John Constantine
John Constantine is a male comic character who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
John Constantine
He had heard tell of a coming dark entity, and he used many of his contacts to determine what that thing was and how it would appear. Eventually, he was led to the Louisiana swamp, where he met the Swamp Thing. He revealed that the Swamp Thing was, in fact, a plant elemental, and connected to all other plant life through a force called The Green. However, he refused to reveal more until Swamp Thing agreed to meet him in Rosewood, Illinois. (Swamp Thing v2 #37)
Swamp Thing and John Constantine met in Brazil at the source of the river Tefé, where John explained that Swamp Thing's destiny as a plant elemental has heritage which extends back through something called the Parliament of Trees, to whom he then introduced the Swamp Thing. (Swamp Thing v2 #47) John, Swamp Thing, and the remainder of the Newcastle crew prepared to face the Brujeria in Argentina. In the ensuing battle, the Brujeria managed to transform John's friend Judith into the messenger they sought, and Swamp Thing allowed her to escape rather than allow John to be killed by the cultists. (Swamp Thing v2 #48) With the Great Darkness' coming inevitable, John and Swamp Thing split up to recruit a force who could help them fight the evil off. John gathered many occultists and magicians including Zatanna and her father John Zatara; Mento; Baron Winters; Doctor Occult; and Sargon the Sorcerer. (Swamp Thing v2 #49) Together, John's team used Mento as a conduit to send their magical energies to aid the Swamp Thing's own team in the Spirit World. Unfortunately, the Great Darkness lashed out, and Sargon was burnt to death. They were forced to maintain their circle, holding his charred hands, lest they lose contact. Later, the Great Darkness chose to attack young Zatanna, but her father redirected the magic on himself, and she was forced to watch her father burn alive. Angrily, she cursed Constantine for involving them. After Swamp Thing managed to ease the threat of the Great Darkness, Mento watched as the Darkness clasped hands with the Presence, which drove him insane. With three casualties on his team, John Constantine declared the event a draw. (Swamp Thing v2 #50)
Hellblazer
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. John Constantine was born in Liverpool, England. During his childhood experiments with magic, he attempted a spell taught to him that would make him a powerful magician. However, he was not told that the spell required a sacrifice; while performing it, his family home caught fire and resulted in the death of his mother and father. (Constantine v1 #14)
Journeying into the Tower of Fate, he found the Justice League Dark locked in a struggle against the Otherkind who had been freed from their place beyond the veil. The Upside-Down Man had attacked the mystical heroes with Constantine entering into the fray but he was unable to stop the powerful entity who ripped the demon blood from John's body. (Justice League Dark v2 #3)
Arriving at the bookstore, they found Ragman battling monsters crafted from its pages by Merlin's magic which Zatanna helped destroy. It was then that they determined that Merlin was looking for knowledge within his lost Book of Eternity which had been destroyed. However, a copy of the book existed within the Library of Babel that was an infinite library containing every book that was ever written. Constantine used his magic to help transport them into the Library through a book where they sought to prevent Merlin from finding a copy of the tome within that realm. (Justice League v4 61)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Powers and abilities
One type of blood magic spell allowed him to temporarily stop time. (Justice League v4 #59)
Among the spells he knew included:
- Blackmare Curse : an incredibly dangerous spell that dug deep into the deepest and darkest parts of the soul with all the dark emotions being unleashed to transform the wearer into a powerful demon giving them increased abilities whilst their mind remain trapped until the curse was removed. (Justice League Dark v1 #27)
Notes
- John Constantine was created Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben where he made his first appearance in Swamp Thing v2 #37 (June, 1985).
Alternate Versions
- In Injustice: Year Three v1 #1 (2014), John Constantine appeared in the alternate world setting that was a tie-in to the video game. At some point, an encounter with a woman led to her becoming pregnant with his daughter who was named Rose Constantine.
- In The Wild Storm: Michael Cray v1 #7 (2018), an alternate version of the character was shown in a world in the Multiverse. Dr. John Constantine was a bald-headed occult sorcerer who used magic in conjunction with science to achieve various feats.
In other media
Television
- In Constantine, John Constantine appeared as the protagonist character in the live-action NBC television series where he was portrayed by actor Matt Ryan.
- In the Arrowverse, John Constantine made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting.
- In Arrow, John Constantine made a brief appearance in the live-action television series fourth season where he was portrayed by actor Matt Ryan. He was shown in flashbacks in the episode "Haunted" where he had gone to Lian Yu and encountered Oliver Queen where he sought to stop the power of a totem that resided there. During this time, he introduced Oliver to magic and gave him a magical tattoo that protected him thus saving Queen's life.
- In Legends of Tomorrow, John Constantine guest starred in the live-action television series third season where he was portrayed once again by actor Matt Ryan.
- In Constantine: City of Demons, John Constantine featured in the animated television series where he was voiced once more by actor Matt Ryan. He was shown to had grown upon alongside Chas Chandler who was his best friend with the two being polar opposites of one another in terms of personality.
- In Justice League Action, John Constantine appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Damian O'Hare
Films
- In Constantine, John Constantine starred in the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Keanu Reeves.
- In Justice League Dark, John Constantine appeared as a character in the animated film where he was voiced by actor Matt Ryan.
Video games
- In Constantine, John Constantine featured as a playable character in the setting of the video-game tie-in to the live-action film where he was voiced by actor Dave Fouquette
Appearances
- Swamp Thing: (1985)
- Hellblazer v1:
- Constantine v1:
- Justice League Dark v1:
- Constantine: Hellblazer:
- Justice League Dark v2:
- Justice League v4:
External Links
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