John Constantine

""Now I'm just like the bastards I've hated all me life.""

- John Constantine ""I'm the one who steps from the shadows, all trenchcoat 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 .aa Also known as Hellblazer, Constantine is a working-class magician, occult detective, and con manstationed in London, England. He is well known for his endless cynicism, scathing wit, ruthless cunning, and constant chain smoking. A roguish counterculture anti-hero, Constantine is also a passionate humanist driven by a heartfelt desire to do some good in his sinful life, as he was once deemed "The Most Powerful Magician In The World", [3]  whilst many of his closest friends and family suffered and were killed in the process. Pop artist Sting was the visual inspiration for John Constantine. [4]  Originally a supporting character who played a pivotal role in the "American Gothic" Swamp Thing epic, John had his own comic in 1988. A live-action film was also released in 2005 entitled Constantine, where the character is played by Keanu Reeves.

<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">Powers
<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">Unlike most comic book magicians, Constantine rarely uses magical spells, unless he has to, especially in combat. Constantine faces most of his challenges relying primarily on his cunning, his vast knowledge of the occult, manipulation of opponents and allies, and an extensive list of contacts. Constantine's blood is demonically tainted, initially by a blood transfusion from the demon Nergal, and later by sex with a <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:19.200000762939453px;"> succubus<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">. His blood has been shown to have healing properties, and is noted to have an <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:19.200000762939453px;"> age-managing effect<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">. <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-35" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;line-height:1em;">[36] <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:19.200000762939453px;"> <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">It also acted as a defense mechanism when attacked by the King of the Vampires ( Hellblazer #69<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">). 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 ( Hellblazer<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:19.200000762939453px;"> <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">#217) or by fighting dirty ( Hellblazer<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:19.200000762939453px;"> <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">#42, #57 and the graphic novel <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:19.200000762939453px;"> All His Engines<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;line-height:19.200000762939453px;">).

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;">Some examples of Constantine's magic: <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;">Constantine has also exhibited considerable mastery in "stage magic skills" - hypnosis, sleight of hand and escapology.
 * Divination — Used a pendulum and map to find the location of a magical disturbance. (Hellblazer #4 and #182)
 * Demon summoning — Summoned the demon Nergal to destroy a monster for him, which it did (although John lost control, due to his inexperience). (Hellblazer #11)
 * Cursing — Placed a curse on his father that caused him to waste away. (Hellblazer #31)
 * Spirit ward creation — Placed a magical sigil on a succubus named Chantinelle that prevented the forces of Heaven and Hell from tracking her. (Hellblazer #60). As well as using sigils to hide himself from Satan (graphic novel collection Rake At The Gates Of Hell) Also placed various sigils on an abandoned caravan that he housed himself in to hide himself from the demon Nergal. (Hellblazer #12)
 * Golemancy — Raised a golem. (Hellblazer #167)
 * Oclumancy — Erased a man's traumatic memories. (Hellblazer #217)
 * Necromancy — Raised a group of murder victims as zombies to attack their murderer (Hellblazer #230) and raises a soulstorm that blows a hole in a wall and kills a weapons tester.
 * Vivimancy - Explained to his niece Gemma how to commune with his still living soul, after making himself braindead to avoid "The Beast" getting into his mind (Hellblazer hardback - Staring At The Wall).
 * Illusion — Making people think he's someone or something else. Or using Illusion to scare susceptible opponents into catatonic insanity (graphic novel collection Hard Time)
 * Synchronicity highway or 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 at games of chance, the ability to avoid harm and to meet the right kind of ally to help prevent or stop an apocalyptic event from happening (Jamie Delano's Hellblazer run).

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;">He may also have many other more powerful abilities as he sold his soul to two demons who at the time were part of the trinity that ruled over all of hell. No one has yet mentioned what Constantine sold his soul for except that immortality was not it, as he killed himself shortly after as part of his plan to stay out of hell while dying of lung cancer by making it so that if he died the three would have to fight over him. He is also in perpetually good health and for a while was watched over closely by the three lords of hell. Since Lucifer quit and the Sandman captured Azazel though, this protection may have been removed or actively turned to attempts to kill him.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:12.800000190734863px;">As well as magic, 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, and tricking opponents to his whim. He is known to have deceived many of the most powerful beings in the underworld, such as The First of the Fallen<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Habits_20-3" style="line-height:1em;">[21] and Archangel Gabriel.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-36" style="line-height:1em;">[37] In the DC universe, John managed to recruit Batman and Superman through his own manipulation.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-37" style="line-height:1em;">[38] Constantine is also one of the few people to enter Hell many times and survive it. When Papa Midnite cast a spell on him that sent his soul to Hell. John easily escaped and frees an enemy of Midnite that resulted in Midnite throwing himself off the 86th floor of the Empire State Building.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-38" style="line-height:1em;">[39]