Cogliostro
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Cogliostro ("Cog," initially rendered "Cagliostro") is a supporting character in Todd McFarlane's Spawn comic series.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] Al Simmons
Cog first appears as an alley bum, but he seems to know more about Spawn's situation than Spawn himself. Cog is the one who informs Spawn that his powers draw on a limited energy source, and that using it up will condemn him to eternal torment in Hell. He is the angel on Spawn's right shoulder, opposite the Violator, who exhorts Spawn to revel in death and destruction for its own sake.
Eventually, Cogliostro reveals that he is also a Hellspawn, having forsaken Malebolgia long ago, and refuses to use his powers; he has one "tick" of necroplasmic power left, and any use of any of his Hell-granted powers will end his Earthly existence. Still, that single bit of power has extended his lifespan to centuries, and he does not want the newest Spawn to fall to the darkness that spawned both of them.
Apparently, Cogliostro has lived far longer than previously thought; he is Cain, the first murderer. (Note: in the animated series he is not depicted as Cain but rather as the black knight founded in the legends of England. Although he is still known as Cogliostro in the animated series, he is not Cain and has specifically told Spawn that he was a knight in a court before he was a knight for Malebolgia. He may be the man of mystery mentioned in the comic but this applies only in the animated series)
[edit] Cain
After an absence in the Spawn comics after #100, Cogliostro returned to Spawn and is revealed that he is dying and that he's terrified of Hell's status ever since Spawn abandoned the throne after defeating Malebolgia. It is then after this that Spawn reveals to Cog of his plan to turn Earth into a new paradise, or Utopia.
Spawn and Cog then travel to the deserts of Tunisia for permission from the Greenworld to transform Earth into Spawn's ideal world until he is attacked by the third Redeemer as an act of vengeance. After the battle, Spawn was abducted by a pair of giant scorpions as they drag him to Hell where he is being awaited by demons.
Still in Tunisia, Cog is visited by Mammon who gives him a mysterious box which Cog seems to recognize and later commits suicide in order to help Spawn down in Hell.
Redeemer, now aware of what he did wrong, travels to Hell to help Spawn battle the demons whose ideas were to battle for the throne of Hell. After a frustrating battle against Violator, Spawn summons all the past Hellspawn before him to help him with the other demons and takes back the throne of Hell.
Cog then runs to Spawn with the mysterious box given to him and tells Spawn that this is what he needs to help him turn Earth into a paradise. Spawn opens the box which turns Hell into an Eden-like world and sees his widowed wife, Wanda, and runs to her, only to be caught in a trap laid by Cog.
It is revealed that Cogliostro was Cain, the first murderer, and since the beginning he never wanted to serve in Hell but to rule it. It was now clear that the only reason Coglistro helped Spawn was to enable him to gain the throne of Hell, making him the new ruler.
After this act of betrayal, Cain decided to give Spawn "what he always wanted" and sent him to Earth back as Al Simmons without the Hellspawn symbiote attached to him. Cain hasn't been seen since but has been briefly mentioned, such as his plans of building a tower in Hell to pierce the Earth, or perhaps Heaven.
[edit] Legal Rights
Cogliostro, Medieval Spawn, and Angela (Heaven's bounty hunter) are co-owned by Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane.
In 1993 McFarlane contracted Neil Gaiman (as well as other recognized authors like Frank Miller and Dave Sim) to write one issue of his Spawn series. While doing so, Gaiman introduced the characters Cogliostro, Angela, and Medieval Spawn. All three characters continued to be featured prominently in the series after Gaiman's involvement, and had many tie-ins with McFarlane's toy company. Cogliostro had a prominent role in the live-action movie in 1997. McFarlane had initally agreed that Gaiman retained creator rights on the characters but later claimed that Gaiman's work had been work-for-hire and that McFarlane owned all of Gaiman's creations entirely, pointing to the legal indicial in Spawn #9, and the lack of legal contract stating otherwise. (Some argued that this change of heart was motivated by his desire to gain full ownership to the characters by using Miracleman as a bargaining tool.) McFarlane had also refused to pay Gaiman for the volumes of Gaiman's work he republished and kept in print. In 2002, Gaiman filed suit and won a sizeable judgement against McFarlane and Image Comics and the rights due any creator. All 3 characters are currently co-owned 50/50 by both men.
[edit] Current Activity
The Redeemer tells Nyx while in Hell that the demons say that Cog has locked himself away in the Black Tower and given control over the 8th Sphere to the greater demons. It is later revealed that he was hard at work building the tower higher and higher so that it can reach Heaven. Once the tower penetrates into the realm of Heaven, the forces of Hell will be free to invade Heaven's gates directly.
[edit] Cog's Entry in the Spawn Bible
Until surfacing to tutor Al Simmons in the ways of Hellspawn, he was most recently known in history as Count Alessandro di Cogliostro. While his true past and identity remain a mystery, occultists throughout time have sought to validate his claims of ancient knowledge and magic. He has been placed in Babylon sitting with kings, and, more than once, as Pharoah's right hand in Egypt's distant past. He is said to have eaten Passover dinner with Jesus and his disciples, attended court with many popes, and even helped start the French revolution. Whatever the claims, he has gone by many different names in his long life and it is believed he is immortal.The truth is, Cogliostro is immortal. Further, Cog was and is a Hellspawn himself, down to but one tick on his energy counter. His symbiotic costume has long since disappeared, either separated from him in some way he would never divulge, or out of boredom. He was possibly the first and certainly the most vile of all of the Hellspawn to have cursed the Earth, steeped in the blood of innocents beyond counting. However, he stands out from the Spawns that have enjoyed their power in one way: he no longer relishes evil and carnage.
This change of heart has caused him to seek out Spawns everywhere they appear, to persuade them that they don't have to be puppets of the Malebolgia. He teaches them how to use their magic without expending energy, how to work with their uniforms instead of fighting them and how to throw off the yoke of the Malebolgia's tyranny. He has never succeeded in this endeavor. He is now with yet another Spawn, and appears enigmatically when an event calls for quick resolution through use of heretofore unknown Spawn powers. He is especially drawn to Al, as he believes they are common spirits, cut from the same cloth. While he has yet to fully reveal his secrets to Al, he hovers about him, gauging his new subject, hoping to see the signs he's expected from them all. He suspects that Al is "the One", the weak link in the chain of Hellspawn that will lead to his redemption and the Malebolgia's downfall. For the Malebolgia's part, he tolerates this nuisance Cogliostro, for none of the Spawns have, nor will they ever, believe him. It is possible that the Malebolgia torments the Count to this day by allowing him to pursue such a fruitless ambition.
[edit] Other media
Nicol Williamson portrayed Cogliostro in the 1997 film adaptation, where he was an assassin from the fifteenth century who became a Hellspawn after his death. This version lacks his symbiotic armour, but appears to possess some natural abilities, such as a sharp blade that automatically extends from his right arm; since it was never specifically stated that Spawn's powers have limits in the film, it is possible that this means that Cogliostro has simply discarded most of his power to limit his dependency on the Malebolgia. Richard Dysart provided his voice in the animated series.
