John Constantine is a powerful sorcerer and an anti-hero from DC Comics. He is a working-class warlock, occult detective, and con man, who is stationed in London. He is known for his endless cynicism, deadpan snarking, ruthless cunning, and constant chain smoking, but he is also a passionate humanitarian driven by a heartfelt desire to do some good in his life.
While not born with magical power, John has an affinity for it and the supernatural. He requires an artifact to cast most spells but can see spirits and demons. At some point, Constantine became master of the House of Mystery and began storing the most dangerous magical artifacts there.
DC Animated Movie Universe[]
Constantine has appeared in Justice League Dark, Constantine: City of Demons and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. He has been voiced by Matt Ryan in each of these appearances.
John has primarily focused his talents on solving issues involving demons and dark sorcery, prefering not to become involved with the larger superhero community. Regardless, by the events of Apokolips War, he becomes a full-fledged member of the Justice League along with his then-lover Zatanna. When the Justice League launched a preemptive assault on Apokolips, John joined their assault. However, Darkseid had been using Cyborg to spy on the League and knew of their plan. When the heroes arrived, they were immediately attacked and overwhelmed by swarms of Paradooms: creatures that were half-Parademon, half-Doomsday. John panicked as he watched the other League members, including Zatanna, get torn apart by the creatures. As Zatanna fell to the Paradooms, she cast a spell urging John to run, opening a portal that took him back to Earth.
Not long after John returned to Earth, Darkseid's invasion force followed and reduced the planet to ruin. For the next two years, John wallowed in his guilt, wandering the streets of London with the demon Etrigan and raiding abandoned pubs for whatever alcohol he could find. He was later found by Raven and a de-powered Superman who needed his help. No longer wishing to trust Superman after his failed plan, Constantine initially declined, but was convinced due to his guilt over the death of Zatanna. The two asked Constantine to use a locator spell to find Damian Wayne, Batman's son who survived the Paradooms' attack on Earth, in order to recruit him and convince him to help break Batman free of Darkseid's programming.
After finding Damian at the League of Assassins' stronghold, the group visited Stryker's Island in order to recruit the Suicide Squad. While there, John encountered his ex-lover, King Shark. With the alliance set, Lois Lane went over the plan of destroying Apokolips, and the group headed to LexCorp, the location of the one and only Boom Tube on Earth. As the group did not have enough forces to assault all three World Reapers at once, Constantine managed to convince Swamp Thing to destroy one of the Reapers in order to protect the planet. After making their way to the Boom Tube, Constantine assured Raven that he had a method of dealing with Trigon should he ever escape, but opted for Raven to continue subduing him. Constantine, along with Superman (wearing a battle suit with Kryptonite weapons given to him by Lex Luthor), Raven, Damian, and Etrigan, used the Boom Tube to head to Apokolips.
After arriving, the group were confronted by the Furies; Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Mera, Hawkman, and Starfire were beaten and converted into partly-cybernetic soldiers that were brainwashed to work under Darkseid. Constantine was saved by Etrigan, who did battle with Wonder Woman, but he iwas defeated and killed. Using his magic, Constantine turned the Lasso of Truth against Wonder Woman and used it to remind herself of who she was, breaking her free from her programming. Wonder Woman then fought off the remaining Furies as the group continued their mission.
The group encounter the Flash inside Darkseid's palace, who was forced to continue running on a treadmill to power Apokolips. After Barry is freed, Constantine scanned his mind, learning about the Flashpoint Paradox, the temporal event that created the current timeline. The group then found Cyborg, who was fully integrated into Apokolips itself and subservient to Darkseid, and Constantine uses his magic to free him of his programming. The group were then confronted by Darkseid and Batman, who fought Damian. Before he landed the killing blow, Batman was freed of his programming by remembering his past, attacking Darkseid instead. When Darkseid retaliated, Damian was fatally wounded as he stepped in front of Darkseid's Omega Beams, which enraged Raven to the point where she could no longer contain Trigon, allowing him to break free of his bondage. Constantine prepared to act as Trigon emerged, opting to offer his own body as his host, but Trigon instead chose Superman as his host. The demon's presence burned away the kryptonite infecting Clark's blood, returning him to full strength. He then attacked Constantine and killed him by snapping his neck.
Constantine woke up in the afterlife, with Zatanna, who apologized to him for using a compulsion spell to force him to escape when she died, as a backup plan set by Batman. Since Constantine still had a job to do, Zatanna used her powers to resurrect him. As Superman battled Darkseid, Cyborg planned to send the heroes to Earth while he sent Apokolips into a void of nothingness. Not wanting to leave Superman behind, Constantine and Raven combine their powers to grant Trigon a physical form, allowing him to take over the battle against Darkseid. With Cyborg integrated into Apokolips itself, he was unable to leave, shooting down Constantine's idea of transferring his consciousness. The heroes were transported to Earth, while Apokolips is sent into the void, trapping Darkseid, Trigon, Cyborg, and the Paradooms for all eternity.
Back on Earth, the Justice League lament over their failures and losses, despite being victorious. Batman announces to the group that despite the World Reapers being destroyed, the damage was done, and the Earth lost 31% of its molten core, compromising the planet as well as over a billion of the population. Remaining optimistic, Constantine informed Flash that he must create a second Flashpoint, despite Flash promising Iris West he wouldn't do it again. Although reluctant at first, Flash was convinced that regardless of the changes, it would be a better situation than now. Constantine watched as Flash ran and the timeline was reset.