Post by iamcrute on Nov 3, 2016 12:54:27 GMT -5
I've been working on a Constantine title and realised I've never really thought about how I'd write him before so have tried to boil him down to a character profile to give a flavour of what I'm going for, you guys think I'm on the right track or is he a bit too anti-heroish
Hellblazer
John Constantine is a good man but he’s a good man who does bad things for the greater good. You could be his best friend, his lover or a stranger in the street and he’ll not only die trying to protect you but he’ll also bump you off in sacrifice of the greater good without missing a heartbeat. He’ll feel guilty about that and your ghost will probably follow him around and bug him like crazy but he’ll still do it because it needs doing.
He’s a powerful magician, possibly one of the most powerful of the age rivalling Zatanna and Doctor Fate but you won’t see him slinging spells around. He is the constant one and the fabled laughing magician. He keeps magic low and unseen as much as possible sticking to the most basic of spells or working in the background. He’s a chess master (or a filthy conniving con-man depending on who you ask) and is often the one who sends the right vibes to Captain Marvel or Zatanna totally unbeknownst to them which has them stumble across a threat they need to be dealing with. The reasons for this are two fold 1) It helps keep him off the radar of people who would be out to do him harm and of all the capes and tights brigade which would pressgang him into service (he also uses the odd glamour and mind-wipe to help)-whereas Batman might remember that there was a Justice League dark he might be a little foggy on who that last member was and 2) magic has a price. A price which John knows about. He’s thrown magic around before when he was younger and it always bit him in the arse. When you stare into the void the void stares back. He’s like a junkie who can’t get enough of magic when he’s using it, it corrupts and darkens slowly as he reaches into it and it reaches back. All of this is even more true thanks to the liberal dosing of Negral’s blood he’s got coursing through his veins.
His relationship with the rest of the DCU:
He likes to keep his nose out of it. Sure he’ll team up when needed but he’d rather just plant the clues which lead Batman down the right path. He’s known to some, particularly the magic set but even when other heroes have met him he slides from their memory like water through your fingers.
I’m thinking of rolling in some other DC/Vertigo characters at times so John might have to deal with Tim Hunter as he learns magic and may or may not be the anti-christ.
If any wider DC heroes turn up (not really planning on it other than maybe a guest appearance by Blue Demon or something) it’s going to be in a very low-key affair, so when Constantine stumbles across an ancient Atlantean artefact and Arthur Curry turns up it won’t be tights, punching out the Ultrahumanite or flying around.
Hellblazer
John Constantine is a good man but he’s a good man who does bad things for the greater good. You could be his best friend, his lover or a stranger in the street and he’ll not only die trying to protect you but he’ll also bump you off in sacrifice of the greater good without missing a heartbeat. He’ll feel guilty about that and your ghost will probably follow him around and bug him like crazy but he’ll still do it because it needs doing.
He’s a powerful magician, possibly one of the most powerful of the age rivalling Zatanna and Doctor Fate but you won’t see him slinging spells around. He is the constant one and the fabled laughing magician. He keeps magic low and unseen as much as possible sticking to the most basic of spells or working in the background. He’s a chess master (or a filthy conniving con-man depending on who you ask) and is often the one who sends the right vibes to Captain Marvel or Zatanna totally unbeknownst to them which has them stumble across a threat they need to be dealing with. The reasons for this are two fold 1) It helps keep him off the radar of people who would be out to do him harm and of all the capes and tights brigade which would pressgang him into service (he also uses the odd glamour and mind-wipe to help)-whereas Batman might remember that there was a Justice League dark he might be a little foggy on who that last member was and 2) magic has a price. A price which John knows about. He’s thrown magic around before when he was younger and it always bit him in the arse. When you stare into the void the void stares back. He’s like a junkie who can’t get enough of magic when he’s using it, it corrupts and darkens slowly as he reaches into it and it reaches back. All of this is even more true thanks to the liberal dosing of Negral’s blood he’s got coursing through his veins.
His relationship with the rest of the DCU:
He likes to keep his nose out of it. Sure he’ll team up when needed but he’d rather just plant the clues which lead Batman down the right path. He’s known to some, particularly the magic set but even when other heroes have met him he slides from their memory like water through your fingers.
I’m thinking of rolling in some other DC/Vertigo characters at times so John might have to deal with Tim Hunter as he learns magic and may or may not be the anti-christ.
If any wider DC heroes turn up (not really planning on it other than maybe a guest appearance by Blue Demon or something) it’s going to be in a very low-key affair, so when Constantine stumbles across an ancient Atlantean artefact and Arthur Curry turns up it won’t be tights, punching out the Ultrahumanite or flying around.