Related
Magic has been an integral part of fantasy storytelling for centuries now , withJohn ConstantineandHarry Potteroffering two divergent versions of it . DC Comics’Hellblazerpresented a gritty vision of deception that was run aground in the theatrical role of John Constantine , a working family occultist and wizard ware by his chain - smoking and selfish pulse . TheHarry Potterseries , on the other bridge player , went in a more predictable steering with a classical fight against upright and evilness play out between its titular friend , and themain series villain , Voldemort .
Given thepopularity of theHarry Potterfranchisein the form of books , movies , play , video recording games , and other twist - offs , it is mediocre to say that it has partly shaped how people worldwide view conjuration in fabrication . Still , even the most malevolent conjuration performed by crone and sensation inHarry Pottercannot compare to that inHellblazer , because of the very nature of how magic works in John Constantine ’s world . In this common sense , much of the confounding aspects about how magic work inHarry Potteris address inHellblazer , and the particular of John Constantine ’s magical show just how disturbing the Wizarding World ’s villains could have been .
interrelate : How John Constantine Saved Christmas … Twice
Despite the fact thatHellblazerfirst began well beforeHarry Potter ’s publication , its depiction of magic stay overbold because of its mechanics . John Constantine ’s illusion works by tapping into the mightiness of existing societal alliance or beliefs , allowing him to fight off daemon and other supernatural creature that have escaped from Hell . This stands in stark contrast toHarry Potter , where witches and sorcerer are able to perform magic without ask to withdraw from a physical or spiritual force like Constantine . As a outcome , in most case , there is no monetary value to doing magic inHarry Potter , but asHellblazerstories frequently show , there is always a price to deception that Constantine or the people around him must compensate .
In this sense , magic inHellblazeris not so much a superpowerlike inHarry Potter , but rather a way of life to manipulate citizenry . This is what make John Constantine so unsafe as a graphic symbol , because he is reliant on using other people , or even himself , as a power source for his thaumaturgy . Because his thaumaturgy is rooted in how masses see the world around them and their plaza within it , there is an existential character to Constantine ’s work as a conjuror that work him far scarier than Harry Potter ’s enemy . Despite the fact that at his sum , John Constantine is flawed person trying to do good , his trick is rarely ever used under honorable circumstancesbecauseof how it work in the first place .
Related : John Constantine Hates Horses For The Most Hilarious Reason
The ruthless side to Constantine ’s magic can be seen inThe Sandman Universe Presents : Hellblazer#1 , when oodles of fiend have been unleash in London ( written by Simon Spurrier , art by Marcio Takara , colors by Cris Peter , Letters by Aditya Bidikar ) . In a last ditch effort , Constantine calls on the help of his good friend , Chas , after he tricks him into believing that he created a witching weapon from a sloven ’s capitulum . consider that he has a witching turkey , Chas repel the pig ’s forefront and himself straight towards the monsters , unaware that Constantine just sent him on a suicide missionary work . As he see Chas head towards the behemoth , Constantine thinks , " … conjuration loves notion . Magic swarms ' round belief like fly to a shit . My best mate thinks he ’s off to save the worldly concern because – c’mon , why would I lie … Chas , sanctify his f***witted centre , genuinely believes he ’s pack some variety of magical nuke . So the foe trust it too . " Chas is later on put into a comatoseness after the attempt , whileConstantine guiltily seek to reasonthat he had to do it to save the world .
This illustrate what make Constantine ’s thaumaturgy so much morose thanHarry ceramicist ’s , because of the role that deceit plays in power his abilities . Constantine is no unknown to deceiving both people and demonic being alike . And part of what name him one of themost potent sorcerous users in the DC Universeis that he is unafraid to trick his fuck ones in fiat to pull off a particularly difficult magical stunt . While the power levels of beldam and star inHarry Potterare an unlearned , static timber , much of Constantine ’s great power stem from how unforced he is to ruin his life history , or the sprightliness of those around him . His flack with Chas only workedbecauseChas believe that his best admirer John had vest him with a cryptical and powerful magical object , not realizing that he himselfwasthe bomb that John was using against the monsters .
Related : John Constantine ’s First Spell Cursed Him For aliveness
A difference in power source such as this explains whyHellblazercan never provide the magical escape thatHarry Potterpromises . With Constantine so reliant on the seriousness and pure - heartedness of those around him , his whole operation is implausibly destructive . While Harry Potter rely on his champion to corroborate him against Voldemort , who is so obviously a malign strength , Constantine ’s friends often end up as casualties in his war against both humanity ’s worst impulses and the universe ’s darkest existence . Instead of being something that bestow people together , Constantine ’s magic destroy the relationshipsbetween them .
HellblazerandHarry Potterare two wildly dissimilar visual modality of magical worlds , and the mechanics of magic trick in both stories reveal what their objective lens are . WhileHarry Potterwas implicated with escaping the mundane through the fantastical , Hellblazerhas always been concenter on using a magical premise as a mean for wait into the most offensive parts of world and bon ton at with child . With its protagonist powered by people ’s opinion in the world as they see it , Hellblazerhas used magicto challenge those beliefs in the first spot , while also never leaving it as an escape from consequences .
at last , John Constantine ’s thaumaturgy is far more disturbing than Voldemort ’s , because the latter is just a man who performs evil spell at no personal cost to himself . But forConstantine , whose own dark oddity as a childpushed him to learn conjuring trick in the first berth , there is a monetary value to everything that he does to keep the earth safe from its out of sight ogre . If the fight against the universe ’s most evil beings bank on sacrifice the holiness of the trade good through magic , then it is readable whyJohn Constantinehas no stake in being the same type of hero asHarry Potter .
Next : Constantine Just Decimated Batman and Iron Man With One Sentence
