Constantine: Lord of Darkness (Constantine) quotes, aphorisms, statuses, phrases from around the world

John Constantine , also known as the Hellblazer, is a fictional character and anti-hero who appears in the DC Comics universe. The character first appeared in The Saga of the Swamp Thing #37 (June 1985) and was created by writer Alan Moore, Steve Bissett, and artist John Tottleban.

Constantine was ranked 50th on Empire Magazine's list of "The 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters of All Time", and IGN ranked him 29th on their "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes" list, in addition to being ranked 10th on the "Top 100 Comic Book Characters" list. 200 Best Comic Book Characters of All Time" according to Wizard magazine.

Meeting the characters and setting up the plot

John Constantine has a unique ability - he can see angels and demons, which allows him to catch and send the former to Hell and communicate almost on equal terms with the latter.

And then one day John began to notice that the demons had become unusually active and, so to speak, completely insolent. Moreover, chance brings him together with Angela, a policewoman. The fact is that just the other day her sister died, although everything was framed as suicide.

In general, John saw something paranormal in this incident, so he decided to solve this case together with a new friend. But what the investigation led to could not have been predicted even by such an experienced exorcist as John Constantine.

Still from the film “Constantine: Lord of the Dark”

Biography

John was born in 1953 in Liverpool, but lived most of his childhood in London, where he moved in the sixties. His mother, Marie Anne, died in childbirth, giving birth to John and his twin brother, who was already dead due to an early abortion instigated by John's father, Thomas. He strongly disagreed with being responsible for his wife's death, so Thomas blamed John. For this reason, there is always a very strong tension and hostility towards each other in the relationship between Thomas and John. While in the womb, John strangled his twin brother with his own umbilical cord; in a parallel universe, the twin brother survived and becomes an excellent magician, which John never was.

As children, John and his older sister Cheryl Masters lived for a time with their uncle and aunt in Northampton, thereby hiding from their father, who suffered from alcoholism, and was later sent to jail due to petty crime. theft (stole women's underwear from a neighbor). But when their father is released from prison, they return to Liverpool. John's lineage was known as the Laughing Magicians, and Constantine's lineage leads him to begin practicing magic. In the 1960s, John runs away from home, but not before casting a curse on his father, which turned him into a lethargic and frail man. In 1969, John eventually settled in London and began rooming with a man named Francis "Chaz" Chandler, a young man who would since then become John's best friend.

In the 1970s, John became involved in occult circles in London. He traveled to other cities and one day came to San Francisco, where John met a girl named Zatanna Zatara (however, in The New 52, ​​they met in New York), and they later began a romantic relationship. He also fell in love with punk rock; after seeing the Sex Pistols perform in 1977 at the Roxy Club, after which John cuts off his long hair, takes the pseudonym Johnny Con-Job, and creates his own group, Mucous Membrane, which includes Chandler (as admin), a drummer called Beano and fellow Liverpool guy Gary Lester. Later, they released an album called Venus of the Hardsell. In the 1980s, John performed as a magician and gained fame for his prediction of the assassination attempt on US President Ronald Reagan.

John's first experience with the occult was a disaster. While on tour with his band at Newcastle's Casanova Club, he discovered that a magical orgy had had terrible consequences: a child named Astra, using magic, summoned a terrible monster who took revenge on the adults who tormented her, and ultimately the monster could not be exorcised. With John's characteristic recklessness, he convinces the group, along with several occultists, to try to destroy the monster by summoning another demon. Unfortunately, they were unable to control the demon and after she destroyed the child’s monster, he began to deal with Constantine’s friends, and then took the child to hell. As a result of this incident, John suffered a nervous breakdown and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, and was a frequent “guest” there for many years.

The guilt over Astra's death hung over him for many years and when he turned 35, he used magic to free not only her, but also the souls of all the other children trapped in hell. As for the rest of the Newcastle Crew, the incident left the team with both physical and psychological trauma. After John helps Dream get his sands back, Dream in turn frees Constantine from the nightmares that tormented him after the incident.

He doesn’t believe, he knows for sure...

Of course, Konstantin himself is a very unusual and even extraordinary person. Personally, it strongly seemed to me that his prototype was John Sinclair from the fourth part of the film Warlock: The Devil's Bride . (Although if you remember about comics, it’s still unknown who took the idea from whom.)

And it turns out that an exorcist does not have to be a priest, as early films and books insisted. John is a suicidal man who was brought back from the dead, and today he looks like a seasoned professional. He does his job honestly, but he is clearly tired of it, he looks too tired.

Who gave him the go-ahead to hunt for evil? Perhaps the Creator himself? For our hero not only believes in him, but knows for sure that God exists, and that clearly non-human entities exist very close to us. Moreover, he does not at all look like a religious person, although he uses the attributes of faith to drive out demons.

Still from the film “Constantine: Lord of the Dark”

Capabilities

Unlike most magical comic book characters, Constantine rarely uses magical spells unless it comes down to combat. When John finds himself in a fight with his opponent, he primarily relies on his cunning, his ingenuity during fights, his extensive knowledge of the occult, and the manipulation of opponents and allies. These skills are often more useful than his magical ones. He is known to have deceived various powerful beings from the DC Universe, such as The First of the Fallen and The Presence, as well as manipulating Batman and Superman. Many people say that John is the greatest con artist in the world. Constantine is also one of the few people who knows all the paths to Heaven, Hell and the afterlife, he uses them to hide from his pursuers with full confidence that he will not be pursued.

Constantine knows many different magical spells, rituals and curses, such as resurrection, necromancy, illusion, invisibility and can even use magic to travel through time. He uses a wide range of magic defenses, in the form of various symbols and magic circles, which can protect him from physical and supernatural attacks. John has excellent resistance to various types of psychic attacks, such as telepathy and mind control. He even used magic to block the omnipresence of the First of the Fallen and thereby hide from him. In the New 52, ​​his abilities were added: telekinesis, immobilization and some others.

In addition to magic, Konstantin has also demonstrated excellent skills in hypnosis, theft, and he also has very dexterous hands. John carries with him, one might say, a whole arsenal of powerful magical artifacts that help him in battle. Since John deceived the Lords of Hell when he tried to find a way not to die from lung cancer, since that time, he has been feeling great and in good physical shape. Constantine's blood is tainted, this is caused by the fact that he underwent a blood transfusion procedure from the demon Nergal. His blood has healing properties and quickly healed his wounds. Konstantin's skill in hand-to-hand combat depends on the writer. Some portray him as a bad fighter, while others portray him as a decent fighter.

How to use your gift?

By the way, the stories of John and the twin sisters are somewhat similar. All three saw things that were inaccessible to the ordinary eye. But all three dealt with their gift differently. John, in order to get rid of the visions, decided to kill himself, which is how he actually deserved his future fate.

Isabella spent her whole life trying to prove the unprovable, which is why she became crazy to those around her and was constantly treated. But Angela decided to voluntarily give up her unique abilities. How? Yes, she just constantly repeated that she couldn’t see anything, and one day she really stopped seeing.

Is it possible? I think yes. It is worth remembering the words of Charles Xavier from “X-Men” , who argued that any talents are muscles that can be developed. What happens to a bodybuilder who quits training? He will easily lose his form, and so will his abilities.

Still from the film “Constantine: Lord of the Dark”

Constantine: Lord of Darkness

Manuel. Manuel! Manuel. I think... I think I found something for you. Look, I called you, right? When I couldn't get it out myself, I called you, John. Everything is fine, everything is fine. We had to tie her up, right? Everything is fine. This is Konstantin. John Constantine, the goat. Well, of course. What the hell? I need a mirror. Now. At least a meter high. Move! Go ahead, quickly! This is Kramer. Chas Kramer, freak. Freak. What? Oh, it's Kramer. Chas Kramer, freak. Chas! What? Remove the car. For what? Take the damn car away. “Chas, drive the car.” Here, I drove it away. Understand on the bed. Tie this end. Hennessy, over the top. Close your eyes. And whatever happens, don't look. No! Show yourself. Smile, you smug bastard. Tell the boss. Pull! Mom? Mom? Didn't I tell you that I found something for you? Really, John? Is not it? What happened there? I see you attend many meetings. It keeps the voices down so I can sleep. I must sleep, John. I need help, Holy Father. Need it? From me? What exactly…? -Listen, I... -There was something wrong with this exile. Listen to the broadcast. If there is anything unusual, let me know. Come on, you don’t need his protection, he’ll be there in a day. A few days. OK. Fine. Just for you John. John, why did you do this if you knew it wasn't my car? -I told you to drive her away. -Yes, John, you told me to drive her away... ...but if you had also mentioned that you would throw away a 140-pound mirror with an angry demon... ...I would have driven her away, John. -Go to Alvardo. -Yes, thank you, John, I know where to go. Didn't you think that if I talked more, I could help in some way? -No? -Nope. Nope? Well, of course “Nope.” Bless me, Holy Father, for I have sinned. It's already been... ...two weeks have passed since my last confession. Today I killed a man. The next one. I didn't even see his face, I just... pulled the trigger and he was gone. Most police officers serve twenty years without firing a shot. Why do I always know where these guys are? Where to aim, when to shoot. I'm wondering, is there something wrong with me, Father? Some kind of curse? God has a plan for you. He has plans for each of us. You must not allow guilt to cloud your faith. Yes i am trying. I try my best. Isabel. Isabel. The creatures I have defeated. Things that many people have never even heard of. And now this will finish me off. And you won't be the first, John. Come on, Lez. You already saved me once, you can do it this time too, am I right? Very aggressive. Twenty years ago, you didn't want to be here. And now you don't want to leave. Yes, that's a great idea. John, you should be well prepared. -Take action. -No need. I already know exactly where I’ll end up.

Where is the entrance to Hell?

I really enjoyed Walking into Hell. I saw this for the first time, and now I don’t remember if anything similar happened later. It is not entirely clear how exactly the portal was opened; in fact, there was no special ritual. At least visible.

It is possible that John said some words to himself, but he literally drowned Angie. Although the transition between life and death took a fraction of a second, time moves a little differently in Hell, so it was enough for the girl to see and feel all the horror of what was happening there. The nightclub had a special chair for transition.

Still from the film “Constantine: Lord of the Dark”

What does water have to do with it?

The only common factor between all three cases is the presence of water. Why exactly water, I don’t know. And then I remembered a book I had read a long time ago by Georgy Sidorov, . ” So there is the following:

“Water is a special element, boy. Like fire, it is endowed with its own consciousness, but in relation to humans it is neutral. Water is a powerful information accumulator; this is its main property. If fire is a carrier of information, then water is its accumulator, distributor and transmitter.”

So far, I cannot connect the information received together, but I am sure that the water was not used to go to Hell by accident.

Still from the film “Constantine: Lord of the Dark”

Water is an impressionable element!

And by the way, water was also used against demons, albeit consecrated. And it suddenly occurred to me that it doesn’t cost anything to bless the water. There is an example in this film when they made an entire fire vat holy. What am I getting at?

Moreover, water is truly an information accumulator and instantly absorbs all words and even thoughts. That’s why water can be charged for health and well-being, and that’s why you shouldn’t swear or wish harm near a mug of water. The element of water is very complex and you should behave with it and even in its presence very, very carefully.

Still from the film “Constantine: Lord of the Dark”

Diabolical phenomenon

Initially, I didn’t understand why Isabelle ended up in Hell. After all, suicide was obvious only to people; I am sure that Divine forces know exactly the cause of death. And then it dawned on me, the whole point is who had a hand in her death. It was he who dragged the girl to the Underworld.

But the ending of this whole story amused me a lot, and then made me think seriously. The appearance of Satan himself in a snow-white suit and with bare feet smeared in resin is quite an event. Indeed, John Constantine is a very valuable person if the underground ruler personally came for him.

And by the way, he “descended”, that is, he came from above. This could be a translation error or a small hint. Does Lucifer still live in heaven? Or maybe... There is room for thought here. The showdown in the devilish family made it even more fun.

Still from the film “Constantine: Lord of the Dark”

Paths[edit]

• The car as a weapon is an indirect application: by throwing the boxes with the scarab over his shoulder, Konstantin outwitted the demon, provoking him to rush into an attack without looking back across the traffic.
• Beware of red eyes - half-blood demons can be identified by their red glow.
• A useless firearm - an ordinary firearm does not work against evil spirits, which John warns Angela about and which she is convinced of in practice, having fired three dozen bullets at a Spear-possessed person to no avail (17 bullets more than required, we must add [1]). But a consecrated weapon with the correct “filling” is quite the opposite.
• Armor-piercing question - in an attempt to shake (somewhat literally) out of Angela's guess where Isabelle might have left a hidden message in her hospital room, John began asking her over and over again, “What would she do? What would you do?". In the end, it worked: Angela remembered that as children she and her sister loved to leave each other notes on the windows that appeared from their breath
  .
• Armored Fist - John Constantine uses a gilded brass knuckle decorated with sacred inscriptions and crosses against demons.
• A visit to the next world - Konstantin goes to Hell, takes Isabelle's ribbon and returns back to the world of the living.
• Magnificent bastard - one word: Lucifer.
• To the horses! - because what else can you call the security system of a mental hospital in which a patient can go onto the roof and jump off it?
• Magic cats - it turns out that cats live on both sides of reality, and therefore are a good guide there.
• Fridge Delight - John says water is the universal conductor between dimensions. Do I need to explain why there is no water in Hell and for what purpose John took the corresponding ampoule with him?
• Heroic self-sacrifice - in addition to the above-mentioned example with Isabelle
  
  , John himself
  follows the trope .
  And this would have earned him a path to Paradise if Lucifer had not intervened with his “treatment”
  .
• A hero in a crucified position - in this position Constantine ascended to Paradise, simultaneously showing his middle finger to Lucifer.
• A telling name - referring to the famous brand of cognac, the name Hennessy characterizes his addiction to alcohol and his imminent death from it
  .
• Idiot ball - lifting John by the throat, Balthazar, who was not previously stupid, for some reason gave him the opportunity to put the blessed brass knuckles on his hand and break himself in properly.
• What a disgusting face! - as expected, for all demons. Half-blood demons do the same if you douse them with holy water.
• What good deed could I do? - as it turns out, for his almost successful suicide, John has earned a ticket to Hell and is trying to avoid this fate by expelling various evil spirits. But it’s all to no avail, because for selfish reasons, which is remarkably highlighted in a conversation with Gabrielle: “I cast out demons from little girls! “You didn’t do it for them, but for yourself.”
• Nightmare pregnancy - in order for Mammon to be incarnated in the world of people
  , he must first be “carried out” (and he will ripen at incredible speed), and then let into this world by opening the woman in labor with the Spear of Destiny.
  And if Lucifer had not intervened personally,
  everything would have ended sadly for Angela and not only for her.
• Beauty remains untarnished - with the wick screwed on: for a person who threw himself from a roof into a pool, breaking glass along the way, dead Isabelle doesn’t look so bad.
• Cool boast - when Constantine, using the Dragon's Breath, bursts through the wall into Balthazar's office, simultaneously throwing its owner several meters, he rises without a single scratch (except that the suit is a little torn) and says “Fire?! Yes, I was born in fire!
• Badass in a Business Suit - John, Balthazar and Lucifer.
• Cool smoker is an aversion: smoking may look stylish, but dying from lung cancer and spitting blood is not so much.
• Hypocrisy is Funny : Constantine grumbles that Midnight ruined his two-hundred-dollar shirt with a magical grab. I wonder how much the set of doors to Midnight’s office, which John had holed a minute earlier with his gun, cost?
• A trap for the curious - during the ritual of expelling a demon from the girl’s body, John ordered those holding the mirror to close their eyes and under no circumstances open them. One man disobeyed... and immediately turned gray.
• The musical symbol is the song “Passive” by A Perfect Circle playing in the scene of John’s first visit to Midnight’s club.
• Mocking applause - Lucifer accompanies the statement of the fact of a personal visit for John's soul with malicious claps.
• It's an incredibly lame gift - having superpowers isn't all that easy. For their “gift” of seeing the other world, which Konstantin openly curses in his confession to Gabrielle, John and Isabelle managed to become outcasts in the eyes of the family, visit a madhouse and commit suicide. Hennessy is forced to drown out the voices in his head with alcohol. And if you are a medium, then all sorts of evil spirits can try to break into the world through you.
• Outlived his usefulness - after Balthazar
  completed the task of finding
  a suitable medium in the person of Angela
  ,
  Gabriel
  , instead of providing assistance, finishes off the ally beaten by John to the appropriate accompaniment.
• Kick the son of a bitch - how to punish a fallen angel who almost caused the apocalypse
  , even if he has already been reduced to a mere mortal?
  You can’t kill - it’s a sin, plus he himself, with obvious intention, provokes John to do this. Just letting go is too soft. Konstantin quickly found the optimal solution and, with the words “It’s called pain, get used to it,” he hit Gabriel
  with the butt of a gun in the jaw.
• The last puff was played out in an interesting way. Constantine, having cut the veins on his wrists, accelerates the appearance of Lucifer with his death and tries to smoke while technically dead. Heaps of highlights:

And before he
goes to Hell
after saving Isabelle (as he assumes)
, he literally takes one last puff and puts out his cigarette butt in a pool of his own blood.

• The interrupted kiss is a zigzag: three times Angela thought that John was still going to kiss her, but alas. Because the first two times he didn’t think about it at all, but on the final third he may have thought about it, but he restrained himself.
• Taking an Insult as a Compliment - When Gabriel
  begins to insult Lucifer, listing his "titles", he just laughs and, not without pleasure, declares "Old names, they sound like music."
• Pseudo-boy-woman - like cop Angela, maybe even nothing, but against the supernatural her skills are useless.
• There are two jump scares, and rather strange ones: a car that flew out of nowhere at breakneck speed, hitting a Mexican with a Spear, and the same “crept” bus that drove past John and Angela;
• The middle finger is Constantine’s signature gesture: he shows it to the demon being exorcised at the beginning of the film as a “hello to the master”, and, even more epic[3], to Lucifer himself at the end of the film
  .
• Strange things in the video - tired and upset Angela watches the recording of Isabelle falling from the roof over and over again. Suddenly, on one of the replays, Isabelle says “Constantine.” Surprised, Angela watches the tape again, but nothing else happens on the tape. Apparently, this is how her suppressed powers of the twin medium manifested themselves: Isabelle would later actually address John by his last name during their meeting in Hell
  .
• Post-credits scene - John comes to Chas's
  , with the words “You did well, kid,” puts his lighter on the tombstone and slowly walks away.
  A strange rustling sound is heard from behind. Konstantin turns around and sees Chas in white robes with angel wings and characteristic white eyes.
  He smiles and soars into the night sky . John turns away, grins slightly, and walks away.
• This is how it all happened - the exhibition states that the Spear of Destiny was lost at the end of the Second World War, although the Vienna Spear, which became its prototype, seems to be quietly stored in the imperial treasury of the Hofburg Castle.
• Shadows of former greatness - reproaching Midnight for his reluctance to interfere in the strange things happening around him, Konstantin recalls how he was able to single-handedly go out against an entire squad of opponents. Midnight immediately retorts that John was once “that John Constantine.”
• This is madness! — Midnight’s reaction to the protagonist bursting into his office with a gun at the ready, as well as John himself to Gabrielle’s motivation to help Mammon create Hell on Earth
  .
• Japanese White - Lucifer appears dressed in a brand new white suit. And Gabrielle, who planned the Apocalypse,
  also dresses in white in the finale.

Around the film[edit]

• Visual reference - the scene of shooting half-breeds in the hospital is very reminiscent of the scene of clearing out the vampire club from the first Blade. A shotgun, unconventional use of the fire extinguishing system, and enemies flying to dust are included.
• Two in one and three in one: in the comics, Lucifer and the First of the Fallen are two different characters, and it was the second who was annoyed by Constantine.
• Jesus approves - the film was rid of various mythologies other than the standard Christian one, and Constantine himself was turned into a messianic archetype.
• Yopt In Translation - it is absolutely unclear for what kind of “merits” the exorcist
  John was once awarded by Russian distributors the plot-turning prefix “Lord of Darkness”. At the moment, in most cases, films are shown on TV without a console.
• Custom splash screen - Warner Bros. intro. starts out normal, but then the skies turn red and the logo is destroyed by the winds of hell.
• Casting agency “WTF?”: Brown-eyed brunette Keanu Reeves somehow doesn’t really fit the description of the “blue-eyed blond” drawn from the original John by Sting;
• Young LaBeouf does not look too much like his peer John with a burly appearance;
• To some extent, Midnight also suffered: the “scary black man” with the build of a closet, Djimon Hounsou, does not reach the comic level;
• Subversion with Gabrielle: in the comics, Snob has a distinctly masculine appearance, but since in Christianity angels are genderless, the choice of Tilda Swinton for this role is a very successful idea.

Self-sacrifice is the path to redemption

But the most important thing is why the Devil could not take John. As the ancient Essex witches said in the Salem , true sacrifice is self-sacrifice. But our hero gave himself up in exchange for Isabel’s innocent soul. Therefore, all his past sins were forgiven.

The funny thing is that he did not need to go to church, confess, or comply with other conditions of faith. Although a couple of days ago, the Higher Powers made a slightly different decision regarding him and even his considerable merits were not taken into account. After all, he did all this only for himself.

And just one act, done for another person with all my heart, became a turning point in fate. In general, this episode requires deep understanding. It is he who can lead to an understanding of something more significant than just a review of a cool mystical film. Try not to miss it.

Still from the film “Constantine: Lord of the Dark”

“Heroes of Not Our Time”: John Constantine, Baptized by Hell

Abandon hope, everyone who enters here. And those who have not yet turned eighteen, it is better to turn back completely.

John Constantine is not a superhero. Oh no.

John Constantine is an egoist, a swindler, a womanizer, a drug addict, a blasphemer - anything but a hero. Many times he saved the world, stopping the invasion of the earth by the forces of either Heaven or Hell, but he did this solely for personal purposes. Well, or by accident. This also happened.

“Constantine, you don’t care about saving everyone but yourself,” Superman told him when they met. “I can see right through you even without X-ray vision.” But if the famous superhero had been more interested in the life of London, he would have known that everything is not quite like that. For all his selfishness and thirst for profit, the laughing wizard, as Konstantin has been called more than once, is far from a sociopath. There is something more important in his life than money, a mug of Guinness and a pack of Silk Cut cigarettes.

1988, London. At the helm is the Conservative Party, with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at its head. The “Iron Lady” is doing everything to bring the country as much money as possible: she carries out mass privatization, raises taxes, calmly strangles trade unions and ceases to support many social and educational programs. Miners are revolting, unemployment and, as a consequence, crime are growing rapidly. London is plunged into darkness, and darkness, as we know, gives birth to monsters.

Along with the monsters, John Constantine, the “laughing wizard”, the most charismatic anti-hero of comics of the late twentieth century, emerges from the darkness to drive the evil spirits generated by Thatcher’s policies back to hell. Well, or not drive it. That's how it goes.

► Hellblazer is also a sharp social and political satire. The Conservative Party of Britain here, for example, is literally rotten (the party of living corpses, yes). And the royal family prefers various sexual perversions to cricket.

Alan Moore, the creator of John Constantine, wanted to make a wizard who could survive on the streets during this dark time for the working class. There is magic in the DC Comics universe, so there are many wizards there. But John is the only one.

“We were young then. Not innocent, but free,” John said about himself and his friends in his youth, “Full of enthusiasm and strength - the world was ours, and we could do what we wanted. But that was then. Before Thatcher. Before the Falklands War. Before the country, starving, devoured itself.”

Then, in Newcastle, the life of young New Wave punk John Constantine changed dramatically.

► The punk culture of Fraternity is best revealed here. In one episode, an elderly punk creates a Sid Vicious doll and places it on the altar, accidentally awakening in it the spirit of that very British punk rock that all informal Britons are fiercely proud of.

The girl Astra was raped every day by her father and his friends. At one fine moment, all the accumulated horror spilled out of the girl and gave birth to a hellish monster - the dog Norphalting turned inside out (with a huge penis between his paws), who immediately rushed at the rapists, repaid them in full for the girl in the same way, and then gutted her. “The stench of carnage is unforgettable. Acrid, damp - as if it creaks in the teeth,” John looked at what was left after this hellish “party.”

Constantine decided to summon another demon to destroy Norphalting and save Astra, but seriously messed up. As a result, the innocent girl was sent to hell, and John's friends began to die one after another.

► Newcastle changed the life of a magician forever. The stench of the carnage is unforgettable.

Since then, it has been like this - if someone is friends with John Constantine, then they will certainly die a terrible death through the fault of John himself. The same goes for all his girls. And no matter how much John wants an ordinary life, no matter how hard he tries to do good for his friends, nothing works out: in the end he is still left alone. An outcast with blood on his hands. Rejected by heaven, damned by hell, the “laughing wizard” with the blood of demons in his veins.

This is how John Constantine was made by the previously almost unknown British screenwriter Jamie Delano.

Most of DC Comics' superheroes can be called sufferers (even the cheerful Flash), but the heroes of Vertigo, the independent division of the publishing house, have it even worse. « Swamp Thing

",
Animal Man
,
The Sandman
,
Preacher
and even
Fables
, based on which Telltales released the game
The Wolf Among Us
- all these comics are primarily about pain and only secondarily about everything else.
Hellblazer
about John Constantine stands out from the general background due to its increased cruelty and acute political and religious overtones, but the main thing here is still different. A depression that the modern pampered reader can hardly bear.

► Thatcher's reign saw the widespread spread of HIV. Of course, persecution of homosexuals began, and this was also reflected in the comic. Four fascists, chasing an old gay man, ran into a demon, and it turned out, hmm, a hydra.

Comics were created by different people with different worldviews, but one thing remained unchanged - despite all the skepticism and natural passion for making dark jokes, John always remained a damn tragic hero. “The cars are barely moving, the smell of vomit from last night is still in the back seat of the taxi. I decide to take a walk. It's a lousy Sunday and it's drizzling on the dreary streets. Ignoring the nausea twisting my stomach, I raise my collar, shielding myself from the bite of the November wind, and merge with the faceless city” - this is how John Constantine first addresses the reader.

► The local hell is picturesque, and the hellish creatures are unusual. Some people might even like it there.

After Jamie Delano, John Constantine was taken over by Garth Ennis, who would later work on the Preacher comic. Ennis is a radical atheist, which is probably why he leads the religions in Hellblazer

it becomes so much. John Constantine had never worked for heaven before (he was strictly neutral and acted solely for profit), but now the kingdom of heaven suddenly becomes his enemy worse than hell.

For all his sins, Constantine, after death, is doomed to eternal torment in the underworld - and the angels, this “snobbery,” as John calls God’s viceroys on earth, only mock him in response to requests to atone for his sins. If Hellblazer

Garth Ennis was released in our time - a terrible religious scandal would probably break out.

Still would! John Constantine sets a succubus disguised as an innocent maiden on Gabriel, the first cherub. She rips out the angel's heart during sex. “Your daddy wants a few words from you,” the succubus sarcastically says to Gabriel, and he immediately loses his recognition of God, and his lush wings turn into bloody stumps. Then John Constantine will cut them off with a chainsaw, finding the fallen angel in a puddle of his own shit, confused and broken.

► The first cherub, who went through many wars in the name of the Father, was caught very easily. Even angels cannot resist a beautiful woman, especially if they begin to doubt God.

Hell, however, also gets a fair share. By deception, Constantine gives the First of the Fallen, Lucifer, holy water, which blows him to pieces. Since then, the soul of a magician is a desired delicacy for every demon of the underworld.

The subsequent events are the subject of the film Constantine: Lord of Darkness

", a frankly unsuccessful film adaptation of the cult story arc "Dangerous Habits", but at the same time a quite good mystical action film with Keanu Reeves. John, a heavy smoker, is dying of... lung cancer. An absurd death for someone who had already escaped the clutches of demons a hundred times, beaten but alive.

► The filmmakers did something better than the comic book authors. For example, this scene.

But unlike the film, the plot of "Dangerous Habits" is as depressing as it gets. Trying to recover, the wizard finds himself a new friend, also suffering from cancer, and he makes him reconsider his views on life, and then dies in hellish agony right in front of John. And his death looks completely different from what is usually shown to us in the movies. She is ridiculous, stupid and pointless. However, death again bypasses Constantine - having deceived hell, John takes... no, not chewing gum at all, as in the film, but a cigarette. And he lights a cigarette.

Konstantin doesn't teach anything.

► The apogee of Garth Ennis's radical atheism is the story arc "Confessions", which tells about a priest - a murderer and pedophile, to whom Satan himself one day confesses. This story will make anyone's hair stand on end.

“He’s a magic junkie,” Ennis said of his hero. “It always amused me that Konstantin is supposedly all a left-wing socialist, but in reality he is an ordinary drug addict, merciless, ready to sacrifice anyone to get what he needs.” One by one, Konstantin's friends die through his own fault, John suffers, sinking to the very bottom, but invariably gets up again, dusts himself off and goes to the casino to cheat to earn money for beer and cigarettes. And then everything starts all over again.

Three hundred issues of Hellblazer

(and this is Vertigo's longest-running series) John Constantine did a lot and did nothing. He lost all his friends, except for his faithful drinking companion Chas, buried almost all his women, sent back to hell a bunch of demons who were trying to get to humanity in a variety of ways (including giving birth to his own “Jesus”, who would promote the ideas of demons to the masses) , and a bunch of times prevented the invasion of the Earth by the forces of Heaven, which in general is no better than Hell, because all people are sinners.

But did he become happy? Has he achieved anything? Have you defeated all your enemies? No.

Meet John Constantine. Alcoholic, womanizer, drug addict, blasphemer, British. There is a cigarette in his teeth, a mug of beer in his hand. Lonely, old and depressed. This is how the story of the “laughing wizard” ends...

► New John Constantine. The younger generation and female Sherlock fans will love it.

...and a new story begins. The story of young Konstantin again, but already under the cover of the comic book of the same name published by DC Comics. If earlier the magician with a difficult fate met with other DC heroes rarely and exclusively for business (with Zattana, for example, for the sake of sex), and spoke mostly obscenely about Superman and the others, now everything has changed. And John Constantine himself has changed.

The authors are trying to organically fit it into the general superhero universe, and in this world there is clearly no place for sodomite demons and pedophile priests. And Konstantin himself acquired clear moral principles. He stands exclusively on the side of good, does not blackmail or rob for the sake of his own prosperity. On the other hand, in the very first issue he easily leaves his friend to die and does not worry at all afterwards, although friends have always been the most important thing in life for John. In a word, Konstantin is no longer the same. He doesn't belong in the same world as Superman.

From the tragic anti-hero of the seventies, who knows a thing or two about magic, John has turned into an ordinary cynical wizard from the DC Comics universe. Such a Constantine would not have survived on the streets of dark and stinking London.

However, the first season of the series Constantine, a much more accurate adaptation of Hellblazer

than
Constantine: Lord of Darkness
. And Matt Ryan is much better suited for the role of Constantine than the dull Keanu Reeves. But there’s also some kind of curse here: for example, due to the channel’s policy, John Constantine is prohibited from smoking on camera. Who is John Constantine without a cigarette?

The action, of course, is transferred to America. John had already been there in the original comic (he got a blow job from a Rottweiler, but we won't talk about that), and he didn't like it. For some reason, the girl Astra became black, and instead of stories about the enmity of hell, heaven and bloodthirsty politicians, there is something in the spirit of Supernatural. It’s too early to criticize, but not a single fan will approve of what happens.

So the most charismatic anti-hero in comics as we know him remains forever in the past. In the modern world, full of superheroes in tights, tolerance and fear of accidentally offending someone, there is simply no place for him. Such is the fate of the “laughing wizard.” Sad oblivion.

Or maybe she's right?

No less serious is the appearance of Gabrielle and her arguments in favor of the action she decided to take. By the way, the angel was played by Tilda Swinton with her very extraordinary appearance. I haven’t watched many films with her participation, but most of all I remember “Only Lovers Left Alive ,” where she played the role of a vampire.

So the angel is outraged by how much man has been given from God, but he does not value these gifts at all. And here she is absolutely right. We have completely forgotten who we really are and exist only for the sake of our body, a comfortable life and external show off. No, you can live comfortably and richly even with a very high level of spiritual development, but who knows about this?

Yes, Gabrielle did not find the best way to awaken people. But what can you do if we humans become better only in unfavorable conditions. Isn’t this where all these illnesses, troubles, and troubles come from, which befall almost every average person, regardless of his position in society? Overall, this is another question that requires thought and awareness.

One thing I don’t understand is what Gabrielle herself was counting on when she asked for Divine support? After all, she betrayed the Creator, trying to create real terror for humanity?

Still from the film “Constantine: Lord of the Dark”

Watch and think...

This is where I want to conclude my review, because the film “Constantine: Lord of Darkness” is really worthwhile and you can find a whole bunch of big and small ideas in it. Therefore, I wish everyone a pleasant and, most importantly, meaningful viewing.

Look, search and think about every fleeting thought that comes to mind, try to link it with other information. Any idea, even the smallest one, can gain enormous value. And yes, John's assistant Chas became an angel, and the cigarettes on the grave are a symbolic renunciation of a bad habit, literally - dead is dead.