John Constantine’s foray into Legends of Tomorrow gave fans plenty to take in — including a pretty awesome array of Easter eggs.
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Spoilers for tonight’s episode of Legends of Tomorrow, “Daddy Darhkest”, below!
Tonight’s episode picked up right where “Beebo the God of War” left off, with Sara Lance/White Canary (Caity Lotz) being asked for help by John Constantine (Matt Ryan). As Constantine explained, he was tasked with performing an exorcism, only to find that the demon housed inside was Mallus (John Noble), the villain that has been lurking in the shadows of Legends‘ third season.
From there, things went about how you’d expect in a Legends episode, with surprise hookups, heartfelt dynamics, and a whole lot of time travel weirdness. Along the way, quite a few Easter eggs were dropped – some to Ryan’s previous portrayal in NBC’s Constantine series, and others to different aspects of pop culture.
So, what did we see? What did we miss? Tweet us at @ComicBookNow to let us know.
Sumner Asylum
Almost from moment one, fans were treated to a Constantine-related Easter eggย — although one that requires a bit of connecting the dots.
Much of the episode took place at a mental asylum, where the Legends attempted to exorcise Mallusย from a young Nora Darhk. The asylum’s name? Sumner Asylum.
The Sumner name is most associated with Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, also known as the rock musician Sting. And for those who have been keeping tabs on Constantine’s early appearances, this is a pretty great connection, as the The Police lead singer was the visual inspiration for Constantine.
“Constantine was the result of “fit[ting] it all together,” creator Alan Moore revealed a while back, “purely to get Sting into the story.”
Astra Logue
This is less of an Easter egg and more of a name drop, and one that those unfamiliar with Constantine might not have caught.
When Mallus is communicating through Nora, he teases Constantine for “Failing Nora, just as you failed Astra.”
In the comics, Astraย is a young girl who is the daughter of an abusive bar owner. She gets possessed by a demon, prompting John and his friends to summon another demon, Nergal, in response. Nergalย then drags Astraย to hell, something that haunts Constantine for a long period of his life.
The Astraย storyline was brought to life in the Constantine series, making this reference all the more heartbreaking.
Newcastle
Another blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference was seen in Legends‘ location crawl, which pops up in the corner with each major scene setting.
One of theย cities that flashed by was Newcastle, an English city that has a profound tie to John’s life. The aforementionedย situation with Astra? It happened right in the middle of Newcastle.
“I always get really, really excited when people bring up Newcastle,” Ryan told ComicBook.com. “Because I always wanted to do a Newcastle episode on the live action TV show because there’s so much there in terms of what drives the character. But that’s great that they built that into that.”
“Allons-y Alonso.”
When the team makes their way to the Sumner Asylum, they try to determine what to do next. Once they decide on a plan, Constantine sends everyone off with the phrase “Allons-y, Alonso.”
A general British phrase? Sure. Anย homage to one of David Tennant’sย biggest catchphrasesย onย Doctor Who? Also yes.
This definitely isn’t the first time that Legends has paid homage to Doctor Who, from the timey-wimey nature of its show to the very casting of Who alum Arthur Darvill as Rip Hunter. But with Constantine in the mix, it certainly feels appropriate.
The Triangle of Solomon
When Constantine and the Legends attempt to exorcise Nora, he draws a familiar symbol on the floor: the Triangle of Solomon.ย
The symbol has been a surprisingly consistent part of Constantine’s live-action appearances, even spanning back to the 2005 Constantine movie. But the Triangle’s most prominent appearance was in the initial pilot of the Constantine TV series, which was Ryan’s very first foray into the role.
Interestingly, Constantine drew the symbol in that episode as a way to help a dark-haired girl in danger. Sound familiar?
Trivia Night
This falls more into the “general homage” territory, but it’s still a pretty adorable nod nonetheless.
When Zari Tomazย (Tala Ashe), Ray Palmer/Atom (Brandon Routh), and Nora decide to escape the asylum, they decide to visit a coffee shop in Star City (which suspiciously looks exactly like The Flash‘s Jitters coffee).
While there, Zariย and Ray decide to distract Nora by playing aย “Head’s Up!”-esqueย game on their phone, which requires Zariย to guess a phrase from Ray and Nora’s clues.ย From the set and the very location of their table, this feels like an homage to The Flash‘s trivia night scene from season one.
In a way, that whole sequence makes Barry’s awkward double date seem a lot better in comparison.
Constantine’s Phone Number
And finally, while it’s not seen super directly in the episode, “Daddy Darhkest” contains a pretty sly nod to Ryan’s previous portrayals of the role.
As the Legends writers room shared on their Twitter account, a slip of paper bearing Constantine’s phone number made its way into the episode. This real, actual numberย — 404-248-7182ย — has been in place since the Constantine television series debuted (although, weirdly, some T-shirts and other merchandise for the series shows a different phone number).
When the number is called, it provides callers with a delightfully snarkyย voicemail message from Constantine.ย The first voicemailย message provided a nod to Swamp Thing, while the second just tells callers to “sod off.”
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