Hero Profile: Zatanna

Magic and Sorcery have been part of comics for a very long time. The heaviest hitters for the two main companies beings Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme of Marvel Earth, and Doctor Fate, the name given to whom so ever wears the Helmet of Fate a mystical object that holds a Lord of Order Magic within. And, while these two are the respective masters of the craft, there are a few others that dabble in Magic. Zatanna Zatara is one of those dabblers.

The white gloves are a nice touch.

Zatanna is the daughter of Giovanni Zatara, a famous stage magician and sorcerer, and Sindella, a member of genetically gifted humans known as the Hidden Tribe. Sindella was forced to abandon her husband and child, magic stuff, and Giovanni had to raise Zatanna alone. The father/daughter pair traveled the world for several years, drawing crowds with their act, while Giovanni battled evil magic on the down low. Things were good for a while, until Giovanni battled an evil elemental named Allura. Allura cursed Giovanni and his daughter, stating that if they ever saw each other again they’d be struck dead. Very specific and dickish curse. Giovanni reluctantly left his daughter and went into hiding.

A few years later, Zatanna started her own magic show in a costume modeled after her father’s act. She searched for her father, no one mentioned the whole curse thing to her I guess, and discovered his old journals. The journals explained her heritage and how members of her father’s side of the family utilized magic. Apparently all she needs to do is say words backwards, for example, if she wants to gag someone she says “gaG mih,” instead of “Gag him.” Simple stuff, really. She continued her stage career, augmenting her shows with real magic, and started dabbling in being a Superhero. She crossed paths with members of the JLA and was eventually able to lift the curse on herself and her father. Her mother returned a short time later. And a short time after that they both died tragically, in separate instances.

I'd comment on the costume, but
remember, she's originally a
performer. And magic lets you
break a few rules.

She joined the Justice League and became a long standing member. The most interesting storyline that arouse for her in a long time occurred with the villainous Doctor Light. The sick twisted SoB raped the wife of JL member Elongated Man. They apprehend Light and Zatara used her powers to erase Elongated Man’s identity and other League Secrets from his mind. It was then that the idea occurred to Zatara that she could potentially alter his and other villain’s personalities to keep them from repeate offending. The seven members present voted on the action, Zatanna, Hawkman and the Atom vote for her to do it, Black Canary, Greens Arrow and Lantern against. The Flash (Barry) breaks the tie for after a little deliberation. She begins the process, just before Batman arrives and tries to stop it. He’s disabled, Zatanna completes her work, and then wipes Batman’s mind of the incident. The results were not encouraging, Doctor Light’s IQ dropped substantially. Her mind wiping villains and Batman becomes something of a story arc for her, and she eventually swears off doing it again. Batman’s initially, and understandably, pissed when he found out what she’d done to him, but eventually gets over it. Zatanna eventually retires, for the most part. She still steps in to help when called.

Zatanna is a gifted sorcerous and natural showman… show-woman. Her skill and power in magic is due in no small part to being the child of two incredibly powerful magic-users. Originally only able to cast spells by speaking the phrases backwards, but after a bit of training with her mother she no longer needs to. She still does, though, old habits. Her powers are on par with Doctor Fate and Shazam. Her powers are largely tied to her mental state and confidence. Also, for a time her powers were completely tied to her voice, so all you needed to do to stop her was gag her. Not the best weakness, Zatanna, just saying. She’s also a skilled illusionist, having practiced long and hard before she’d discovered her powers. She’s so skilled in the Three-Card Shuffle, you known that card game with three face down cards and the trick is to find the “winning card,” that it requires a skilled professional gambler to follow the movement of her hands. Do not gamble with this woman.

Remember, master of sleight of hand and real magic.
Keep your distance.

Zatanna has appeared in a number of DC series, usually alongside Batman. Apparently they use to have a thing. Shocking right?

Zatanna appeared in a Batman: The Animated Series episode, titled “Zatanna.” She was portrayed as an illusionist with no apparent magic powers. She and Bruce knew each other while he was doing his whole journey and training around the world. In Batman’s present, she gets framed for several thefts, and teams ups with the caped crusader to clear her name. He reveals his identity to her part way through the episode.

She also appears in Justice League: Unlimited in the episode “This Little Piggy,” where she helps Batman restore Wonder Woman after her nemesis Circe turned her into a pig. At the end of the episode she and Circe get to hear Batman sing “Am I Blue” in an old timey jazz club.  Bats has a lovely singing voice. Just saying.

A teenage Zatanna appears alongside the Young Justice team on said show. She’s the first member to join the team after the core six. It takes a while for her to join, though, since her father Giovanni is very protective. Zatanna acts as a temp for most of her early appearences. She helped the Team recover Red Tornado in “Humanity”, a twister creating android that was their Guardian before his own kidnapping. She teams up with Artemis when she goes out to blow off so steam in the episode “Secrets.” They come across a psycho named Harm that had gotten his hands on the Sword of Beowulf. Yes, that Beowulf. They defeat Harm with the aid of his sister’s Ghost. Creepy, right? She officially joins the Team after “Misplaced” where The Light use a powerful magic circle to split the world into two separate universes, one for children and one for people 18+. Thanks to age changing Captain Marvel (Shazam), they launch a counter offensive. She dons the Helmet of Doctor Fate in a last ditch effort to reunite reality. Doctor Fate, having possessed Zatanna when she put on the Helmet, says he plans to keep her as his host so he can be a force for good once more. Giovanni begs to take her place, and is allowed to say goodbye before giving his body to the spirit. Her remaining story arc centers around coming to terms with the fact her father is functionally dead. Hits you right here. Pointing to my heart, this verbal only medium makes gestures hard. This universe has her have a flirtatious and later romantic relationship with Robin, as perhaps a nod to her romance with Batman in the comics.

She'll "teS miH nO eriF" if you cross her. Fair warning.

A live action version of Zatanna appeared in Smallville, portrayed by Serinda Swan. Her initial appearance is in season 8 entitled “Hex.” She causes a bunch of trouble trying to get her hands on her father’s spellbook in an attempt to resurrect him. Changing people’s looks, temporarily removing Clark’s powers, and the like. The spell, unfortunately, is more of a switch rather than a straight resurrection. Giovanni lives while Zatanna takes his place in the afterlife. Clark Kent and Oliver Queen convince her to stop at the last moment. She reappears in the next season, now searching for rogue magic items her father left behind. Chiefly, a cursed comic that turns the reader into the character. It goes to some dark places.

Zatanna is a very likeable character. She’s got the heroes legacy thing hanging over her head and is trying very, very hard to live up to the legacy her father left behind. Her magic abilities are interesting, I think that the speaking backwards thing is a nice change up from the usual faux Latin that most spell casters seem to use. The whole Magician being a real magic user thing has been done several times now, but she was one of the first and is still one of the best. She’s the Marvelous Magician, Zatanna. Next time: Black Canary. Bring earplugs.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zatanna

 http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Zatanna_Zatara_%28Injustice:_The_Regime%29

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zatanna#mediaviewer/File:Serinda_Swan_as_Zatanna_Zatara.jpg

 http://dcanimated.wikia.com/wiki/File:Zatanna.jpg