History ComicBook / JohnConstantine

There is a [[Film/{{Constantine}} 2005 film adaption]], starring Creator/KeanuReeves as a [[ChristianityIsCatholic Catholic]], [[AdaptationalNationalityChange Californian]], [[AdaptationDyeJob raven-haired]], [[TheGunSlinger gun-wielding]] [[ChurchMilitant exorcist]] version of Constantine.

There is a [[Film/{{Constantine}} 2005 film adaption]], starring Creator/KeanuReeves as a [[ChristianityIsCatholic Catholic]], [[AdaptationNationalityChange Californian]], [[AdaptationDyeJob raven-haired]], [[TheGunSlinger gun-wielding]] [[ChurchMilitant exorcist]] version of Constantine.

There is a [[Film/{{Constantine}} 2005 film adaption]], starring Creator/KeanuReeves as a [[ChristianityIsCatholic Catholic]], [[CulturalTranslation Californian]], [[AdaptationDyeJob raven-haired]], [[TheGunSlinger gun-wielding]] [[ChurchMilitant exorcist]] version of Constantine.

''Series/{{Constantine}}'' debuted on NBC in the fall of 2014, with Creator/MattRyan (the voice of [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag Edward Kenway]]) in the title role. Unlike the film version, the TV version of Constantine is blond, British, and (according to WordOfGod) bisexual, the three Bs many Hellblazer fans expect from the character. Matt [[RoleReprise reprised the role]] for the WesternAnimation/{{DC Universe Animated|OriginalMovies}} film, ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueDark'', and again for the animated series ''WesternAnimation/ConstantineCityOfDemons'' and a recurring role in the Series/{{Arrowverse}} and Series/LegendsOfTomorrow.

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hellblazercvr220.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:''"My name's John Constantine, and here I stay: haunted by London. And London, haunted by me."'']]

* BadassBoast: As John says it beautifully, ''"I'm the one who steps from the shadows, all trenchcoat and cigarettes 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?"''

* ChosenConceptionPartner: Constantine became the biological father of the child of Comicbook/SwampThing and his wife, as Swamp Thing possessed his body at the time ([[ChildByRape without John's consent]]). He kept saying after, "At least he could have asked," as he'd actually been planning to propose it to Swamp Thing before the elemental simply pushed John's consciousness out of his body. John managed to return in the middle of orgasming inside of Swamp Thing's wife, Abby. She was NOT pleased.

* RapeAsDrama: Has occured multiple times throughout the series, happening to both main and secondary characters, and even to John himself. In the Confessional graphic novel, John has a panic attack in the streets after running into a man who nearly raped him as a young teenager, and in one of the later issues a succubus actually succeeds in raping John when he's passed out drunk. He'd stumbled home to find her waiting, told her to get the hell out, and even drew a magic circle around himself to keep her away, but in his drunken state, he left a gap of just an inch in the circle, and that was enough for her to get at him while he was unconscious. Then there was that demon who decided to both rape and MindRape John so she could have his demonic children... He had a real mental breakdown after that one. Really, John's life is practically a TraumaCongaLine.

** John never had the chance to resolve his issues with his father, as [[spoiler: Thomas was killed by the Family Man, a serial killer investigating John's whereabouts. Though he doesn't usually pick up guns, John shot the Family Man dead to avenge his father's death, but it gave him little satisfaction.]]
* ActionSurvivor: Constantine is sometimes drawn into situations that he had no part in or was even looking for. Without time to prepare or investigate, he is often the only one who survives. Ironically, he shares many of the listed traits of an action survivor in general.

* BadassBoast: As John says it beautifully, "I'm the one who steps from the shadows, all trenchcoat and cigarettes 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?"

* CasualKink: Shown multiple times with multiple partners, though often with casual hookups or prostitutes instead of in his more serious relationships. John is a bottom, and a pushy one. Everything from handcuffs to whips to even burn play have all been fair game.

* ChosenConceptionPartner: Constantine became the biological father of the child of Comicbook/SwampThing and his wife, as Swamp Thing possessed his body at the time (without John's permission). He kept saying after, "At least he could have asked," as he'd actually been planning to propose it to Swamp Thing before the elemental simply pushed John's consciousness out of his body. John managed to return in the middle of orgasming inside of Swamp Thing's wife, Abby. She was NOT pleased.

* ''ComicBook/{{Sandman}}'' Vol. 2 #3 (March 1989)

* ''Hellblazer'' #1-300 (January 1988-November 2012)

* ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' #4 (July 1985)
* ''Swamp Thing'' Vol. 2 #46-51, 55, 65-67, 70-74, 76-77, 84, 88-90, 99, 114-115, 166, 169-171 (March 1986)
* ''Sandman'' Vol. 2 #3 (March 1989)
* ''Books of Magic'' Vol. 1 #1-2, 4 (January 1991)

* ''Justice League Dark'' #1-#40, #0 (November 2011)

* ChosenConceptionPartner: Pre-New 52, Constantine became the biological father of the child of Comicbook/SwampThing and his wife, as Swamp Thing possessed his body at the time (without John's permission). He kept saying after, "At least he could have asked," as he'd actually been planning to propose it to Swamp Thing before the elemental simply pushed John's consciousness out of his body. John managed to return in the middle of orgasming inside of Swamp Thing's wife, Abby. She was NOT pleased.

* {{Flanderization}}: He is constantly accused of backstabbing his own friends and leading them to their destruction. Unless they've done a lot of rewriting, John doesn't actually betray people to their doom: instead, he tends to be helpless to save people who were already doomed (Gary Lester, Brendon Finn, etc.) He's not a good man, but as a rule he's not making a moral choice to damn people. Such treatment is also unjustified considering much of the character's original past (i.e. Hellblazer) was reset for the New 52 universe.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Treated as such in-universe by every member of the Justice League Dark, and pretty much anyone he meets, to be honest. He seems quite hated by all in the New 52.

* BadassBisexual: Bi, and although poor fighter and mediocre sorcerer, he's used his brains and magic to outwit, trick and manipulate his enemies, even deceiving some of the most powerful beings in the universe. He's the World's Greatest Con Man for a reason.

* BiTheWay: John's bisexuality hasn't been disregarded in the New 52. If anything, it's been more fully embraced and allowed to develop than in Hellblazer, with John having canonically been part of a [[spoiler:poly triad with Nick Necro and Zatanna]]. Not to mention admitting how much he'd like to shag his "good" alternate universe counterpart, even kissing him [[spoiler:as he dies, having convinced his counterpart to kill himself so the rest of their loved ones can all escape back to John's universe]].

* BiTheWay: John is bisexual, though he's been shown to have more female than male lovers, [[DependingOnTheWriter which usually has to do with whoever is writing him]]. Jaimie Delano always hinted at it very strongly and John famously mentioned having "the odd boyfriend" on panel. One of the few storylines that focus on his bisexuality is written by Brian Azzarello, where John takes a male lover he'd been trying to con. Of course, male or female, John's never been above fucking his antagonists.
** ButNotTooBi: Partially due to ExecutiveMeddling, at least until the New 52, where it's been pretty much taken as a given that he's bi.

* {{JerkAss}}/JerkWithAHeartOfGold: John switches between the two. He can be genuinely charming, friendly and truly care about the people that get close to him, and he always regrets destroying their lives. At the same time, he is petty, selfish, manipulative and vengeful. He is often an asshole to complete strangers and spits in the eye of any authority because he can. He draws people into his life time and again with little hesitation, constantly craving companionship and love, despite knowing the consequences. He uses magic to curse people who cross him from minor to [[DisproportionateRetribution horrifying ways.]]

* {{Muggle}}: Averted. Although John is dubbed The Laughing Magician, and has come from a lineage of powerful occultists, in the DC Universe John doesn't have any ''Homo Magi'' blood whatsoever, giving an impression he's a BadassNormal. Apparently in the ''Hellblazer'' mythos, many magicians and occultist are just people who know some spell, as in this world you don't need any magical blood to perform magic. Heck, even John's sidekick and normal everyman Chas managed to cast a spell once.

* ActionSurvivor: Constantine is sometimes drawn into situations that he had no part in or was even looking for. Without time to prepare or investigate, he is often the only one to survives. Ironically, he shares many of the listed traits of an action survivor in general.

John Constantine is a creation of Creator/AlanMoore and Steve Bissette, first appearing in ''[[Comicbook/SwampThing Saga of the Swamp Thing]]'' #25 (June, 1984) and going on to head his own Vertigo series, ''Comicbook/{{Hellblazer}}'', in 1988. The character started out firmly entrenched in Franchise/TheDCU -- his first arc was a crossover with ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', even! -- but gradually drifted off into his own self-contained [[TheVerse universe]]. (Although the likes of ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}, his ex girlfriend, and ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger still popped in from time to time, as did [[ComicBook/TheSandman Morpheus]].) He returned to the DCU in the CosmicRetcon of ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'', subsequently heading a number of series.

''Series/{{Constantine}}'' debuted on NBC in the fall of 2014, with Creator/MattRyan (the voice of [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag Edward Kenway]]) in the title role. Unlike the film version, the TV version of Constantine is blond, British, and (according to WordOfGod) bisexual, the three Bs many Hellblazer fans expect from the character. Matt [[RoleReprisal reprised the role]] for the WesternAnimation/{{DC Universe Animated|OriginalMovies}} film, ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueDark'', and again for the animated series ''WesternAnimation/ConstantineCityOfDemons'' and a recurring role in the Series/{{Arrowverse}} and Series/LegendsOfTomorrow.

He's also made [[Main/UnexpectedCharacter appearances]] in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueDark'' .

''Series/{{Constantine}}'' debuted on NBC in the fall of 2014, with Creator/MattRyan (the voice of [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag Edward Kenway]]) in the title role. Unlike the film version, the TV version of Constantine is blond, British, and (according to WordOfGod) bisexual, the three Bs many Hellblazer fans expect from the character. Matt [[RoleReprisal reprised the role]] for the WesternAnimation/{{DC Universe Animated|OriginalMovies}} film, ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueDark'', and again for the animated series ''WesternAnimation/ConstantineCityOfDemons'' and a recurring role in the Series/{{Arrowverse}}

* [[TrademarkFavoriteFood Trademark Favorite Cigarette]]: Constantine prefers the Silk Cut brand of cigarettes.

* TricksterArchetype: Yours truly. Constantine is the TropeCodifier of DidYouJustScamCthulhu.

[[Characters/ArrowverseMystics See the character page for the series]].

** Even Dream, of ''ComicBook/{{Sandman}}'' fame — a being more immortal than most gods — expired within a few years of first meeting John. Although there was no causal connection between the two events. As far as we know.

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: John firmly maintains this status to nearly if not all of his allies due to his deceitful behavior and tendency to screw people over for his benefit. Even notable NiceGirl types like [[OOCIsSeriousBusines Zatanna and Abigail Arcane end up complaining how much they genuinely hate John]] and don't want him around despite him helping both at various times.

* InTheBlood: The Constantine line consists of a long history of somewhat dodgy magic users, although John's father, sister, grandfather and uncles were {{Muggle}}s. Apart from John himself, Lady Johanna (18th century) is the most famous. It's also mentioned by other entities and even John himself that the qualities of being a DeathMagnet that sacrifices friends and foes alike until left alone and being a self-obsessed troublemaker that messes with the occult are inherent in the blood.

* InTheBlood: The Constantine line consists of a long history of somewhat dodgy magic users, although John's father, sister, grandfather and uncles were {{Muggle}}s. Apart from John himself, Lady Johanna (18th century) is the most famous.

''Series/{{Constantine}}'' debuted on NBC in the fall of 2014, with Creator/MattRyan (the voice of [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag Edward Kenway]]) in the title role. Unlike the film version, the TV version of Constantine is blond, British, and (according to WordOfGod) bisexual, the three Bs many Hellblazer fans expect from the character. Matt [[RoleReprisal reprised the role]] for the WesternAnimation/{{DC Universe Animated|OriginalMovies}} film, ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueDark'', and again for the animated series ''WesternAnimation/ConstantineCityOfDemons''.

''Series/{{Constantine}}'' debuted on NBC in the fall of 2014, with Creator/MattRyan (the voice of [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag Edward Kenway]]) in the title role. Unlike the film version, the TV version of Constantine is blond, British, and (according to WordOfGod) bisexual, the three Bs many Hellblazer fans expect from the character. Matt [[RoleReprisal reprised the role]] for the WesternAnimation/{{DC Universe Animated|OriginalMovies}} film, ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueDark'', and will again for the [[WesternAnimation/{{Constantine}} animated continuation]] of the live action series.