Anime vs DC · City to planet · Mismatch
Ryomen Sukuna vs John Constantine
The King of Curses loves binding vows. John Constantine has been cheating devils at their own contracts for thirty years.
Tale of the tape
| Jujutsu Kaisen | Universe | DC |
|---|---|---|
| City to planet | Tier | Street level |
| Dismantle, Cleave and the Malevolent Shrine domain | Strength | Occult knowledge, cunning and a talent for tricking demons into bad deals |
| Treats every fight as entertainment | Weakness | Everyone around him tends to get hurt |
| 3–3 | Record on Versus | 1–0 |
The Arena
Sukuna came through a rift into London, smelling the city’s centuries of curses and misery, and found it delightful. He was looking for something to amuse him when a scruffy Englishman in a trench coat sat down beside him at a pub bar and lit a cigarette. “You’re the new nasty in town,” said John Constantine. “I can smell you from Soho.”
Sukuna turned all four eyes toward him and grinned with both mouths. “A sorcerer. A weak one.” Constantine blew smoke in his face. “Weak, sure. But clever. And clever beats strong more often than you’d think, mate.” Sukuna laughed. “Then let us make a vow. A contest. If I win, I eat you. If you win, I leave this city.”
Constantine smiled, the smile of a man who has signed many contracts with many monsters. “Go on, then. Let’s write it down.”
Round One
They wrote it down on a beer mat, in curse-blood and cigarette ash. Sukuna wrote the terms: if he defeated Constantine, he could eat him. Constantine read it carefully and added one line at the bottom, in very small handwriting. Sukuna did not bother to read it. He never reads the small print. He has never needed to.
Then Sukuna attacked, and Constantine ran. He ran out of the pub, through the alleys, into an abandoned church, with invisible slashes cutting the walls around him. He threw holy water over his shoulder. He threw salt. He threw a pint glass. Sukuna laughed and kept coming.
Constantine reached the church, slammed the door, and lit a candle. Sukuna cut the door in half.
The Turn
Sukuna formed a hand sign. “Domain Expansion. Malevolent Shrine.” The church filled with skulls, and every surface began to cut. Constantine stood in the middle of it, smoking, his coat being shredded around him, and held up the beer mat. “Before you do that, mate, you might want to read the last line.”
Sukuna paused, out of curiosity. He looked at the beer mat. The line at the bottom, in Constantine’s small handwriting, said: “This contest is won by whoever can make the other one laugh first.” Sukuna stared at it. Then he started laughing. He could not help it. It was the most outrageous trick anyone had ever played on him.
And the moment he laughed, the binding vow took hold.
The Finish
Binding vows are absolute. Sukuna had agreed to the contract, including the line he had not read, and the moment he laughed, he lost. The domain collapsed. The vow’s terms took effect, and Sukuna felt the power of his own oath pulling him out of London, back toward the rift he had come through.
He looked at Constantine, still laughing despite himself, furious and delighted at the same time. “You tricked the King of Curses with a beer mat,” he said. Constantine shrugged and lit another cigarette. “I’ve tricked worse. The devil himself, three times.”
Sukuna vanished through the rift, still laughing. Constantine sat down in the ruined church, looking at his shredded coat, and sighed. “That was my good coat,” he muttered. Then he went back to the pub, ordered a pint, and told nobody what had happened. Nobody would have believed him anyway.
The verdict
John Constantine wins
Sukuna is overwhelmingly more powerful and could kill Constantine in a second, but binding vows are absolute, and Constantine slips a line into the contract that Sukuna laughs at before he reads it.
- Binding vowsSukuna’s own rules force him to honour the contract.
- CunningConstantine has cheated devils at their own deals.
- The fine printSukuna never reads it, because he never needed to.
How the rematch could go differently: A Sukuna who refused any vow and simply attacked would kill Constantine instantly, which is why Constantine never fights fair.
Who do you think wins?
Who would win in a fight between Ryomen Sukuna and John Constantine?
John Constantine wins. Sukuna is overwhelmingly more powerful and could kill Constantine in a second, but binding vows are absolute, and Constantine slips a line into the contract that Sukuna laughs at before he reads it.