WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the Justice League Dark story “Return to Caledonia” by Ram V, Xermanico, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Rob Leigh, Andrea Shea, and Alex R. Carr, featured in Justice League #59, available now.
John Constantine and Zatanna are two of the most powerful heroes in the DC Universe, but they both share the same weakness for each other. The mystically-powered superheroes have a long history together and entered into a romantic relationship multiple times, only for them to constantly fall apart.
A brief scene in a new Justice League Dark story in Justice League #59 suggests that they may be about to try again, and while this might seem like a bad idea, the moment is genuinely sweet and highlights how deeply John cares for Zatanna.
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John and Zatanna’s history dates back decades. The original incarnation of John, who went on to star in Hellblazer, met Zatanna in San Francisco in the 1970s and the two began dating soon after. Zatanna’s father, Giovanni Zatara, was concerned about the influence Constantine would have on his daughter. In the famed “American Gothic” storyline in The Saga of the Swamp Thing, Zatanna was among a group of mystics that John recruited to battle the Great Evil Beast. Giovanni insisted on accompanying them on their mission. During a séance, The Beast was about to kill Zatanna, but Giovanni sacrificed his life to save his daughter. Despite this, Zatanna remained friendly with the original John and the relationship between the two even became flirtatious again at times in Hellblazer. In later incarnations, Zatanna has often been shown to be much more suspicious and resentful towards Constantine in general.
John and Zatanna have appeared alongside one another much more frequently since the creation of the Justice League Dark at the beginning of the New 52. Their relationship has continued to shift from one of romance to one of conflict, to platonic friendships, and back together again, but they have always remained an effective team. Now, in the Infinite Frontier era, it looks like they might even be on the verge of a new romance.
In the new story “Return to Caledonia,” John and Zatanna travel to Magdalena, New Mexico to investigate a supernatural mystery. When Zatanna asks why John didn’t just have her teleport them there John, replies that he thought the trip would give them time to talk about her father, presumably referring to Zatanna’s recent traumatic experience in which she saw her father’s spirit in pain as part of a plan by Justice League Dark enemy the Upside Down Man. John continues by saying, “I reckon even Zatanna, the world’s greatest magician, needs a little time in the middle of nowhere, on a dust trail under a sky where you can still see the stars.” Zatanna’s expression shows that she is touched by this. Her hand brushes against his and she says “You keep this up, John… I might even mistake you for a…romantic,” before being interrupted by the sight of the town in flames. They don’t have time to discuss it now, but whenever they overcome the current threat, John and Zatanna might be on the road to reconciling as a couple.
The romance between John and “Zee”, as he often calls Zatanna, was also an important part of the animated Justice League Dark films. However, their relationship took a far darker turn when Zatanna died, and John blamed himself. While it’s too soon to tell if the couple will meet a similar fate in the modern DC Universe, only time will tell if these star-crossed mystics will find the magic of lasting love with each other.
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