Constantine – 5 reasons why he’s a forgotten regeneration of Dr. Who

Another comic book hero series to debut this season is Constantine.

John Constantine is a self-described “Exorcist, Demonologist, and Master of the Dark Arts”. He engages in Supernatural-type adventures, pitting him against other-worldly bads. Much like Sam and Dean Winchester, Constantine is a reluctant hero and an anti-hero, which only serves to make his character more interesting. (It also doesn’t hurt that, like the Winchester brothers, the actor playing him, Matt Ryan, is easy on the eyes.) But with episode 3–“The Devil’s Vinyl”–John Constantine proves he’s more a forgotten regeneration of Dr. Who than a long-lost Winchester boy.

Here are 5 reasons an argument could be made that John Constantine is a forgotten regeneration of Dr. Who:

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1. He’s British.

With the exception of Peter Capaldi’s iteration, all of the Doctors have either been British or played British. And so Ryan’s Welsh, but (correct me if I’m wrong) isn’t Wales considered part of Britain?

2. He has a companion.

Beginning with episode 2, Constantine adopts a young, female companion named Zed. Like so many of Dr. Who’s companions, Zed is attractive, smart, and has saved Constantine’s skin on occasion.

3. His home base is a T.A.R.D.I.S.

When Zed first enters Constantine’s underground base of operations she observes it is bigger on the inside, which is the primary feature of the T.A.R.D.I.S.

4. He has psychic paper.

Constantine has an enchanted playing card that makes the viewer see whatever the holder suggests.

5. He has a sonic screwdriver.

Not exactly. A sonic screwdriver is a sort of deus ex machina device that allows Dr. Who to get out of tough situations, simply by pointing it. Constantine has a carpet bag full of tricks. At the start of the episode he introduces an ancient tracking device that he uses later in the story. I would bet there are trinkets enough in that carpet bag to rival anything the sonic screwdriver can do.

And there you have it. Why John Constantine is a forgotten regeneration of Dr. Who!