- "In our last class, we touched on the subject of Nirvana. Achieving enlightenment. In order to do that, certain truths must be accepted. First and foremost, suffering is unavoidable. Secondly, you must understand that suffering is caused by craving. Humankind desires relief in ways that ultimately do not satisfy the soul. The third and final truth is that inner peace is possible. But humankind's suffering won't end until we learn how to stop our desire."
- —Prof. Richard Simpson[src]
Professor Richard "Ritchie" Simpson is a former member of the Newcastle Crew and the estranged friend of John Constantine.
Biography
Newcastle Incident and early life
Ritchie was present when John was trying to expel a demon from Astra Logue. The exorcism went wrong, and Astra's soul was banished to Hell. Ritchie suffered trauma from the incident and had trouble sleeping long after the event. Much like the rest of the Newcastle crew, Ritchie didn't want anything to do with John after this.[1]
Sometime prior to late 2014, Ritchie earned a doctorate and became a professor of metaphysics with Ivy University.[1]
Helping John
Years later, John later sought out Ritchie to help him send the demon, Furcifer, back to Hell.[1] On another occasion, Ritchie helped John solve a case of murders caused by an Egyptian ritual.[2]
Powers and abilities
Powers
- Magic: As a part of the Newcastle crew, Ritchie was skilled in the use of magic, although he seems to have given it up after the events of Newcastle.
- Interdimensional travel: Ritchie, along with John, knew the Egyptian dream temple technique that would allow them to travel to the reality of Jacob Shaw.
- Reality manipulation: While in the reality of Jacob Shaw, Ritchie was able to overide the world around him, despite it being created and controlled by Shaw. He was able to banish Shaw from his own reality, and reshape the entire world. Ritchie mentioned he had studied the principles of other planes, which allowed him to do this.
Abilities
- Skilled hacker: Ritchie was able to shut off the power grid of an entire city.
- Occult knowledge: Ritchie has acquired extensive knowledge of the supernatural.
Appearances
Constantine
- "Non Est Asylum"
- "The Saint of Last Resorts" (mentioned)
- "A Whole World Out There"
Behind the scenes
- In the DC comics, Ritchie Simpson is a friend of John Constantine who subsequently became a demon.
- Jeremy Davies reprised his role as Ritchie Simpson in the feature-length animated film Justice League Dark, alongside Matt Ryan as John Constantine. This film is not part of the shared multiverse, instead being released as part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies.