John Constantine
John Constantine | |
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John Constantine, Hellblazer #1 (January 2020). Art by John Paul Leon. | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | Swamp Thing #37 (June 1985) |
Created by |
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In-story information | |
Team affiliations | |
Partnerships |
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Abilities |
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John Constantine (
The titular Hellblazer,[2][3] Constantine is a working-class warlock, occult detective, and con man from Liverpool who is stationed in London. He is known for his endless cynicism, deadpan wit, ruthless cunning, and constant chain smoking, but he is also a passionate humanitarian driven by a heartfelt desire to do some good in his life. Originally a supporting character who played a pivotal role in the "American Gothic" Swamp Thing storyline, Constantine received his own comic in 1988. The musician Sting was a visual inspiration for the character.[4]
The
The character made its live-action debut in the film Constantine (2005), played by Keanu Reeves. On television, Constantine was played in the television series Constantine by Matt Ryan, who later reprised the character in the Arrowverse series Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, and The Flash, and several animated productions. Jenna Coleman later portrayed a female version of the character (and her ancestor) in the television series The Sandman, adapting both Constantines' roles from the comic series.
Some writers who have written his stories have claimed to "see" him.[4][7][8]
Creation and conception
John Constantine first appeared in 1985 as a recurring character in Swamp Thing, in which he acted as a "supernatural advisor" to the main character.[9]
In these early appearances, Constantine was depicted as a sorcerer of questionable morality, whose appearance was based on that of the musician Sting (specifically, as Sting appeared in the films Brimstone and Treacle and Quadrophenia). Alan Moore created the character after artists Steve Bissette and John Totleben, who were fans of The Police, expressed a desire to draw a character who looked like Sting.[4][10] They had already drawn at least one character in Sting's likeness, a briefly glimpsed background figure wearing a black-and-red-striped T-shirt in Swamp Thing #25. In his earliest Swamp Thing appearances, the character is drawn with a marked resemblance to Sting, and in Swamp Thing #51, Constantine appears on a boat with the name The Honourable Gordon Sumner on the bow.
John Constantine's official debut was not until Swamp Thing #37, when he was drawn by
Asked in 1985 about the similarities between John Constantine and the character
With Constantine, I don't know who I was thinking of. I just wanted this character who knows everything, and knows everybody—really charismatic. Who knows nuns, politicians, and bikers, and who is never at a loss for what to do. I suppose there is a similarity with Baron Winters in that he is another manipulative character who has a bunch of agents working with him.[11]
Constantine and Winters met each other during Moore's run on Swamp Thing and again in Neil Gaiman's The Books of Magic.
Speaking to comics magazine Wizard in 1993, Moore elaborated:
One of those early notes was they both wanted to do a character that looked like Sting. I think DC is terrified that Sting will sue them, although Sting has seen the character and commented in Rolling Stone that he thought it was great. He was very flattered to have a comic character who looked like him, but DC gets nervous about these things. They started to eradicate all traces of references in the introduction of the early Swamp Thing books to John Constantine's resemblance to Sting. But I can state categorically that the character only existed because Steve and John wanted to do a character that looked like Sting. Having been given that challenge, how could I fit Sting into Swamp Thing? I have an idea that most of the mystics in comics are generally older people, very austere, very proper, very middle class in a lot of ways. They are not at all functional on the street. It struck me that it might be interesting for once to do an almost blue-collar warlock. Somebody who was streetwise, working class, and from a different background than the standard run of comic book mystics. Constantine started to grow out of that.[4]
In 1988, Constantine was given his own title, Hellblazer. In 1993, at the launch of DC's Vertigo Comics imprint, Hellblazer was made an official Vertigo publication. It was the longest continuously published Vertigo title.[5] Before the launch of the Vertigo line, Constantine appeared in several DC Universe titles, but for many years afterwards, editorial policy forbade the use of Constantine outside the Vertigo line.[citation needed] The policy was reversed in 2011, when a version of Constantine appeared in the DC Universe crossover series Brightest Day, a spin-off series, Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search for Swamp Thing.[13][14] In 2011, Peter Milligan added him to the inaugural key roster of The New 52 series Justice League Dark.[15][16] Milligan began writing Justice League Dark while also writing the Vertigo's Hellblazer series, being a writer of both series at the same time. In an interview, Milligan told Newsarama:
Yeah. Sorry about that. I felt pretty bad and it was quite strange, sitting on a few panels and then having a few interviews where I couldn't actually say that I'd be writing Constantine for DCU. I have to say, though, that that didn't change what I said, which I still stand by. Namely that as far as I'm concerned, it's important that the Vertigo Constantine and the DCU Constantine are kept separate, with no cross-over things going on. The DCU Constantine has to be the guy we know and love, with his same failings—otherwise what's the point of using him? But as I'm writing him he's younger and has perhaps been through a bit less than the battered aging old sod we meet in Vertigo. Unlike my Vertigo Constantine, the guy we see in JLA Dark is definitely not married! I also said and believe that the average DC reader—Vertigo and DCU—is sophisticated enough to be able to read both versions without getting confused.[17]
Beginning in Justice League Dark #9,
Characterization
Although a compassionate humanist who struggles to overcome the influence of both Heaven and Hell over humanity, and despite his occasional forays into heroism, Constantine is a foul-mouthed, disillusioned British cynic who pursues a life of sorcery and danger. His motivation has been attributed to an adrenaline addiction that only the strange and mysterious can satiate. He also seems to be something of a "Weirdness Magnet" (a term also used to describe Constantine). He is shown to be someone with a wide and international circle of contacts and allies, and is adept at making friends. At the same time, his close friends inevitably suffer or are outright killed simply by being in his life; this has left a severe mark on him. In #69, when the King of Vampires killed the man sleeping beside him and casually asked if he had been a friend, John replied, "Must be. He's dead."
Magical powers
Constantine also has a reputation as being one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world.
Sexuality
Constantine is bisexual, which was first established in a 1992 comic that referred offhandedly to his having male and female exes. Early stories exclusively showed him dating women, although Ashes & Dust in the City of Angels showed him as having relationships with men, as well.[21][22][23] His romantic relationships in the New 52 have included numerous partners, most significantly Zatanna, as well as the sorcerer Nick Necro; all have been fraught with distrust and mutual disappointments. The relaunch Constantine the Hellblazer #1 (2015) reaffirmed Constantine's bisexuality through his interactions with male and female characters in the issue.[24] Later issues of Constantine the Hellblazer depicted John falling in love with a male bartender named Oliver, whom he dated.[25][26] In the 2020 film Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, Constantine reveals that King Shark is his ex.[27][28]
Attire
While Constantine has worn many clothes over the years, he was originally portrayed as often wearing a blue pin-stripe suit, tan trench coat, and occasionally gloves. As the series progressed, his trademark attire became a grungier (or perhaps the same, just older) trench coat, white shirt, and black or red tie, but eventually[29] returned more to his earlier fashion. Constantine smokes Silk Cut cigarettes, consuming 30 or so a day.[30] Constantine also occasionally breaks the fourth wall, where he talks to the reader and narrates the story himself.[31]
Real-time aging
Constantine is unusual among comic-book characters in that he has aged in real time since his creation.[32] During the first year of his solo series, Constantine celebrated his 35th birthday. In the relevant issue, Constantine is reading a newspaper when he notices the date on the cover is his birthday, making his date of birth May 10, 1953.[33] Five years later, on May 10, 1993, he turned 40.[34] In Hellblazer, it was mentioned multiple times[35] that the aging process of Constantine himself might be different due to the demon blood that he obtained from Nergal. In a 2011 interview, DC co-publisher Dan DiDio said, "Constantine in the Vertigo universe is in his 60s, and what you have in the DC Universe is a character who is markedly younger".[15]
Fictional character biography
Youth
In John Constantine's early appearances in Swamp Thing, his past was a mystery; his life as a child and young adult was not developed until
In their childhood, John and his older sister Cheryl lived briefly with their aunt and uncle in
During the 1970s, John became involved in
John's first venture into occult "heroism" was a disaster. On tour with Mucous Membrane at the Casanova Club in Newcastle upon Tyne, he found the aftermath of a magical orgy gone horribly wrong; an abused child named Astra Logue had conjured a hideous monster that took revenge on her father, the club's debauched owner, and the other adults who were tormenting her, but the monster refused to leave. With typical recklessness, John convinced some members of the band and several occultist friends to try destroying the creature by summoning a demon of their own. Unfortunately, this demon was not under their control and tormented John's friends after it had destroyed the other demon before taking Astra to Hell. John had summoned the demon by one of its names, but not its true name of Nergal, which would have been required to bind and control the demon. Nergal went on to be a regular antagonist throughout the series. John suffered a nervous breakdown after this incident, and was committed to Ravenscar Psychiatric Hospital, which he drifted in and out of over the years.[41]
The guilt of Astra hung over John for many years. In his mid-40s, he used some magic and trickery to free not only her but also the souls of all the other children trapped in Hell. As for the rest of the "Newcastle Crew", the incident left the group both physically and psychologically scarred. After helping
Occult "hero"
John is later freed from Ravenscar by London gangsters, threatening to torture and kill his sister and her family unless he helps to resurrect a mob boss's dead son. Knowing that resurrection is impossible even by magical means, John instead summons a demon to take the boy's place; a desperate act that has bloody consequences many years later. Years later, John was able to reconvene the surviving members of the "Newcastle Crew" to help with his investigation of the Brujería cult, as seen in Swamp Thing #37–49. The cult murdered most of them, including John's then-lover, Emma. These people, and others who have died due to John's carelessness, have continued to appear to him as silent, reproachful ghosts. Chas is the most prominent one of very few human friends to have survived a long-term association with John.
John first met
For this, the First promised to make John suffer unprecedented torment in Hell when he dies. Slowly dying from cancer, John hatched a plan to save himself from eternal torment. He secretly sold his soul to the other two Lords of Hell. When they discovered Constantine's actions, they realized that they could not allow him to die, or else they would be forced to go to all-out war over his soul, a war whose only winner would be "the Lord of the Hosts", i.e., God and his angels. They were also far too stubborn and proud, however, to enter anything resembling an alliance. As a result, they were forced to cure John of his cancer.[30] This led to the First plotting a grand revenge on Constantine, who manipulated the demon via his ally Ellie, a succubus, into coming into a trap; the plan only barely succeeded, and while the First was temporarily defeated, many of John's friends were killed.
Constantine then went on to have a series of adventures and misadventures playing the role of puppet and puppeteer with his signature style and profane sarcasm. He managed to free Astra and every other child in Hell, but at the cost of the First returning to power; also, as part of the scheme, John's worst attributes were given separate existence as "Demon Constantine", which meant he himself could not go to Hell. As part of an attempt to regain his nastier edge, he used Ellie, and this led to her taking out a revenge scheme in 1998 that forced him to turn to the First for help; Ellie ended up in Hell, and several of John's oldest friends left him. John, being tired of all this, contacted God.[2] God appears and the two converse in a campfire. John then tells him his reason for contacting Him. He warns God that if his soul is ever sent to Hell, he would easily take over, and do nasty things such as unleashing the demons and locking away Hell so that the damned cannot enter and have no resting place. John blackmails God to do his bidding, and that is to keep his soul away from Hell. God, knowing of John's abilities, does so, but warns him of what will come next.[43]
The 21st century
On return to Britain in 2003, and after reconciling with his sister (who believed he was dead), he went on to be involved in a magic war in London, and was horrified to find his niece Gemma, whom he had wanted to keep out of this life, had become a
While in Hell, John and Nergal met Demon Constantine, who tried to kill the original one. John was forced to let Nergal enter his body to finish him. Later, they also encountered Ellie, who seemed to have quite pardoned John for him selling her out to the First. She was not subject to any torture or punishment, either. The couple finally arrived at Rosacarnis' hall, where there was a feast with all three of Constantine's children, the First, and many demons from all Hell. Because of Nergal's earlier possession of his body, any damage done to John would be mirrored on Nergal. Nergal, however, calls the bluff, showing that the effect goes both ways by clawing at his chest slightly. John begs Rosacarnis to kill him to save his sister, but just as she is about to, the First of the Fallen intervenes and immediately kills Rosacarnis, since Constantine's soul is his by "right of insult" and will only be taken when he deems fit. The First also kills Rosacarnis' two sons, but spares the daughter, who had been dealing with issues of identity and had doubts about whether she wanted to continue to exist.
Following this, the First commands Nergal to release the soul he is holding. Cheryl's soul is pure and innocent, and does not belong in Hell, but the First offers her a truly devilish deal. He informs her that her husband, Constantine's brother-in-law Tony, has killed himself with her blood still staining his hands, thus making him twice damned, and offers to fairly divide her husband's punishment between the two of them if she stays of her own free will. Constantine attempts in vain to argue that Tony murdered her and does not deserve that mercy. Despite all that has happened, Cheryl still loves her husband enough to accept the First's deal and decides to stay. Constantine can do nothing, as the First gloats over his victory and then sends him back home. Unable to look at his niece Gemma's tear-filled eyes because of his failure, Constantine runs barefoot down the stairs and into the Liverpool night.
Lost brother
John later revisits Ravenscar Asylum, the place where he was thrown after being framed for Astra's murder. John remembers all the maltreatment he suffered, and remembers every suffering and guilt he had for the past years. At first, it appears as though it is too much for him and that he will be overtaken by the images of the ones he has hurt, but the being turns into the form of a baby. This baby, who is the sum of all his guilt and self-hatred, is then promptly thrown off a cliff near the asylum and into the sea. After killing the creature, Constantine is now free, and becomes even a bit more cocky and picks back up his earlier style from the beginning of his book and his appearances from Swamp Thing: a double-breasted blue suit underneath his trench coat, and slicked-back, gelled hair.
Later on, a
Later life
In the 2010s, John entangles himself in further adventures. He goes to India and fights a ghost of a British soldier of the Sepoy rebellion,
By 2013, John was contacted by the Three Fates, who tell him that he will finally die in five days. Having lived a good and adventurous life, John happily accepts his fate rather than trying to fight it like he always does. When the fifth day comes, John Constantine is murdered in his own home, when he is ambushed and killed by a gangster. His funeral is attended by many of his friends and family, but it later turns out that he had faked his death yet again. Constantine decides he should keep a low profile, because he does not want to hurt the people around him again. He bids farewell to Finn and Epiphany, and finally visits Gemma. In the meanwhile, Gemma, hearing about her uncle's return from the Fates, tries to kill herself with a poisonous revolver, but Constantine sneaks the last remaining dart from his niece. Gemma says her life will be better without him, because he takes up too much of it and she is either hating him or loving him too much. John suggests he let her be, but Gemma fears he will return and put her life to misery. John tells Gemma to make her own decision, and she reluctantly points the revolver at him. Gemma closes her eyes before muttering, "Damn you, John Constantine" and pulls the trigger, but when she opens her eyes again, Constantine has vanished. The last scene shows Constantine in the Long Journey's End bar, holding a glass of liquor with a vacant look.[46]
The New 52
In
In Constantine #14, it was revealed that John Constantine, as a boy, was taught and cast his first magical spell—at the cost of the lives of his parents and his house burning down (it was implied that his mother, unlike in Hellblazer, survived the childbirth). It was also revealed that he spent his childhood in the '80s in Liverpool, England (it is not shown if he had any siblings, like Cheryl Constantine in Hellblazer). The one who taught John his first spell was Tannarak from the Cult of the Cold Flame (Constantine #15).
His primary enemies in Constantine are
In Earth-2, he is assaulted by the Parademons, but Wotan comes and rescues him, before trapping him to open a gateway to escape the dying Earth. Constantine manages to convince Wotan to spare his life, then works with the ancient sorcerer to open a door through his body to Earth-0. As Wotan enters the doorway, he is split into two halves, because there are two John Constantines in this world: the original Constantine and the native one of Earth-2, who is surrounded by his friends and even gets married. After the death of Wotan, Constantine resolves to find his Earth-2 counterpart. He travels to Liverpool and witnesses all the horror and despair of the dying world. As soon as John reached the destination, he is shocked to find his "parents" (actually the Earth-2 John's parents), his friends Gary Lester, Chas Chandler and his former love interest Maureen still alive.
The Earth-2 John quickly attacks him by grabbing him in the neck, but they are engulfed in visions of their lives in parallel right after: a dangerous life marred with sorcery, adventures and regrets of Earth-0 John and a much quieter, much happier life of Earth-2 John. Constantine quickly earns the trust of the Earth-2 family, who consider him to be a wonder. Together, they escape to a warehouse where John instructs them to draw sigils to cast a complex spell. As John is lecturing about the unpredictability and the price of magic, Doctor Fate appears in front of his eyes, claims to have foreseen his arrival and offers to help him.
Doctor Fate reminds John of an incoming horde of Parademons and tells him to quickly cast the spell to escape from the dying world, himself hoping to flee with John and the family too. John discovers that the spell requires one Constantine to die: either himself or the Earth-2 John. As the Parademons storm in and take each family member down one by one, John is torn over between saving his own life and let the good, honest Earth-2 John live by sacrificing himself. Finally, he chooses to save his own skin: as he is kissing the other John, he holds his hand and drives the knife into his heart, ultimately killing the "other John". As the spells start working, John casts an additional spell to trick Doctor Fate, which masks his presence from the ancient sorcerer, then departs, brings along the family members and many other people.
By killing the "proper" Constantine, he earns the wrath and hatred of the Earth-2 family. Being called "Devil", John corrects the family when they reach Heaven while peeling through the layers of the dying world: Heaven itself, also under assault from Darkseid's force, has closed its door and started departing, deeming this world beyond salvation. Later, John and his entourage are attacked by Doctor Fate, who managed to detect Constantine's whereabout. Despite succeeding in countering the assault, John loses his "mother" Mary-Anne, who is dragged back by Fate's chain. This greatly traumatizes Thomas Constantine, John's father, who even attempts to commit suicide, but is talked out of it by John.
After a long and hard trip, Constantine finally makes it back home, but Darkseid has sensed him and is in hot pursuit. As the menacing hand of the Apokolips God is reaching out for him, Constantine enacts his "last trick": by sacrificing some souls of his entourage, John manages to get enough power to cast the "Ring of Dolus" spell, which uses every happy memory, every pleasant thought, every piece of hope in John Constantine to swirl a magical "web" made of lies. This powerful spell helps John project an illusion of an already dead universe to fool Darkseid, while John manages to bring himself, the family and the Earth-2 civilians to safety, and even pickpockets some survivors back from Darkseid's clutch.
As Constantine lands in the Jurassic Coast, England, he is confronted by Thomas, who points a gun at his head. Tired of everything, John yells at his father, and begs him to kill him off for good. Unable to do it, Thomas drops the gun, but Maureen quickly puts it up and prepares to shoot John, while questioning his actions. John contemplates and sees that while he is no hero, he is the only one willing to sacrifice the "proper John" to save his family, or to trade a hundred people for the safety of 6 billion. He magically teleports away, leaving the family and the survivors behind. Later, John goes back to New York and visits his old friend Lloyd at his bar to tell him about his latest adventures.
The New 52 Constantine series ends at issue #23 and was relaunched as Constantine: The Hellblazer written by Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV in June 2015.
The Constantine Futures End tie-in tells the story of John Constantine five years into a possible future of the New 52 universe. He somehow obtains the ultimate occult artifact, the Helmet of Fate, and manages to trick and kill the ancient magician Nabu with the help of an old ifrit.
John Constantine's origin in the New 52 universe is seemingly retconned in the Secret Origins series. In the story, a group of kids in Liverpool manages to get their hands on an occult book and uses it to summon a magical creature called Legendbreaker to discover Constantine's true origin. Instead, the creature tells three conflicting stories: one featuring John's mother dead in childbirth, leaving him to his abusive father; another having John Constantine being born in a loving family with proud and doting parents; and last one with John born in an unremarkable family, but with a mad older sister who is (probably) possessed by a dark force. They all lead to the death of his entire family and set the path for John Constantine into the world of magic and to the fateful incident in Newcastle, although the actions and consequences are different. The creature tries to claim the souls of the young "mystics", but the real John Constantine shows up and chases it away. He tells the kids to go back home, forget what has just happened, and that his true origins will forever remain unknown - but it does not matter.
John Constantine stars in the DC You title Constantine: The Hellblazer written by Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV. The title introduces John in a new outfit and new hairstyle, in his own adventures, unrelated to superheroes business.
Constantine uses magic to trick a cashier in a clothes store and gets himself a new suit. He pickpockets a passenger, uses the money to buy a meal in a small restaurant and gets acquainted with its owner Oliver, a single father of two daughters. As John is busy chatting and flirting with Oliver an old "friend", the demon Blythe, pulls John away and convinces him to help them solve their problems in their latest business place, a soul farm. They want John to eliminate their business partner, which John completes, and he also cons Blythe into banishing herself back to Hell. Suddenly, John sees his entire ghost entourage, and Gary Lester's ghost - who has tried to warn him since the beginning - tells him that Frank North's spirit has vanished completely, and something has been after John's ghosts. John tries to set up a scheme to lure and trap the entity which had been after his ghosts, by ramping up quite a number of ghosts from 'haunted sites'. The plan fails and Gary Lester's ghost is also taken by the being. After a few flashbacks and meeting with an old acquaintance named Georgie, John begins to unravel the true identity of the ghost-hunting entity, as his (and Georgie's) old time lover, Veronica. After releasing Veronica's soul, Constantine starts to notice (and is also warned by other beings whom he deems as 'friends') the increasing number of supernatural activities in New York city. Being part of Neron's grand scheme, John manages to (after quite a bit of struggle) con Neron into thinking that the souls he had claimed were worthless, and leaving New York city for good. Albeit the cost of Oliver's soul, which Blythe had claimed by previously blackmailing him and John with the souls of his daughters.
DC Rebirth
In The Hellblazer: Rebirth, John gets back to London to remove the curse placed upon him (originally shown in Constantine #3, which makes him physically sick whenever he sets foot on London soil) and resumes his adventures in the new DC Rebirth-initiative The Hellblazer. The series restores many of the traditional aspects of the original Hellblazer run while still remaining firmly in the larger DC Universe, restoring his original backstory and featuring old allies such as Chas, Mercury and the Swamp Thing.
John Constantine returns to England and is greeted by his old time friend, Chas Chandler, at the airport. He resolves to dispel the curse, set on him by a demon called "Laughing Boy", whom he once crossed in the past, by using a ritual that deflects the curse from him to 8 million souls in London. Shazam and Wonder Woman make an appearance - they notice the ravens in London dying and prepare to intervene, while the Swamp Thing appears before them and tells them that they should trust Constantine on this one. The "Laughing Boy" demon tells John that he will return Astra's soul if John agrees to cancel his spell. However, it turns out that John is buying time for the psychic Mercury, who is now a young woman, to arrive and tell him the real name of "Laughing Boy" (Nybbas). John takes control of the demon, cancels the curse and London returns to normal.
In the past, it is shown that the djinn have tried to hide away the secret of their existence from human. One djinn, named Marid, was stopped by his brother when he tried to prevent the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which triggered World War I. In South London, present day, John Constantine is staying in Chas's house when he is contacted by Swamp Thing. Abigail Arcane, the Avatar of the Rot and the Swamp Thing's lover, is missing. John enlists Mercury's help, who is eager to help the Swamp Thing despite disliking John. Meanwhile, in Paris, Marid resurfaces and attacks his brother.
John tells Chas which horse to bet on and makes the cabbie drive him to the Tate Club. Clarice Sackville offers him a deal with "someone", but John flatly refuses. That "someone" turns out to be Marid, who is shown working with Clarice, with Constantine seeming to be an obstacle to their plans. John is tracked down by two djinn but manages to escape to the London Underground. He meets Map, who behaves oddly and warns John of an upcoming danger in town: the djinn, and that Clarice actually wants John to stop the djinn from finding the Swamp Thing. John returns home only to find Chas tied up and gagged by a gang of white supremacists, who have managed to deduce that Chas's winning bet was due to John, and force the con man to tell them how to win bets. While John is "doing magick", Marid and his djinns arrive and kill off the gang, and John and Chas manage to escape.
Mercury and the Swamp Thing travel in the Rot to find Abigail Arcane. Mercury jumps into a "wormhole" while the Swamp Thing stays behind and battles the forces of the Rot. Mercury returns and rescues the Swamp Thing. When asked what she found, Constantine arrives and answers "djinn".[48]
The Sandman Universe
In another universe first seen in Books of Magic,[49] Constantine is caught in the middle of a magical war that will destroy the universe at the hands of Timothy Hunter. Constantine sacrifices Chas to buy himself time, but is fatally wounded by Chas' taxi sign. Constantine encounters the prime Tim Hunter and tells him that all of this destruction is his fault and he wishes that he had listened to Mister E and killed him. After Tim leaves, Constantine meet an alternate, older version of himself who offers to save him for a price, which is that John has to be the best version of himself. As John starts to lose consciousness, he realizes that he is not ready to die yet and agrees to the deal. He later wakes up in Ravenscar Asylum, back in the prime DC universe.[50]
Once in this new universe, John discovered that Chas is dying of lung cancer and is plagued by various demons and spirits, caused by spending so much time around John. Chas angrily renounced their friendship. After visiting Chandler, John tried to kill the Timothy Hunter of this universe to prevent Hunter's supposed descent to darkness, but stopped midway. He managed to gain the reluctant service of Vestibullan - a former angel who had refused to take side during the war between Hell and Heaven, and had been punished ever since.
After being thrown out of a bar for making jokes ridiculing the British Royal family, John made acquaintance with its bouncer, Nat, a Glaswegian girl who was an excellent martial artist. John was kidnapped by the "mob boss" called K-Mag, the leader of a street gang consisted of wayward immigrant youngsters. His henchmen, the "Ri-Boys", had been trying to sell drugs in a nearby park, but were killed by what they thought to be angels.[51]
K-Mag employed Constantine, who he knew was a magician, to deal with these "angels", by blackmailing John over one of his gangster's (Noah) life. John agreed, and discovered that these were not really angels, but magical beings created by a homeless man who was obsessed with William Blake. Constantine tricks the man into killing himself, hence destroying the "angels". He also managed to bring Noah out of the gang and made the young man his personal driver like his former friend Chas. However, the residual energy of the encounter was later revealed to be absorbed by the old Constantine.[52]
John then met a fellow sorcerer, the hippie Tommy Willowtree (formerly Thomas Spugg), who tells him that the angels in the park were just one of a series of magical occurrences that have happened since John's return. Willowtree revered John and offered him back his "birthright" as the "Magelord of England". It turned out that due to Constantine's sudden disappearance, the Tate Club's leader, Clarice Sackville, and her associate resorted to find and brand the young Willowtree as their "champion". Together, the reluctant Constantine and Willowtree managed to solve a minor problem by one of Constantine's former associate turned enemy, and stopped the ravens of the Tower of London from attacking foreign visitors.[53] Unknown to them, these events were caused by the alternate old John, who managed to attack and crucify the young Willowtree.
John visited Noah's mother, who had been comatose for seven years, in a hospital. He encountered a ghostly presence of a young xenophobic British woman who attacked and murdered all patients in the critical ward who had foreign background - but not Constantine, a British man. It turned out to be a hateful projection of an old lady who had been bedridden for three years and could do nothing but watched and directed her hatred, especially immigrants, which Noah solved by visiting her room and putting flower next to her deathbed.
John tried to track down his old version's signal, which led him to a fishing town. He discovered Freddie, an young fisherman who found himself out of luck with his business as well as being held with contempt by his fellow fishermen, all of whom were subscribing to xenophobic ideals from a British Conservative politician called Clem Thurso. The old John gave Freddie a whistle, which he used to summon a mermaid who was madly in love with him. Freddie used the mermaid to fish and to kill his rival French fishermen. When the fish resource started to dry up, Freddie turned to capture the mermaid and slice off her flesh to sell, as he found out she had self-healing powers, despite her pleas and her being pregnant with his offspring. John rescued the mermaid and waited until she finally delivered and died from childbirth, to catch Freddie and kick him down the river for his monstrous human-mermaid hybrid children to eat him alive.
The old John had also made acquaintance with a Duke (an allegory to
Appearances and mentions
- John Constantine appears in an early issue of Elizabethan-era "Jack Constantine" is mentioned.
- In another of Gaiman's comics, The Books of Magic, John is at hand to show the hero Timothy Hunter around the then-present day DC Comics Universe, along with Mister E, Doctor Occult and the Phantom Stranger. He later appears several times in both the monthly "Books of Magic" series and several mini and maxiseries featuring Timothy Hunter.[55]
- During a crossover, Constantine met Mike Careywrote Hellblazer #175–215.
- Constantine is one of the few people aware of the stoned Zatanna at his fortieth birthday party. He does complain about superheroes not getting in trouble for collateral damage as he does at the beginning of The Fear Machine story arc.[57] Constantine was slated to be a main character of the aborted company-wide crossover Twilight of the Superheroes, but the project was ultimately shelved.
- John Constantine can be seen in a panel in Neil Gaiman's Batman: Secret Origins story "When is a Door". In it, a film crew is asking people on the street what they think of Gotham's super-villain problem, John is shown smoking a cigarette, responding "Sorry squire, I'm not from 'round here' make that 'no comment.'" Though it is not stated that this is Constantine, he has the same appearance, speaks in a decidedly British fashion, and this would not be the first cameo Gaiman has given him in a comic. The story was later reprinted as an extra in Gaiman's "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader". In Mike Grell's run on Green Arrow, Constantine briefly met Oliver Queen/Green Arrow in a London pub, telling him to mention his name to the dark forces in Sherwood Forest, although Queen ignored the request.[58]
- In the final issue of the Brightest Day series, Constantine appears on the last page, remarking "Bollocks" at news that a new Swamp Thing has appeared. Constantine starred in Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search For Swamp Thing, a three-issue mini-series that saw John interact with various DC superheroes during his pursuit of the new Swamp Thing.[59] DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio stated that the John Constantine in the DC Universe will be closer to his original incarnation while Constantine in Vertigo's Hellblazer would continue unaffected.[15] After Swamp Thing's resurrection by the White Lantern, Constantine is shown looking over the bodies of the polluting executives Swamp Thing has just killed.[60]
- John Constantine appears in DC Comics' prestige format three-issue series Batman: Damned, which debuted in September 2018.[61]
Analogues
- The character of Jack Carter in Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's comic book series Planetary is an analogue of John Constantine;[62][63] he fakes his death and turns into an analogue of Ellis' Spider Jerusalem, stating that with the 1980s over, it's "time to be someone else": this has been interpreted as Ellis criticizing the Constantine character for being too tied to his origins as a reaction to 1980s politics and stating that more modern characters have since taken on his mantle.[62]
- Constance Johanssen, a blonde, chain-smoking British woman in a trenchcoat[64] was also created by Ellis for his Pryde and Wisdom series for Marvel Comics, described as "Constance Johanssen. Excellent occult detective. Has a habit of getting her friends killed. Two hundred at last count."[65]
- A Bat-Mite version of John Constantine appeared in Batman: Mitefall.[66]
- JLA: Classifiedstory "New Maps of Hell".
- Ambrose Bierce is the name of a character intended to be John Constantine in Firestorm and Captain Atom as Constantine did for the Swamp Thing, while Hellblazer was a Jack Kirby-style reinterpretation of the character who appeared in Doom Patrol #53 and The Books of Magic Annual #3.[68]
- According to actor Supernatural is based on that of John Constantine.[69]
- In the CrossGen title Mystic No. 15, magical characters from different literature, including DC and Marvel's sorcerers, made some appearances in a bar. John Constantine appears in the background.[70]
- A reference to him was made in the Hellstormwhile sitting and talking in a bar. Hellstorm described him as a Brit who "smokes like a fiend."
Influences
Hellblazer boosted the popularity and image of the occult detective fiction genre and shaped it into its modern form.
Powers, abilities, and resources
John Constantine's magical abilities, prior to the New 52 era and onward, were considered average in terms of spell-casting proficiency. However, he relied more on his intelligence, extensive knowledge of the occult, manipulation skills, and extensive network of contacts. Despite this, Constantine specialized in various areas of magic, including demonology, illusions, divination, and demonic summoning. He also had some proficiency in necromancy and spiritual communication.[76] In his use of sorcery, Constantine possessed a vast repertoire of magical spells, rituals, and curses. These abilities encompassed evocation, necromancy, illusions, invisibility, and even time travel. He was skilled in employing protective magic through the use of sigils and magic circles, providing defense against physical and supernatural attacks.[77][78] Constantine also displayed resistance to psychic attacks and had the ability to block omnipresence using magic, as demonstrated by his use of sigils to hide from powerful entities.[79] After the New 52 reboot, Constantine's magical abilities underwent expansion, becoming more formidable.
Additionally, he possesses a notable supernatural ability called synchronicity wave traveling, which grants him exceptional luck and the power to shape events in his favor. He has a talent for evading harm, finding suitable allies, and altering the course of battles.[33] Furthermore, Constantine is recognized as a practitioner of "Blood Magic," a classification that encompasses individuals who possess the blood of magical beings either through birth or external means. In Constantine's case, he falls into the latter category. This unique characteristic grants him the ability to tap into magical forces and alleviate many of the negative effects associated with magic.[80] His blood carries a demonic taint acquired through a blood transfusion from Nergal and contact with a succubus.[35] This tainted blood has demonstrated healing properties, age-managing effects, and acts as a defensive mechanism, being highly corrosive and poisonous against powerful adversaries like the King of the Vampires.[81]
In addition to his proficiency in sorcery, Constantine possesses exceptional manipulation skills, having successfully deceived powerful entities within the DC Universe, including The First of the Fallen, The Presence, Batman, and Superman.[59][2] He is widely regarded as the world's greatest con man.[82] Constantine holds extensive knowledge of the routes to Heaven, Hell, and the afterlife, allowing him to escape and teleport without being pursued by adversaries. In the graphic novel Pandemonium, he deliberately allows himself to be killed but later resurrects by departing from the afterlife. Furthermore, Constantine demonstrates considerable expertise in stage magic skills such as hypnosis, sleight of hand, pickpocketing, and escapology. His proficiency in unarmed combat varies depending on the writer, with some portraying him as a less skilled physical fighter and others depicting him as a capable hand-to-hand combatant. In certain instances, Constantine emerges victorious in fights through the utilization of magical weapons, unorthodox tactics, or quick thinking.[83][84] After tricking the Lords of Hell into curing his lung cancer, he was perpetually in good health and physicality.
John also carries with him an arsenal of powerful magical artifacts to aid him in battle, such as The House of Mystery, which also serves as his transport to different realms of the universe, and his trademark trench coat that possesses powerful demonic powers.[85]
In real life
Alan Moore claims to have met his creation on two occasions. In 1993, he told Wizard magazine:[4]
One day, I was in Westminster in London—this was after we had introduced the character—and I was sitting in a sandwich bar. All of a sudden, up the stairs came John Constantine. He was wearing the trenchcoat, a short cut—he looked—no, he didn't even look exactly like Sting. He looked exactly like John Constantine. He looked at me, stared me straight in the eyes, smiled, nodded almost conspiratorially, and then just walked off around the corner to the other part of the snack bar. I sat there and thought, should I go around that corner and see if he is really there, or should I just eat my sandwich and leave? I opted for the latter; I thought it was the safest. I'm not making any claims to anything. I'm just saying that it happened. Strange little story.
His second meeting with his creation was illustrated in 2001's Snakes and Ladders,[86] an adaptation by Eddie Campbell of one of Moore's performance art pieces:
Years later, in another place, he steps out of the dark and speaks to me. He whispers: "I'll tell you the ultimate secret of magic. Any cunt could do it."
They met a third time in fiction, when Moore was written into issue #120 of Hellblazer by then-author Paul Jenkins. Moore is seen sitting in silhouette at the back of a bar as John Constantine (who is on a pub crawl with the reader) raises a drink to him.[87]
Writers who had their run on the Hellblazer series have also claimed to have met the character in real life. A rumour has persisted for many years that the Liverpool occult writer Tom Slemen served as a model for Constantine. Slemen has always denied this. Original Hellblazer writer Jamie Delano also claims to have encountered Constantine, during his run on the character, outside the British Museum.[7][88] Peter Milligan saw Constantine at a party around 2009 and rushed after him, only to find he'd disappeared. Brian Azzarello once saw him in a Chicago bar but avoided him, saying that "the thing about John is, the last thing you'd want to be is his friend."
Reception
The character won the 1986 "Favourite Supporting Character" by
The character also garnered some negative reception, where
Fandomania.com ranked the film
Sonia Harris from
In other media
Television
- John Constantine appears in Justice League Action, voiced by Damian O'Hare as an adult[98] and by Paula Rhodes as a child. This version is a member of the Justice League.
- John Constantine appears in the Harley Quinn episode "It's a Swamp Thing", voiced by Matt Ryan.
- A television series adaptation of Constantine, set in the DC Extended Universe, was in development by 2021,[99][100] before ultimately being cancelled the following year.[101]
- A female adaptation of John Constantine named Johanna Constantine and her identically named ancestor appear in The Sandman, both portrayed by Jenna Coleman.[102][103][104]
- In October 2022, Coleman confirmed that she, Sandman comics writer Neil Gaiman, and series co-developer Allan Heinberg had discussed a potential spin-off series about her character, stating that it was a "good idea" which they were "really behind".[105]
Arrowverse
John Constantine appears in media set in the Arrowverse, portrayed by Matt Ryan.[106][107]
- Constantine first appears in Zed, who is being hunted by a demon. Along the way, he solves supernatural mysteries, vanquishes demons, and clashes with officious angels sent to watch over him.[24]
- Constantine makes a guest appearance in the Lian Yu and introduces him to magic while giving him a tattoo for magical protection after Oliver saves his life. In the present, Queen calls in a favor from Constantine, who helps him restore the soul of his friend Sara Lance after she is resurrected by a Lazarus Pit.[108]
- Constantine appears in sixth season, claiming he needs to walk his own path.[111]
- Constantine appears in "Crisis on Infinite Earths", in which he attempts to resurrect Queen by calling in a favor from Lucifer Morningstar.
Film
- John Constantine appears in self-titled film, portrayed by Keanu Reeves.[112][113] This version is an American based in Los Angeles[114] who possesses the psychic ability to see "half-breeds" as they truly are, which is the result of a previous suicide attempt that damned him to Hell instead, two tattooed magical glyphs, and Christian relics as his primary exorcism tools. In the film's novelization, it is explained that Constantine comes from a Christian culture and he has a greater natural understanding of the power of Christian relics, which makes it easier for him to use them. Furthermore, Constantine's exorcisms are motivated by a desire to redeem himself for his past suicide, but they are constantly doomed to fail as everything he has done has fundamentally been for his own benefit rather than for the selfless betterment of others.[115] A sequel with Reeves reprising his role was confirmed to be in development by September 2022.[116]
- John Constantine appears in films set in the Constantine: The House of Mystery.
- An elderly John Constantine, credited as "Homeless Man", appears in the Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part One, voiced by Nolan North. Following the events of House of Mystery, Constantine is given the role of Pariah as punishment for having the Flash reboot the DCAMU by observing the destruction of other universes.[120] Ryan will reprise the role in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two.[121]
- An elderly John Constantine, credited as "Homeless Man", appears in the
Video games
- John Constantine appears in self-titled video game, voiced by Dave Fouquette.[122][123]
- John Constantine appears as a boss in DC Universe Online's villain campaign, voiced by Shannon McCormick.[124][125]
- John Constantine appears in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
- John Constantine appears in Raiden's ending for Injustice 2 as a founding member of the Justice League Dark. Additionally, Constantine's daughter Rose appears in Doctor Fate's ending while Constantine himself was originally set to appear as a playable character, but was cut for unknown reasons.[126]
- Constantine appears as an unlockable playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains as part of the "Justice League Dark" DLCpack.
Miscellaneous
- John Constantine appears in the Justice League of America: Wedding Special.
- John Constantine appears in Smallville Season 11.
- John Constantine appears in The Sandman audio drama episode "Dream A Little Dream of Me", voiced by Taron Egerton.
See also
References
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{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ McCormick, Shannon [@sadogre] (August 15, 2013). "I can now let people know that I'm playing John Constantine in DC Universe Online @DCUO" (Tweet). Retrieved January 7, 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ "- DC Universe Online".
- ^ Fischer, Tyler (October 13, 2018). "'Injustice 2' Concept Art Reveals Scrapped Characters Including Constantine, Penguin, and More". ComicBook. Retrieved June 9, 2020.