John Constantine is the everyman magician of the DC universe. On the surface, it’s easy to misread the Hellblazer as a scruffy nobody under a perpetual cloud of bad luck, but he’s so much more than that. Constantine has incredible abilities and spells that can make him untouchable and while some characters may look more powerful on paper, they don’t stand a chance against his powers. In fact, Constantine is a real powerhouse, even if he doesn’t really look like it, and that means there are plenty of characters across both Marvel and DC comics that wouldn’t stand a chance against him.
From truly physically powerful characters to those with incredible technology and skill, here are seven characters in comics that simply can’t stand up to John Constantine.
7) Booster Gold
The currently lost in time Justice League member, Booster Gold, may look more powerful, but Constantine would mop the floor with Booster. Part of it is personality: Booster would assume that he could get the one up on Constantine, but would fail miserably when faced with Constantine’s skills. With some simple illusion spells and a quick use of pyromancy, he’d knock Booster out quicker than Guy Gardner and Batman. Booster really has no chance here, and it’s the ego of the hero of the future that’s his downfall.
6) The Hulk
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
This one would be a brain versus brawn situation, but Constantine’s got the Hulk beat. Depending on how you look at it, there’s a chance Constantine could exorcise either soul from the shared body of Hulk and Banner, which would certainly make things very interesting. But even if it’s the case of physical fighting, Constantine could use his illusion casting to his benefit or even invisibility to get away quickly enough to pop off a more powerful spell. There are just too many advantages for Constantine for the Hulk to be effective here.
5) Deadman
A man whose primary ability is possession is no match against an exorcist with nothing to lose. Boston Brand simply would not stand a chance against Constantine. He may be the best ghost superhero in comics, but I don’t think he’s prepared for the Hellblazer and his use of magic and other supernatural tricks. Fortunately, it’s unlikely we’d ever actually see these two figh,t as they tend to be on pretty good terms with one another.
4) Hawkeye
Marvel’s top archer may be the best shot in the universe, but that won’t save him against magic. Hawkeye would see him as an easy target due to his own skill, but would lose miserably. With various protection spells as well as the many defensive ones, Constantine would be able to outlast Hawkeye, who would call it a day before the fight would end. It’s another example of how practical force isn’t necessarily the best defense (or offense) against someone who is a master of mystical arts, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be fun to see it all go down.
3) The Question
The two best trench coats in all of DC comics go to Constantine and the Question. However, the only one walking away from a fight between the stylish men is the magical one. Vic Sage can throw hands when he needs to, but even then, he’s easily beaten most of the time, and that’s before you add magic to the mix. The two may be on a similar level of hand-to-hand combat, but I don’t think the Question can shoot an eldritch blast from his hands. But you know who can? Constantine.
On top of the mind control Constantine has at his disposal, the Question is truly out of his element here. While no stranger to the supernatural, it’s not exactly his wheelhouse either. Question stands no chance at all.
2) Iron Man
Courtesy of Marvel
While he may not have a spell to destroy iron or destroy Stark’s suits, a simple curse is all Constantine needs to take down Iron Man. Any sort of curse to make Iron Man unable to fight would be the type of thing Constantine would do against him and would leave Stark crawling on his knees for mercy.
All you’d really need to give Constantine would be about three cigarettes, and he’d call it off. For one of the smartest men in all of Marvel, even Stark’s mind couldn’t come up with a scheme against the Hellblazer.
1) Red Hood
As confident as Jason Todd is, he hasn’t prepared for anyone quite like the Hellblazer. Despite Batman’s best warnings, Constantine has just as many spells that would break Jason’s already fragile mental state. Using his wards to stop any sort of bullet or melee attack, he’d stop Jason just to hit him back with a fireball or something.
Throw in that bit of mind control, and Constantine’s got him in a hold. He’d awaken Jason in an odd circumstance without any of his weapons just to amuse himsel,f and that would probably be enough for Red Hood to simply tap out.
Who do you think won’t stand a chance against John Constantine? Let us know what you’re thinking down in the comments, and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!