Zatanna

ZATANNA

Real Name: Zatanna Zatara

Class: Human / Homo magi hybrid

Occupation: Superhero, stage magician

Group Affiliation: formerly Justice League of America, Sentinels of Magic, Justice League of Amazons, Justice League of Apostles

Known Relatives: Sinderella (mother, deceased), Leonardo Da Vinci (ancestor, deceased), John Zatara (father, deceased), Luigi Zatara (great grandfather, deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile, formerly New York City

First Appearance: Hawkman I #4 (October, 1964)

Powers: Zatanna was a masterful magician who cast her spells by pronouncing each word of her commands backwards. The source of her power was a medulla jewel located in her brain that brimmed with magical energies. This medulla jewel was part of her Homo magi heritage.

History: Zatanna was the daughter of the magician Zatara and Sinderella, a member of the Homo magi race. Sinderella left Zatara and Zatanna six months after Zatanna was born. The evil Allura cast a spell on the father and daughter, cursing them to die the next time they saw each other. This forced Zatara to abandon his daughter, and Zatanna grew up alone.

(Hawkman I #4) - Zatanna became a stage magician, and later a crimefighter. Zatanna dedicated herself to finding the missing Zatara, and searched the world. She wanted to investigate the lost city of Yin in China and the Hill of Tara in Ireland because those were the last known locations of an evil lama and the Druid, two villains Zatara was pursuing. She tried to split herself in two, but unfamiliar with some of the more advanced spells she ended up in both locations, but immobile and mystically drained. She used the last of her power to move a Shang statue and a Celtic goblet to the Midway City Museum, and hoped the curators Hawkman and Hawkgirl would investigate. The hawks found the two Zatanna, and brought them together, allowing her to recombine. She told them of her dilemma, and they used the absorbascon to search Earth, but found no one had knowledge of Zatara's location, and with heavy heart Zatanna left to pursue other avenues.

She enlisted the help of the Justice League to find her father, and they were able to locate Allura's good counterpart, who broke the curse that separated father and daughter.

(Flash I #198) -

(Justice League of America #87) -

(Superman’s Girl Friend Lois Lane #132) - Zatanna gave a magic performance for the children’s ward of a hospital. The hospital doctors asked her to give a special performance for young Matty, a boy genius whose arms were paralyzed. Zatanna found Matty to be a harsh critic, he thought her magic was fake and tried to give scientific explanations for all her spells. Although he didn’t like her magic Matty was overjoyed when Zatanna sat down and broke her chair. This mishap was enough to break his psychosomatic paralysis as he clapped at Zatanna’s pratfall.

Zatanna joined the Justice League, and was briefly reunited with Sinderella, who sacrificed her life to save Zatanna and Zatara from the Hidden Ones.

(DC Comics Presents #18) - Zatara and Zatanna traveled to the upstate NY mansion of Madame Van Jung to search her library and investigate some of Zatanna’s theories on the origin of magic. From what she gleaned, magical energy came from another dimension, and was tapped by an evolutionary adaptation possessed by Homo Magus and their descendants and hybrids, such as herself. She tried to contact the magic dimension, but Muri The Sorcerer of that dimension was trying to contact Earth at the same time leading to a rift between the two worlds. Magic energy flooded into Earth, giving almost everyone magical powers, but Zatanna lost hers. Caligro The Great, a failed stage magician who blamed his shortcomings on people with real superpowers and magical abilities summoned Zatanna and Superman from his Fortress of Solitude. He planned to destroy the heroes, but Zatanna revealed to Superman that hi weakness to magic was because he didn’t share the same gene pool as Homo Magus/Homo sapiens, and he could use his newfound powers to his advantage under her guidance. Superman defeated Caligro, and with Zatann’s help he sealed the rift to the magical dimension, returning all the magical energies to their proper place.

(Identity Crisis #3 (fb)) - The Secret Society switched bodies with the JLA. They took time to document the JLA’s secret identities. After being defeated the JLA erased their memories with Zatanna’s help.

(Identity Crisis #2, 6 (fb) - Atom and the JLA defeated Hector Hammond, and then received a distress call from Sue Dibny from the JLA satellite. They found Sue being savaged by Dr. Light and quickly defeated him. Elongated Man took Sue to the hospital, but Light threatened the rest of the JLA, telling them he’d find their loved ones and do to them what he did to Sue. Hawkman proposed that they mindwipe Dr. Light and make him less of the threat, and Zatanna sided with him. After the deciding vote was cast Zatanna used her magic to erase Light’s memory, but in trying to alter her personality she magically lobotomized him, making him a minimal threat. Batman saw what they were doing and tried to stop them, so they decied to erase his memory of what they did to Light.

(Catwoman III #50 (fb)) - The Justice League of America went behind Batman's back, and kidnapped Catwoman, who was quite close to him even though she was a criminal. Zatanna, reluctantly taking orders from Hawkman, planted a seed in Catwoman's mind to turn her from villain to hero.

(Flash II #215 (fb)) - Flash came to Zatanna and the JLA and asked Zatanna to brainwash Top, one of his most dangerous foes, and make him into a hero. The League debated the morality of once again having Zatanna alter someone’s mind, but Zatanna agreed to help Flash because she thought it would be to Top’s benefit to be reformed. Top’s time as a hero was brief; his memories of his horrendous past soon drove him mad.

(Justice League of America #256, 257) -

(Zatanna #1-4) -

(Spectre III #16-18) - Zatanna got a call to return to the stage, but said she'd given ehr props and fishnets to a woman named Zee Deux, and said to call her. Phantom Stranger appeared, he was assembling a crew to save the world from the Spectre, who was ready to pass judgment on all of Earth. Zatanna said that's what power was for, using it for a noble purpose, and joined him, and the Stranger said she would be the bridge between the corrupt Demon and the good Dr. Fate. He said after Madame Xanadu joined them their group would be complete. Stranger contacted Xanadu, and she already knew his plan, he hoped Spectre and Eclipso would destroy each other, or failing that be weakened enough for the Stranger to destroy the embodiments of wrath with the heart of darkness. Xanadu refused to join him, foreseeing his plan failing. Stranger called her petty, and she said the same was true of him for still blaming her for her mentor's foreordained demise. Eclipso possessed Spectre, and shatter the heart of darkness, allowing him to walk the Earth unfettered. Madame Xanadu was taking a different tack, along with Ramban and Father Craemer she summoned the soul of Jim Corrigan, hoping to reach the Spectre's human side, and knowing he'd been unstable since his anchor Amy Beitermann died. Father Craemer reached out to Jim, and Corrigan realized that he was very tired of his responsibility, and that he wished the world was gone so he could go into eternity. Craemer convinced him that there were other good souls like Amy Beitermann, Jim, revitalized, took back control of the Spectre form Eclipso, and entrapped him in the heart of darkness. He destroyed Eclipso's moon palace, and turned the heart of darkness into dust. The Spectre said his judgment was that he could only judge humanity on a case by case basis. The Archangel Michael appeared, and said Spectre had been tested, but passed. He would never have been allowed to destroy the world without God stopping him, and Heaven wanted Spectre to continue his work. Zatanna told Phantom Stranger their interference was unnecessary, especially if he already knew God would not have allowed Spectre to go unchecked, and Stranger replied that he acted as he saw fit.

(Adventures of Superman #522 (fb)) - Zatanna received a psychic nudge from Lord Satanus to go to Metropolis and offer Superman her help in rebuilding the city after it was destroyed during Zero Hour. She linked her mind with Superman and Perry White to cast a spell that restored Metropolis using their memories.

(Green Arrow III #16 (fb)) - Zatanna attended Oliver Queen's funeral.

(Impulse #17) - Zatanna performed in Manchester and fellow heroes Impulse and Max Mercury attended the show. She asked Impulse to be her assistant for the night despite Max's objections. Impulse ruined her act, escaping from a tank of water before she could free him and doing her magic tricks for her because he was so impatient. Zatanna got fed-up and cast a spell that made Impulse disappear. He landed in the extradimensional land of Kroz, and Zatanna, regretting her hasty act, followed him and was immediately captured by Wizard Kroz because her magic didn't work in this dimension. Impulse liked Kroz because it was full of giant monsters and reminded him of a video game. After defeating Wizard Kroz and his lackeys he found a mystic staff that allowed them to return home. Zatanna told him she'd never need his help for anything ever again and asked him to get lost.

(Final Night #3, 4) - The Sun-Eater engulfed the sun, leading to worldwide freezing. Ray nearly killed himself generating light and heat for a South American village, but Zatanna and Fire saved his life. Zatanna summoned Firestorm to generate globes of energy to keep the village safe. Earth was saved when Parallax sacrificed his life to dispel the Sun-Eater and reignite the sun.

(Spectre III #62) - Corrigan decided to give up the mantle of the Spectre, at last seeking peace in death. Craemer arranged for his bones to be buried in a small grave, and performed a funeral service, with all of the friends Corrigan met as the Spectre attending, including Zatanna. The Spectre-Force vanished and Jim ascended to Heaven.

(Green Lantern 80-Page Giant #2) - During one of her magic shows a wizard cast a spell on Zatanna that banished her to another dimension. Green Lantern IV was at her show and also sucked up by the spell. Zatanna and Lantern defeated the sorcerer, and witnessed him burst into flames, the price of failing to usurp Zatanna’s power for his master. Zatanna and Lantern returned to Earth.

(Day of Judgment #1-5) - When Asmodel merged with the Spectre and unleashed Hell on Earth Zatanna formed the Sentinels of Magic to combat him. The Sentinels of Magic separated Asmodel from most of the Spectre-Force, containing it in Madame Xanadu's orb. They knew it was a temporary solution, so Zatanna and a small team of heroes went to Hell to reignite its' fires that Asmodel put out so the demon army on Earth would return home. They defeated Cerberus to gain entry to Hell, but once there they fell into the River Styx. Their souls were assaulted by their worst nightmares, but Faust, who had no soul, saved them. The heroes were ready to reignite the hellfire pits when they were attack by Nebiros. Firestorm destroyed Nebiros, and Faust reignited the pits, returning the demons to Hell. Zatanna and the others returned to Earth to confront Asmodel. The soul of Green Lantern Hal Jordan took over the Spectre-Force from Asmodel, who was taken to Heaven to be imprisoned for his crimes.

(JLA #39, 41) - Zatanna was among the legion of heroes summoned by the JLA to quell worldwide outbreaks of warfare that were incited by Mageddon.

(Sins of Youth: Batboy and Robin #1) - During a performance in Gotham City Zatanna was kidnapped by Niko and Vani Asalachi who wanted her to remove a curse that a witch placed on them. She was rescued by Batman and Robin, who had their ages reversed by Klarion the Witchboy and needed Zatanna to undo the spell. The spell was too strong for her to undo, the only effect her magic had was to switch their costumes.

(Justice Leagues: JL? #1, Justice Leagues: Justice League of Amazons #1) - When the Advance Man made the world forgot that the JLA ever existed the individual members still had a vague memory of the team and formed their own Justice Leagues. Zatanna was recruited to be in Wonder Woman’s Justice League of Amazons. The League of Amazons blocked R.A. Vaje, Inc. from destroying the Selva Basin of the Amazon rainforest. Unbeknownst to the Amazons, they did the Advance Man a favor, he discovered an unbelievably deadly species of spider in Selva that he planned to ravage Earth’s population with, and the Amazons actions saved the spiders from extinction.

(Justice Leagues: Justice League of Atlantis #1, Justice Leagues: JLA #1) - Zatanna left the Amazons to join Zauriel’s Justice League of Apostles. The Apostles offered to help Aquaman’s Justice League of Atlantis attack Advance Man’s techno-organic island, but Aquaman refused their aid out of pride. The Leagues of Amazons and Apostles disbanded following the reformation of the Justice League of America.

(Martian Manhunter II #28) - Zatanna and the Sentinels of Magic battled the Demon, who’d been separated from Jason Blood and was tapping into the power of Stonehenge. At Phantom Strangers request Martian Manhunter joined the Sentinels in battle, and found Morgan Le Fay, who had Jason Blood trapped in a tesseract jewel. Manhunter shattered the jewel, freeing Blood, and ending the Demon’s threat.

(JLA: Black Baptism #1, 2, 4) -

(JLA #57, 58) - White Martians invaded Earth, and fearful of having fire, their one weakness, used against them, they altered the atmosphere so that combustion was impossible and breathing was difficult for humans. Zatanna went to hospital wards to keep premature babies breathing while the JLA reversed what the Martians did. The JLA lured the White Martians to the Moon, and Zatanna and a number of other heroes with sorcerous abilities created an oxygenated atmosphere on the Moon so that the JLA could create fire there to use against the Martians.

(JLA #68, 69, 71, 73, 75) - Atlantis, ancient and in ruins, appeared on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. Zatanna and several mystics cast a spell on the JLA to send them to 1,000 B.C. and determine the fate of the Atlantis that Tempest had sent back in time during the Imperiex War. The JLA was gone for a month when Zatanna tried reopening the portal to the past, but failed. She explored the ruined Atlantis and was attacked and absorbed into the body of Atlantean sorceress Gamemnae. To bring a new glory to Atlantis Gamemnae started drawing Earth’s waters into Atlantis’ reservoir, causing a worldwide drought. Tempest came upon Zatanna / Gamemnae, and she quickly absorbed him. The JLA confronted Gamemnae, and although they couldn’t defeat her they separated Zatanna from her. Zatanna and members of the JLA went to 1,000 B.C. where they freed Aquaman, who’d been turned into a water elemental and imprisoned in a pool by Gamemnae. Aquaman merged with theo cean, sank Gamemnae’s Atlantis, and Zatanna cast a spell that returned Aquaman’s Atlantis to the present day.

(JLA / JSA: Virtue and Vice) - Martian Manhunter called in Zatanna s a JLA reservist after the JLA and JSA’s ranks had been decimated when the Seven Deadly Sins possessed several members of the teams. Zatanna, alongside other JLA reservists and the unpossessed members of the JLA and JSA helped Shazam re-chain Deadly Sins in the Rock of Eternity, and then defeated the Sins’ masters, Johnny Sorrow and Despero.

(Flash II #208, 209) - Zatanna and the JLA summoned Flash to the JLA Watchtower, demanding to know why they no longer remembered his secret identity. He initially refused to talk to them, and ran away, but after Superman talked to him he returned. He revealed that the Spectre erased the world’s knowledge of his secret identity to protect his family, but he was ready to reveal himself as Wally West to his friends.

(Identity Crisis #1-3, Flash II #214) - Zatanna was among the heroes that attended Sue Dibny’s funeral. Afterwards Zatanna, Hawkman, Black Canary, Atom, Green Arrow, and Elongate Man, the surviving Satellite Era JLA, met in a private chapel. They believed Sue’s murderer was Dr. Light, the man who savaged Sue years before, the man they mind-wiped. Flash and Green Lantern noticed they’d stayed behind and overheard their conversation, so they confessed what they did to Dr. Light. They confronted Dr. Light, but he was prepared for them, he’d hired Deathstroke as a bodyguard. They fought, and Dr. Light’s memories of what the JLA did to him returned. He unleashed his powers on the heroes, striking them unconscious, and fled. Superman wanted to know why they were pursuing Light, and Flash told him Elongated Man had a run-in with him years back, but didn’t give details. While Zatanna and the JLA recovered from their fight against Deathstroke Flash visited the JLA Watchtower and realized the JLA questioned him about the Spectre erasing his identity from their minds because they feared someone did to them what they did to Light.

(Flash II #215) - Flash found Zatanna and told her he knew how she brainwashed Top to become a hero. Barry Allen wrote him a letter before he died and asked Flash to restore Top’s mind. Zatanna warned him that a sane Top would be a deadly adversary, but Flash insisted on honoring Barry’s wishes. They found Top, and Zatanna restored Top’s sanity. Top immediately attacked the heroes, and then fled.

(Identity Crisis #7) - Zatanna and Black Canary were disturbed to learn that Jean Loring had killed Sue Dibny and Atom had disappeared.

(Green Lantern: Rebirth #2-5) - The JLA worried that Hal Jordan had returned to the dark side so they had Zatanna mystically locate him. They confronted Hal, but he promised he wasn’t responsible for what they’d seen. Green Lantern John Stewart went berserk, having been possessed by Parallax through his power ring, and attacked and incapacitated his teammates. Ganthet assembled Zatanna and a number of other heroes to battle Parallax, who’d completely taken over Hal Jordan. They weakened him enough for the Sectre to separate Hal from Parallax, allowing Hal’s soul to return to his body, resurrecting him. Parallax possessed Ganthet, and Hal was ready to stop him, but Zatanna and the JLA stood in his way because they didn’t trust him using his power. Hal told them there was no time to argue and teamed with the other Green Lanterns to banish Parallax to the Central Power Battery, roving he was still a hero.

(Blood of the Demon #3) - Zatanna helped Batman located Etrigan when the Demon reemerged in Gotham. Etrigan was dismantling Batman, so Zatanna sent a distress call to the JLA, but all the members were otherwise occupied. Fortunately Randu Singh interrupted Batman’s fight and turned the Demon back into Jason Blood.

(Green Arrow III #52) - After the Society blew up his house Green Arrow had Zatanna pose as a high school student to follow Mia Dearden and make sure she was safe. Mia complained to Connor Hawke about Arrow treating her like a child, but he told her they were in serious trouble, as the bombing of their old home indicated that someone knew their secret identities.

(JLA #115-119) - Flash called Zatanna and the JLA to the Watchtower and told them that if they didn’t confess to Batman that they altered his memory he would tell him. Green Lantern consoled Zatanna, and reminded her that she was just a rookie when she altered Dr. Light and Batman’s minds. She told him that she did feel peer pressure, but in retrospect she’d make the same choices. The JLA was divided on what to do, but they were interrupted by distress signals from Happy Harbor and OpalCity. Former members of the Secret Society of Super-Villains had their memory restored by Despero, and were seeking vengeance on the JLA for tampering with their minds. The picked off Red Tornado in Happy Harbor and Ralph Dibny in Opal City, and then defeated the JLAers that responded to their distress signals. They villains then turned their attention to Batman, presenting him with the unconscious bodies of the JLA. The JLA revived, and the villains chose to retreat. The JLA confessed to Batman, but he already knew they’d manipulated his mind. He was in a rage and decked Hawkman, who was very much behind all the JLA’s actions. The JLA presumed that the former Society members who had their minds intact remembered their secret identities, and went to look in on their loved ones. Martian Manhunter sensed a disturbance in the Watchtower, and was confronted by Despero. The former Society members made an attack on the Daily Planet, trying to kill Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White. They planned to take out all the JLA’s loved ones. The JLA defeated them, and Superman revealed that Batman told him that the JLA mindwiped him. This treatment of Batman tempted Superman to quit the team, but first the JLA had to decide what to do with the villains who knew their identities. Hawkman was adamant about mindwiping them again, and called for a vote, but it was a draw. Zatanna told the team her past actions were an abuse of magic, and she refused to mindwipe anyone ever again. She told the JLA to take her off reserve status and disappeared. Zatanna went to see Wonder Woman on Themyscira for refuge. Wonder Woman told her the JLA wanted nothing to do with her after she killed Maxwell Lord, but knew she could in the future be forced to kill again as a warrior. She suggested that Zatanna might have to make tough choices of her own. Zatanna had a change of heart, and after defeating Despero by putting him in suspended animation she mindwiped the Society villains, telling them they were getting off easy for what they tried to do to the JLA.

(Catwoman III #49, 50) - Zatanna visited Gotham's East End to tell Catwoman she had some bad news for her. Catwoman asked if Zatanna could teleport them to the French Riviera for their talk, because that's how she would use magical powers. Zatanna said Batman warned her she avoid conversations by changing focus, but teleported them into Catwoman's apartment, which Catwoman said was an invasion of her privacy. Zatanna asked Catwoman if she'd ever wondered why she was no longer a criminal, and made her remember Zatanna planting a suggestion in her mind to turn good years ago, when the Justice League of America was using her powers to mindwipe or forcibly rehabilitate villains. Catwoman felt completely violated and unsure of herself, and after taping Zatanna's mouth shut so she couldn't use magic, pushed her out a window. Zatanna removed the tape before Catwoman could pounce oin her, and froze her in place. Zatanna said the Justice League had no right to manipulate her mind, but she had a right to know, and with that she disappeared.

(Catwoman III #51) - Catwoman broke into Wayne Manor to speak to Bruce, and told him how his Justice League buddies were her responsible for her transformation from villain to hero. Bruce was completely unaware of what they'd done, and she asked him as a friend and former enemy and lover who she truly was before the JLofA tinkered with her head. He assured her that she was in control of her mind and life no matter what they'd done to her, but she felt unsatisfied with his answer and left. Bruce contacted Zatanna, and was angry that she hadn't told him what she'd done.

(Catwoman III #57, 58) - Catwoman called Zatanna after Film Freak and Angle Man uncovered her identidy and threatened her newborn. She wanted their memories erased, or she'd be forced to kill them, and although Zatanna protested that she didn't manipulate minds anymore Catwoman said she owed her. Zatanna arrived, and Angle Man reiterated that he'd gone from a nobody to the man that was going to inform every lunatic and criminal where they could find Catwoman and her daughter. Catwoman tended to Helena, and left Zatanna alone with the villains. Angle Man said he knew how Zatanna lobotomized Dr. Light, and said being a supervillain wasn't working out for him, so he'd be fine if she wiped his mind clean. She insisted she didn't do that anymore, and reached inside his mind to erase his knowledge of Catwoman's private identity. Catwoman grew impatient with how long the process took, but knew she never wanted to kill someone again if she could help it. Zatanna finished her work on Film Freak and Angle Man, and told them to confess their crimes. Catwoman said they still weren't even, and suggested Zatanna make them confess to Black Mask's murder, but she flat out refused. Zatanna said she'd never invade Catwoman's mind again, but it was clear to her she had some dark secrets, and she should deal with them before they tore her apart.

(Justice League of America II #6) - Felix Faust tricked Red Tornado into trading his android body for a failing human one. Zatanna recognized Faust's magic, and easily undid the spell, returning Tornado to his rightful body.

(Titans II #9, 10) - Jericho possessed Green Lantern Hal Jordan and tried to kill the candidates for president, but Zatanna and the Justice League foiled him. Jericho fled to Titans headquarters, possessing Nightwing, but the League was right behind him, and demanded that the Titans release the villain into their custody. Jericho panicked and jumped into Flash’s body and vibrated out of Titan headquarters, but he couldn’t evade the Justice League. The Titans joined the League in battling Jericho as he leapt from body to body, until he ended up in Superman. Previously he would never have been able to enter Superman’s mind, but his power had grown immensely. He still wasn’t strong enough to take control of Superman, who expelled his astral form from his mind. Jericho’s astral form dissipated into the wind.

(Titans II #38) - Zatanna and the superhero community attended the funeral of Atom Ryan Choi.

Comments: Created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson.

Zatanna received profiles in JLA-Z #3, Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #26 and Who's Who in the DC Universe #12. Zatanna received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe under the Justice League of America entry. Zatanna received a profile in JLA-Z #2 under the JLA (Detroit) entry.

Zatanna had cameos in Hawkman V #5, JLA #27, Justice League of America II #0, 1, 7.