List of Hellblazer characters

The following is a list of characters in the Hellblazer mythos published by Vertigo imprint.

John Constantine

A Liverpudlian magician and conman, and the main character in the series. He first appeared in Swamp Thing issue 37 in June 1985. In his 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 movies Brimstone and Treacle and Quadrophenia). Alan Moore created the character after artists Stephen R Bissette and John Totleben, who were fans of Sting's band The Police, expressed a desire to draw a character who looked like Sting.

Major characters

Francis William "Chas" Chandler

John Constantine's best friend, and a London taxi driver. Originally his friendship was abused by John Constantine to get transport and assistance whenever he needed it, as he "owed" him for an exorcism[1] and for helping him when involved in a gangland killing.[2] However over the course of the comics, the depth of their relationship is shown frequently, with John helping with Chas's granddaughter when she falls into a coma, and frequently apologising for being too demanding of him.

Chas Chandler is portrayed as being a little slow, but ultimately good natured, although he is often involved on the outskirts of criminal enterprises. His name is a reference to Chas Chandler, the bassist of The Animals and manager of Jimi Hendrix, of whom he is a big fan.[3]

He has since appeared in his own mini series Chas – The Knowledge.

First Appearance in Hellblazer #1[4]

Cheryl Masters

John Constantine's sister, wife of Tony Masters, and mother of Gemma Masters. Their rough upbringing, both with their father and their Aunt and Uncle when he was incarcerated brought them close together, despite some animosity due to John's not being around. Now grown, and with a family, Cheryl maintains a relationship with John, albeit strained, and though she allows him around his niece, she does her best to try to insulate Gemma from John's world of magic and the occult. In spite of her best efforts, Cheryl was murdered by her husband, under the influence of John's offspring with the demon Rosacarnis, and despite John's efforts to rescue her, she chose to remain in Hell, in order to protect her husband, who committed suicide when he realized what he'd done.[5]

First Appearance in Hellblazer #4[4]

Tony Masters

Cheryl's husband and John Constantine's brother-in-law. He's a religious man of God, who is also a fanatic. He loves his family, but is sometimes a control freak over his daughter Gemma. He carries a grudge on John, but considers him family, and allows him to be a presence in his wife and daughter's lives. During the "Reasons to be Cheerful" arc, one of John's demon children targeted him and used his religious fanaticism to make John's life miserable. Appearing as an angel, they tricked Tony into killing his wife Cheryl and almost killing his daughter, believing that following God's "orders" will save them. Upon snapping out of the thrall of the Demons and realizing what he had done, he committed suicide. Ultimately, his soul being trapped in Hell was what led to his wife Cheryl choosing to remain in Hell, refusing rescue when John ventures there to get her back.

First Appearance in Hellblazer #4[4]

Gemma Masters

Daughter of Cheryl, originally 10 years old when she first appeared, running away from her parents. She has since grown into adulthood, oftentimes becoming wrapped-up in John's mis-adventures, by choice as well as being forced by villains. She has gone through many horrors as a result of being related to John Constantine, including being haunted by her grandfather, after his murder, losing both her parents due to the efforts of John's demon children, and even being sexually assaulted by the Demon Doppelganger of John himself. As she has grown up, she has developed an interest in magic, and has utilized her uncle's reputation in order to gain access to sources of knowledge and power, and has even had some success as an Occult Detective in her own right. More recently, Gemma had tried to sever all connections to that world, and has gone to therapy to do so, especially after being assaulted by John's demon twin. Ultimately, a lifetime of these events led to her being involved in the final demise of John himself, driven there by decades of trauma and yearning to be just like him.

First Appearance in Hellblazer #4[4]

Epiphany Constantine

Epiphany Constantine (formerly Epiphany Greaves) is John Constantine's wife. Epiphany is a proud, resourceful and intelligent young woman but has spent much of her life dominated by Terry and so is naturally defensive, sarcastic and cutting around strangers. Originally an acquaintance of John's from his dealings with her father, mob boss Terry Greaves, Epiphany was smitten with John from an early age, which later led to her entanglement with him after she'd grown up. Though it was later revealed (in a flashback issue of Hellblazer depicting John's brief transformation into a Werewolf) that they'd met before, their initial contact came when Epiphany used her prowess as an Alchemist to assist John in chasing down a way to resurrect his most recent girlfriend, who had been killed during one of John's cases. Ultimately, their quest was a failure, but through the experience, the two grew closer, and fell in love. Through a series of ups and downs of their relationship, involving demonic possession, alchemy-induced insanity, and a kidnapping of Epiphany by Shade, The Changing Man, John finally proposed to Epiphany, and the two were married (in spite of John's demon doppelganger trying to swoop in and steal her). Epiphany is an intelligent, quick-witted young woman with blue-dyed hair and a multitude of facial piercings. In contrast to her punk/goth appearance, Ephiphany is a skilled chemist and alchemist, and has on more than one occasion faced-down demons, ghosts, and monsters with little more than her wits and occasionally a pistol.

First appeared in Hellblazer # 256.

Mary 'Zed' Martin

An artist who met John Constantine in a London alleyway. She was recruited by the 'Resurrection Crusade', an extremist Christian group, to bear the Second Coming; but John Constantine stopped this from happening. She then helps stop the Fear Machine, and later assists John in finding out about his twin.

First Appearance in Hellblazer #4[4]

Actress Angélica Celaya portrays Zed in the TV series Constantine.[6][7]

Chantinelle

Better known as 'Ellie', a succubus, and ally of John Constantine. Ellie is a disgraced succubus befriended by the notorious occultist John Constantine . She is subservient to the powerful demon Triskele . She is approached by the First of the Fallen while relaxing in her garden. He plans to use her to get to John Constantine, as they are old allies. She jumps across worlds to Earth, smashing through the inside of the Big Ben clock face. She falls into the Thames and hides in the London sewers, where she is found by Constantine. She describes the jumping as a task which severely hurts her; as she says 'I might never be well again'.

First appearance in Hellblazer #43[8]

Kathryn 'Kit' Ryan

An ex-girlfriend of John Constantine's friend, Kit and John had a doomed love affair in Garth Ennis' run on the title. An Irishwoman who is aware of John's trade, she and John move in together, but she left him and returned to Ireland after he was responsible for two National Front thugs breaking into her house.

She has since appeared briefly as the face of the demon Rosacarnis, to enable her to father a child with John, and she came to John's wedding to Epiphany Greaves. The character was popular enough to warrant a special, Heartland

First appearance in Hellblazer #44[8]

Map

A tube maintenance worker, who also happens to be a powerful mage, drawing his power from the city of London itself. He could have been king of the magi but instead elected to live a quiet life clearing up rail lines on the London Underground. Map has assisted John Constantine on several occasions, but has also used him to further his own ends. Map is a middle-aged black man of average build (although he is sometimes portrayed as being rather slimmer) with short hair and, sometimes, a moustache and soul patch. He also has the ability to move his physical form into another plane accessible by reflections; in these instances only his face is visible in the reflection, although sometimes he is able to project a giant image of his head, three dimensionally, out of the glass. Although the nature of Map's magic has never been explicitly stated, it is always linked to locations in some way - particularly London. Uses of his abilities include locating someone using magic; sending a possessed woman to sleep by making her remember her childhood bedroom; calling on the energies of the London Underground train lines to protect him; calling on roads, rivers and other elements of London's geography to increase his power; and swapping the images seen through two windows to trick an enemy. In Hellblazer issue 223, it was implied that Map's magic is a two-way street; that just as he draws power from London, it can draw it back from him. The exact nature of this - whether 'London' is an actual, conscious entity or an unfeeling, unthinking mass of magic is unclear. Likewise, although he has called upon the spirits of motorways, train lines and rivers, even calling them 'brothers' and 'sisters', it is unclear whether he is speaking to an actual creature (akin to a water nymph) or whether he is anthropomorphising power sources.

First appearance in Hellblazer #135[9]

Angela 'Angie' Spatchcock

A fellow magic user and Liverpudlian, John meets Angie working in a cafe near his sister's council flat. She soon becomes his companion on his journeys, principally through Mike Carey's run on the title. She was last seen at John's wedding, looking down on her luck. Her personality is more than enough to back up her claim: she's sharp-tongued, a talented magician and a scrappy fighter. However, she does have a more vulnerable side that comes to the fore when she's around her brother Jason, a paranoid schizophrenic whom she has had to care for on occasion

First Appearance in Hellblazer #175.[10]

God

Mentioned many times, the Christian God is the creator of both Heaven and Earth. A caring and loving creator, though his actions are sometimes in question by many. John occasionally harbors a deep hatred for him, but is willing to help out if needed. In Hellblazer # 128, John met God during campfire in the woods. A disheartened John whines about the state of the world and God's unwillingness to make it all better. Countering John's bitterness, God questions the wisdom of allowing the whole world the same insights which John has gained. Begrudgingly, Constantine accepts God's point as the various factions of Hell who allied against him get exactly the good reward they deserve. John later tricks him by God knowing that John has sold his soul to the devil, and Constantine makes a veiled threat about his inevitable rise through the ranks of hell and his plans for heaven thereafter, God agrees to remove the taint from John and his friends.

Villains

The First of the Fallen

A demon, and ruler of Hell. Known in the mortal world as Satan (not the same as Lucifer), tried to claim the soul of a friend of Constantine's that had been sold to him. He was tricked (and assaulted) by Constantine, resulting in him missing his agreed-upon deadline to claim the soul. Later in the same storyline, the First was shown as being one of a triumvirate of rulers in Hell - with the other two devils (the Second and Third of the Fallen) only having the power to defeat him if they acted together. This later led him to have a grudge on Constantine.

First appearance in Hellblazer #42[8]

Nergal

A demon, who gives John Constantine his demon blood in an attempt to trap him. Nergal is the demon originally summoned in Newcastle, at the failed exorcism which set John's magical career in motion. John originally escaped him by luring him to the edge of Heaven, where he was punished accordingly.

He has since returned several times, after clawing his way back up through the ranks of Hell. His daughter, Rosacarnis has also taken up her father's vendetta against John Constantine.

First Appearance in Hellblazer #8[4]

Rosacarnis

A high-ranking demoness and the daughter of Nergal. John Constantine met her while she was in the guise of a little girl. Before he left for Earth, Nergal took Rosacarnis down to a cellar, where he was keeping Eryme, a servant. He had heard Eryme singing to Rosa while she brushed her hair, in order to comfort the young demon after the loss of her mother. Nergal warned Rosa that she should not show her weakness to those beneath her, and had her stab Eryme to death. He then left for Earth, leaving his butler, Druoth, in charge of Rosa. Nergal was betrayed and sent back to Hell by John Constantine humiliatingly. As the new ruler of her father's estate in Hell, she sought to defeat John Constantine. In 2004 she tricks John into conceiving with her three children whom attempted to destroy everything John loves so he can never allow himself to live. They almost succeeded, but during a confrontation with John in Hell, The First of the Fallen appears, and growing weary of the whole thing, killed Nergal, Saul, Adam and Rosa.

First Appearance in Hellblazer #194

Papa Midnite

A vodun shaman and businessman, who has lived since the American Revolution. John met him sometime before the beginning of Hellblazer and cheated him of fifty thousand dollars. They meet again in Hellblazer 1 when John seeks his help to fight Mnemoth. Midnite agrees to help because of the threat the demon poses, even though he still hates John for swindling him. Later, John returns to New York and Midnite tries to get his revenge on him. When it fails, Midnite apparently commits suicide.

In his eponymous Hellblazer Special[11] it is revealed that the reason he survived his apparent suicide is because, after betraying a slave revolt in Colonial America, he was cursed with immortality and an inability to sleep.

First Appearance in Hellblazer #1[4]

Midnite appears in the 2005 film Constantine portrayed by Djimon Hounsou.

Michael James Shaw portrayed Midnite in the television series Constantine as the series villain.[12][13]

Ritchie Simpson

Ritchie Simpson was old friend of John Constantine, who was a practitioner of Quantum Magic. When his body was destroyed he tried to take Constantine's but failed and was forced into a demons. He was then dragged off to Hell.

First Appearance in Hellblazer #7 - Ghosts in the Machine

The Golden Child

John Constantine's more perfect twin, who died before birth. He was ostensibly meant to be the greatest magus who would live, uniting Britain in an age of magic. It later turns out that his spirit had been manipulating the events in John's life, including his cancer during Garth Ennis' Dangerous Habits, and his memory loss during Mike Carey's Stations of the Cross arc.

First Appearance in Hellblazer #35

Archangel Gabriel

A high-ranking official of Heaven, Angel Gabriel occasionally visits the mortal realm to do the "will of the Lord". Though an angel he is depicted as lacking any empathy with human beings and being generally indifferent to individuals. If he cares for man at all, it is as a species alone. When John Constantine asked Gabriel to help him out with his lung cancer, using Gabriel's unrepaid debt to him, Gabriel turned him down and told John to just die for his sins. Enraged, Constantine planned a scheme involving Gabriel falling for a woman, who is actually Ellie the succubus. Ellie successfully seduces and entraps Gabriel during their passionate sex, before she rips his heart out and Gabriel running back to God in despair. Finally tainted and impure, God throws Gabriel back to Earth as a mortal; his wings torn out and his powers gone. By securing Gabriel's heart, John managed to make Gabriel do his bidding, which involves finding mysterious information on how to defeat the First. It was short lived though, as Gabriel is later murdered by The First of the Fallen.

Gabriel appears in the 2005 film Constantine portrayed by Tilda Swinton as an androgynous, "half-breed" angel with a disdain for humanity who plots to set Lucifer's son, Mammon free from Hell to unleash demon kind on the Earth.

Anti-Christ

The Anti-Christ appears many times in different forms, trying to find a way to conquer the world and bring Armageddon. It was first mentioned during a clash between Nergal's Damnation Army and The Resurrection Crusade, a militant Christian group. Both were trying to fulfill the prophecy that said a child would be born that would change the world; the Army planning the birth of the anti-Christ and the Crusade trying to create a new messiah. John was able to defeat both sides by helping Swamp Thing father a half-human child and dragging Nergal to Heaven, where he was tortured for decades. Most recently, under the alias "Fuckpig", it entered the body of a gangster's son. The boy whose name is Ronnie Cooper, was killed by an accident, and when threatened with death if he could not bring him back, John was forced to seal the demon inside of Ronnie. But over time, the seals wore away and John lost control of it. Still in the body of the boy, it hatched a plan to impregnate the now-senile Harry with a demon child to bring about a new anti-Christ. Constantine and Chas managed to foil the demon's plans and banished it back to Hell, John disposing of the fetal anti-christ afterward.

The Family Man

A serial killer specializing in the killing of families, taking a souvenir which he then sells via a fence. The Family Man was a former policeman who, as a child, killed both his parents in their sleep. When Constantine attempted to catch him, the Family Man retaliated by killing Constantine's father. He and Constantine fought afterwards, where in the end Constantine killed him with a Webley revolver (later retconned as a .357 Magnum in RSVP).

After being shot dead by John Constantine, he is noted as missing in The Sandman story arc The Doll's House, where he was to have been the guest of honour at a serial killer's convention.

First Appearance in Hellblazer #24[14]

King of the Vampires

The king of the vampires, who after being refused by John Constantine, after offering him a job, seeks revenge. The King of the Vampires bears a surprising resemblance to the actor James Dean, complete with leather jacket and brown quiff hair, although he is completely unrelated. He has spent tens of thousands of years on Earth, killing and feeding on humans. As a result, he sees them as little more than cattle and thinks nothing of maiming and murdering them purely for his own amusement. For the most part, the King looks entirely human, save for a pair of retractable fangs. However, he can also take on different forms, including that of a giant, shaggy dog. It has also been suggested that he can transform into a living mist. He is poisoned by John's demon blood, leaving him incapacitated at the sun rises.

First appearance in Hellblazer #50[15]

The Demon Constantine

In order to escape a plot by the First of the Fallen, John Constantine summoned a creature made of his less savoury emotions, and condemned this, rather than himself to Hell. The Demon Constantine has returned to seek revenge several times, most recently temporarily killing John, and sexually abusing Gemma Masters at John's wedding.

First appearance in Hellblazer #95[16]

Myrddin

The last of the elves on Earth and one of the Merlins, Myrddin is one of King Arthur's archenemies. In the medieval times, both Myrddin's armies and King Arthur would clash for the ownership of the Holy Grail. This dragged on till the 20th Century, where although Myrddin finally destroys Arthur's court, he is unable to find the Grail, and thus threatens John Constantine to find it by taking his friend Rich the Punk and his family hostage. Myrddin in modern times appears as a politician and powerful rich man, using his powers to decimate Arthur and Constantine. Finally during a stand-off, John gives him a fake Grail, which turned out to be holy poison that killed the elf.

First appearance in Hellblazer #110

Colonel George Burke

Colonel Burke was a 19th-century military coward who fled the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Drunken and disgraced, he subsequently raped and murdered a young Indian girl. As punishment a Mumbai magician, The Sadhu, sent him into a dark, Hellish realm for eternity. But Burke grew stronger there and eventually transformed into a demon. Burke was later freed by film director Vikram Dhawan and compelled to do his bidding until Burke killed him. John Constantine, Epiphany Greaves and the (apparently immortal) Sadhu were able to destroy Burke by confronting him with his own cowardice.

First Appearance in Hellblazer #261

Julian

A Babylonian genderless shapeshifter, that enjoys inflicting pain on human beings. Julian's true form is a hulking demon with four pendulous breasts, long, curved nails, rigid wings and hair-like tentacles, but is first seen in the series in the form of a schoolgirl with bulging eyes and messy black hair. Julian enjoys 'projects' in which he explores new ways to cause mental and physical pain, like harvesting the skin and organs of suicidal people while they are alive and paralysed. Julian was screamed into existence in ancient Babylon by a whore of Ishtar, who wanted to create a demon that would bring misery to the world of men. Julian is first contacted by Constantine after John becomes infected with a mysterious magical scab that creeps across his body. Julian, currently taking the guise of a young girl, gives him some of his old skin, which he assures will relieve John's symptoms if heated up, melted down and rubbed on the affected area. What he doesn't say is that the skin is also extremely addictive. Julian would later return once again after John Constantine's apparent death in early 2013. He disguised himself as John Constantine in order to trick the grieving Epiphany. Julian almost succeeded, before being discovered by Epiphany and was subsequently killed by the combined efforts of the latter and John's nephew Finn.

First appearance in Hellblazer #251

Mako

Mako is a powerful blood mage from Sudan who is a master of sympathetic magic - the ability to kill people by manipulating object (e.g., decapitating someone by popping the lid off a champagne bottle) but his main MO is blood magic. He binds the souls of his victims into their bodies and absorbs their power and memories while he eats their brains while they're still alive. His relentless quest for power led him to John Constantine, whom he deemed to be the most powerful magician in the world, whom he hoped to consume and absorb. In his first appearance Mako looks to be around 30 years old, with sharpened teeth. While he is apparently human, Mako has red eyes with vertical slits - a sign of his malicious and dangerous nature. He is a merciless killer who takes a particular delight in terrifying and torturing his victims before he kills them. Constantine managed to trick him for his soul to leave his body, while Constantine takes control of it and prevents Mako from ever returning from his body.

First appearance in Hellblazer #239

S.W. Manor

S.W. Manor also known as Stanley, is an American homosexual wizard who carries a grudge against John Constantine. Started when John deceived Stanley in the 70s by giving him a fake magical clock, this later stems out more when John breaks his relationship with Stanley. Stanley grew up in a wealthy heritage and became a powerful politician. Stanley is deeply in love with John, but their relationship wanes and ends up with Stanley tricking John into sending him into an American prison. John is freed, and gets even with Stanley by killing him in his own house.

First appearance in Hellblazer #167

Beast

The Beast was a creature in the garden of Eden that refused to be named by Adam and actively wanted to destroy humanity. Because it was unnamed, it was shapeless and without physical form, but has nigh-omnipotent power to possess entire civilizations. It was kept at bay by The Shadow Dog, which would rise up whenever it attempted to pass through the doors between this world and the next. As a result, people incorrectly began to think that the Dog was the cause of the problems rather than its cure. When the Shadow Dog began to surface again in the late 2000s John Constantine created a task force to kill it, inadvertently releasing The Beast. The Beast then took over the minds of almost all humanity, causing mass rioting, murder, rape and suicide the world over, and even defeating Constantine's team and Swamp Thing. Eventually a half-dead Constantine, his then-girlfriend Angie Spatchcock, cab driver Chas Chandler, young magician Gemma Masters and plant elemental Swamp Thing were able to resurrect the Shadow Dog, destroying The Beast once and for all.

First appeared in Hellblazer #190.

Supporting characters

The Ghosts

The ghosts are the spirits of John Constantine's dead friends, who have had the misfortune to have been killed by his enemies or his carelessness. They often appear to gloat when John is having a bad time.

Other gods

Besides from the Christian God, many other gods or godlike beings from different ethnic and worldwide culture are seen throughout the series, some are enemies.

Elementals

Other Supporting Characters

Characters introduced in other media

Introduced in the film

Introduced in the television series

References

  1. Jamie Delano. Rare Cuts. Vertigo. ISBN 1-4012-0240-3.
  2. Garth Ennis. Son of Man. Vertigo. ISBN 1-4012-0202-0.
  3. Garth Ennis (12-08-10). VERTIGO RESURRECTED - John Constantine: Hellblazer #1 100-Page Spectacular. Vertigo. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Jamie Delano. Original Sins. Vertigo. ISBN 1-56389-052-6.
  5. Mike Carey. The Gift. Vertigo. ISBN 1-4012-1453-3.
  6. Goldberg, Lesley (July 10, 2014). "'Constantine's' Lucy Griffiths Exits NBC Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  7. Sepinwall, Alan (July 13, 2014). "Press Tour: 'Constantine' Hires Angelica Celaya to Replace Lucy Griffiths". HitFix. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 Garth Ennis. Dangerous Habits. Vertigo. ISBN 1-56389-150-6.
  9. 1 2 3 Warren Ellis. Haunted. Vertigo. ISBN 1-56389-813-6.
  10. Mike Carey. Red Sepulchre. Vertigo. ISBN 1-4012-0485-6.
  11. Mat Johnson. Hellblazer Special: Papa Midnite. Vertigo. ISBN 1-4012-1003-1.
  12. "Papa Midnite Is Constantine’s TV Big Bad, Show Is Set In New York". Bleeding Cool.
  13. "Exclusive: Shaw cast as Papa Midnite on 'Constantine'". USA Today.
  14. 1 2 Jamie Delano (November 2008). The Family Man. Titan Books. ISBN 1-84576-978-3.
  15. Garth Ennis. Bloodlines. Vertigo. ISBN 1-4012-1514-9.
  16. John McMahon. "The Demon Constantine".
  17. Alan Moore. Love and Death. DC Comics. ISBN 0-930289-54-4.
  18. Alan Moore. The Curse. DC Comics. ISBN 1-56389-697-4.
  19. Jamie Delano. The Devil You Know. Vertigo. ISBN 1-4012-1269-7.
  20. Jamie Delano. The Fear Machine. Vertigo. ISBN 1-4012-1810-5.
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