Chantinelle

Chantinelle
The Succubus Chantinelle
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First Appearance	Hellblazer #43 (July 1991)
Created By	Garth Ennis (writer) Will Simpson (artist)
In-story information
Species	Demon
Place of Origin	Hell
Team Affiliations	John Constantine
Partnerships	John Constantine
Supporting Character Of	John Constantine
Notable Aliases	Ellie

For other uses of the word Succubus, see Succubus (disambiguation).

Cover of Hellblazer #60

Closeup of Chantinelle the Succubus

Ellie and her angel lover Tali

Ellie's true form

Chantinelle, also known as Ellie, is a fictional succubus character from the comic book series Hellblazer published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics. She is a disgraced succubus befriended by the notorious occultist John Constantine.

Character Data

• Real Name: Ellie
• Race: Demoness (Succubus)
• First Appearance : Hellblazer #43, Friends In High Places
• Last Appearance : Hellblazer #128, Sifting Through The Ashes

• Other Appearances In Hellblazer:

• Guys And Dolls (#59 - 61)
• Forty (#60)
• (#64 - 66 ) Fear And Loathing
• (#78 - 83 ) Rake At The Gates Of Hell
• (#92 - 96 ) Critical Mass

Summary

Quite literally a devil woman, Hellblazer's Ellie was an ambitious succubus who became a victim of her own ploy. She meant to seduce an angel and impress the lords of Hell, but instead she fell in love, and fell pregnant. In spite of John Constantine's help, both lover and child were destroyed by the forces of Heaven. After that event, she succeeded in seducing Gabriel himself and bringing him low. In the end, she was betrayed by John Constantine and returned to hell to face her end at their hands.

Powers/Abilities

Ellie can appear in two forms. One is a beautiful woman with demon wings on her back. The other is as her true form which resembles a classical demon appearance of leather skin, sharp teeth and razor sharp nails. Ellie can, like all Succubi, transform herself into the image of another's lover or fantasy woman in order to feed upon them or attack them during sex. She has the power of seduction as well as other classical powers of a succubus.

History

In Hellblazer #59, the succubus Chantinelle is approached by the First of the Fallen, who plans to use her to get to John Constantine, as they are old allies. She jumps across worlds to Earth, a task which severely hurts her; as she says 'I might never be well again'.

Hellblazer #60 is mainly a flashback, revealing what had brought the two together in the first place. In an ill-conceived attempt to advance her standing in the legions of Hell, Chantinelle, dancing on the border between heaven and hell, seduces one of the Heavenly Host, an angel named Tali. Her only mistake was to fall in love with him. They conceive a child together, and were forced to go into hiding. They approach Constantine, appearing on his doorstep, in Hellblazer #60, as the only neutral party who might be willing to help them.

Constantine takes them to an empty house that had been cleared of squatters. He makes a brief visit to the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane, chatting with a demonically-possessed patient to see if Hell knows of the pair. They do not and Constantine returns to the house, thinking he is in the clear. He is not. Constantine neglects to consider Heaven's interest in the matter. He does ponder the possibility of utilizing the two later, a spy in heaven and a spy in hell. When Ellie's baby is born, a contingent of angels appear. They incinerate Tali in a burst of energy. Helpess, John can do nothing but listen as they take the child. It is a slow process which involves lots of blood and many unearthly, magical sounds that deeply distress John.

Back in the present, Constantine casts a spell upon Ellie, a mark upon her soul, which makes her permanently invisible to Hellish detection. When the time came to pay Constantine back, Ellie found it to be a surprisingly pleasurable experience. Looking to get some heavy magical muscle onside for what he saw as an inevitable final confrontation with the First, John plotted the fall of the Archangel Gabriel. Taking the form of a human woman, Ellie seduced the Angel who killed her lover and tore her baby from her belly. Playing off Gabriel's fears and insecurities, and under the watchful eye of Constantine, Ellie was able to lead Gabriel to bed – his defenses down as they made love, she tore his beating heart from his chest. Gabriel was cast from Heaven for his indiscretions and with his heart now in John's possession, he found himself cast in the role of Constantine's slave. ( Hellblazer #66 )

Hellblazer #61 reveals that the First of the Fallen is still pursuing the succubus with the aid of her former mistress, Triskele, a skeletonized snake with a woman's head. The pair travel to Earth to look for her. They confront Constantine, still bloody from the soul procedure and both realize that the succubus is invisible to them now. Out of spite, the First tears Triskele apart.

Chantinelle is later seen in the park, having a difficult time becoming resigned to the fact she will never see her beloved hell again. The sigil would destroy her if she entered the infernal realms. An innocent compliment from a child greatly cheers her mood; moments before John steps in to discuss how to deal with the First. She agrees with his off-panel stated plan.

As it turns out, Gabriel would play no part of note in the ongoing war between Constantine and The First, Ellie on the other hand would find herself center stage. Taking the form of Astra Logue's damned spirit, Ellie struck a deal with The First, promising to deliver John into his all too eager hands. She proved good to her word, helping the First overcome the terms which prevented him from going after Constantine in person but then betrayed him at the last minute, revealing her true form as she plunged a blessed dagger into his back. Ellie was free to return to Hell, having sent The First to wherever it is that such creatures go when they die. ( Hellblazer #83 )

Which just so happens to be Earth where the First is forced to make a living as a Greek fisherman. A lovelorn servant of the First dedicates himself to returning his lord to power and succeeds after blackmailing Constantine into helping him. Ellie reprimands John for facilitating the First's homecoming to Hell, thus forcing her into hiding again. John's part in getting the First back on his throne had further repercussions for Ellie as Constantine found himself in need of her loving embrace... ( Hellblazer #96 )

Having excised the nastier parts of his soul in the creation of his Demonic counterpart, John found that he was no longer a whole being. With the days just drifting by, and unable to find any kind of emotional touchstone in his normal way of life, Constantine realised that he had to take steps to return to his old-self. At the prompting of his Demonic self, John finds Ellie in hell and seduces her, claiming that he loves her before....um...slipping her one. After the deed is done, and Constantine is back to feeling like the sarky bastard he is at heart, he tells her that he was lying about loving her. Ellie's furious but John reveals that the masking sigil on her soul will only work for as long as he lives, stopping her from taking any direct retribution against him. ( Hellblazer #104 )

Biding her time, Ellie formed a coalition with several of John's enemies and set about slowly ruining his life, cutting him off from his family and friends, leaving them all in danger while he sunk slowly into despair. When Constantine realised what was happening, he was forced to strike a deal with the First and try a little blackmail on God in order to right the wrongs carried out against those he loves. Part of his deal with the First involved him rescinding the masking sigil he'd placed on Ellie. Tracking Ellie to her hiding place, the First approached her in the guise of her dead lover before casting her into the depths of hell to suffer the tender mercies of Triskele. ( Hellblazer #128 )

External Links

• The original source of this article at Wikipedia
• Chantinelle at Comicvine
• [dc.wikia.com/wiki/Chantinelle_(New_Earth) Chantinelle at the DC Comics Wikia]
• Chantinelle at the Unofficial DC Universe Guide