Warning: spoilers for John Constantine: Hellblazer – Dead in America #1!John Constantine has had plenty of love interests over his long history in comic books – even some resulting in children. John is technically the father of Swamp Thing’s daughter Tefé Holland and also had three children with the demon Rosacarnis: Adam, Saul, and Maria. Now that John is traveling through America with his fifth child, Noah, it might just be time for his forgotten daughter to return.
When John’s life was in peril in Hellblazer #200 (by Mike Carey, Steve Dillon, Marcelo Frusin, Leonardo Manco, Lee Loughridge, and Clem Robins), he made a deal with the demon Rosacarnis to save his life. Rosacarnis agreed, but only if John agreed to spend one single day with her. With no other option, John accepted the deal, and ended up living three entire lives due to Rosacarnis’ smart phrasing. Each part of the ‘day’ was situated within a larger dream lifetime – one in which John raised Rosacarnis’ demonic offspring.
This is where John’s children Adam, Saul, and Maria came from. They were demons born by Rosacarnis and John, since Rosacarnis believed that demons raised by John would know all his tricks and be truly unstoppable.
JOHN CONSTANTINE: HELLBLAZER – DEAD IN AMERICA #1 (2024) | |
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John Constantine’s Daughter Was the Result of a Demonic Bargain
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Each of Rosacarnis’ children were created in a dream world where John had stayed with a prominent love interest. Maria was raised by John and Angie Spatchcock in his native Liverpool, while around them Englad collapsed into nationalism and bigotry. Maria specialized in ritualized magic, and was secretly sacrificing vulnerable people with her friends. After leaving her dream reality, Maria targeted Constantine’s friends and family, but ultimately found no joy in existence. When the First of the Fallen targeted Rosacarnis over a slight, he killed Adam and Saul but let Maria live, specifically because she had no desire to survive. However, after this climactic moment, Maria has never been seen since.
Maria was created as part of Rosacarnis’ deal with Constantine, and part of that deal stipulated that if John died, Maria and his other children would die too. Now that John is slowly decaying, it would make perfect sense for Maria to appear to pull the strings and play the situation to her advantage, just like her dear old dad. So far, the new series has revolved around small details from John’s history, such as Constantine telling a lie to Sandman. The fact John has a missing daughter isn’t a detail that this creative team would overlook, which means it’s highly likely she might make a return.
Simon Spurrier and Aaron Campbell’s time with Constantine has truly invested in his lore, with their previous series beginning with the dark fate of Timothy Hunter – predicted by John in 1990 – finally coming true. Now, John Constantine’s forgotten daughter is the franchise’s biggest dangling thread, and the mystic’s strange living death would directly concern her. With a good reason to show fans what happened to Maria and a creative team who know Hellblazer inside out, hopefully John Constantine‘s forgotten daughter is due for a return.
John Constantine: Hellblazer – Dead in America #1 is on sale now from DC Comics!
