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Book Home  Books Information Zatanna
Zatanna
Zatanna Zatara, usually known simply as Zatanna, is
a DC Comics superheroine.
She is a wizard, the daughter of two other wizards,
and shares the family's inherent ability to cast powerful spells;
like her father, John Zatara, she does this by describing the desired
effect in backwards speech (e.g., sdrawkcab hceeps).
Her background is one of the most unusual ones in comics.
Her father was Giovanni "John" Zatara, who was himself a
descendant of Leonardo da Vinci (who happened to be a secret magician
in the DC universe), the Freemason Cagliostro, Alchemist Nicholas
Flamel, and Nostradamus. In addition, her uncle is Alchemist Evan
Fulcanelli. Her mother is Sindella, a member of the Homo Magi race,
who have been suggested to come from Atlantis. (It has been implied
that Zatanna is descended from King Arion of Atlantis.)
She was a stage illusionist before she discovered her
true magic powers when investigating the disappearance of her father.
The story of this search was the subject of the first major comic
book crossover story arc as she meets various superheroes like Batman,
Hawkman and Hawkwoman and Green Lantern.
She assisted the Justice League of America on a number
of cases before finally being elected to membership in Justice League
of America #161. During her tenure with that group, her power level
was briefly reduced to having control of the four elements of Empedocles
(earth, air, fire, and water); this limitation was reversed in World's
Finest Comics #277. During her time with the group, she was a central
figure in the controversial mind-wipings of Dr. Light and Batman,
which were revealed in the 2004 miniseries Identity Crisis. After
her departure from the team, she regained her full power and she continues
her stage career with the additional calling as a sentinel against
mystical threats.
In 2005 Zatanna is one of the main 7 in Grant Morrison's
30-issue mini-series Seven Soldiers of Victory.
Zatanna also appears in DC's Vertigo (comics) imprint.
She appears several times in The Books of Magic, typically to counsel
Timothy Hunter, the main character. In the newest series in the "Hunter"
series, Books of Magick: Life During Wartime, Zatanna is a member
of an underground human resistance fighting against fairies. The Zatanna
in that series is much darker and more violent than most other appearances.
Her depiction in Life During Wartime may represent an alternate universe.
Other Media Depiction
The animated version of Zatanna first appeared in Batman: The Animated
Series (voiced by Julie Brown) where she was depicted as simply being
an illusionist with no apparent magic powers who was a close friend
of Bruce Wayne when he was trained by her and father.
Since then, further depictions both on online Flash
animation shorts and in Justice League Unlimited (voiced by Jennifer
Hale) have shown her with her powers. In addition, there were also
two episodes of a Cartoon Monsoon contest entry where Zatanna was
a teenage hero who was more like a cross between Sabrina The Teenage
Witch and Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
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