It’s been three years since the first (and only) season of Constantine aired. At that time it was an ambitious show for a big television network because it was so dark, literally and figuratively. Of course, it couldn’t be any other way with a title character who is an occult detective and self-described master of the dark arts (yes, it’s on his business cards). But NBC did a really good job with the show and a lot of people (including me) were disappointed it didn’t get renewed. 

Jump ahead to season 4 of Arrow, where Constantine made a guest appearance in an episode, passing some magic along to Oliver for an upcoming battle. Then came the news last summer that he would be appearing in a couple of episodes of Legends of Tomorrow this season. The season-long battle for the Legends involves a demon attempting to enter their reality – so who better to call on than the prime demon hunter himself. In even better news, Constantine is going to be a regular on the show for season 4!

Then this past weekend, the CW Seed (the network’s streaming app) premiered the first five episodes of the animated Constantine: City of Demons. Though connected to the character’s overall story, it’s separate from his live-action appearances and gives a different take on the “Newcastle incident” that haunts him. There are some familiar characters, like his buddy Chas and a particular demon, but also some less familiar, like Nightmare Nurse. Over all, though, the series still has the same feel as the live-action version, with the trademark smartass humor we expect of John Constantine, along with lots of dark magic. And considering how gruesome a few demon-related things are in the first few episodes, it’s probably a good thing the show is animated!

But perhaps the best thing about all of these television iterations of Constantine is that Matt Ryan has played (and voiced) every one of them. He has become the character for most viewers and does a great job portraying the good, the bad and the sarcastic that we have come to expect of this master of the dark arts.