It seems as though many a fan’s dream of a Spider-Man/Spawn crossover, as offered up by Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada in an attempt to lure Spawn creator Todd McFarlane back to drawing, won’t happen any time soon.

Christmas Eve, McFarlane posted a brief response to Quesada’s final challenge on his Spawn.com message board, effectively quashing the hopes of fans who had been pleading with the creator to at least consider the offer.

“I left Marvel many years ago to have the personal freedom to do the things I wanted to do when I wanted to,” McFarlane posted. “Being lured into a certain action because of what the competition wants or needs out of me is not serving that freedom. So the day may come when I return to penciling, but it surely won’t be because some employee at the competitors wants me to. I left that life in 1992.”