Why is John Constantine considered to be the most powerful magician in the DCU?

Why is John Constantine considered to be the most powerful magician in the DCU?

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He's not, the most powerful magician is Dr. Fate.

Constantine is the most cunning one.

Because he is a true wizard: Has no sense of right and wrong!

But jokes aside, the motherfucker is ruthless and that can go a long way. But Dr Fate outpowers him since he is supposed to be the counter of Dr Strange who is top magician at Marvel.
Constantine's style is just more original and thus runs more often.

Popularity factor. Same thing happened to the Joker.
Go read early Hellblazer and then come back and tell me John Constantine is a powerful wizard. He's just a sheister when he's written well.

When he was called the most powerful magician?He's just extremely smart, he could still do the same things without magic if he had a magician sidekick.

Dude, there are multiple points in Hellblazer where John is told, point blank, that he’s the best of anyone living.

I'm pretty sure that's Fate. Constantine has always been more of a con man, he's a good magician but he isn't the best, he just has a reputation of being a huge badass when really he's more just clever and cunning. In the Books of Magic he intimidates a whole club full of magic assholes just by his reputation despite not being able to beat all of them in actuality.

>if not the best, one of the greatest magicians
>gets prime pussy
Why is he such a best?

...

...

He is? I thought he was just very clever.

he is not,but he has a talent totrick people and get away with it,he has tango with some of the most powerfull magical entities in the dcu and got away with it mostly,he is dangerous and clever,but not a great magician

Because the fucker can get away with literally anything. This is the same bastard that tricked the most powerful lords of hell multiple times and got away with it.

He can't hit the hardest but you can be damn sure that he can get what he wants from someone even if it ends up screwing himself and other people over

He's not and stop thinking he is

Dude we are tild point blank multiple time in Hellblazer that he's actually kind of shit at magic.

He isn't. Zatanna and Doctor Fate are stated at several points to be much, much more powerful than he is, and if anything he's on the lower-end of the scale in terms of power and skill. He's just good at using his charms, conning people, and thinking on his feet to give him an advantage.

My only problem with books of magic is this scene.

Hes shown and said to be the most dangerous, not powerful.

What's wrong with it? He's bluffing and the point of it is to show that its an important skill for mages to have.

John's actual feats as a magician, to name a few:

>Beat the Devil thrice, killed him with outside help
>Cut a sigil on the souls of two high tier demons
>Cursed his father to a slow and painful death as a teenager
>Killed the King of the Vampires accidentally by giving him food poisoning
>Freed the soul of every innocent child from hell
>Seduced and drowned a hedge witch's familiar (said familiar was a chimp in a wig)

The only ones that required any sort of actual power were either basic curse magic or high level arcane shit that nobody had even attempted for thousands of years, not because it was hard but because who would be stupid or desperate enough to try?

The majority of John's most impressive victories were the result of him being a sneaky little shit or with the application of base cunning and a few dozen sacrificial friends. He doesn't wave his hands and outrank the bad guy's magical power level. He is not Doctor Strange or Dr. Fate. DC writers, please stop forcing him into that mold. It doesn't work.

>>Seduced and drowned a hedge witch's familiar (said familiar was a chimp in a wig)
Because no one would believe you
1/2

2/2

>Constantine has always been more of a con man, he's a good magician but he isn't the best
Kind of like Kaiki. It's less about powerlevels and more about cunning and conniving. They'd both get fucked if they couldn't con their way around things.

Why does everyone forget the time he turned a dead neo-Nazi into a golem? Personally speaking, that’s my favorite high level magic from John.

>he turned a dead neo-Nazi into a golem

top kek

What chunk of the run was that from? I remember the four opposing football team supporters being turned into a monster, but John didn't do that.

I have never EVER heard anyone claim that Constantine is the most powerful, dangerous or adapt magician.

Only ever heard Zatanna, Phantom Stranger (!) and Dr Fate claim that title.

It was while he was in America, after he got out of jail.

It's never been clear to me if this happens before or after Dangerous Habits. Because if it's after, they're all right to fear him, anyone who dares try anything will get stomped by the Lords of Hell.

If it's before, well, John had already fucked over Nergal and other demons, so his reputation was already reasonably significant for this scene to happen.

Azzarello, then?

zatanna, zatarra, klarion, fate, and ariona are all probably better, some of them definitely better

Because fans usually don't consider Azzarellos run as canon.
Though I even more try to forget that Milligan happened.

Is there a Constantine guide out there anywhere? I never know where to start with him and where to go from there.

read moore's hellblazer, friend. also check the show out if you havent

Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing if you want to read from the absolute beginning.
Otherwise, start at Hellblazer #1 and go on from there. Read until you get bored. The New52 stuff (called "Constantine") is terrible, and the DCYou stuff is mediocre.

This looks like something Doctor Who would do.

Start on Hellblazer #1. Stop when you get bored or when Epiphany appears.

If you want an earlier start, there's his appearance in Alan Moore's Swamp Thing run, which you should read anyway because it's fucking amazing.

I'll definitely start with Moore, then. Is the new52 stuff that bad?

Star at issue 1 of Hellbalzer and continue on, igt's great from the start.
If you want to star with some independent shit, try "The Horrorist" (short story), or "All His Engines", which is about to be animated: youtube.com/watch?v=p3X19gYJtCA

You can also go further back and start with Moore's Swamp Thing run, but that's not needed.

It tries to turn Constantine in to a DC magic superhero, and it doesn't really work.

It also really dials up his dickishness, which is kinda against his character. Hellblazer Constantine was an unrepentant conman and an asshole, but he was never as actively malicious as New52 Constantine would get in his average issue.

He's not.

Hellblazer is one self-contained run of over 250 issues. You want to "read" John, just read it all. Check out Moore's Swamp Thing for the introduction of the character and Rick Veitch's Swamp Thing run for crossover stuff that carries over to early Hellblazer (like Tefe's conception). Check out his cameos in Books of Magic and Issue 3 of Sandman too.

If you want the whole deal, you need to start in Moore's Swamp Thing, then move onto the original Hellblazer title all the way until the end of Carey's run. After that, there's very little worth reading.

At some point, take a detour and read Books of Magic and the Hellblazer/BoM crossover.

Ironfist the Avenger was the 4 skinheads fused together, but that was Nergal's doing. That's from Delano's run.

John's golem is from Azzarello's run, and he was made from a guy some neonazis murdered. John had him kill them as he told one of them why the jews really are the Lord's chosen people.

What is the best Constantine comic? Where should I start reading him? The only thing Iknow about him is from injustice and sandman

Oh, and swamp thing

LITERALLY look at the posts above yours

See
Getting in to Constantine is literally as easy as picking up Hellblazer #1 and reading from there.

read the last dozen posts: Start with Swamp Thing, then the original Hellblazer. Go for the cameos and crossovers in Swamp Thing, Sandman and Books of Magic. Stop at 250, the end of that series, or once Carey's run ends if you'd prefer.

If you must only read one thing to be convinced, go for the Dangerous Habits trade, or the All His Engines OGN.

Never touch anything from Brightest Day onwards.

Injustice is fun, but don't take it seriously.

I stopped reading Hellblazer right after Constaine freed the souls of all the kids from hell because I got really bored

Should I power through more or is that enough?

Or better yet, pick up Hellblazer vol 1: Original Sins (the more recent reprint), because that includes the Swamp Thing issues for the crossover

I read The Books of Magic a few weeks ago for the fist time, when some anons storytimed it (blessed be them.)
How was the ongoing and how much is John involved in it?

He kinda is, but at the same time he really, REALLY isn't.

See, his Twin was meant to be the Greatest magician of his time, but because of his drunken father no wanting kids, he paid someone to coathanger his wife. Somehow, Johnny-boy survived and got born, killing his mother in the process, but his brother died in the womb, but since he was still loaded with the fate of being a grand sorcerer, it kinda rubbed off on John by accident
Still with me? Alright, so here's the next part.
John frequently deals with demons and all kinds of nasty parties, and while it does help that he thinks outside the box, which helps him gain quite a many good wins - in big part, I suspect, because of his "asshole" nature - he also has little trust from the people around him that hasn't died. And there are many that has, either indirectly or directly because of him

I've always felt that last part ot be bullshit though. They were his friends, and 9 times out of 10, they all knew most of the risks or all of them, yet call him a bastard and blame him when they fucked up. John simply blames himself something terribly, because in the end, he is just like us - human, with all of the flaws, weaknesses and faults that comes with that

>yet call him a bastard and blame him when they fucked up

Some of them didn't. Brendan didn't, but then John got Brendan into heaven.

His 'twin' was also him. The entire point of it is that neither of them were whole with the other which is why they sort of fused together...maybe

That whole part was kind of confusing

If Ennis' already bored you, there is no point in continuing.
If it was just the new writer, you made your conclusion really early. Besindes Jeniknis really kicking it up, there's other good stuf you missed (by Warren Ellis and then Mike Carey, I also like Diggle)

you're also forgetting the time he was sent to jail, and within two weeks or so not only ran the prison by taking out all the big-shots, but had basically turned it into a small version of hell. And all he really used when you think about it was paranoia and fucking cigarettes!

You do not want to get on Constantines bad side, he will fuck you up, body and soul!

Mind you that I read the ongoing over a decade ago, but I really liked it at the time. It's never as good as the original mini, but it's consistently entertaining.

It's mostly about Tim's relationship with Faerie and the Free Country, and later on about his role as a being called "The Opener". I won't say more, but that's where it gets really good.

John is barely in it, except in the Hellblazer/BoM crossover. If you want to read BoM, make sure to find the Children's Crusade crossover that serves a prelude to the series (the original, not the collected version they put out recently; it doesn't have the "Arcana" issue that sets up Tim's story).

The Names of Magic and Hunter: Age of Magic are pretty arse. Worth a read if you become a big fan (or if you wanna see the irony of Tim turning into a Harry Potter wannabe), but nothing beyond that. BoM: Life During Wartime is a weird ass comic with interesting versions of John and Zatanna in it. Worth checking out if only for the weird shit.

>They were his friends, and 9 times out of 10, they all knew most of the risks or all of them, yet call him a bastard and blame him when they fucked up.

I'd say he more gains a reputation for getting people killed just by associating with people or otherwise ruining their lives. Which, to be fair, he really does, both directly and indirectly. About the only person whose life hasn't been completely fucked up by associating with John is Chas.

I never quit got what was going on there. It was like he was emmiting some magical brainwashing.

Will I like the comics if I like the Keanu Reeves movie everyone hates

About the only similiarities the Keanu Reeves movie has with the comic is that the main character is called Constantine, he has a buddy called Chas that drives a taxi, and that Constantine smokes. Otherwise it's basically an entirely different thing.

it was. Not my favorite stories overall, but they're alright.

And then he split himself into two, to doom his "bad" half to hell in his stead.

And then, to fix the imbalance, he merged with literally hobo Aliester Crowley and fucked a succubus.

John had a weird life.

there's not a whole lot to like about the Keanu movie.
Except their depiction of satan, that shit was gold!

Cheers mate.
I took a screnshot, maybe I'll look into that, later.

>About the only person whose life hasn't been completely fucked up by associating with John is Chas
I was about to say Gemma too, but then I remembered.

Stromare and Swinton fucking are the only reasons to watch that trainwreck. LeBouf is the strongest argument against watching it.

It could have been good, so close yet so far.

>to doom his "bad" half to hell in his stead.
To be fair, he fucked over another demon so his bad self literally couldn't feel any of the negative parts of hell and basically just got to chill until he became a demon

>Kaiki is the Constantine of Sup Forums
Fuck me, it fits so well.

>he fucked over another demon so his bad self literally couldn't feel any of the negative parts
Nah, other John fused with Alester Crowley. Thus, Crowley feels all the pain, while other John gets to relax.

>To be fair, he fucked over another demon so his bad self literally couldn't feel any of the negative parts of hell and basically just got to chill until he became a demon
and that cunt STILL wasn't happy!

That's what I meant, yeah.

>Both conmen
>Despite this, both have actual powers in some form or fashion
>Both work with hexes
>Both are dicks/anti-heroes
>Both have great fashion sense

Power maybe but not skill, he uses what little he has efficiently and effectivley

>moore's hellblazer

Uhh, you're aware that Moore only ever wrote Constantine iin the pages of Swamp Thing, right? Hellblazer started under Jamie Delano.

Isn't John "Jackie" or something in that? I remember seeing a few really weird panels years ago

No, there's a John, but there's also a Jackie. It's weird.

Doesn't Delano's run establish him as an aspect of The Constant One, an immortal mage?

Well most magicians are normal loser wimpy dudes, but Constantine is an English magician.

Delano ended with that teaser, then Ennis didn't really do anything with it. I don't remember Jenkins much, but Diggle definitely continued that idea, but it was something like 130 issues later.

>Dr. Fate is supposed to be the counter of Dr. Strange
nigga what

The DCYou stuff, Constantine: The Hellblazer, was promising. But it never lead anywhere and people hated it because John fucked a black dude.

But true to fashion, that black dude really got fucked in the end

>considered to be

He's not. No one considers it.
Cheap bait.
Poor quality.

So SAD!

John's mostly a con man and gets by with bluffing 9 time out of 10, but it works because occasionally he will absolutely destroy someone to such a degree that his bluffs keep working.

When he has to actually DO something, he's utterly ruthless, without any shame at all, and never ever displays less than 100% of confidence. It's a skill that lets people go into a Walmart on Black Friday with a receipt for a Mountain Dew, go to the electronics section, put a 65 inch TV on a cart, and walk right out the front door with a manager going along to let them load it in their SUV.

Batman only aspires to be the master of prep time that Constantine is.

Hey, remember that one panel during Delanos run, when John said he experimented with dudes in his youth?
How about we make him totally bi and give him a big guy as love interest?
That's totally what old fans want to see and what will attract tons of new fans. Especially since we're rated Teen now.

I'm interested in seeing John get with a big guy

>Freed the soul of every innocent child from hell
So why doesn't he have a free pass to heaven?

Literally one minute later he "resurrected" Satan out of spite and hubris.

The New 52 and DCYou stuff is trash, but the Rebirth is a lot closer to the Vertigo, even if it's Hellblazer-lite, it's actually Hellblazer.
Recently he had to kill two Norse dwarves who decided he'd be the proper person to get drunk with a mead that makes your thoughts reality.

He'd already been fucking a dude in Hellblazer.

Sure, it was part of a con, but he did it.

Dr. Fate is several orders of magnitude more powerful.

This is one of the worst things ever written. Azzarello is such a fucking talentless hack.

Anyone else find the Justice League Dark animated movie outright offensive?

constantine is the #1 proof that britbong invasion writers are just fedora faggots because it's literally how they all see themselves

Who's Queenie?

Is Tefe that girl who ol' Swamp Butt possessed John in order to fuck his girlfriend in order to conceive?

He honestly should or at least some nice god like being should take him on. He's done enough overwhelming good in his life that he deserves a happy ending

Chas' awful mum
Swamp Thing possessed John in order to screw his girlfriend Abby, and their kid was Tefe (so John is technically the sperm donor, and had demon blood in him at the time, so that fucked up the conception a bit)

Delano wasn't the only one to bring it up