Justice League Dark is the eighth installment in the DC Animated Movie Universe. It was released digitally on January 24, 2017, and was later released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 7, 2017. A spin-off titled Constantine: City of Demons was released on October 9, 2018 (Film Version)
This is the first DC Animation full feature film to feature the Justice League: DARK superhero team that consists of John Constatine, Zatanna, Swamp Thing, Deadman, Black Orchid and Etrigan.
Synopsis[]
When innocent civilians begin committing unthinkable crimes across Metropolis, Gotham City and beyond, Batman must call upon mystical counterparts to eradicate this demonic threat to the planet. Enter Justice League Dark, reluctantly led by the Hellblazer himself, John Constantine. Like Batman, Constantine is a cunning, often cynical loner who is the best at his chosen profession – but quickly realizes the sinister forces plaguing the planet will require help from other supernatural alliances. Forming a new “league” with sorceress Zatanna, otherworldly Deadman, and Jason Blood and his powerful alter ego Etrigan the Demon, this team of Dark Arts specialists must unravel the mystery of Earth’s supernatural plague and contend with the rising, powerful villainous forces behind the siege – before it’s too late for all of mankind.
Plot[]
The movie starts in the present when ordinary people all around the world start attacking other people as in their view that they were demons. They were intervene by the Justice League and currently investigating the case, Wonder Woman believe it is a supernatural case which Batman doubt. As Batman is back home, a ghostly figure request Batman to find John Constantine.
Five days ago, Constantine and Jason Blood are playing a poker with three demons with Blood only searching for artifacts in the game. While Constantine ran out of money and lose in the process, he decide to raise the stake by adding the House of Mystery and its content to the wager. The demons decide to accept the wager and added their own stake, a treasure box full of treasures and artifacts, including an incomplete Dreamstone. The demons cheated by changing the cards but Constantine switch the cards to its original position. This cause the demons and Constantine to fight, the magician soon chant a spell that force Blood to summon Etrigan to defeat the demons. After the fight, Blood chastise Constantine for summoning Etrigan without his permission. Both men soon part ways with Constantine going back to his House.
In the present, Zatanna is performing a magic show in Gotham City. Batman drop by to ask Zatanna for Constantine location, while Zatanna claim she never had contact with Constantine for a while, the ghostly figure soon possess Batman and use him to ask Zatanna help before got ejected. She accept to help locate Constantine by summoning the House of Mystery to her desired location.
During the trip, she introduce a ghostly figure as Boston Brand aka Deadman, a talented trapeze artist who got in trouble with many enemies that soon cost him his life. Rama Kushna, a Hindu goddess, take pity on the performer and decide to grant him ghostly powers to find his murderer and bring him to justice. Deadman currently served Kushna and as the disturbance cases rise, she could feel that the cases threaten the fabric between the plane of existence and the afterlife and sent Deadman to gather a team to investigate and stop the madness.
A mysterious sorcerer soon attack the Batmobile by conjuring a tornado. The trio narrowly escape and took in safety in House of Mystery. They are soon introduced by the House's spirit, Black Orchid and Constantine decide to help the investigations. While he prefer to do it alone, Zatanna force Constantine to make a team to investigate the crimes together.
Their first stop is Constantine's former friend, Ritchie Sampson, a collector of magical artifacts and held a grudge on Constantine a long time. They find Shrouds at Ritchie's home and revealed that he was dying of cancer, Constantine dispatch the Shrouds away. As they are welcomed to the collector's house, Constantine revealed he need the Keshanti Key, an artifact that allow easier access the a person memories, which disappoint Ritchie as he expect Constantine to apologize for abandoning to his current predicament of his magical induced cancer. Batman soon convince Ritchie (also the fact he liked Batman) to give the key and the gang soon leave the house.
Their next stop is investigate the victim's memories in Metropolis Hospital. Batman and Deadman take watch with the latter possessing a nurse while Constantine and Zatanna goes inside the victim memories. While searching for the memories, they discuss about their way of life and perspective of the world as well. Meanwhile, the same mysterious sorcerer conjure a monster made of toilet filth in the hospital, killing on its path towards the victim. Deadman using several possessions to attempt save other people from the monster with Batman assisting Deadman. However, they fail to protect the victim from being consumed. Constantine and Zatanna managed to catch the culprit in the memory with Constantine capturing the image of the culprit's ring before escaping from being consumed.
They went back to Ritchie's to ask him about the ring's owner. However, they found him dying once more with Blood on the scene. Blood ran away with Constantine capturing him in the process while Batman inject an adrenaline to revitalize Ritchie. They take Ritchie and Blood to House of Mystery where Black Orchid tend to Ritchie while the gang interrogate Blood. Blood explained that he went to Ritchie to find an artifact that could locate the House of Mystery and found Ritchie dying at the scene. He also explain that he want to break into the House of Mystery for the Dreamstone that Constantine possessed and told a backstory. 500 hundred years ago, he and a group of knights attempt to fight an evil sorcerer by the name of Destiny, using the Dreamstone to conjure the victim's nightmare to reality and consume their torment. However, they were all killed in the process, Merlin soon summon Etrigan to fight Destiny in promise that he will free the demon. Etrigan succeed in defeating the sorcerer and damaged the artifact, with Destiny claiming he will return. Merlin, heed to Destiny warning, decide to alter the deal with Etrigan and bond the dying Blood with the demon in order to prepare for Destiny upcoming resurrection. While Blood attempt to take the artifact, it is reveal to be intangible and Constantine reassured Blood that no one can get the artifact.
As soon Ritchie wakes up, he help identified the ring owner as Felix Faust, an evil sorcerer who had run ins with the Justice League. He is located in the Observatory of the Cosmos where is proven to be impossible to be located and hidden from the world. The team reluctantly ask Swamp Thing aka Alec Holland, a spirit that its duty to protect the green of the Earth, to locate Faust's observatory. Liken by Zatanna's care for her garden, he decide to transport the team to the observatory location which is hidden in magical means. Swamp Thing refuse to help the team as he has no interest in helping humanity.
The team soon battled with Faust with Etrigan surprise attack Faust during his mediation which Faust summon 3 demons to handle Etrigan. Zatanna briefly took the spell tome Faust is having but unable to conjure a spell as Faust place a spell that don't allow women to speak in his observatory, in order to take away Zatanna's ability to conjure spells as he believed she is a major threat. Deadman soon possess Faust briefly to allow Zatanna to escape from Faust attack. Faust managed to subdue Deadman but not before attacked by Constantine and Batman, Faust soon use water to trap Constantine which Batman retaliate by using his bat hook to snatch the sorcerer's book, disabling the spell and using the hook for Constantine safety. As the battle went on with Etrigan managed to defeat the demons, Zatanna uses a locater spell to find the source of her curse. The curse location would be a female statue with a gag on. Constantine uses a black diamond to escape Faust attack, Etrigan briefly fought Faust before forcibly turn back to Blood by Faust. He soon attacked by Zatanna and was caught by Faust but not before taking the curse statue, she was freed by Batman and remove her curse. She uses her full power to defeat Faust and lose control of herself, she managed regain her control thanks to Constantine.
After the battle, they interrogate Faust over the ring but Blood declared that Faust is not the culprit as he had access the same 3 demons from the poker game, this means he could have the Dreamstone anytime he want and the artifact is still in possession by the demons and Constantine in the time period. They clued in that Ritchie sent them on the false culprit and his health problem is not what it seems. Meanwhile, as Black Orchid look after Ritchie, he open his cane to reveal the missing piece of the Dreamstone and shield himself from the spirit. Due to Constantine orders to do what Ritchie wants, Black Orchid had no choice but to obey, he order her to destroy her physical form so he can steal the artifact easily.
The team went back to the House of Mystery and was suspended by Ritchie. It was revealed that after Constantine abandoned Ritchie, he travel around the world to find a cure for his cancer and found the small piece of the Dreamstone where it reveal that it contain the spirit of Destiny. Ritchie had follow Destiny orders to spread chaos around the world in exchange for immortality. Unfortunately, Destiny decide to complete the Dreamstone and used Ritchie as a body for his spirit. Destiny soon destroy the House of Mystery with Zatanna using her remaining magic before she passed out from the stress. The team decide to leave Zatanna in a safety bubble and head to Metropolis to stop Destiny anyway they could.
Back in Metropolis, Destiny use the Dreamstone to spread chaos around the city with the team ready to engage the sorcerer. Deadman attempt to posses Destiny but he had a impregnatable magical shield that protect him from any harm. The Justice League are dispatch to engage Destiny with Green Lantern first in line but the Dreamstone infect the JL minds, mistaken their teammates as demons. Batman deal with Green Lantern while the rest attempt to deal with Destiny, Etrigan engage with Destiny once more but he uses a magic beam that sever the bond between Blood and Etrigan. Constantine decide to invite Swamp Thing into the fight by framing Destiny by burning a tree near Destiny.
Meanwhile, Zatanna managed to hold the other JL members, allowing Batman to fight Destiny. Swamp Thing and Destiny continue to fight until Destiny won which he tore the corpse of Alec Holland off the Swamp Thing, forcing the creature to retreat. This left Constantine and Deadman to pull one last trick on Destiny, Constantine goad Destiny into forcing him into his bubble shield, which made him vulnerable to Deadman possession which he possess Constantine earlier. This broke the magical shield and made me vulnerable, allowing Blood to stab Destiny with Etrigan sword. Soon, Constantine use a magical spell to sent Destiny to hell once more, Destiny attempt to grab the Dreamstone but was destroyed by Batman's Batarang. This send Destiny back to Hell and freeing Ritchie in the process. However, this made Ritchie vulnerable to the Shroud and grab his soul to Hell, the team refuse to help Ritchie as there is still the potential of Destiny using him in the process.
While the battle is over, Blood succumb to his old wound and died a dignified death. Constantine, Zatanna and Etrigan buried and mourn his tombstone near his home village. After Etrigan left, it is revealed that Zatanna decided to join the Justice League and Batman invited Constantine to the team. Constantine accepts and decides to invite Zatanna for a drink in newly repaired House of Mystery. Deadman is also invited to the House by Black Orchid. Eventually the House disappears to nowhere as the movie ends.
Cast[]
- Matt Ryan as John Constantine/Hellblazer
- Jason O'Mara as Bruce Wayne/Batman
- Camilla Luddington as Zatanna Zatara
- Nicholas Turturro as Boston Brand/Deadman
- Ray Chase as Jason Blood/Etrigan the Demon
- Roger R. Cross as Alec Holland/Swamp Thing
- Jerry O'Connell as Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman
- Rosario Dawson as Princess Diana/Diana Prince/Wonder Woman
- Roger R. Cross as John Stewart
- Jeremy Davies as Ritchie Simpson
- Enrico Colantoni as Felix Faust
- Alfred Molina as Destiny
- Colleen Villard as Black Orchid
- JB Blanc as Abnegazar
- Jeffrey Vincent Parise as Rath
- Fred Tatasciore as Ghast
Notes[]
- According to Zatanna, the earth near Faust's observatory is saturated with dark magic.
- The Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, has temporarily traded sectors with fellow Lantern, John Stewart, taking his place in the Justice League.
- Hawkman and the Martian Manhunter have joined the Justice League prior to the film.
- Behind the scenes its stated that it's not necessary to use solo hero movies to keep bringing new heroes.
- Faust is apparently strong enough to cast spells without incantations, while Zatanna speaks hers backwards, and Constainine speaks Latin to invoke magic.
- It's suggested David Copperfield is a true magician in this universe. Being liked by the Demons Three; they find his "woman in a box" trick to be classy.
- Constantine backs this up by telling Blood "Owns a chain of islands and dated Claudia Schiffer as proof of Copperfield's magic.
- It’s the first movie in the DC Animated Movie Universe to be rated R by the MPAA.
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