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)
    • Ending (61:12)

References:

  • "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" by They Might Be Giants - Anthony - 0:43
  • Tiny Toons music video for "Particle Man" by They Might Be Giants - Anthony - 0:57
  • Constantine film - Anthony - 3:47
  • Mighty Peking Man - Anthony - 5:20
  • Matt Ryan (actor) - Anthony - 5:48
  • Matt Ryan (quarterback) - Anthony - 5:50
  • "Don't Stand So Close to Me" by the Police - Anthony - 6:44
  • Synchronicity by the Police - Anthony - 6:51
  • "Venus of the Hardsell" by Mucous Membrance - Anthony - 10:15
  • Best Friends Forever - South Park - Anthony - 15:06
  • J. Jonah Jameson episode - Anthony - 29:40
  • Spawn episode - Anthony - 53:48
  • "Fields of Gold" by Sting - Doc - 54:22

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