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John Constantine (New Earth)

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Information-silk.png Identity
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Liverpool, England, May, 10 1953
First appearance


Contents

HistoryEdit

John Constantine is an occult detective from London, England. His violent and anti-social attitude makes him a formidable anti-hero, and he's known for doing whatever it takes to get the job done.

Swamp Thing

John Constantine had been researching a coming dark entity, using many of his contacts to determine what that thing was and how it would appear. Eventually, he was led to the Louisiana swamp, where her 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.[1]

After Swamp Thing had dealt with the threat of vampires there, Constantine appeared to him and gave him another location. At each location, the Swamp Thing learned of an evil growing across the land, and then Constantine would give him another location, but not much information.[2]

Meanwhile, Constantine began trying to prepare his companions for the coming threat of a crisis. When the Swamp Thing finally completed Constantine's final task, John showed him how the crisis was affecting the earth, and then took him aboard the Monitor's satellite to explain the nature of the crisis. While there, he commented that for people like he and the Swamp Thing, another supernatural crisis would be on its way. An evil South American cult called the Brujeria had raised an Invunche in order to facilitate sending a message that would raise a Great Darkness. [3]

Finally, 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.[4]

Finally, 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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]

Much later, John Constantine sensed that something was amiss in The Green, and realized that it was a reaction to the Swamp Thing's attempts to avoid being the protector of the Green, and focus on his relationship with his wife. He went to Louisiana to chastise Swamp Thing for shirking his duty, which was not at all well-received.[8] Seeking alternative methods, John reconnected Jason Woodrue with the Green in order to discover that the turmoil was caused because the Parliament of Trees had begun to create a replacement for the Swamp Thing, thinking he had been dead, after disappearing from Earth in Gotham City.[9]

Realizing that the Green requires a sacrifice to become the next elemental, so that the Swamp Thing can retire without causing calamity, Constantine orchestrated a series of events which led to a plane crash, only to have Swamp Thing guide the intended host off to Heaven inadvertently.[10] Angered by Swamp Thing's failures, John washed his hands of the issue.[11]

One day, after having grown himself a more powerful brain in order to solve the issue of what to do with the Sprout, Swamp Thing appeared in John Constantine's house, and possessed him.[12] He returned to Louisiana, and using John's body, he impregnated his wife with the Sprout, so that it could be grown within a human child, and taught. Needless to say, John was not pleased by the arrangement, particularly given that he knew his blood had been tainted by the demon Nergal.[13]

Later, after Swamp Thing was sent back in time by the Dominators during Invasion!, John began searching for a way to bring him back. Using his friends' scrying abilities, he located the Claw of Aelkhünd, an item which was somehow related to Swamp Thing. After some thought, he realized that the object's name is an anagram for "Alec Holland". However, when he used the object to free the Swamp Thing, the pair of them were attacked by strange monsters. After helping to escape them, Swamp Thing sped back home to see the birth of his - and John's - daughter.[14]

John and the Swamp Thing reunited again in order to stop Dark Conrad, a long dead ancestor of John's who was an evil pirate from kidnapping and killing the Swamp Thing's wife and child.[15]

John would return to the Swamp Thing's life after his wife Abby left him. A friend of John's took a romantic interest in her, but she was soon arrested for the murder of a prominent politician. With John's help, Swamp Thing was informed of Abby's situation, despite having been caught in the act, "bonkin' the Nanny".[16]

John then played a significant role in saving Abigail from the machinations of her evil uncle Anton Arcane. The demon attempted to possess the occultist, unaware of his prior taint by Nergal. The attempt alerted Agony and Ecstacy of Arcane's location, and they took him away.[17]

Hellblazer
Mrblonde267Added by Mrblonde267

Hellblazer

Main article: John Constantine (Vertigo Universe)

Constantine had many of his own adventures during the Hellblazer-era, where he eventually grew to old age still fighting the dark forces of magic.[18] This was later revealed to be an alternate timeline known as the Vertigo Universe during Flashpoint; retroactively, these stories are separate from the mainstream DC Universe.[19]

Brightest Day

Main article: Brightest Day

The Entity resurrects Alec Holland during Brightest Day, leading to the return of Swamp Thing. Constantine begins to investigate when corrupt polluting executives are found dead as his victims.[20] Determined to track down his old friend, Swamp Thing gone mad instead tries to kill him as well. In his effort to find him, he unsuccessfully attempts to enlist his favorite super-hero Batman as the world's greatest detective.[21] Superman takes him to the Star City forest, where he is attacked again. They realize that without Alec Holland's consciousness, the Swamp Thing is now a brutally savage manifestation of The Green attempting to eradicate humanity. He isn't trying to kill Constantine, he's trying to absorb him as a host.[22] Constantine teams up with Batman and Superman again to calm the Green at its nerve center, while they stop an attempt by LexCorp to control it. Holland learns that to bond with Swamp Thing again he would have to die, and instead chooses that he wants to live.[23]

Justice League Dark

Justice League Vol 2 1 Textless.jpg
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The DC Universe heavily changed its continuity into the DCnU following the events of Flashpoint in 2011. This was part of an effort to make storylines more accessible to newer readers, beginning with the New 52. This new timeline combines elements from the DCU, Vertigo Universe and Wildstorm Universe while drastically changing the origins and histories of characters.

Justice League Dark
Drakolord7Added by Drakolord7
Main article: Justice League Dark: In the Dark

John Constantine becomes a member of the newly formed Justice League Dark, an incarnation of the Justice League designed to combat supernatural threats. His teammates include Deadman, Madame Xanadu, Shade the Changing Man and Zatanna.[24]

Powers and AbilitiesEdit

Powers

Tainted Blood: Constantine's blood is demoniacally tainted, initially by a blood transfusion from the demon Nergal, and later by sex with a succubus. His blood has been shown to have healing properties. It has also acted as a defense mechanism when attacked by the King of the Vampires.

  • Healing Properties
  • Bitter Taste Defense

Sorcery: Constantine is a magician but unlike most magicians, Constantine rarely uses magical spells, unless he really has to, especially in combat.

Some examples of Constantine's magic:

  • Divination: Used a pendulum and map to find the location of a magical disturbance.
  • Demon Summoning: Summoned the demon Nergal to destroy a monster for him, which it did (although John lost control, due to his inexperience).
  • Black Magic Cursing: Placed a curse on his father that caused him to waste away.
  • Spirit Ward Creation: Placed a magical sigil on a succubus that prevented the forces of Heaven and Hell from tracking her. As well as using sigils to hide himself from Satan.
  • Golemancy: Raised a golem. [25]
  • Oculumancy: Erased a man's traumatic memories.
  • Necromancy: Raised a group of murder victims as zombies to attack their murderer.
  • Illusion: Making people think he's someone or something else. Or using Illusion to scare susceptible opponents into catatonic insanity.
  • Synchronicity Wave Traveling: An instinctual supernatural ability to be in the right place at exactly the right time. This has led John to uncanny luck, like winning incredible amounts of money from Arcade machines and Casinos. Avoiding harm. And more times than not - to meet the right kind of ally to help prevent or stop an apocalyptic event from happening.
  • Mind Control: often through the manipulation of opponents and allies.

Abilities

Master Manipulator: John Constantine is an excellent con artist and negotiator. These skills are often more useful than his magical ones. Constantine faces most of his challenges relying primarily on his cunning.

Arcane Knowledge: he has vast knowledge of the occult,

Well Known: an extensive list of contacts.

Stage Magician: Constantine has also exhibited considerable mastery in "stage magic skills"

Hypnotist

Sleight-Of-Hand Expert

Escapologist

ParaphernaliaEdit

Equipment

Scathing wit? It is rumored that his match has magical properties. John is almost never seen without a pack of his favorite Silk Cut cigarettes.

Transportation

Chas' Taxi... much to his friend's chagrin...

NotesEdit

  • The character of John Constantine was created by Alan Moore, on something of a whim originally. Alan Moore is quoted to have said "Hey, let's make a character that looks like Sting." and, well, the rest is history. The character was developed further by Jamie Delano and later still by Garth Ennis.

TriviaEdit

  • The movie adaptation of Constantine starring Keanu Reeves is very loosely based on the Dangerous Habits storyline.
  • John Constantine is afraid of needles.
  • Although John has generally been shown to lose most fights against a superior combatant and generally avoids physical battles - he has been known to win fights, either by using a magical weapon or by fighting dirty.
  • Constantine once won a bet wherein he predicted the exact month, day and hour that President Lyndon B. Johnson would suffer a fatal heart attack. He used his winnings to finance a series of free rock concerts in the New York area in the early 1970s.
  • John's favorite brand of cigarettes are Silk Cut.
  • Pop artist Sting was the visual inspiration for John Constantine. Sting lived in the district of Newcastle, which is also the site where John performed his botched exorcism in 1978; an exorcism that earned him two years as a patient at the Ravenscar Secure Hospital. [26]

Related

 

Discover and Discuss

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #37
  2. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #38, 39, 40
  3. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #44, 45, 46
  4. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #47
  5. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #48
  6. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #49
  7. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #50
  8. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #65
  9. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #66
  10. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #70-71
  11. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #73
  12. ↑ Hellblazer #9
  13. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #76
  14. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #88, 89, 90
  15. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #114-115
  16. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #134, 135, 136
  17. ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #137-138
  18. ↑ Hellblazer (Volume 1)
  19. ↑ Flashpoint (Volume 2) #5, see excerpt
  20. ↑ Brightest Day #24
  21. ↑ Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search #1
  22. ↑ Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search #2
  23. ↑ Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search #3
  24. ↑ Justice League Dark #1
  25. ↑ Hellblazer #167.
  26. ↑ Hellblazer #11


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Vertigo Character
This character exists under the Vertigo Imprint which is intended for Mature Readers. Their continuity takes place within the context of Vertigo titles although they may cross over into regular DC continuity.
This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Vertigo Characters."

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Swamp Thing Character

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This character specifically relates to the Swamp Thing and is predominantly seen in the Swamp Thing family of titles. This character may be part of the Swamp Thing's supporting cast, a minor acquaintance, or one of his adversaries. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the Swamp Thing Characters category.

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