The Trenchcoat Brigade is a four-issue comic book limited series that was published in 1999 as a part of DC Comics ' Vertigo imprint , featuring several mystic DC Universe characters.
135-463: The title references an offhand joke used by John Constantine in the earlier Books of Magic series to label a loose affiliation of mystics including himself, Phantom Stranger , Doctor Occult , and Mister E who share a preference for trenchcoats as their outdoor wear (Constantine was knowingly paraphrasing the title of Alfred, Lord Tennyson 's famous " The Charge of the Light Brigade ", about
270-493: A parallel universe , the twin survives to become the well-loved and well-adjusted magician John never was. In their childhood, John and his older sister Cheryl lived briefly with their aunt and uncle in Northampton to escape from their father's alcoholism and subsequent imprisonment for stealing a female neighbour's underwear. They moved back to Liverpool when their father was released. John's bloodline and ancestry were known as
405-432: A "supernatural advisor" to the main character . In these early appearances, Constantine was depicted as a sorcerer of questionable morality, whose appearance was based on that of the musician Sting (specifically, as Sting appeared in the films Brimstone and Treacle and Quadrophenia ). Alan Moore created the character after artists Stephen R. Bissette and John Totleben , who were fans of The Police , expressed
540-566: A "wormhole" while the Swamp Thing stays behind and battles the forces of the Rot. Mercury returns and rescues the Swamp Thing. When asked what she found, Constantine arrives and answers "djinn". In another universe first seen in Books of Magic, Constantine is caught in the middle of a magical war that will destroy the universe at the hands of Timothy Hunter. Constantine sacrifices Chas to buy himself time, but
675-618: A botched curse caused his father to become withered and frail. John eventually made his permanent home in London in 1969, rooming with Chas Chandler , who would later become his closest and longest-surviving friend. During the 1970s, John became involved in occult circles in London. He travelled to other countries and visited San Francisco , where he began dating Zatanna Zatara, a female magician he had previously met in New York City . He also became
810-595: A child named Tefe, and fighting off the Damnation Army from summoning the Anti-Christ. Both carry a dull, but nevertheless fruitful friendship with each other. Constantine even invites Swamp Thing to his 40th birthday and assures the Thing he will try not to bother him again. In 1991 while in his late 30s, John contracted terminal lung cancer. During this time, he sought the help of a dying friend, Brendan, who had sold his soul to
945-527: A community that has watched over Kaziranga wetlands, he has differing views and later becomes a scientist working in Prescot Industries. When his employers interest in the Kaziranga wetlands, he attempts to help negotiate a deal to sell the land in return for economic opportunities. The tribunal rejects the deal and protests ensues but Prescot Industries use their political ties to force a deal, resulting in
1080-691: A crossover event between Swamp Thing , Animal Man and Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. Charles Soule wrote issues #19-40. A six–issue miniseries written by Len Wein, co-creator of the Swamp Thing, with art by Kelley Jones was released between March and August 2016. It follows Swamp Thing giving up his powers to Anton Arcane, who is disguised as Matt Cable. This was followed by a critically acclaimed Tom King winter special in 2018, also featuring Len Wein's last Swamp Thing issue. A 16-issue miniseries retitled with " The " written by Ram V with art by Mike Perkins began publication in March 2021. The book focuses on
1215-565: A dark force. They all lead to the death of his entire family and set the path for John Constantine into the world of magic and to the fateful incident in Newcastle, although the actions and consequences are different. The creature tries to claim the souls of the young "mystics", but the real John Constantine shows up and chases it away. He tells the kids to go back home, forget what has just happened, and that his true origins will forever remain unknown - but it does not matter. John Constantine stars in
1350-480: A deal with "someone", but John flatly refuses. That "someone" turns out to be Marid, who is shown working with Clarice, with Constantine seeming to be an obstacle to their plans. John is tracked down by two djinn but manages to escape to the London Underground. He meets Map, who behaves oddly and warns John of an upcoming danger in town: the djinn, and that Clarice actually wants John to stop the djinn from finding
1485-524: A desire to draw a character who looked like Sting. They had already drawn at least one character in Sting's likeness, a briefly glimpsed background figure wearing a black-and-red-striped T-shirt in Swamp Thing #25. In his earliest Swamp Thing appearances, the character is drawn with a marked resemblance to Sting, and in Swamp Thing #51, Constantine appears on a boat with the name The Honourable Gordon Sumner on
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#17328802543081620-603: A fan of punk rock ; after seeing the Sex Pistols at the Roxy Club in London in 1977, he cut his long hair short, called himself Johnny Con-Job, and formed a band called Mucous Membrane. Its members included Chandler (as a roadie), a drummer named Beano, and fellow Liverpool native Gary Lester. They released an album called Venus of the Hardsell . John also performed as a stage magician in the 1980s, where he became famous for predicting
1755-421: A federal agent who originally mistakenly believed the Swamp Thing to be responsible for the deaths of Alec and Linda Holland. As sales figures plummeted towards the end of the series, the writers attempted to revive interest by introducing fantastical creatures, aliens, and even Alec Holland's brother, Edward (a character that was never referred to again by later writers) into the picture. The last two issues saw
1890-497: A hundred people for the safety of 6 billion. He magically teleports away, leaving the family and the survivors behind. Later, John goes back to New York and visits his old friend Lloyd at his bar to tell him about his latest adventures. The New 52 Constantine series ends at issue #23 and was relaunched as Constantine: The Hellblazer written by Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV in June 2015. The Constantine Futures End tie-in tells
2025-425: A magical creature called Legendbreaker to discover Constantine's true origin. Instead, the creature tells three conflicting stories: one featuring John's mother dead in childbirth, leaving him to his abusive father; another having John Constantine being born in a loving family with proud and doting parents; and last one with John born in an unremarkable family, but with a mad older sister who is (probably) possessed by
2160-407: A mindless being of pure destruction. Millar then took over from Morrison with issue #144, and launched what was initially conceived as an ambitious 25-part storyline where the Swamp Thing would be forced to go upon a series of trials against rival elemental forces. Millar brought the series to a close with issue #171 in a finale where the Swamp Thing becomes the master of all elemental forces, including
2295-627: A mob boss's dead son. Knowing that resurrection is impossible even by magical means, John instead summons a demon to take the boy's place; a desperate act that has bloody consequences many years later. Years later, John was able to reconvene the surviving members of the "Newcastle Crew" to help with his investigation of the Brujería cult, as seen in Swamp Thing #37–49. The cult murdered most of them, including John's then-lover, Emma. These people, and others who have died due to John's carelessness, have continued to appear to him as silent, reproachful ghosts. Chas
2430-502: A moment of anger, her powers manifest and she kills them both. Tefé then fakes her own death and embarks on a series of misadventures that take her across the country, and ultimately to Africa, in search of a mythical "Tree of Knowledge". During this series, it seems that the Swamp Thing and Abigail have reunited as lovers and are living in their old home in the Louisiana swamps outside Houma. The home in which they live more closely resembles
2565-410: A new character named Levi Kami taking up the Swamp Thing mantle while the second Swamp Thing, Alec Holland, is off-world. Originally planned as a 10-issue miniseries, The Swamp Thing has been extended to 16 issues, with The Swamp Thing #10 followed by a short hiatus before returning in March 2022. The chronological original version of the Swamp Thing, the character would preceded Alec Holland within
2700-504: A number of "really good ideas ... about serial killers, the Winchester House , and ... want[ing] to draw Sting in a story". Calling these disparate strands a "big intellectual puzzle", Constantine was the result of "fit[ting] it all together". Initially created "purely to get Sting into the story", by the time of the 1985 San Diego ComicCon , Moore stated, "It's turning into something more than that now." Veitch's contribution
2835-483: A pivotal role in the "American Gothic" Swamp Thing storyline, Constantine became popular with readers. As a result, he received his own comic in 1988 titled Hellblazer , which became the longest-running and most successful title of DC's Vertigo imprint. In the DC Universe , Constantine, the titular Hellblazer, is portrayed as a working-class warlock , occult detective , exorcist , and con man from Liverpool who
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#17328802543082970-415: A plant, but actually a wholly plant-based entity created upon the death of Alec Holland, having somehow absorbed duplicates of Holland's consciousness and memories into himself. He is described as "a plant that thought it was Alec Holland, a plant that was trying its level best to be Alec Holland". This is explained as a result of the plant matter of the swamp absorbing Holland's bio-restorative formula, with
3105-629: A rampage in Star City, ultimately seeking to destroy all life on Earth. The Entity within the White Lantern used several heroes, including Hawkman , Hawkgirl , Firestorm , the Martian Manhunter , Aquaman and Deadman to slow the rampage and to construct a new Swamp Thing based on the body of Alec Holland. Instead of merely thinking that it was Holland, this version of the Swamp Thing would actually be him. The new Swamp Thing defeated and killed
3240-491: A reckless military event). They first appeared together in Neil Gaiman 's The Books of Magic series, in which they attempted to guide Tim Hunter through various realms of Magic in the DC Universe in order to teach him all of Magic's abilities and consequences. The group would later re-unite in the five-issue miniseries The Names of Magic , before finally getting their own miniseries. This DC Comics –related article
3375-486: A religious ceremony by a Neanderthal tribe that was about to be wiped out by Cro-Magnons , in the published version of issue #88. Beginning in issue #90, Wheeler reintroduced Matango, a character that Stephen Bissette had introduced in Swamp Thing Annual #4. After a period of high creative turnover, in 1991 DC sought to revive interest in Swamp Thing by bringing horror writer Nancy A. Collins on board to write
3510-563: A scam to take Sargon and Tannarak by surprise. However, prior to the planned battle, Constantine is thrown into the battlefield in Dar es Salaam in World War I because of a ritual going wrong, making his plan ultimately fail. An encounter with Doctor Occult there results in Constantine being transported to Earth-2 - a world dying under siege from Darkseid and his army of Parademons. In Earth-2, he
3645-472: A single father of two daughters. As John is busy chatting and flirting with Oliver an old "friend", the demon Blythe, pulls John away and convinces him to help them solve their problems in their latest business place, a soul farm. They want John to eliminate their business partner, which John completes, and he also cons Blythe into banishing herself back to Hell. Suddenly, John sees his entire ghost entourage, and Gary Lester's ghost - who has tried to warn him since
3780-476: A stand-alone horror story set in the early 20th century. The character found perhaps its greatest popularity during the original 1970s Wein/Wrightson run and in the mid-late 1980s during a highly acclaimed run under Alan Moore , Stephen Bissette , and John Totleben . Swamp Thing would also go on to become one of the staples of the Justice League Dark , a team featuring magical superheroes. The character
3915-485: A true monster, as opposed to a human transformed into a monster. In his first issue, he swept aside most of the supporting cast that Pasko had introduced in his year-and-a-half run as writer and brought the Sunderland Corporation to the forefront, as they hunted the Swamp Thing down and "killed" him in a hail of bullets. The subsequent investigation revealed that the Swamp Thing was not Alec Holland transformed into
4050-519: A widely publicized creative dispute, when DC refused to publish issue #88 because of the use of Jesus Christ as a character, despite having previously approved the script in which the Swamp Thing is a cupbearer who offers Jesus water when he calls for it from the cross. The series was handed to Doug Wheeler , who made the cup that the Shining Knight believed to be the Holy Grail to be a cup used in
4185-420: A young girl (and the possible Anti-Christ ) named Karen Clancy from destroying the world. When Pasko had to give up work on the title due to increasing television commitments, editor Len Wein assigned the title to British writer Alan Moore . When Karen Berger took over as editor, she gave Moore free rein to revamp the title and the character as he saw fit. Moore reconfigured the Swamp Thing's origin to make him
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4320-421: A young man is sent as a messenger to find John and deliver the message. Constantine later notices that something is wrong on the synchronicity lines, and, seemingly, he is going head first against the traffic. Remembering that Mako mentioned Ravenscar when he found out about Constantine, he tries to summon his unborn brother, but instead is summoned to his brother. The soul of Constantine's brother tells John that he
4455-502: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . John Constantine John Constantine ( / ˈ k ɒ n s t ən ˌ t aɪ n / ) is an antihero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics . He was created by Alan Moore , Steve Bissette , and, John Totleben , and first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 (June 1985). Initially a supporting character who played
4590-464: Is assaulted by the Parademons, but Wotan comes and rescues him, before trapping him to open a gateway to escape the dying Earth. Constantine manages to convince Wotan to spare his life, then works with the ancient sorcerer to open a door through his body to Earth-0. As Wotan enters the doorway, he is split into two halves, because there are two John Constantines in this world: the original Constantine and
4725-519: Is buying time for the psychic Mercury, who is now a young woman, to arrive and tell him the real name of "Laughing Boy" (Nybbas). John takes control of the demon, cancels the curse and London returns to normal. In the past, it is shown that the djinn have tried to hide away the secret of their existence from humans. One djinn, named Marid, was stopped by his brother when he tried to prevent the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which triggered World War I. In South London, present day, John Constantine
4860-481: Is coming to kill him and devour his being. Constantine is a specific target of the war-mage because he is the "Laughing Magician", who is also known as the "Constant One". Mako wants to devour him so he can absorb that power and have his being made a fixture of the universe. To counter this attack to come, the African magus puts a dream of his into a tree root, with Constantine's true nature in those dreams. After doing this,
4995-472: Is definitely not married! I also said and believe that the average DC reader—Vertigo and DCU—is sophisticated enough to be able to read both versions without getting confused. Beginning in Justice League Dark #9, Jeff Lemire assumed writing duties on the series, replacing Milligan, who had remained on the Vertigo title. Lemire said he considers Justice League Dark his dream gig at DC Comics because Constantine
5130-427: Is fatally wounded by Chas' taxi sign. Constantine encounters the prime Tim Hunter and tells him that all of this destruction is his fault and he wishes that he had listened to Mister E and killed him. After Tim leaves, Constantine meet an alternate, older version of himself who offers to save him for a price, which is that John has to be the best version of himself. As John starts to lose consciousness, he realizes that he
5265-494: Is in development as an installment of the DC Universe (DCU) media franchise. IGN ranked him 28th in the Top 100 Comic Book Heroes list. Len Wein came up with the idea for the character while riding a subway in Queens . He later recalled: "I didn't have a title for it, so I kept referring to it as 'that swamp thing I'm working on'. And that's how it got its name!" Bernie Wrightson designed
5400-435: Is lecturing about the unpredictability and the price of magic, Doctor Fate appears in front of his eyes, claims to have foreseen his arrival and offers to help him. Doctor Fate reminds John of an incoming horde of Parademons and tells him to quickly cast the spell to escape from the dying world, himself hoping to flee with John and the family too. John discovers that the spell requires one Constantine to die: either himself or
5535-572: Is not ready to die yet and agrees to the deal. He later wakes up in Ravenscar Asylum, back in the prime DC universe. Swamp Thing Swamp Thing is a superhero and antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . Created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson , the Swamp Thing has had several different incarnations throughout his publication. The character first appeared in House of Secrets #92 (July 1971) in
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5670-543: Is often depicted as a swamp monster that resembles an anthropomorphic mound of vegetable matter seeking to protect nature and humanity from threats of both scientific and supernatural origin. These duties are often an expression of his designation as the Avatar of the Green , an illustrious title depicted as synonymous with both Swamp Thing and makes the character the embodiment of the cosmic energies that gives life to all plant life in
5805-419: Is one of his all-time favourite characters not just in comics, but in all fiction. Lemire also teased that while Constantine, Zatanna , and Deadman would remain on the roster, the team would change in his opening arc and expand. In John Constantine's early appearances in Swamp Thing , his past was a mystery; his life as a child and young adult was not developed until Jamie Delano 's Hellblazer stories. He
5940-476: Is stationed in London. Known for his cynicism , deadpan wit, ruthless cunning, and constant chain smoking, he is also a passionate humanitarian with a deep desire to make a positive impact. The character has received a mix of acclaim and criticism over the years. He won the Eagle Award for 'Favourite Supporting Character' twice in 1986 and 1987, and has been listed among the greatest comic book characters. He
6075-609: Is staying in Chas's house when he is contacted by Swamp Thing. Abigail Arcane, the Avatar of the Rot and the Swamp Thing's lover, is missing. John enlists Mercury's help, who is eager to help the Swamp Thing despite disliking John. Meanwhile, in Paris, Marid resurfaces and attacks his brother. John tells Chas which horse to bet on and makes the cabbie drive him to the Tate Club. Clarice Sackville offers him
6210-531: Is the most prominent one of very few human friends to have survived a long-term association with John. John first met Swamp Thing in 1985 after being interested in the creature. John later acts as the Swamp Thing's protector, guide, and voice of omen, even teaching the Thing to amplify his powers. Both would have further adventure with each other, such as John introducing the Thing to the Parliament of Trees , Thing using John's body to make love to his wife and father
6345-416: The DC Universe as Swamp Thing. Alexander "Alex" Olsen was a talented young scientist in Louisiana in the early 1900s, married to Linda. Alex's assistant, Damian Ridge, was secretly in love with Linda and plotted the death of his friend. He tampered with Olsen's chemicals, killing him in the explosion, and dumped his body in the nearby swamp. Ridge used Linda's grief to convince her to marry him; however, Ridge
6480-521: The Infinite Frontier event. This incarnation of the character is a scientist and technical advisor originating from India chosen as the future Swamp Thing from a young age and succeeds the Allec Holland incarnation and it's derivatives. At a young age Kamei is unknowingly marked to become the Swamp Thing at during a ritual performed to him and his brother, Jacob, by their mother. A descendant of
6615-569: The Lovecraftian cosmic threat M'nagalah, whom the Swamp Thing had encountered during Wein's run. In 1982, DC Comics revived the Swamp Thing series, attempting to capitalize on the summer 1982 release of the Wes Craven film of the same name . A revival had been planned for 1978, but was a victim of the DC Implosion . The new series, called The Saga of the Swamp Thing , featured an adaptation of
6750-544: The "Ring of Dolus" spell, which uses every happy memory, every pleasant thought, every piece of hope in John Constantine to swirl a magical "web" made of lies. This powerful spell helps John project an illusion of an already dead universe to fool Darkseid, while John manages to bring himself, the family and the Earth-2 civilians to safety, and even pickpockets some survivors back from Darkseid's clutch. As Constantine lands in
6885-476: The Beast, who was manipulating John into giving it free access to humanity. In the process, he was rendered an amnesiac, leaving him vulnerable to the schemes of the demon Rosacarnis. To get his memories back, he had to spend a day in her service, in which she had him father three demonic children, who went on to massacre anyone who knew Constantine, from friends to enemies to people who had only briefly met him. Among them
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#17328802543087020-542: The Biblical Cain and Abel caught in an endless cycle of murder and resurrection. The Saga of the Swamp Thing was the first mainstream comic book series to completely abandon the Comics Code Authority 's approval. With issue #65, regular penciler Rick Veitch took over from Moore and began scripting the series, continuing the story in a roughly similar vein for 24 more issues. Veitch's term ended in 1989 due to
7155-665: The Craven film in its first annual. Now written by Martin Pasko , the book loosely picked up after the Swamp Thing's guest appearances in Challengers of the Unknown #81-87, DC Comics Presents #8, and The Brave and the Bold #172, with the character wandering around the swamps of Louisiana seen as an urban legend and feared by locals. Pasko's main arc depicted the Swamp Thing roaming the globe, trying to stop
7290-473: The DC You title Constantine: The Hellblazer written by Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV. The title introduces John in a new outfit and new hairstyle, in his own adventures, unrelated to superheroes business. Constantine uses magic to trick a cashier in a clothes store and gets himself a new suit. He pickpockets a passenger, uses the money to buy a meal in a small restaurant and gets acquainted with its owner Oliver,
7425-536: The Earth-2 John. As the Parademons storm in and take each family member down one by one, John is torn over between saving his own life and let the good, honest Earth-2 John live by sacrificing himself. Finally, he chooses to save his own skin: as he is kissing the other John, he holds his hand and drives the knife into his heart, ultimately killing the "other John". As the spells start working, John casts an additional spell to trick Doctor Fate, which masks his presence from
7560-711: The First commands Nergal to release the soul he is holding. Cheryl's soul is pure and innocent, and does not belong in Hell, but the First offers her a truly devilish deal. He informs her that her husband, Constantine's brother-in-law Tony, has killed himself with her blood still staining his hands, thus making him twice damned, and offers to fairly divide her husband's punishment between the two of them if she stays of her own free will. Constantine attempts in vain to argue that Tony murdered her and does not deserve that mercy. Despite all that has happened, Cheryl still loves her husband enough to accept
7695-501: The First of the Fallen, the most powerful lord of Hell. When the First came to collect the soul, John tricked him into drinking holy water, which rendered him helpless and prevented him from collecting the friend's soul at the appointed time. For this, the First promised to make John suffer unprecedented torment in Hell when he dies. Slowly dying from cancer, John hatched a plan to save himself from eternal torment. He secretly sold his soul to
7830-473: The First plotting a grand revenge on Constantine, who manipulated the demon via his ally Ellie, a succubus, into coming into a trap; the plan only barely succeeded, and while the First was temporarily defeated, many of John's friends were killed. Constantine then went on to have a series of adventures and misadventures playing the role of puppet and puppeteer with his signature style and profane sarcasm. He managed to free Astra and every other child in Hell, but at
7965-461: The First's deal and decides to stay. Constantine can do nothing, as the First gloats over his victory and then sends him back home. Unable to look at his niece Gemma's tear-filled eyes because of his failure, Constantine runs barefoot down the stairs and into the Liverpool night. John later revisits Ravenscar Asylum, the place where he was thrown after being framed for Astra's murder. John remembers all
8100-566: The Green is also cut off by mystical or scientific applications. Over the years, the Swamp Thing series has been nominated for and won several awards. Len Wein won the 1972 Shazam Award for "Best Writer (Dramatic Division)" and Berni Wrightson won the Shazam Award for "Best Penciller (Dramatic Division)" that same year for their work on Swamp Thing . Wein and Wrightson also won the Shazam Award for "Best Individual Story (Dramatic)" in 1972 for "Dark Genesis" in Swamp Thing #1. The series won
8235-528: The Green is revealed to be his brother, now known as the Hadera. who believed he should have been the Avatar in place of his brother, having stronger environmentalist ideals. but falls towards using eco-terrorism to punish humanity for their crimes against nature. Conflict arises when Prescot Industries' interest in Levi as Swamp Thing results in them hiring Jason Woodrue, whose actions resurrects Levi's initial adversary,
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#17328802543088370-501: The Jurassic Coast, England, he is confronted by Thomas, who points a gun at his head. Tired of everything, John yells at his father, and begs him to kill him off for good. Unable to do it, Thomas drops the gun, but Maureen quickly puts it up and prepares to shoot John, while questioning his actions. John contemplates and sees that while he is no hero, he is the only one willing to sacrifice the "proper John" to save his family, or to trade
8505-581: The Justice League Dark, considered a powerhouse among their ranks. In 2021, a new incarnation of Swamp Thing is created. This version is Levi Kamei , a young Indian scientist chosen as the new Swamp Thing at a young age. Descended from a tribunal connected to the Kaziranga wetlands, his powers awaken following a altercation between the community and employers, which also resulted in the death. Following his awakening, various factions seeking to control
8640-471: The Laughing Magicians, legendary mages who have the power over synchronicity and were infamous for bluffing and tricking gods. This ancestry later drives John to partake in his lineage and practice magic. One of John's first acts of magic, as a child, was to hide all of his childhood innocence and vulnerability in a box to rid himself of it. Later, in the 1960s, a teenaged John ran away from home after
8775-634: The Louisiana swamps. Tefé, likewise, is rendered powerless and mortal. Issue #29 was intended to be the final issue of the fourth volume, which was cancelled due to low sales numbers. The conclusion of the crossover event Brightest Day revealed that the Swamp Thing had become corrupted by the personality of the villain Nekron in the wake of the Blackest Night crossover event. The Swamp Thing now believed himself to be Nekron, similar to how he had once believed himself to be Alec Holland. The Swamp Thing went on
8910-524: The Parliament of Trees. Due to the circumstances under which she was conceived, the Swamp Thing, possessing John Constantine , was not aware that he was given a blood transfusion by a demon. She held power over both plants and flesh. Believing herself to be a normal human girl named Mary who had miraculously recovered from cancer three years prior, she rediscovers her powers and identity when she finds her boyfriend and best friend betraying her on prom night. In
9045-416: The Swamp Thing transformed back into Alec Holland and having to fight one last menace as an ordinary human. The series was cancelled with issue #24 and a blurb for a 25th issue containing an upcoming encounter with Hawkman led nowhere. Alec Holland's transformation back into the Swamp Thing was covered in Challengers of the Unknown #81-87, within which the Swamp Thing is enlisted by the titular team to fight
9180-534: The Swamp Thing's appearance being the plants' attempt to duplicate Holland's human form. This revelation resulted in the Swamp Thing suffering a temporary mental breakdown and identity crisis, but he eventually re-asserted himself in time to stop the latest scheme of the Floronic Man . Issue #32 was a strange twist of comedy and tragedy, as the Swamp Thing encounters an alien version of Pogo , Walt Kelly 's character. Moore would later reveal, in an attempt to connect
9315-544: The Swamp Thing's nemesis, even as the Swamp Thing developed a close bond with Arcane's niece Abigail Arcane . Arcane was aided by his nightmarish army of Un-Men and the Patchwork Man, alias Arcane's brother Gregori Arcane who, after a land mine explosion, was rebuilt as a Frankenstein Monster-type creature by his brother. Also involved in the conflict was the Swamp Thing's close friend-turned-enemy Lt. Matthew Joseph Cable ,
9450-432: The Swamp Thing. John returns home only to find Chas tied up and gagged by a gang of white supremacists, who have managed to deduce that Chas's winning bet was due to John, and force the con man to tell them how to win bets. While John is "doing magick", Marid and his djinns arrive and kill off the gang, and John and Chas manage to escape. Mercury and the Swamp Thing travel in the Rot to find Abigail Arcane. Mercury jumps into
9585-579: The Vertigo Constantine and the DCU Constantine are kept separate, with no cross-over things going on. The DCU Constantine has to be the guy we know and love, with his same failings—otherwise what's the point of using him? But as I'm writing him he's younger and has perhaps been through a bit less than the battered aging old sod we meet in Vertigo. Unlike my Vertigo Constantine, the guy we see in JLA Dark
9720-480: The Vertigo line, Constantine appeared in several DC Universe titles, but for many years afterwards, editorial policy forbade him from appearing outside the Vertigo line. The policy was reversed in 2011, when a version of Constantine appeared in the DC Universe crossover series Brightest Day . In 2011, Peter Milligan added him to the inaugural key roster of The New 52 series Justice League Dark . Milligan began writing Justice League Dark while also writing
9855-465: The Vertigo's Hellblazer series, being a writer of both series at the same time. In an interview, Milligan told Newsarama : Yeah. Sorry about that. I felt pretty bad and it was quite strange, sitting on a few panels and then having a few interviews where I couldn't actually say that I'd be writing Constantine for DCU. I have to say, though, that that didn't change what I said, which I still stand by. Namely that as far as I'm concerned, it's important that
9990-635: The Wanderer. The Swamp Thing, considered typically the Avatar of the Green, possess the power to control the aforementioned "Green", the cosmic energies in which animates all plant life in the known universe and is often the living embodiment of it. With it, the Swamp Thing possess various powers, in which includes being capable of inhabiting and animating vegetable matter at will, including those with alien origin, and move towards places wherever there's life. Swamp Thing also possess various esoteric abilities, including able to change size and shape with control over
10125-582: The ancient sorcerer, then departs, brings along the family members and many other people. By killing the "proper" Constantine, he earns the wrath and hatred of the Earth-2 family. Being called "Devil", John corrects the family when they reach Heaven while peeling through the layers of the dying world: Heaven itself, also under assault from Darkseid's force, has closed its door and started departing, deeming this world beyond salvation. Later, John and his entourage are attacked by Doctor Fate, who managed to detect Constantine's whereabout. Despite succeeding in countering
10260-528: The assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan . John's first venture into occult "heroism" was a disaster. On tour with Mucous Membrane at the Casanova Club in Newcastle upon Tyne , he found the aftermath of a magical orgy gone horribly wrong; an abused child named Astra Logue had conjured a hideous monster that took revenge on her father, the club's debauched owner, and the other adults who were tormenting her, but
10395-580: The assault, John loses his "mother" Mary-Anne, who is dragged back by Fate's chain. This greatly traumatizes Thomas Constantine, John's father, who even attempts to commit suicide, but is talked out of it by John. After a long and hard trip, Constantine finally makes it back home, but Darkseid has sensed him and is in hot pursuit. As the menacing hand of the Apokolips God is reaching out for him, Constantine enacts his "last trick": by sacrificing some souls of his entourage, John manages to get enough power to cast
10530-437: The beginning - tells him that Frank North's spirit has vanished completely, and something has been after John's ghosts. John tries to set up a scheme to lure and trap the entity which had been after his ghosts, by ramping up quite a number of ghosts from 'haunted sites'. The plan fails and Gary Lester's ghost is also taken by the being. After a few flashbacks and meeting with an old acquaintance named Georgie, John begins to unravel
10665-522: The bluff, showing that the effect goes both ways by clawing at his chest slightly. John begs Rosacarnis to kill him to save his sister, but just as she is about to, the First of the Fallen intervenes and immediately kills Rosacarnis, since Constantine's soul is his by "right of insult" and will only be taken when he deems fit. The First also kills Rosacarnis' two sons, but spares the daughter, who had been dealing with issues of identity and had doubts about whether she wanted to continue to exist. Following this,
10800-496: The bow. John Constantine's official debut was not until Swamp Thing #37, when he was drawn by Rick Veitch and Totleben. Crisis on Infinite Earths #4, his second official appearance in a cameo role, shipped two weeks after the release of Swamp Thing #37. In that issue, written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by George Pérez , Constantine is wearing a green suit as opposed to his more traditional black suit and tan trenchcoat ensemble. Moore describes Constantine as being drawn from
10935-477: The character in the Arrowverse series Arrow , Legends of Tomorrow , and The Flash , and several animated productions. Jenna Coleman later portrayed a female version of the character (and her ancestor ) in the television series The Sandman , adapting both Constantines' roles from the comic series . John Constantine first appeared in 1985 as a recurring character in Swamp Thing , in which he acted as
11070-422: The character is Alexander Olsen , a scientist who was killed by his assistant vying for the affections of his wife. Returning as a swamp creature, he confronts his assistant and kills him in revenge but his wife runs off, unable to recognize him. He later becomes a local legend in Louisiana. His successor, Alec Holland , is the second and most well regarded version of the character. A chemist who dies following
11205-464: The character only existed because Steve and John wanted to do a character that looked like Sting. Having been given that challenge, how could I fit Sting into Swamp Thing ? I have an idea that most of the mystics in comics are generally older people, very austere, very proper, very middle class in a lot of ways. They are not at all functional on the street. It struck me that it might be interesting for once to do an almost blue-collar warlock . Somebody who
11340-500: The character's visual image, using a rough sketch by Wein as a guideline. Len Wein was the writer for the first 13 issues, before David Michelinie and Gerry Conway finished up the series. Burgeoning horror artist Bernie Wrightson drew the first 10 issues of the series, while Nestor Redondo drew a further 13 issues, the last issue being drawn by Fred Carrillo . The original creative team worked closely together; Wrightson recalled that during story conferences, Wein would walk around
11475-494: The corrupted and original Swamp Thing. The Swamp Thing then restored life to natural areas around the world and declared that those who hurt the Green would face his wrath. He also restored Aquaman, Firestorm, Hawkman, and the Martian Manhunter to normal. The book ended with the Swamp Thing killing several businessmen who engaged in deliberate, illegal polluting activities. This three–issue miniseries follows immediately after
11610-495: The cost of the First returning to power; also, as part of the scheme, John's worst attributes were given separate existence as "Demon Constantine", which meant he himself could not go to Hell. As part of an attempt to regain his nastier edge, he used Ellie, and this led to her taking out a revenge scheme in 1998 that forced him to turn to the First for help; Ellie ended up in Hell, and several of John's oldest friends left him. John, being tired of all this, contacted God. God appears and
11745-399: The creation of a scientific formula capable of stimulating plant life in hostile environment to criminal or malevolent elements. Stories vary in his being, sometimes a plant creature believing himself to be Alec possessing his memories while later stories make him the genuine Alec who transforms into the Swamp Thing. This version is also a reluctant ally of John Constantine and a later member of
11880-413: The creature, Constantine is now free, and becomes even a bit more cocky and picks back up his earlier style from the beginning of his book and his appearances from Swamp Thing: a double-breasted blue suit underneath his trench coat, and slicked-back, gelled hair. Later on, a Sudanese shaman who had first bound the hunger demon Mnemoth has been having dreams of Constantine and a war-mage named Mako, who
12015-522: The curse, set on him by a demon called "Laughing Boy", whom he once crossed in the past, by using a ritual that deflects the curse from him to 8 million souls in London. Shazam and Wonder Woman make an appearance - they notice the ravens in London dying and prepare to intervene, while the Swamp Thing appears before them and tells them that they should trust Constantine on this one. The "Laughing Boy" demon tells John that he will return Astra's soul if John agrees to cancel his spell. However, it turns out that John
12150-474: The daughter of an infamous gangster, looking for his lost trench coat that his niece sold, finding his sister's long-lost son named Finn, and finally getting his sister's soul from Hell. By 2013, John was contacted by the Three Fates , who tell him that he will finally die in five days. Having lived a good and adventurous life, John happily accepts his fate rather than trying to fight it like he always does. When
12285-436: The death of Levi's father. Levi awakens his powers shortly after and attempts to understand his role as Swamp Thing, the name given to the those who are known as the Avatar of the Green. Assisted by his girlfriend and fellow scientist Jennifer Reece to understand his power, various other such as Amanda Waller and Prescot Industries sought to control him and the power he possess. Matters are also complicated when his rival in
12420-421: The demon. Nergal went on to be a regular antagonist throughout the series. John suffered a nervous breakdown after this incident, and was committed to Ravenscar Psychiatric Hospital, which he drifted in and out of over the years. The guilt of Astra hung over John for many years. In his mid-40s, he used some magic and trickery to free not only her but also the souls of all the other children trapped in Hell. As for
12555-508: The events of Brightest Day , and follows the actions of John Constantine as he tries to work out what has changed with the Swamp Thing and track him down, with the assistance of Zatanna , the Batman , and Superman . DC Comics relaunched Swamp Thing with issue #1 in September 2011 as part of The New 52 , with writer Scott Snyder (#1-18 and Annual ). Snyder's run concluded with "Rotworld",
12690-413: The fifth day comes, John Constantine is murdered in his own home, when he is ambushed and killed by a gangster. His funeral is attended by many of his friends and family, but it later turns out that he had faked his death yet again. Constantine decides he should keep a low profile, because he does not want to hurt the people around him again. He bids farewell to Finn and Epiphany, and finally visits Gemma. In
12825-486: The film Swamp Thing (1982), with Dick Durock playing the Swamp Thing, while Ray Wise played Alec Holland . Durock played both Swamp Thing and Holland in the sequel film The Return of Swamp Thing (1989). Durock reprised the role again in the television series Swamp Thing (1990). The Swamp Thing was played by Derek Mears with Andy Bean playing Alec Holland in the television series Swamp Thing (2019). Another live-action film adaptation, titled Swamp Thing ,
12960-453: The humanity of his Alec Holland self. The disconnection between these two entities becomes a plot point in Volume 4. A fourth series began in 2004, with writers Andy Diggle (#1–6), Will Pfeifer (#7–8) and Joshua Dysart (#9–29). In this latest series, the Swamp Thing is reverted to his plant-based Earth elemental status after the first story line, and he attempts to live an "eventless" life in
13095-615: The known universe, often dubbed " The Green ". Several incarnations arise from the consciousness of other beings who are selected as the champion of the Parliament of Trees , the guiding and collective consciousness of all plant life, which includes past incarnations of Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing is also often in an elemental conflict with both rivals within the Green (i.e Floronic Man ), rival elemental forces, such as "The Red" (embodies all animal life, including humanity), and most notably "The Rot" or "The Black" (embodies death), with their archnemesis being Anton Arcane . The original version of
13230-408: The maltreatment he suffered, and remembers every suffering and guilt he had for the past years. At first, it appears as though it is too much for him and that he will be overtaken by the images of the ones he has hurt, but the being turns into the form of a baby. This baby, who is the sum of all his guilt and self-hatred, is then promptly thrown off a cliff near the asylum and into the sea. After killing
13365-524: The meanwhile, Gemma, hearing about her uncle's return from the Fates, tries to kill herself with a poisonous revolver, but Constantine sneaks the last remaining dart from his niece. Gemma says her life will be better without him, because he takes up too much of it and she is either hating him or loving him too much. John suggests he let her be, but Gemma fears he will return and put her life to misery. John tells Gemma to make her own decision, and she reluctantly points
13500-480: The monster refused to leave. With typical recklessness, John convinced some members of the band and several occultist friends to try destroying the creature by summoning a demon of their own. Unfortunately, this demon was not under their control and tormented John's friends after it had destroyed the other demon before taking Astra to Hell . John had summoned the demon by one of its names, but not its true name of Nergal , which would have been required to bind and control
13635-510: The native one of Earth-2, who is surrounded by his friends and even gets married. After the death of Wotan, Constantine resolves to find his Earth-2 counterpart. He travels to Liverpool and witnesses all the horror and despair of the dying world. As soon as John reached the destination, he is shocked to find his "parents" (actually the Earth-2 John's parents), his friends Gary Lester, Chas Chandler and his former love interest Maureen still alive. The Earth-2 John quickly attacks him by grabbing him in
13770-417: The neck, but they are engulfed in visions of their lives in parallel right after: a dangerous life marred with sorcery, adventures and regrets of Earth-0 John and a much quieter, much happier life of Earth-2 John. Constantine quickly earns the trust of the Earth-2 family, who consider him to be a wonder. Together, they escape to a warehouse where John instructs them to draw sigils to cast a complex spell. As John
13905-421: The new DC Rebirth -initiative The Hellblazer . The series restores many of the traditional aspects of the original Hellblazer run while still remaining firmly in the larger DC Universe, restoring his original backstory and featuring old allies such as Chas, Mercury and the Swamp Thing. John Constantine returns to England and is greeted by his old time friend, Chas Chandler, at the airport. He resolves to dispel
14040-524: The new Swamp Thing for their own nefarious agenda. Kamei is guided by Alec and fellow scientist Jennifer Reece in his new role. Existing concurrently with the Alec version, this Swamp Thing is instead more prominently a member of the Titans . The character has been adapted from the comics into several forms of media, including feature films, television series, and video games. The character made its live-action debut in
14175-420: The office acting out all of the parts. The Swamp Thing fought against evil as he sought the men who murdered his wife and caused his monstrous transformation, as well as searching for a means to transform back into his human form. The Swamp Thing has since fought many villains. Though they only met twice during the first series, the mad scientist Anton Arcane (with his obsession with gaining immortality) became
14310-639: The one that the Swamp Thing constructs for Abigail during the Moore run than the home in which they dwell during the Collins run. In a confrontation with Tefé, the Swamp Thing explains that he has cut himself off from the Green and there seems to be no trace of the god-like powers he acquired from the Parliaments of Air, Waves, Stone or Flames during the Millar run. Also, Vaughan's Swamp Thing does not seem to have been divorced from
14445-499: The ongoing series Constantine , which replaces Hellblazer . He is still an unsavory trickster in the New 52 universe, as, while during the Trinity War between the three Justice Leagues , he tries to trick Shazam (15-year-old Billy Batson) so that he can steal his magic. He fails, causing Billy to become even more distrustful of other people than he already was. In Constantine #14, it
14580-424: The original one-off Swamp Thing story from House of Secrets #92 to the main Swamp Thing canon, that there had been dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Swamp Things since the dawn of humanity, and that all versions of the creature were designated defenders of the Parliament of Trees , an elemental community which rules a dimension known as "the Green" that connects all plant life on Earth. Moore's Swamp Thing broadened
14715-535: The original one. John was forced to let Nergal enter his body to finish him. Later, they also encountered Ellie, who seemed to have quite pardoned John for him selling her out to the First. She was not subject to any torture or punishment, either. The couple finally arrived at Rosacarnis' hall, where there was a feast with all three of Constantine's children, the First, and many demons from all Hell . Because of Nergal's earlier possession of his body, any damage done to John would be mirrored on Nergal. Nergal, however, calls
14850-552: The origins of how he got his trademark trenchcoat. During the gap where he travels the world to learn magic, the New 52 added the history of him meeting Nick Necro, who was implied to be John's mentor and original owner of the trenchcoat. The Forever Evil: Blight storyline would establish that the three characters were all involved in a magical pact and a love triangle, which fell apart due to Zatanna ending her relationship with Nick to pursue John. Nick states "We were all in love, and you two shut me out!" The character also stars in
14985-533: The other two Lords of Hell. When they discovered Constantine's actions, they realized that they could not allow him to die, or else they would be forced to go to all-out war over his soul, a war whose only winner would be "the Lord of the Hosts", i.e., God and his angels. They were also far too stubborn and proud, however, to enter anything resembling an alliance. As a result, they were forced to cure John of his cancer. This led to
15120-435: The planet. Written by Brian K. Vaughan and drawn by Roger Petersen and Giuseppe Camuncoli in 2001, the third Swamp Thing series focused on the daughter of the Swamp Thing, Tefé Holland . Even though she was chronologically 11–12, the series had Tefé aged into the body of an 18-year-old with a mindwipe orchestrated by the Swamp Thing. Constantine and Abby try to control her darker impulses, brought about by her exposure to
15255-431: The rest of the "Newcastle Crew", the incident left the group both physically and psychologically scarred. After helping Dream retrieve his sands from John's own dying ex-girlfriend Rachel, Dream in turn relieves Constantine of the nightmares that had plagued him since the incident. John is later freed from Ravenscar by London gangsters, threatening to torture and kill his sister and her family unless he helps to resurrect
15390-649: The revolver at him. Gemma closes her eyes before muttering, "Damn you, John Constantine" and pulls the trigger, but when she opens her eyes again, Constantine has vanished. The last scene shows Constantine in the Long Journey's End bar, holding a glass of liquor with a vacant look. In The New 52 , Constantine appears as one of the lead characters in Justice League Dark . His history is slightly altered, such as meeting Zatanna in New York instead of San Francisco, and
15525-502: The scope of the series to include ecological and spiritual concerns while retaining its horror-fantasy roots. In issue #37, Moore formally introduced the character of John Constantine the Hellblazer as a magician/con artist who would lead the Swamp Thing on the "American Gothic" storyline. Alan Moore also introduced the concept of the DC characters Cain and Abel being the mystical reincarnations of
15660-482: The series. Starting with Swamp Thing Annual #6, Collins moved on to write Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #110–138, dramatically overhauling the series by restoring the pre-Alan Moore tone and incorporating a new set of supporting cast members into the book. Collins resurrected Anton Arcane , along with the Sunderland Corporation, as foils for the Swamp Thing. Her stories tended to be ecologically based and at one point featured giant killer flowers. With issue #140 (March 1994),
15795-504: The soul of his brother out of his own soul, so he can control his life and live his way. In the 2010s, John entangles himself in further adventures. He goes to India and fights a ghost of a British soldier of the Sepoy rebellion, fights a Babylonian shape shifter named Julian, gets his thumb cut off to contact Shade, the Changing Man , marrying a young girl named Epiphany Greaves, who was also
15930-493: The souls he had claimed were worthless, and leaving New York city for good. Albeit the cost of Oliver's soul, which Blythe had claimed by previously blackmailing him and John with the souls of his daughters. In The Hellblazer: Rebirth , John gets back to London to remove the curse placed upon him (originally shown in Constantine #3, which makes him physically sick whenever he sets foot on London soil) and resumes his adventures in
16065-570: The story of John Constantine five years into a possible future of the New 52 universe. He somehow obtains the ultimate occult artifact, the Helmet of Fate, and manages to trick and kill the ancient magician Nabu with the help of an old ifrit . John Constantine's origin in the New 52 universe is seemingly retconned in the Secret Origins series. In the story, a group of kids in Liverpool manages to get their hands on an occult book and uses it to summon
16200-404: The title was handed over to Grant Morrison for a four-issue story arc, co-written by the then-unknown Mark Millar . As Collins had destroyed the status quo of the series, Morrison sought to shake the book up with a four-part storyline which had the Swamp Thing plunged into a nightmarish dreamworld scenario where he was split into two separate beings: Alec Holland and the Swamp Thing, which was now
16335-401: The true identity of the ghost-hunting entity, as his (and Georgie's) old time lover, Veronica. After releasing Veronica's soul, Constantine starts to notice (and is also warned by other beings whom he deems as 'friends') the increasing number of supernatural activities in New York city. Being part of Neron's grand scheme, John manages to (after quite a bit of struggle) con Neron into thinking that
16470-545: The two converse in a campfire. John then tells him his reason for contacting Him. He warns God that if his soul is ever sent to Hell, he would easily take over, and do nasty things such as unleashing the demons and locking away Hell so that the damned cannot enter and have no resting place. John blackmails God to do his bidding, and that is to keep his soul away from Hell. God, knowing of John's abilities, does so, but warns him of what will come next. On return to Britain in 2003, and after reconciling with his sister (who believed he
16605-634: The vegetable matter within their given body and can even travel through time. Swamp Thing also possess superhuman strength and other attributes capable of contending with powerful adversaries of great strength including the likes of Captain Atom , Etrigan the Demon , and Superman and also possess regenerative powers. Swamp Thing is susceptible to chemical compounds in which typically prove disastrous to plant-life, making him capable of being poisoned. His powers can be impaired or completely disrupted if his connection to
16740-552: Was Tannarak from the Cult of the Cold Flame ( Constantine #15). His primary enemies in Constantine are Mister E , Sargon the Sorceress (the original Sargon 's daughter), and Tannarak: all are members of the Cult of the Cold Flame. Together with his allies Papa Midnite , the psychic mage Spellbinder, and a witch called Julia Everheart, Constantine attempts to destroy the Cult by conspiring
16875-505: Was born in Liverpool on 10 May 1953, the son of Mary Anne and Thomas Constantine. Mary Anne died giving birth to him and his stillborn twin brother because an earlier abortion, forced on her by Thomas, had weakened her womb. Since he was unable to accept responsibility for his wife's death, Thomas blamed John and the pair grew up with a deep dislike for each other. While in the womb, John strangled his twin brother with his own umbilical cord; in
17010-472: Was confronted by Alex Olsen, now a risen humanoid pile of vegetable matter. Olsen killed Ridge but Linda did not recognize him and ran away, leaving Olsen to wander the swamps alone as a monster. The latest version of the character and protagonist of The Swamp Thing 2021 limited comic book series. Created by Ram V and Mike Perkins, the character first debuted in Infinite Frontier #0 (May 2021) as part of
17145-460: Was dead), he went on to be involved in a magic war in London, and was horrified to find his niece Gemma, whom he had wanted to keep out of this life, had become a witch . He soon ended up organising a counterstrike against a creature known as the Shadow Dog, having been warned of its coming and believing it was an entity that brought death and madness; instead, it was a guardian against the true enemy,
17280-433: Was his sister Cheryl; one of his sons had exploited her husband's religious fanaticism to make him see his wife as a witch — and thus a person to be killed. This forced Constantine to go on journey to Hell in the hopes to return his sister's soul. Accompanying him was Nergal, the demon he thought he had killed by sending him to the border of Heaven. While in Hell, John and Nergal met Demon Constantine, who tried to kill
17415-636: Was not to be born and that it should have been he who had been born, instead, as he is the Laughing Magician; he requests that John and he merge their souls so they become one and can fix the world. They had previously attempted this, but John was apparently too strong-willed. John then makes the link that the soul of his unborn brother caused him to get cancer and for his relationships to fail, and that anytime he tried to take control of his life, something bad would happen to make John weaker, so their souls might be able to merge. After realizing this, John cuts
17550-432: Was praised for his charm and resilience despite his flawed nature. However, he has faced criticism for his portrayal in certain contexts, including controversial depictions of his bisexuality and relationships. The character made his live-action debut in the film Constantine (2005), played by Keanu Reeves . On television, Constantine was played in the television series Constantine by Matt Ryan , who later reprised
17685-503: Was revealed that John Constantine, as a boy, was taught and cast his first magical spell—at the cost of the lives of his parents and his house burning down (it was implied that his mother, unlike in Hellblazer , survived the childbirth). It was also revealed that he spent his childhood in the '80s in Liverpool, England (it is not shown if he had any siblings, like Cheryl Constantine in Hellblazer ). The one who taught John his first spell
17820-405: Was streetwise, working class, and from a different background than the standard run of comic book mystics. Constantine started to grow out of that. In 1988, Constantine was given his own title, Hellblazer . In 1993, at the launch of DC's Vertigo Comics imprint , Hellblazer was made an official Vertigo publication. It was the longest continuously published Vertigo title. Before the launch of
17955-558: Was they both wanted to do a character that looked like Sting. I think DC is terrified that Sting will sue them, although Sting has seen the character and commented in Rolling Stone that he thought it was great. He was very flattered to have a comic character who looked like him, but DC gets nervous about these things. They started to eradicate all traces of references in the introduction of the early Swamp Thing books to John Constantine's resemblance to Sting. But I can state categorically that
18090-608: Was thinking of. I just wanted this character who knows everything, and knows everybody—really charismatic. Who knows nuns, politicians, and bikers, and who is never at a loss for what to do. I suppose there is a similarity with Baron Winters in that he is another manipulative character who has a bunch of agents working with him. Constantine and Winters met each other during Moore's run on Swamp Thing and again in Neil Gaiman's The Books of Magic . Speaking to comics magazine Wizard in 1993, Moore elaborated: One of those early notes
18225-405: Was to give Constantine an earring, something he considered risque for 1985. Asked in 1985 about the similarities between John Constantine and the character Baron Winters (from Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan 's Night Force ), Moore revealed that he was a "big fan" of Wolfman and Night Force , but that "no intention to rip off Baron Winters" existed. He said: With Constantine, I don't know who I
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