It's the magical conman from Liverpool, John Constantine! Anthony & Doc discuss this Sting lookalike and why he has so few friends. Plus hear the worst attempt at a Scouse accent you've ever heard!
SHOW NOTES:
Intro
Shoutout to Freudian Sips – mother-daughter duo have drinks and talk about brains, psychology, and all manner of interesting topics (NSFW) (2:32)
Background (5:37)
John Constantine created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben in The Saga of Swamp Thing #37 (June 1985)
Originally designed by the artists to look like Sting, since they were fans of the Police
Started off as a DC character, but shifted to Vertigo in 1993, where he essentially stayed for over 20 years until the New 52 combined the DC and Vertigo universes
In the Vertigo universe, he ages in real time, unlike most comic book characters
Born as a sole surviving twin – he inadvertently strangled his twin in the womb with his own umbilical cord – the birth also killed his mother, and his father resented him for her death
Discovered he is the latest in a long family line of mages known as Laughing Magicians
Ran away from home after messing up a curse on his father that left him frail
Moved to London in 1969, got involved with the occult, and started a punk rock band called Mucous Membrane
Also in a relationship with Zatanna Zatara, although it was revealed that he was bisexual
His first act of heroism - in an attempt to save a young girl, he summoned a demon, but did so incorrectly, and it took the girl to hell – the demon, Negral, became one of his recurring antagonists
Later met Swamp Thing, and helped teach him to become more powerful – one of John's longest friends
A chain smoker, he contracted lung cancer – tricked one demon into drinking holy water, then sold his soul to another demon – rather than fight over it, the demons agree to cure him of his cancer
Later blackmails God to keep his soul out of Hell, because if he goes to Hell he will take over, release the demons and not care about what happens
Tries and fails to save his sister's soul from Hell – demons get one over on him
New 52 – some small changes to backstory, but personality remains essentially the same
Gets transported to Earth-2, where he cooperates with that world's version of himself until it's revealed that one of them has to die in order to save Earth-2 – he kills the native Earth-2 version, but tricks Darkseid and manages to save a large number of survivors
Issues (20:44)
Difficulty keeping close relationships of any kind with people – most people are kept at a distance
Adrenaline addiction to dangerous and mysterious situations – also a nicotine addict (29:33)
Has magic ability, but often chooses not to use it unless he has to (36:29)
Treatment (44:53)
In universe
Out of universe
Skit (54:50)
References:
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