@DocFatalis said:
@TheThe: Ok, so it will be a relatively long ranting and I apologize for it but:
Surely you have noticed that the Hellblazer world is a more realistic one than the usual Marvel or DC ones and that it lays the emphasis on the various aspects of the human soul and mind. For those reasons, all the deities depicted in it, good or bad, are just reflexions of the human behaviors and aspirations, this mostly because the original writer and those who picked up the torch after him are fairly convinced that men create gods and not the opposite. Global concept are neutral (like the Green) but gods just behave to suit human natures. In that regard, independently from their level of power or knowledge, they are fallible and can be baited by the same things that sometimes lure even the cleverest human beings into behaving stupidly or in ways harmful to them.
Enters Constantine: he has human weaknesses too, but recognizes them as they are and have made them his companions somehow. He stands ready and determined to do what it takes to achieve what he wants even if that means the sacrifice of others, and most oftenly the sacrifice of those he holds dear. In the end what he wants is to succeed in the current endeavor and then be left in peace to have ten (bad for him) pints and packs of cigarettes pondering about the giant bitter jokes life and death are.
In that context, it is not irrational that he uses and abuses of the flaws he shares with super powered entities to trick them in doing what he wants: he just understand the flaws in question at least as well as they do but stands ready to take advantage of any of those. The quintessential prick he is is perfectly in accordance with his environment and "rides the the coincidence" lines to the best of his interests.
You are right to say that it is the writers job to make him win, but writers desire would be more accurate as the entire Constantine adventure serves a metaphor about the human nature and how there is no good nor bad in us, just what we do and how well we do it. Con-Jhon is central to it in how he excels at tricking the others into whatever he wants.
So as a conclusion, I'd say that the way he defeats everyone in his universe according to the rules of the universe in question makes perfect sense, it's not poorly written, it just is in accordance with the limitations of any being in his universe. And it serves the story and metaphor, of course. And the story and metaphors are mainly why I buy books, otherwise I'd just spend my time comparing statistics about power levels in one field or an other, but that wouldn't be very much fun would it?
Well written. At the very moment i regret not being that much fluent in english(french is my mother tongue) because i could have put an essay as an answer, but i lack words to fully explain my view on your contribution(also,my grammar and orthography mistakes) . Argh!
Back to your post, while i agree with your description of Hellblazer purpose and Constantine profile, i disagree with your conclusion and your statement about his ability to defeat his opponents naturally. Why ? Because i trully believe gods, demons and entities dealing with human beings are supposed to have better skills in trickery.
To me, trickery in Hellblazer books is a matter of : anticipation of your adversaries next movement, knowledge of your opponents and his kind, being neutral or lacking moral principles, and not having fear. In all of those areas, the majority of characters Constantine defeated were supposed to possess a better background than him.
Constantine is prick ? Demons and deities are better at it than him. Constantine knows the occult science ? Demons and deities are born in it, live in it, die in it. Constantine has a great understanding of entities world and species ? Entities are dealing with human and making contracts with them since the beginning of time. They have studied and tricked human for a longer period of time than Constantine doing it to them, since they are often immortals.
I'm not sayin a human being cant beat an entity. A human being can. But not on a regular basis like John Constantine is doing it. It's not plausible in my book. The fact that Constantine is ready to sacrifices everything should be a reason of he surprising demonkind, in the sense that he is one of the few humans who dont have the sentimental and emotional weakness of heart demons are playing with to trick humans.
But Entities have got plenty much of time to deal with humankind in all the different aspects of human personality. Do you really think people like the first of the fallen (who was walking earth and hell since centuries) have never meet a bunch of "Constantine-like" profiles ? That, without learning nothing from his failures, he would let the same guy beat him again and again ? That's the reason why i talked about a "writer duty" to make Constantine win everytime, while his opponents appears as strangely naives.
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