Constantine

[Psyren]

Yeah he is a big proponent of good doesnt always mean nice. Also anti hero isnt a terrible description as while he does fight the bad guys, he is known for making deals with other bad guys to do it. Best example, when he was dying of lung cancer he conned three lords of hell into a deal for his soul, then when they showed up to claim it they realized if they fought each other it would give the guys above an opening. And since they couldnt back out of the deal, instead they cured his lung cancer so they wouldnt have to deal with it now.

Is that what got adapted for the Keanu Reeves movie? Or did that happen too?

Given that he's a Scouser, one that sounds like pouring the stuff in your ears.

A what?

[sktarq]

A what?

He is from the Liverpool area and has that local dialect

[BWR]

Is that what got adapted for the Keanu Reeves movie? Or did that happen too?

The dying of cancer bit was taken, but the movie dropped the fun con-man bit and instead had Keanustenteen almost die and head towards heaven but then Satan saves his life so Keanustenteen can sin and go to Hell later.
That movie was an insult to the character and concept.

[Anonymouswizard]

Hellblazer is about Constantine ****ing up his life repeatedly by being young and stupid enough to get involved with magic and demons, losing most of his friends and loved ones along the way, and living with the experiences and trauma long enough to make all sorts of new mistakes and sometimes get one over on the bad guys in return.

It's not kid friendly. There's explicit drug use, sex, gory violence and some pretty disturbing biblical themes. He is a smart-ass and sarcastic, but it's not just from arrogance but as a coping mechanism for the horrors that he has been subjected to since he was a teenager. There's definitely scenes of Black comedy to be had, but John himself is meant to be tragic - all of his problems are of his own causing, and further exacerbated by his attempts to outrun and then eventually face them.

"Jerk" doesn't begin to cover some of the stuff he's done. There are times when he's waded hip-deep into evil, and he doesn't often get away with that just because the ones he was fighting against, are worse.

He's pretty great. Definitely the sort of character that won't be seen again , sadly, and one of my favourites second only to Lucifer Morningstar, for very similar reasons.

Yeah, Constantine is pretty unique. Hellblazer pretty much plays right into what I like about stories: smart protagonists, dark worlds, weird stuff, and probably religious theming. I'm annoyed that John hasn't managed the transition to any other medium unscathed.

Hellblazer was also unique for comics because, IIRC, it was in roughly real time, with characters aging appropriately. I suspect that's gone for New52 John, which is a shame because it allowed the stories to evolve as John matured and got older. It just wasn't a static series.

Apart from Chas who miraculously has lived through being John's best friend for years

Considering he managed to survive becoming an official black cab driver, it's really not surprising.

He is from the Liverpool area and has that local dialect

I was wondering if I should explain it when it first came up, but the term is so well known in the UK I just assumed it would have spread.

[Ramza00]

Is that what got adapted for the Keanu Reeves movie? Or did that happen too?

Nope.

First I enjoy the Keanu Reeves Supernatural movie but that character was his own thing. They changed so much of the character style, plot points, etc that it was no longer John Constantine. Instead it was a supernatural Keanu movie with angels and demons.

[Rogar Demonblud]

It could be worse. He could've been from the Black Country with that dialect. It makes Durkon sound polished and refined.

[Traab]

The dying of cancer bit was taken, but the movie dropped the fun con-man bit and instead had Keanustenteen almost die and head towards heaven but then Satan saves his life so Keanustenteen can sin and go to Hell later.
That movie was an insult to the character and concept.

At least the middle finger bit was accurate right?! I always assumed thats exactly the sort of thing constantine would do if he managed to con his way into heaven and the devil himself was right there fuming about it.

[comicshorse]

At least the middle finger bit was accurate right?! I always assumed thats exactly the sort of thing constantine would do if he managed to con his way into heaven and the devil himself was right there fuming about it.

Oh yes, having tricked them into curing him John gives the First of the Fallen and the other two lords of Hell the finger

[Wraith]

Is that what got adapted for the Keanu Reeves movie? Or did that happen too?

There were some elements taken from the comics that made it into the film, but only in bits and pieces.

There was a storyline where Constantine was diagnosed with lung cancer, and he got out of it by running a con on the rulers of Hell. Note rulers - at the time Hell was ruled by a triumvirate, all of whom he had crossed at some point, and he then went on to trick all 3 at once. "Satan" wasn't involved though - Lucifer Morningstar is a separate character that exists in the same universe, but doesn't appear in a Constantine comic.

Chas is in the comics, but he's not Shia LaBeouf who wants to be John's apprentice; he's a sceptical, middle aged taxi driver from central London.
Papa Midnight is a character in the comics, but strictly as a villain; he's not even the rival-who-finds-middle-ground as portrayed in the TV show, he's just a monster who practices Voodoun.
The Angel Gabriel is a character in DC comics, but I don't think it ever has anything to do with John - it turns up in Sandman and Lucifer, I think, but John is too small-fry for real Angels to take notice.
The "half-breed" demons and Angels thing is nonsense; there are half-demons in the comics but they're strictly monstrous, whereas half-Angels are.... way more complicated than the movie portrays.
The alcoholic Priest and John's friend who lives in the bowling alley are composites of other minor characters, most of whom only feature in one story each.

Considering he managed to survive becoming an official black cab driver, it's really not surprising.

In fairness, in the comics pretty much everything else APART from being killed happens to Chas. He's still the luckiest of all the people that Constantine calls 'friend', mind.

At least the middle finger bit was accurate right?! I always assumed thats exactly the sort of thing constantine would do if he managed to con his way into heaven and the devil himself was right there fuming about it.

Yep, that happens - and in an even more ****-sure way than the movie depicts!

[comicshorse]

The Angel Gabriel is a character in DC comics, but I don't think it ever has anything to do with John - it turns up in Sandman and Lucifer, I think, but John is too small-fry for real Angels to take notice.
The "half-breed" demons and Angels thing is nonsense; there are half-demons in the comics but they're strictly monstrous, whereas half-Angels are.... way more complicated than the movie portrays.
The alcoholic Priest and John's friend who lives in the bowling alley are composites of other minor characters, most of whom only feature in one story each.

Gabriel turns up (in the Hellblazer comics) in the 'Dangerous Habits' and 'Fear and Loathing' storylines.

Spoiler: Spoilers for those two stroylines

Show

John refers to him as 'The Snob' and dislikes him intensely but still asks for his help. Unsurprisingly Gabriel refuses and John doesn't take this well. Lets just say Gabriel comes to regret this decision a great deal

[Rogar Demonblud]

Anyone having anything to do with John ends up regretting it a great deal. It's like the central theme of the comic.

[Wraith]

Gabriel turns up (in the Hellblazer comics) in the 'Dangerous Habits' and 'Fear and Loathing' storylines.

Fair enough. It's been quite a while since I binged my collection, thanks for putting me straight.

[sktarq]

I was wondering if I should explain it when it first came up, but the term is so well known in the UK I just assumed it would have spread.

As a child of the British expat community here (raised so much by only Brits and the BBC I spoke with an RP accent and still do when drunk) I can tell you that lots of slang has not it made its way across the pond...especially anything to do with regional variation beyond Scottish (Weirdly many Yanks can not separate Irish and Scottish accents and will need subtitles for movies like Trainspotting).

[Traab]

As a child of the British expat community here (raised so much by only Brits and the BBC I spoke with an RP accent and still do when drunk) I can tell you that lots of slang has not it made its way across the pond...especially anything to do with regional variation beyond Scottish (Weirdly many Yanks can not separate Irish and Scottish accents and will need subtitles for movies like Trainspotting).

This was all I could think of for some reason. https://video.search.yahoo.com/searc...e&action=click

[Bohandas]

Somehow I read that you "pronounced sulphur with a ph" and I spent way too long imagining alternative ways to pronounce it.

That sounds like someone trying to mess you up, since "ph" makes the same spund as "f"

[Lapak]

Papa Midnight is a character in the comics, but strictly as a villain; he's not even the rival-who-finds-middle-ground as portrayed in the TV show, he's just a monster who practices Voodoun.

To be fair, they DO work together on occasion. Like the time John's old friend who had tried to bottle a demon that was way beyond him came to him for help, and John turned to Papa Midnight for a magical assist.

Which consisted of drawing the demon (of hunger) back into his former-addict friend by a combination of ritual magic and shooting him up with heroin, then binding it into his body, then bricking him up in the basement to consume and be consumed by it.

Yeah, SERIOUSLY, never go to John for help.

Edit: I mean, the demon was wreaking utter havoc in the city and causing many deaths, but YIKES.

[Eldan]

The dying of cancer bit was taken, but the movie dropped the fun con-man bit and instead had Keanustenteen almost die and head towards heaven but then Satan saves his life so Keanustenteen can sin and go to Hell later.
That movie was an insult to the character and concept.

I wasn't that much of a fan of that storyline in the comics either, to be honest. I mean, the idea was basically clever, but then it occured to me that the basic flaw is that the three archdevils can't kill him. They should absolutely have free reign to make his life absolute hell otherwise, but they just get angry and leave.

Fair enough. It's been quite a while since I binged my collection, thanks for putting me straight.

It's been a while since I read either, but that Gabriel really didn't feel like the same character as the Gabriel in Lucifer.

[BWR]

I wasn't that much of a fan of that storyline in the comics either, to be honest. I mean, the idea was basically clever, but then it occured to me that the basic flaw is that the three archdevils can't kill him. They should absolutely have free reign to make his life absolute hell otherwise, but they just get angry and leave.

I may be imagining things but I believe there are at least two good reasons this didn't happen.

1. general non-interventionist policy.
While individual demons can get around and make trouble, it is usually on the small scale and the big players don't seem to do so. You need to summon them and they don't seem to be able to simply pop over to Earth and run rampant, so I suspect there is a specific natural law or general agreement between Heaven and Hell that there are certain rules both parties adhere to to prevent all-out war. The more powerful you are, the less direct action you can take without some enabler on Earth. Beings of the level of the Triumvirate trying to mess up John could very easily be considered excessive interfering and provoke a response from the opposition. So they have to do things subtly.
And the FotF does manage to mess up John later.

2. Long-term goals and fear of escalation and death
The Triumvirate is not a happy or particularly cooperative group, and trying to mess up John's life too much risks killing him, thus bringing about the situation they are trying to avoid. They are old, patient and have all of eternity ahead of them. Much better to keep their hands off John's life and try to find some way to have the other two give up their claims so they can get John's soul upon his death. That's their general MO, no need to change it. The flesh and life is temporary, the soul is eternal, and they keep their eyes on the prize - eternal torment instead of temporary inconvenience.

[Brother Oni]

That sounds like someone trying to mess you up, since "ph" makes the same spund as "f"

No, I'm just old as having done most of my chemistry learning prior to 1992 where the RSC finally caved after 2 years of IUPAC pressure and adopted 'sulfur' as the official spelling for chemical element 16.