DC Comics has been all about the duo since almost the beginning. While main heroes having partners wasn’t new in comic stories when Robin first jumped onto the scene, it was a modification of the nascent genre of superheroes (I’ve always felt that superheroes were their own genre; what do you think?) that really stuck around. Since then, we’ve gotten numerous amazing duos from DC Comics – Superman and Batman, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, Barry Allen and Hal Jordan, Oliver Queen and Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner and Wally West, Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor, Lois and Clark, and just so many others. Duos use a variety of techniques to bring characters together, sometimes highlighting how similar they are and other times showing how well two opposites can work together. It’s gotten to the point where duos have become something of a hallmark of DC superheroes, even moving across the street (well, now across the country; DC is on the West Coast and Marvel is still in New York).
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One of the best characters to team with other heroes with is Superman. There’s something about a good Superman team-up that you don’t really get from any other character. He’s always an elder statesman kind of hero and plays well off all kinds of heroes, whether they agree or disagree. Alternate universe Supermen are always good for this kind of thing and we got an example of that from the newest Dark Knights of Steel series. Dark Knights of Steel II #1 is a fantastic story, taking readers to a Game of Thrones-inspired Earth where all three Els came to Earth, made friends with the Waynes, and then become the new monarchy. Superman is something of a brash prince and one of the most important members of court is John Constantine. This first issue has an awesome moment between the two of them that highlights how great of a pair they could be, both in this universe and beyond.
Superman and John Constantine Would Be an Amazing Long-Term Partnership
So, in Dark Knights of Steel, the Els ended up fighting a war against the Kingdom of Storms (run by Black Lightning and his family, which is awesome; give us more Jefferson Pierce as an important character, DC), all caused by the manipulations of the White Martians. Constantine was one of the main movers of that story, first working for the Kingdom of Storms, his prophecy of the White Martians coming true. He’d end up playing a major role in the endgame and has since become an ally of the league between the Els, the Kingdom of Storms, the Bat-Prince (who in this world is the illegitimate son of Jor-El and Martha Wayne), the Kingdom of Storms, and Amazonia.
The story opens with the league traveling to Amazonia so Kal’s sister Zara can join her lover Diana as an Amazon. As they get off the boat, Kal tells John to get off the boat and the two of them argue over who should be the first man to step foot on the island. Eventually, the Kryptonian prince flies them both in the air and they land together, the first two men to be welcomed onto the island. It’s a cool little moment and the minute I saw it, I realized how much I wanted to see more of Superman and John Constantine. They would be the ultimate odd couple and it would be more fun than should be legally allowed.
John Constantine is DC’s greatest mage and has recently been revealed as the equivalent of the Sorcerer Supreme in the DC Multiverse (well, technically that’s Zatanna, but John serves the role without a fancy title like Prime Magus). He’s known for his dry sense of humor, his sarcasm, and his pragmatism. He believes that the ends justify the means and will do anything to win. He’s willing to sacrifice anything for victory and will hurt himself if it gives him the power to save the day. He faces the greatest magical threats you can imagine, everything from dark eldritch entities to the demons of Hell. He lives in the darkest world you can imagine.
Superman is different from Constantine in every way; he’s a person who believes in hope more than anything else. He’ll also make any sacrifice to win, but in his mind, even if one person dies, he failed. He’s the smiling face of heroism. He’s also weak to magic, meaning he usually needs some kind of help in those circumstances. Putting him and John together would create an awesome dynamic. Supes is used to dealing with Batman and John would be more like that. Would the mage try to fool Superman? How would the Man of Steel deal with that? Would Constantine learn to respect the Man of Tomorrow? Would they share a pint in London? It’s one of those team-ups where the more you think about it, the more awesome it feels. Dark Knights of Steel II #1 delivers in numerous ways and maybe it could deliver an all-new fan favorite duo.
John Constantine and Superman Is a Team-Up We Need More Of
Dark Knights of Steel II teases several major story arcs right away, with a shadowy new foe striking at the league of kingdoms. The moment between John and Kal is one single part of the issue, but there’s something about it that just felt so right. This universe’s Kal is much more pragmatic than the prime one. He wouldn’t really have a problem with killing and the two of them would make a formidable team, their powers and sensibilities gelling well. Hopefully, we’ll get more of the two together in the book. In fact, I hope that we get more of them together in general.
They would take the odd couple aspects of the relationship between Batman and Superman and intensify them. John is a hero, but he’s not a good person (unlike Batman) and Superman is the ultimate good person. Seeing the way the two of them play off each other would be a joy. Bringing John into the mainline universe after years in Vertigo was a better idea than it gets credit for being, all because it can mean that we get team-ups like this one. Supes and Constantine would be so much fun together and it’s about time we got them together.
Dark Knights of Steel II #1 is on sale now.
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