrix trilogy, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Shrek; X-Files; Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow; the first two Austin Powers films; the Beatle’s Yellow Submarine; Akira and the company’s seminal Movie Maniacs series featuring horror icons from such films as Terminator and Terminator 2, Alien, Predator, Texas Chainsaw Massacre; Friday the 13th; The Thing; Army of Darkness; The Fly; Blair Witch; Scream; A Nightmare on Elm Street; Halloween and more. The company also makes official league-licensed figures for football, basketball and baseball, as well as rock music icons, electronic gaming and McFarlane’s signature creation, Spawn (www.spawn.com).

About Namco Hometek Inc.
Namco Hometek Inc. is the U.S. consumer division of Namco Limited, a Tokyo-based world leader in the high-tech entertainment industry. Based in San Jose, CA, Namco Hometek Inc. is an award-winning video games publisher for the next generation game consoles. Namco has created some of the industry's greatest video game franchises: Tekken®, SOULCALIBUR®, Dead to Rights®, Pac-Man World, Ridge Racer®, Time Crisis® and Ace Combat®. For more information about Namco and its products log onto www.namco.com.
 

Spawn®, and its logo are registered trademarks of Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc., as are many of its characters and symbols.
Comic Spawn ©2003 Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Video Game Spawn is developed by Namco Limited under license from Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc.
Video Game Spawn ©2003 NAMCO LTD., All Rights Reserved.
SOULCALIBUR®II&© NAMCO LTD., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Necrid":Character ©2003 NAMCO LTD. /Illustration ©2003 TMP,Inc.

TEKKEN®, SOULCALIBUR®, PAC-MAN WORLD , Ridge Racer®, Time Crisis® and ACECOMBAT® are the trademarks or registered trademarks of Namco Limited in the United States and/or other countries.
Dead to Rights® is the registered trademark of Namco Hometek Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.
© NAMCO LTD.

TM, ® and Nintendo GameCube are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo.
Xbox is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
“PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.