Constantine: Five DC Characters We Hope to See

With the release of the first trailer for Constantine, it's much easier to get excited about the [...]

constantine-fire-hands

With the release of the first trailer for Constantine, it's much easier to get excited about the show -- and with a list of Easter eggs as long as your arm, it's easier to picture that, maybe, this show will have an opportunity to mine some other supernatural DC characters for inspiration. Unfortunately, one of the key characters in Constantine's publishing history -- Swamp Thing -- is more likely than not off-limits. Why? Well, because this show isn't on The CW. Part of the reason they can get away with so much on shows like Smallville and Arrow is that Warners has to give up almost nothing in terms of character rights to use people in a show that's produced by WBTV and aired on a Warner Bros. co-owned network. Heading to NBC (or FOX, where they'll air Gotham, for that matter) means the contracts are more likely than not a bit more restrictive and there will probably be some pretty specific language involved. So why do we think that means it's unlikely we'll see Alec Holland? Simple: he's had his own financially successful TV series and movies before, and the odds of him just being a "throw-in" with John Constantine are very slim. That said, it's not out of the question that DC will have given the show a little bit of leash and that we could see some supernatural types pop up. So, trying to ignore the realities of corporate TV production and rights disputes and blah, blah, blah, here are five DC characters or properties we'd like to see pop up in Constantine. And if you think they won't, don't tell us: deep down, we already know, and it makes us sad.

smallville-zatanna

Zatanna In the New 52 continuity, Constantine and Zatanna have a heck of a past...and of course, she's a fun, sexy character who will be easy to sell onscreen so it's not hard to see why anybody would want to use her? Her episodes on Smallville were always fan-favorites, even though magic wasn't really part of what made that show work and so it was a bit awkward when stories centered around it. She's also got the benefit, if we're being frank, of being better as a supporting character than a starring one, at least as far as live-action adaptations go. The stage magic element of her persona, combined with the skimpy costume (without which she isn't really Zatanna) means it would be difficult to "sell" her to the average, non-comics-reading member of the audience. That cuts down on the odds that anybody has eyes on her for a TV series or movie of her own, and thus increases the odds Constantine could actually get permission to use her.

Constantine - Season Pilot

Doctor Fate We wouldn't have thought of this one, honestly, if it weren't for commenter diogo0200, who suggested in the comments thread of our in-depth trailer analysis that the amulet Liv is holding throughout the trailer could be Fate's Amulet of Anubis. It may be a stretch, but it's a really cool idea, and we don't have any particularly better notion of what exactly it could be. And it would be pretty cool to see Fate at least hinted at on the small screen, but he's so immensely powerful that it's hard to see how you could do it really "right" on a TV budget. Perhaps having the amulet but not the helmet of Fate would be a good way to do all of the above.

Swamp_Thing_013

Swamp Thing As previously established, this one seems pretty unlikely -- but that doesn't mean we can't hope for it. Heck, Constantine's first appearance was in a Swamp Thing story, and the two have been joined at the hip in a number of tales, including Brightest Day, which was responsible for reintroducing Constantine to the DC Universe after years as a Vertigo-exclusive property.

the phantom stranger

Phantom Stranger You know what would be a really cool concept to see onscreen? The Trenchcoat Brigade. Dr. Occult and Mister E are almost certainly not going to be turning up in other media anytime soon, but the Phantom Stranger is where things could get more complicated. He's got an ongoing monthly series, after all, and was part of the whole Trinity War thing which will likely influence any potential Justice League Dark/"Dark Universe" film if that ever really happens. Being that he's the only one who's really likely to end up anywhere else, he'd be the one we'd want to see first to prove that the rights hurdle could be cleared...

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Shadowpact These guys are pretty unlikely, since some of them are pretty marketable in their own right (heck, Blue Devil has actually had one of those imaginary cameos on Arrow), but since they're basically a loose association of mystical superheroes who hang out together at a bar outside of time and space, it wouldn't necessarily have to be the SAME group of superhero-mystics. Just as long as Detective Chimp is there.

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