8 Comic Book Characters Hollywood Will Never Understand

3. Constantine

John Constantine, a Vertigo mainstay and a defining character from DC's imprint, is slowly developing the renown he's deserved for years. Unfortunately for John (as well as his fans), getting to this stage hasn't been particularly easy.

In the original Hellblazer comics, Constantine is Liverpool born and bred, a master trickster and an occult con artist. He's disreputable, but charmingly so, and as a bisexual is one of DC's most high-profile LGBT* characters. If you'd only heard of the character through his 2005 movie, however - or even his short-lived 2014 TV show - all of this will have likely flown underneath the radar.

Francis Lawrence's Constantine movie may have boasted the talents of the ever-wonderful Keanu Reeves, but it just wasn't authentic. The film not only got rid of the character's trademark Merseyside roots - it straightwashed him too. The TV series faired better in one regard, with Matt Ryan taking the character back to the British Isles, but showrunner David Goyer wasn't interested in portraying the anti-hero authentically, also opting to forgo John's sexuality once again.

Ryan's depiction of the character has benefited from a move to TheCW, but a Constantine film remains a pipe dream for now and even then - given Hollywood's disastrous record when it comes to depicting LGBT* superheroes - it feels unlikely that he'll be portrayed properly.