WARNING: Spoilers follow for Hellblazer: Rise and Fall #3 by Tom Taylor, Darick Robertson, Diego Rodriguez & Deron Bennett, on sale now.
John Constantine has never been afraid to get his hands dirty to solve any problem. He has proven that he will do anything to anyone to achieve his goals, and that includes making deals other heroes would never touch. He has also proven that he will do anything to himself, including sacrificing himself in horrific ways, to ensure no one else gets hurt.
Constantine just proved these facts over again twice recently, with two actions that were horrific examples of the lengths he would go to with the sole goal of stopping evil. In DCeased: Dead Planet #7 by Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, Gigi Baldassini, Stefano Gaudiano, Rain Beredo & Saida Temofonte, Trigon was finally succeeding in his one mission of destroying the Earth.
Zatanna and the Phantom Stranger showed up in Paris to help Constantine battle Trigon, but John hadn't shown up yet. Instead, he took a detour to help Superman (Jon Kent) and Batman (Damian Wayne). Constantine had Doctor Fate's helmet and Ragman's cloak, and he found where the corrupt politicians, businessmen, billionaires, crime bosses, and more were hiding from the ravaging of the Earth. John showed up and used Ragman's cloak to suck all the corrupt souls into it to help prepare for his battle against Trigon.
Constantine showed up and hit Trigon with everything he had, but it was only enough to slow him down. Trigon finally landed the blow that killed John Constantine, but that was the plan all along. John had stolen Boston Brand's power as the Deadman, and since he collected all the magic he did, he was now the most powerful dead thing that ever existed. He used this power to possess Triton, and using the stolen magic, overtook the demon's consciousness. He shrunk him to human size, took a spear from Zatanna, and stabbed himself through the chest, killing Trigon once and for all. With that, Constantine didn't go to Heaven or Hell. He just blinked out of existence, a perfectly laid plan that saved the world and his own soul at the same time.
In the case of Hellblazer: Rise and Fall #3, Constantine had a powerful demon to battle, one he was responsible for. Billy was a childhood friend of John's who Constantine accidentally used a spell to bind to a demon. The boy and his father had killed 40 wealthy people in 10 years, building their own empire. His dad had been arrested, and Billy planned to go to the jail where his father was being held. He had no idea Constantine was there, with a deranged plan. John gave the father a gun and said they could deal with this once and for all, freeing the man from the demon-possessed child's control. When Billy arrived, John revealed he already told his dad the real Billy died 30 years ago. The father leveled the gun, so the demon left Billy to take over his dad's body before he could pull the trigger. That allowed John to execute off his master plan. The police showed up, and John said the man had a gun and was going to kill the boy, which caused the police to open fire and kill the father. The demon, Despondeo, was forced to escape from the now dead body, and it escaped.
John realized he had only one chance. With Lucifer by his side, he found the original spell to bind the despair demon and summoned it to possess him. However, Constantine also had another spell ready. Chaz cast a spell that sent the demon inside John's body with him, and Constantine cast a spell that brought about every good feeling he ever had in his life to the surface. This was a despair demon that fed on misery, and the happiness and joy tortured the demon, sapping it of all its powers. Constantine transferred much of the money the demon stole to people who had nothing, bringing even more euphoria since John hates billionaires more than anything. When he finished, Despondeo was weakened to the point where Lucifer pulled him out of Constantine and consumed him.
In one battle, John Constantine allowed himself to die to possess and defeat the mighty Trigon. In the second, John allowed a demon to possess him while using the power of joy to weaken and kill it. In both cases, John went where no one would have thought, made major sacrifices, and proved he is DC's greatest demon slayer.
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