Over the years, DC Comics has created a number of renowned characters, but none more so than John Constantine. John hails from Liverpool, England, and works as a paranormal investigator. His anti-hero antics have earned him a place among DC Comics’ most popular characters.
Readers find him appealing because of his working-class roots and forthright demeanor. He has a good reputation and will go to great lengths to finish the job. Constantine was created by Alan Moore, Rick Veitch, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben and first appeared in issue #37 of The Saga of Swamp Thing (June 1985).
Hellblazer (1988–2013), Constantine (2013–2015), Constantine: The Hellblazer (2015–2016), The Hellblazer (2016–2018), and John Constantine: Hellblazer (2020–2021) are some of his other comic books series. He’s known for his never-ending pessimism, deadpan snarking, cutthroat and cunning manner, and chain-smoking.
He is, nonetheless, a dedicated humanitarian with a strong desire to make a difference in the world. Let’s talk about John Constantine a little bit more in our video today, and take a closer look at this intriguing guy.
John Constantine’s First Appearance
John Constantine made his first-ever official debut in The Saga of Swamp Thing issue no. #37. It is an issue of the famous series Swamp Thing (Volume 2), with a cover date of June 1985.
An occult investigator from England, John Constantine, discovers that something significant is going to happen in the supernatural realm and goes out to learn everything he can about it. However, his search becomes increasingly irritating as he wanders among his connections. Nobody has any idea about ‘him’ other than the fact that “he’s coming back.” According to one report, he is a living black hole. Another says it is Cthulhu, the ancient one. Even an elderly nun believes it is Satan. The only thing his connections seem to agree on is that the entity should arrive in the next twelve months.
In the meantime, Abby has been gradually assisting in the recovery of the Swamp Thing. She has been watering and sprinkling pesticides on the tiny plant ever since he was a mere bud of a being. It’s quite a slow process, and at this point, he’s only regained half of his overall ability. He’s developing new aspects of himself every day.
After waking up, John Constantine is at the apartment of Emma, with whom he is traveling to find Swamp Thing. He finally tracks down Abby and the Swamp Thing. John Constantine corrects the Swamp Thing’s ignorance and reminds him that he is the last plant elemental alive. He possesses the capacity to stretch his spirit through any vegetative matter, allowing him to teleport to practically any location on Earth in an instant.
The Swamp Thing begs Constantine to stay and tell him all he knows, desperate to learn more. John leaves them, claiming he has other commitments, but not before revealing that he would be in Rosewood, somewhere outside Chicago, in a week and that if they meet him there, he will explain more.
In the meantime, Emma paints a dreadful portrait of a deformed guy on the spot. When the entity, known as an Invunche, returns back to life, the terrified artist jumps out of her studio window and dies. There’s also a montage of several other additional evil crimes committed by Constantine’s other acquaintances.
Swamp Thing appears to have totally regrown in Houma and is engrossed in deep thought. Since their “communion,” Abby half-jokingly mentions the possibility of a honeymoon for them. He dimly recalls the term “Rosewood,” and he’s too preoccupied with that thought to notice Abby’s “honeymoon” proposal.
However, there is some backstory behind John Constantine’s character conception and initial appearance.
Alan Moore came up with the concept for John Constantine at the spur of the moment. He had asked his illustrators Steve Bissette and John Totleben what they wanted to draw the most, and they both answered they wanted to draw a figure who looked like Sting. Moore based the character entirely on their proposal, finally determining that the role ought to be that of a working-class magician.
However, Constantine’s initial appearance has become a sensitive subject because of this choice.
In Swamp Thing (Volume 2), issue no. #25, Steve Bissette and John Totleben sketched an unidentified, non-speaking figure who resembled Sting. Some people believe this is Constantine’s debut appearance, despite the fact that this cameo figure has no other attributes in common with the character who would eventually become Constantine except the physical inspiration.
In a series of panels signaling Swamp Thing’s future, another nameless and non-speaking figure resembling Sting debuted in DC Sampler issue no. #3, making it an arguable candidate for Constantine’s genuine first appearance as well. But for the sake of certainty and factuality, the issue’s appearance is universally accepted as Constantine’s first ever debut.
The Becoming of John Constantine
Born in the English city of Liverpool, John Constantine had performed a spell taught to him when he was a youngster who was simply experimenting with magic. This particular spell would only make him a more potent magician after. However, he was not informed that the spell required an inevitable sacrifice; as a result, his family’s home caught fire, killing his mother and father.
Constantine was a reckless, silver-tongued rebel in his early manhood, unsure of what he was meant to become. Despite his proclivity for conjuring, Constantine continued to demonstrate an interest in the occult, albeit only as a hobby, until he established a relationship with Margaret Ames, a police officer. Constantine thought she deserved a regular existence and abandoned her without an explanation after the two bonded over amateur magical escapades.
Afterward, Constantine and his first love, Veronica Delacroix, established “Mucous Membrane” with their buddy Gaz Lester, a mystical punk band. The three led a rock star lifestyle and began to take their magic more seriously until one of their spells went horribly wrong, leaving Delacroix gradually abandoning her connection to the mortal world. Constantine was unable to stop it, and as a result, the band disbanded. Due to the consequences of this occurrence, Constantine became even more determined to concentrate on his magic powers.
After his period as a rock star, he traveled to Europe to learn everything he could about the occult and magical before heading to New York City to study with Nick Necro. He had trained under the legendary Giovanni Zatara and Baron Winters. Zatara’s daughter Zatanna, an extremely talented magician, happened to be Nick’s girlfriend at that time too. John fell in love with her the moment he saw her.
They studied together and fought occult dangers such as the Cult of the Cold Flame. On the other hand, Nick got obsessed with finding the mythical Books of Magic and, in doing so, betrayed his comrades and joined the Cold Flame. After that, John and Zatanna dated for a while before separating after John killed her father during a spell gone wrong. Zatanna put a spell on John before their split, forcing him to be a better person.
When John returned to England at some point, he fell in love with a young lady named Maureen, but their relationship ended as her involvement with John gradually led her to commit suicide, for which John would always blame himself. John had an on-again, off-again romance with the demon Blythe, but it never progressed beyond the odd shag. Eventually, John came into a traveling hippy convoy that included a young clairvoyant named Mercury and her mother, Marj. For a time, John and Marj were lovers until John left the convoy and fled.
Constantine continued his magical studies in Newcastle until he and the Newcastle Crew tried to save a little girl named Astra Logue from the demon Nergal, only for the spell to fail and hurl Astra straight into Nergal’s grasp. This was one of Constantine’s worst failures, and he admitted himself into Ravenscar Asylum to heal, but the personnel tortured him while he was there.
Constantine returned to one of the locations he initially studied magic at, New York City, after being cursed by a demon he had crossed, to never return to London again.
When a shard of the darkness broke loose and nearly burned Heaven to the ground, Constantine was confronted with the force of the Other Place, a Black Multiverse region that is the root of all dark magic. Three people were killed by John’s magic while attempting to communicate with the darkness in order to comprehend it.
Keanu Reeves as John Constantine
Keanu Reeves played the part with his natural accent and hair color, and the character was designed to seem like the English artist Sting, who was born in Liverpool. There are several differences between his comic incarnation and the Constantine played by Reeves. His comic incarnation is much more powerful and has various supernatural abilities as compared to his role in the movie, where he is mainly shown as a powerful paranormal investigator and an occult enthusiast.
On the earthly level, John Constantine is a human with magical powers to see the true face of both Angels and Demons who goes on to say, “I guess there’s a plan for all of us. I had to die twice just to figure that out. Like the Book says, ‘He works His work in mysterious ways.’ Some people like it…some people don’t.”
His sights troubled him from a young age since he was born with the power to see the real faces of creatures (most notably Angels and Demons) on the earthly level. An ordinary bus journey, for example, provided him with glimpses of the otherworldly.
John became addicted to smoking cigarettes during his teenage years, and he could easily consume two packs every day. His smoking addiction finally led to deadly lung cancer.
Reeves, as John, chose to commit suicide after 15 years of suffering from the mental horrors of his visions. His soul was doomed to Hell as a result of his acts. Paramedics were able to resuscitate John after he had been declared dead for two minutes. Despite just being dead for two minutes, John later recalls feeling as though an entire lifetime had gone by before he was resurrected and that time in Hell was different. After seeing his visions and witnessing Hell and demonology, John wanted to become an exorcist.
Demon hunter John Constantine, played by Keanu Reeves, has been to Hell and returned as a suicide survivor, and he knows that when he dies, he will be destined for Satan’s world unless he can garner enough goodwill to climb God’s stairwell to paradise. Constantine becomes entangled in a mysterious scheme involving both demonic and angelic powers while assisting policewoman Angela Dodson, played by Rachel Weisz, in the investigation of her identical twin’s apparent death.
Reeves, as John, is gifted with the knowledge of the occult. Though he fights demons with various tools and weapons, John has a deep understanding of occultism, allowing him to execute numerous rituals, spells, and magic. He is also adept at astral projection and is capable of separating his soul from his body in order to travel via different dimensions.
John has the ability to exorcise Demons and ghosts in general. He sends them back to Hell by performing several spells and setting traps for them. One of John’s offensive skills is Pyromancy, where he uses his lighter to generate flames or hellfires. John was born with an ability that allows him to see monsters’ true faces underneath their human disguises (most notably Angels and Demons). (Note that this ability was nameless in the film but was dubbed “True Sight” in the video game.)
Appearances of John Constantine
Keanu Reeves played Constantine in the 2005 film Constantine. Some of the film’s components were from Garth Ennis’ “Dangerous Habits” narrative arc (issues no. #41– #46). In contrast, other parts came from the “Original Sins” trade paperback, such as the addition of Papa Midnite. However, the film altered numerous features of the source text, such as the central character’s name being stated as “constan-teen.” Reeves portrayed him with his authentic accent and hair color and the film was set in Los Angeles (although the director pointed out that the comic book was not exclusively set in London either).
Unlike the comic book version, Constantine’s exorcism techniques are based primarily on Christian relics rather than generic supernatural items; the novelization elaborated on this by stating that because Constantine is from a Christian culture, he has an innate understanding of the power of Christian relics, which makes it easier for him to use them. Constantine’s exorcisms are driven by a desire to atone for his previous suicide. Still, they are bound to fail because everything he has done has been primarily for his personal advantage rather than the greater good.
The character of Constantine also appears in the animated film Justice League Dark, where he is voiced by Matt Ryan. This version is set in the DC Animated Movie Universe rather than the Arrowverse.
Constantine reappears in the prequel to Justice League Dark, Constantine: City of Demons. Constantine attempts to heal Chas’ daughter Trish of a weird supernatural coma in this flick.
Once again, Matt Ryan voices Constantine in the animated film Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. He is one of the film’s protagonists, as well as one of the Justice League members who survive Darkseid’s invasion of Earth.
After that, Constantine was voiced by Matt Ryan yet again in the animated DC Showcase short film Constantine: The House of Mystery, which was released on May 3rd, 2022.
In Justice League Action, Constantine is voiced by Damian O’Hare, while Paula Rhodes gives her voice to his infant version. Unlike his comic book counterpart, Constantine is a full-fledged Justice League member. In “Abate and Switch,” he assists Batman in saving Superman and Wonder Woman after the surviving Brothers Djinn Abnegazar, Rath, and Nyorlath temporarily impair their powers. During this time, John Constantine performed a British accent enchantment on himself, which Batman had to decipher.
In the episode “Party Animal,” he appears as a guest at Green Arrow’s Christmas party but has no lines.
Constantine: City of Demons, an animated series for CW Seed, was announced on January 8, 2017. Matt Ryan reprised his role as the series’ voice actor on March 24, 2018.
The digital comic based on the TV show Smallville Season 11 features Constantine. John intervened when Zatanna was attacked by a guy, and knocked him unconscious. He then gave her a cigarette and introduced himself. John and Zatanna later investigate the Church of Blood and arrive at his business place, which looks to be a cursed-items black market.
What makes John Constantine so Powerful
John Constantine has been gifted with many supernatural powers and abilities, and the knowledge of the occult and the magical was just one of them. Constantine is a magician, but unlike other magicians, he only utilizes magical spells when absolutely necessary, particularly in a fight.
Divination, Demon Summoning, Curses, Spirit Ward Creation, Golemancy, Necromancy, Illusion Casting, and Mind Control are a few of the powers John possesses that make him so much more potent than the rest. He is blessed with the ability of Synchronicity Wave Traveling, which is an innate superhuman capacity to always be at the right place at the right moment. This has resulted in John having remarkable luck, such as winning vast sums of money from arcade machines and casinos, escaping damage, and, more often than not, meeting the proper sort of allies to assist and even prevent or halt a cataclysmic occurrence. In this way, he can also modify the battlefield to his benefit.
Apart from, Occultism, Prestidigitation, Hypnosis, and Escapology, John Constantine is a master con artist and dealmaker. These abilities are frequently more valuable than his magical abilities. The majority of Constantine’s obstacles are overcome through his ingenuity. He is widely regarded as the finest con artist in the world. His trench coat comes with some demonic powers too.
Constantine is able to utilize a type of magic that allows him to manipulate and hack even the most modern technology known to exist, such as Apokoliptian technology. He used this to release Cyborg from Darkseid’s control, as well as the Furies from Darkseid’s control.
Constantine as a Character
Constantine was first established as a supporting character for Swamp Thing, and despite his own fame, he has always been associated with the character.
To say that John Constantine’s life was difficult is an understatement. There are few characters in comic books who have endured as much adversity throughout the years. As revealed in Hellblazer issue no. #39, it began even before he was born in John’s instance. John had dreams of what he called the “Golden Boy” when he was a youngster. He was essentially just that: “an imagined buddy,” composed of gleaming golden light, whom John both admired and despised for his seeming perfection.
However, when John was older, he discovered that he was neither fictional nor a friend, but rather a parallel world echo of the twin brother he had no idea about.
Constantine is famous because, although he is a fictional figure, several of the persons who created his stories claim to have seen him appear in real life.
He is an ill-tempered and unpleasant humanist with a passion for magic and danger while also being a caring man who works to transcend the influence of Heaven and Hell on humanity.