John Constantine

*"I'm the one who steps from the shadows, all trench coat, and cigarette and arrogance, ready to deal with the madness. Oh, I've got it all sewn up. I can save you. If it takes the last drop of your blood, I'll drive your demons away. I'll kick them in the bollocks and spit on them when they're down and then I'll be gone back into darkness, leaving only a nod and a wink and a wisecrack. I walk my path alone... who would walk with me?"*

- John Constantine

**John Constantine** is an occult detective from Liverpool, 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. He is a con-artist, magician, occult detective, and anti-hero.

John Constantine, Hellblazer, is a working-class magician, occult detective, and con man. He is well-known for his scathing wit, endless cynicism, ruthless cunning, and constant chain-smoking. A roguish counterculture anti-hero, Constantine is also a strident humanist driven by a heartfelt desire to defend mankind from the forces of evil.

## History

John was born in Liverpool but has spent most of his life growing up in London (born May 10, 1982). He first left his father's house to live in a London squat aged fifteen, John grew up highly cynical and cunning and developed an interest in the dark arts. He is a natural-born thrill-seeker with hints of morality. In his teenage years, he was introduced into the occult world by Anne Marie, learned various spells, and became an exorcist with the hopes of one day using his powers to resurrect his mother. John became a figure of respect among the dabblers of magic. Despite living in England for most of his childhood, Constantine has moved around the world on several occasions, following occult and mysticism all across the planet. He was born a twin, which he happened to strangle in the womb. His mother died in labor and his father blamed John for the death of his mother and that was the root of the friction between them. When not running away from home John Constantine was raised by his older sister Cheryl Masters.

However, one night, John attempted an exorcism on a young girl named Astra by summoning the demon Nergal, only for the demon to kill Astra and drag her soul to Hell, damning her for eternity, an action which damned John's soul for Hell upon death. Overwhelmed with guilt, John initially retired but after hearing of the Rising Darkness from the angel Manny, he returned to face this threat, with Manny giving him hope that, should he succeed, his soul may be spared eternal damnation.

Constantine is a chain smoker and has been from the very start of his character's introduction, his brand of choice is Silk Cut, though he has been seen smoking Marlboro or Camel’s from time to time, presumably when out of the country or when Silk Cut are unavailable. Despite being a chain smoker himself, Constantine does not take any other drugs, and once called his friend a “Dirty lowlife bastard” when he found a needle with a nondescript drug in it. John eventually moved in with roommate Chas Chandler, the two became best friends. Around this time John began following occult circles around London, and eventually became the magic-using, demon tricking con artist he is today.

His El Diablo allies came from mong the gangsters of Mexico City, are an exorcist, demonologist, and hedge warlock, self-styled as "master of the dark arts". After the Legends allowed Mallus to escape his prison in order to destroy the demon, it opened a door to other evils. Joined by Gary Green of the Time Bureau, Constantine confronted the Legends about their latest screw-up. Five months later he would assist the Legends in capturing the escaping magical "fugitives", sending them to Hell. He initially refused to join the team, but after being pursued by a demon named Neron in 2018, John chose to move to the Waverider, though still insisted that he's "not a bloody Legend".

## Powers & Abilities

### Powers

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

* **Divination**
* **Demon Summoning**
* **Curses**
* **Spirit Ward Creation**
* **Golemancy**
* **Necromancy**
* **Illusion Casting**
* **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, meeting the right kind of ally to help prevent or stop an apocalyptic event from happening. This also lets him reshape the battlefield to his advantage.
* **Mind Control**

### Abilities

* **Deception**: John Constantine is an excellent con artist and negotiator. These skills are often more useful than magical ones. Constantine faces most of his challenges relying primarily on his cunning. He is widely considered as the world's greatest con-man.
* **Occultism**
* **Prestidigitation**
* **Hypnosis**
* **Escapology**

## Relationships

### **Lucifer Morningstar**

* John shows much hostility and anger towards Lucifer during their first meeting with each-other after Nergal killed Astra, as well as Lucifer claiming ownage over John's soul. However, eventually, over-time the two developed a mutual relationship and bond. While both show wariness towards each-other they are able to communicate and make deals with better ease, compared to before.

### **Weldrok**

* John has always been cautious and suspicious around the Hellhound, often saying there was another face beneath all that darkness and evil. John often tries to avoid the subject around Weldrok as much as possible, especially when discovering it was he who sent Nergal for the exorcism of Astra, filling his with enormous hate towards the demon.

## Trivia

* John's favorite brand of cigarettes is Silk Cut.
* While it is confirmed there are multiple versions of John Constantine in the multiverse of DC Comics, Weldrok often claims he is of little importance, to begin with- however, replies by saying there is not a John Constantine for every universe which is quite strange, considering every universe must have some form of a person.
* Pop artist Sting was the visual inspiration for John Constantine. Sting lived in the district of Newcastle, which the character is associated with.