Picking up where Justice League Dark: Apokolips War left off, John Constantine must now face the repercussions of his actions. Trapped in the House of Mystery and being killed by demons taking the forms of his loved ones, Constantine must fight his way to freedom and answers to who is responsible. Matt Ryan returns as the title character.
The first trailer
was released on February 21, 2022.
Warning: This page contains unmarked spoilers for Apokolips War.
Tropes:
- Art-Shifted Sequel: Except for flashbacks showing John before he was imprisoned in the house, the short has different art style to what has been traditionally used in the DCAMU films.
- Back from the Dead: Nergal is alive despite having been killed in Constantine: City of Demons, which tragically is the only proof that Constantine's actions creates a new timeline where hopefully things have turned out better.
- Costume Evolution: The movie's first trailer has Etrigan wear his traditional costume.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Constantine starts to actually like his more ridiculous deaths since it provides him some amusement and variation in the hell he's stuck in.
- Dead Man's Hand: Constantine gets the Dead Man's Hand right before the demons cut off his hand, then kill him.
- Downer Ending: Constantine manages to escape the titular House of Mystery but it turns out the Spectre was keeping him there to spare him from the wrath of the Embodiment of the Universe itself. The film ends with Constantine being dragged off to a Fate Worse than Death.
- Eat the Camera: Done multiple times throughout the first half of the movie, the first being on a demon Zatanna.
- Evil Versus Evil: Towards the movie's climax, the three demons Constantine sold his soul to meet one another and fight over who truly owns him. He uses this opportunity to escape the House of Mystery.
- Fate Worse than Death: As a vengeful Universe swallows up Constantine, he's so terrified he begs Spectre to kill him, to no avail.
- Good All Along: The Spectre is as scary and angry and vengeful as ever, but the final reveal is that he was protecting Constantine from something worse, and John just ran right into it.
- Immediate Sequel: Picks up promptly after Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Constantine's first indication of everything going wrong is when his children start coughing, then vomiting blood. The rest of his friends follow suit.
- It's the Only Way: Contantine tries to use a pool of water for a Pensieve Flashback, but is killed and brought back to life before seeing anything. So the next time he pretends to be going to take a leak, locks himself in the toilet and sticks his head in the toilet bowl. He's not very happy about this, of course.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: The ending of Apokolips War is outright mentioned in the trailer, with a brief shot of various heroes turned into cyborgs.
- The Many Deaths of You: Constantine spends centuries in the House of Mystery getting killed by demonic versions of his friends.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: By initiating another Flashpoint and apparently guiding the Flash on what he should do, Constantine damaged the universe and broke so many rules that he needed to be punished.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: At the end of Apokolips War, Constantine implored Flash to go back in time and change the past, creating a new timeline. Here, he's being confronted for it. Except it's implied that it was less about causing the Flashpoint and more to do with trying to guide Flash on what to change, suggesting that the random changes caused by a Flashpoint are fine with the universe but trying to specifically control the changes is a problem.
- Post-Script Season: Acts as this with respect to the DCAMU, given it takes place after the Grand Finale in Apokolips War.
- Really 700 Years Old: Constantine mentions that he has been trapped in the House for centuries due to the loop he was in.
- Retcon: Nergal mentions that Constantine sold his soul to him which was never mentioned in previous films. This leaves two explanations: either summoning Nergal in the first place meant Constantine unintentionally sold his soul, or a new timeline was created with Nergal mistaking the DCAMU Constantine with the new timeline Constantine.
- Self-Inflicted Hell: It turns out that the Spectre intended the House of Mystery to be a place of happiness for John, a Lotus-Eater Machine where he could live in peace with those he loved. However, the latter's self loathing and guilt turned the place into a loop of suffering.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Constantine's life has never been fair, but this short makes it even more tragic. In the DCAMU films you get to see that underneath his cruel actions and insults he really cares about his friends and loves Zatanna, but is prepared to sacrifice the little happiness they bring him to save lives. Apokolips War's shows him losing Zatanna after repairing their relationship and he spends two years trying to bury his guilt with alcohol, not knowing that Zatanna used magic to make him leave her under orders from Batman. He's killed trying to stop Darkseid and is reunited with Zatanna in heaven, who convinces him that he needs to return to save everyone which he does. Then he learns the Earth is doomed anyway so he convinces the Flash to create a Flashpoint to try and create a better timeline for everyone, which only results in him being punished by the Spectre and imprisoned in the House of Mystery. After all of that, his self-loathing causes him to be trapped in a loop of being killed by his loved ones until he finally escapes only to forced to A Fate Worse Than Death by the embodiment of the universe for his decisions.
- Succubi and Incubi: Zatanna appears as a succubus posing as Constantine's wife.
- Watch Out for That Tree!: Constantine tries just running away from the demons who keep killing him, only to run into a tree and knock himself out because he's too busy looking over his shoulder. His next turn in the Ground Hog Day Loop he dodges the tree, takes out his pursuers and declares victory. Then the tree grabs hold of John and eats him.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Flash's fate isn't explained though considering what's happening to Constantine it's possible the Speed Force might be punishing him.
- Villainous Rescue: When Spectre sentences John Constantine to eternity in the House of Mystery, John convinces him to broadcast his punishment to all and sundry so that other Puny Earthlings won't commit the same offense that he did. It's a Batman Gambit of course; three demons who've purchased John's soul break into his prison because they are the ones who are supposed to make him suffer for eternity. John traps them and casually strolls out the Portal Door they created. And runs straight into Spectre again.
