John Constantine has, for the longest time, been a massive fan-favorite in the DC Universe with the witty Hellblazer has been one of the faces of the supernatural corner. The character has ended up growing a larger fanbase thanks to his presence in the media, particularly through Matt Ryan’s portrayal of Constantine. The actor even had his own Constantine show on NBC that, unfortunately, lasted for only one season. But thanks to the Arrowverse, the beloved warlock has been around again in the last few years.
Ryan’s take on the character has grown so popular that he has ended up voicing Constantine in other DC projects. Whether or not Constantine will be part of the line-up for HBO Max’s Justice League Dark series remains to be seen as well as if they’ll recast the part. Over the years, his fandom has grown rapidly, and given the humor that comes with him, fans have highlighted some amazing aspects through memes and fan-art.
Screw Rip Hunter’s Demands
When Rip Hunter was assembling his Waverider team, he was definitely not expecting the Legends of Tomorrow to end up being what they’re today. While the team has consisted of some amazing heroes, it’s definitely some of the Arrowverse’s misfits. That’s why Constantine fitted in so well when Ryan boarded the series in season 3.
As powerful as Constantine might be, he, along with the others, is definitely not what you’d think of when wanting a finesse team that values caution. But thankfully, that’s why the Waverider crew is as beloved as they are.
Constantine Vs NBC
Ryan’s original series should have probably seen what was coming when NBC only granted the first season a total of 13 episodes. Not only did they not get a full 22-episode order, but NBC also insisted on placing the DC drama on Friday nights at 10 PM. That’s not exactly the best slot for a comic book show.
Even Constantine EP David S. Goyer has been open about how NBC was the wrong network for the series. That is why NBC’s cancellation became The CW’s gain as they could bring him over to their DC TV universe.
Chas Can’t Catch A Break
One of the main characters from the NBC series that aided Constantine was his closest friend Chas Chandler. While he isn’t immortal per se, Chas has some supernatural powers that grant him a healing factor. That’s why the show insisted on putting Chas through hell with this meme being one of the examples. Oddly enough, despite being close buddies, Constantine sure hasn’t mentioned him at all since he became a series regular in the Arrowverse.
Introducing Constantine To Friends
Constantine may be one of DC’s popular characters, but he is definitely obscure in comparison to the Justice League. As great as his solo series was, it’s understandable that general TV viewers wouldn’t necessarily know that it was a DC property.
However, the blame is more on NBC in their treatment of Constantine. Many hardcore DC fans can probably relate to this meme as plenty have probably had that one friend they managed to convince to watch the show.
Step Aside General Zod
Another main player from the short-lived series that was part of Constantine’s journey was Zed who, similarly to Chas, has not even been mentioned since the Arrowverse migration. It does seem very odd that despite being in the same universe, Constantine hasn’t even seemed to worry about his friends since boarding the Waverider. Given how similar Zed’s name is to General Zod, it was a missed opportunity for the NBC show to not make this meme come to life.
Who Hogwarts Should Have Hired
The Harry Potter franchise had a recurring theme of Hogwarts having issues with finding a permanent teacher in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Some of them turned out to be villains while the good ones had to leave for various reasons.
If Warner Bros. should have ever done a DC/Harry Potter crossover, Constantine would have been the perfect character. Imagine him as a teacher, specifically in that subject, at a sophisticated place like Hogwarts.
Constantine: The TV Survivor
When Constantine was canceled, the viewers did everything they could in showing their support to get it revived somewhere else. Fans had some optimism when rumors were floating that the show would move to Syfy, but rebranded as Hellblazer. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out to be true and NBC eventually canned the show. Even when he was able to appear on Arrow, it was meant to be just a one-off appearance. But many seasons later, Constantine basically became the ultimate survivor on TV.
The Ultimate NBC Shade
After Constantine’s season finale, the wait for its fate was a long and exhausting one for viewers. May is probably TV viewers’ least favorite month of the year as the Upfronts take place during that time where networks present their new schedules. But network presidents also sometimes reveal the fate of various bubble shows while other series still have to wait for their decisions. This meme is pretty much how everyone felt while waiting for NBC to decide if they’d renew the show or not.
Constantine’s Overstatement
While it didn’t have the ratings NBC was hoping for, the support for Constantine to get a second season was huge. As the first season got closer and closer to wrapping up, the concern grew by for each episode. If Perry White from Man of Steel had been able to be on social media while seeing the Constantine comments, he would definitely call it the most obvious statement of that year.
The Crossover Fans Actually Got
DC TV has had a handful of other Vertigo-based properties come to TV including Lucifer which, like Constantine, had some drama with their home network too. Thankfully, the Devil lives on over at Netflix. But for years, fans wanted Constantine and Lucifer to cross paths as the two beings had encountered one another in the comics.
While it was initially spoiled, Ryan ended up getting to share the screen with Tom Ellis in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, making Lucifer part of the Arrowverse Multiverse. Just as this meme predicted, it was one of the most fun scenes in the entire crossover.
