A controversial aspect of the too-short-lived Constantine was the character not being confirmed as bisexual, this being a canonical aspect of his original comics incarnation. After he was drafted in to Legends of Tomorrow, his orientation was better defined by showing him hooking up with both men and women, while the recent Justice League Dark: Apokolips War took this one step further by showing it’s not just humans that he’s attracted to.
The scene in question occurs about half an hour into the epic movie and involves Constantine and Raven, among others, recruiting the Suicide Squad as part of a plan to rectify the Justice League’s failure, whereupon they encounter Harley Quinn and King Shark. Upon seeing the pair, Constantine declares, “Oh, bollocks! It’s my ex!”, to which Raven deadpans “You and Harley? Gross.” Somewhat affronted, Constantine replies, “Do I look mad?” The shot then quickly pans up to King Shark, who gives a knowing wink as Constantine acts nervous.
While speaking to CBR, Matt Ryan revealed his reaction to the exchange and what he feels it means for how Constantine’s sexuality can be defined, saying:
“In Legends, then, he’s obviously bisexual and, with King Shark, he’s obviously ‘bi-specieal.’ So, Constantine is the most open, liberated person on the planet. I don’t know the logistics of how that works but I just guffawed when I was reading it. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s brilliant!’”
Bi-erasure is still a problem in much of popular media, with bisexuality often being perceived as being either gay people afraid to fully commit or straight people just ‘experimenting’ or ‘going through a phase.’ Constantine being portrayed as open in his preferences in a manner intended to neither titillate nor make a statement, but simply being a part of who he is, is more significant than is often given credit for. As such, the expansion on his romantic predilections in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War adds a significant, albeit humorous, facet to one of the most popular additions to DC adaptations in recent years.
