Constantine – John Constantine’s Family

Last Friday’s Constantine episode, Rage of Caliban, opened up some old family wounds for John Constantine.  For one, we learned that John had a close relationship with his sister, and that he had, at one time, contemplated suicide.  This isn’t the first mention of John’s family, as the pilot episode, Non Est Asylum, had him talking about an abusive father.

So how many family members did or does John have?  We’re going to dig into John’s immediate family tree from Hellblazer and get a sense of who they are and were.  Notice that we’re not going to go through everyone and everything (yes, John has some supernatural entities in his family also) related to John because it’ll get pretty crazy.  Besides, it seems that NBC’s Constantine doesn’t include his extended family … yet.

Immediate Family

Thomas Constantine  – Father – Deceased (1914 – 1990)

Thomas Constantine was a Liverpool working class man who lost his arm in an industrial accident.  He blames his son, John Constantine, for the death of his wife, Mary Anne Constantine (Mary Anne died giving birth to John).  Abusive to John and an alcoholic, Thomas is later killed by The Family Man, a serial killer.  Thomas’s soul now resides in Hell.

Mary Anne Constantine (née Quinn) – Mother  – Deceased (October 3, 1923 – May 5 1953)

Mary Anne Constantine was trapped in an unhappy and abusive marriage to Thomas Constantine, who forced her to undergo multiple abortions.  Because of these procedures, Mary Anne’s womb was damaged, which caused her death when she was giving birth to John Constantine and his twin brother (later to be discovered as The Golden Boy in a parallel universe).  In Non Est Asylum, we learn that John started studying the occult in the hopes of contacting his mother.

Cheryl Masters (née Constantine) – Sister – Deceased (1946 – 2005)

Cheryl Masters was John Constantine’s loving sister.  In times of need, John could always count on Cheryl.  She was later killed by her husband, Tony Masters, when he was driven insane.  In Rage of Caliban, we learn that John stayed with Cheryl, and that he had contemplated suicide during that time.

The Golden Boy – Twin Brother – Living (May 5, 1953 – Present)

The Golden Boy is John Constantine’s twin brother who died in the womb.  In another parallel universe, this twin survived and was also named John.  This John would grow up to become a powerful magician.

Tony Masters – Brother-in-Law – Deceased (Unknown – 2005)

Tony Masters was Cheryl Masters’s husband.  A devout Christian, he hated John Constantine and his dealings with the supernatural.  Tony was later driven insane by Saul, John’s demon son (these are the supernatural entities in John’s tree that I was talking about).  After killing Cheryl and realizing what he had done, Saul committed suicide and opted to go to Hell.  It’s unknown if these events have already come to pass in NBC’s Constantine.

Gemma Masters – Niece – Living (1978 – Present)

Gemma Masters is the daughter of Tony Masters and Cheryl Masters.  Gemma looked up to John and soon followed him into a life of magic and the dark arts, of which she was quite skillful at.

The Demon Constantine – Doppelganger – Living (1996 – Present)

The Demon Constantine is a mud golem that was brought to life by John Constantine’s demon blood.  The reasons behind this were due to John discovering that there was a prophecy of him going to Hell.

When Will We See His Family?

As of today, the show has only mentioned John’s sister, mother, and father, and the only mention of a death has been Mary Anne’s.  This means that John’s father and sister may still be alive and certain events in Hellblazer haven’t happened yet.  Sooner or later, Constantine will need to actually show us his family — allow the audience to see, first-hand, what John went through growing up.  Could this be done via a flashback episode?  Or could this be shown when John actually visits his remaining family members?

To tell you the truth, the most interesting character out of this list, to me, would be Cheryl Masters.  Knowing that most people in John’s life seem to see him as a con man, I would love to visit a character that took care of him.  Someone that sees John in a different light.  If NBC were to ever seamlessly pull off a Holiday special for a show, they should have John visit Cheryl and her family for Christmas (that is, if she’s still alive).  But who knows?  The series bible may already be set in stone and we won’t be seeing any family members until next season.  Yes, I’m hopeful that this series will continue.

How about you?  Which family members are you most interested in seeing?  What are your theories?  Do you think the rest of his family is still alive?

NBC’s Constantine airs on Fridays at 10:00PM EST.