Constantine #5 was a decent installment in the series, and if not groundbreaking, at least enjoyable. For the record, this issue does take place after Justice League Dark #22. This post will contain some minor Spoilers…
It starts with a bartender, Lloyd, locking up his place and forcing a member of Papa Midnite’s gang, “Mopmop”, to leave. Constantine shows up with Shazam/Billy Batson (pre-New 52 Captain Marvel) and says he needs the place. He tells Billy Batson that there’s a spell homing in on him. If he keeps the power running it will find and kill him. Naturally, Shazam believes him (he is one of the world’s experts on magic) and de-Shazams back into Billy Batson.
But wait, Constantine lied. He uses some voodoo doll type thing to transfer Shazam’s powers to himself, which has the side effect of them swapping voices. As clever of a concept as it is, it doesn’t particularly translate well to comics. We only read the voices after all, and there is no real way to distinguish between them. That said, it’s still an enjoyable concept.
Anyway, Mopmop makes a call to Mr. E. Turns out Mopmop is a member of the Cult of the Cold Flame, and he’s looking to gain some credit with them by eliminating their foe, Constantine. E tells him to say a spell, which he does, but it turns him into some sort of demon.
“Don’t worry, mate. I’m not after your power for MYSELF. Last thing I want is to slap on your enchanted longjohns. Seems mutual, too–I can feel it trying to get OUT.”
So Constantine doesn’t want to use the power for himself. Unfortunately, demon-Mopmop attacks them, forcing the inevitable…
Constantine calls upon the power of Shazam. I don’t particularly care for his Shazam look, and I certainly wouldn’t want it to last for long, but in this particular issue it does the trick of showing how Constantine can use the superpowers, but he is no superhero. That’s just not his thing. You could argue he’s super, and you could maybe argue he’s a hero, but he is not a superhero. That’s evident here, which I liked.
They fight, and Billy tricks the demon by using Constantine’s voice to distract it. Finally, Constantine rips its head off, and Billy breaks his spell, regaining his Shazam powers. He leaves, after telling Constantine he’s a jerk, which is quite amusing. The issue ends, on a darker turn as Constantine is wounded. He starts to fade away, even as Lloyd tries to heal him, and we see Chris (Constantine’s friend who died in issue #1) show up in spirit form claiming it’s time for payback.
The art in the issue is perfectly fine. There are no terrible spots, but there aren’t really any amazing panels either. I have nothing to complain about, and if the art is consistently at this level I will be absolutely fine with that.
Overall, this is a good issue. I enjoyed it, and if you’ve been enjoying Constantine you’ll probably enjoy this. As a Trinity War tie-in? It’s fine. You certainly wouldn’t need to read it, at least not from what’s happened so far. If you choose to, that’s great and you’ll probably enjoy it if you’re a fan of John, Billy, and/or Trinity War so far. That said, there’s something that feels missing from this issue. As Lloyd says to Constantine near the end, “I don’t get it, John. What was the PLAY here? What was in it for YOU?” That’s how I feel. Despite Constantine’s claims that he’s trying to stop Shazam from screwing things up with his power (which I wouldn’t put past Billy), I just don’t quite follow. Maybe that’s just me, and it certainly didn’t ruin the issue, it just left me a little unsatisfied. I’m giving it a perfectly good rating of 7/10. I’ve enjoyed the series so far and I still am.
Did you enjoy seeing Constantine bantering with Shazam and fighting with his powers?
Erathon Reviews 