WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Justice League Dark #26 by Ram V, Amancay Nahuelpan, June Chung and Rob Leigh, on sale now.

The final battle between the Justice League Dark and the Upside-Down Man seems to be drawing ever closer as "the backup brigade," the loving name Detective Chimp, the new Doctor Fate, Constantine,and Man-Bat gave themselves, join Wonder Woman, Swamp Thing and Zatanna against the foe who has plagued them since this series began.

During their showdown in Justice League Dark #26, Constantine is stabbed through the heart by the Upside-Down Man. However, the con-man and magician seems oddly at peace with his fate, which begs the question of whether John Constantine knows something that the other Justice League Dark members don't.

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Justice League Dark Constantine Death

Earlier in the issue, Detective Chimp and Constantine consult Madame Xanadu about how to defeat the Upside-Down Man, but as Xanadu reminds them, "I do not offer my aid to meddlers anymore." She does, though, offer some help in reminding them that the power of magic is in the belief in magic. "And what is magic if not the power to change reality with belief?" Before the two leave, Madame Xanadu asks Constantine if he wants her to turn over the last of his tarot cards during his reading. He tells her not to bother since The Fool is always his card. After they leave, she turns the third card over and exposes the "Death" card.

As Detective Chimp, Constantine, Doctor Fate, and Man-Bat get ready to join the fight, Detective Chimp expresses his concern for going up against the Upside-Down Man without having a plan. However, Constantine assures them that there's always been a plan and that they all have a part to play.

This plan goes back to the late Zatara, whose role is to endure unending torment. The backward spells of his daughter,  Zatanna, held more power in the Upside-Down Man's realm. Constantine's role was to find Swamp Thing because Swampy was the only one who could use the Green to bridge the two worlds together. Finally, Doctor Fate's role was to convince the Parliament of Life "to keep the balance of magic." All of these aspects are part of a bigger plan that is now unraveling even though the endgame still isn't known.

Related: Justice League Dark Rewrote A Big Part Of Swamp Thing's Powers

The Upside-Down Man plans on entering and sucking all of Hecate's benevolent magic dry from our world, but even this creature has played its role. The Upside-Down Man is a creation of Hecate's "own dark reflection." With this revelation, the Upside-Down Man stabs Constantine through the heart, the very act that Madame Xanadu foresaw in his tarot reading, apparently killing John.

As Constantine lays in Zatanna's arms dying, the Upside-Down Man asks him, "Where is your magic now?" Not appearing phased by being stabbed, Constantine simply looks at his would-be killer and smiles. Packed in that smile is a sense of self-satisfaction that Constantine knows that neither his story nor his part in the plan to defeat their enemy is over.

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