Zatanna

Origin of Zatanna

 Zatanna's Origin

Zatanna is the daughter of adventurer John Zatara and his wife Sindella, a member of the mystic tribe of sorcerers called the Hidden Ones, or Homo Magi. Zatanna inherited her mother's ability to manipulate magic and her father's penchant for heroism. Sindella later faked her own death to return the Hidden One's sanctum in Turkey, leaving her daughter in John Zatara's care.

Zatara travelled the world with his daughter and taught her to harness her magical abilities. Zatanna was later raised by strangers, however, when the evil witch Allura cursed Zatanna and prevented her from seeing her father. Zatanna was left to search fruitlessly for her natural parents.

Zatanna discovered her father's diary and created a stage persona for herself. Her quest to find her father led her into a brief affair with John Constantine. Later, with the help of the Justice League Of America, Zatanna was able to lift Allura's curse and reunite with her father and later her mother. Tragically, Sindella died rescuing her daughter from the city of the Hidden Ones, while her father died saving her and the spiritual dimensions from the Great Evil Beast.

As a long standing member of the Justice League of America, Zatanna fought countless super-villains and mystic threats. After the death of her father, however, she retired from active adventuring. She now lives in San Francisco, seeking a normal life while trying to preserve the balance of Earth's light and dark mystical community. In this role she serves as one of the Sentinels of Magic.

Powers

Abra Kadabra

Personal Data

• Height: 5' 7"
• Weight: 127 lbs.
• Eyes: Blue
• Hair: Black
• Citizenship: American
• Marital Status: Single
• Occupation: Stage Magician, Adventurer

Identity Crisis

During the Identity Crisis miniseries it was revealed that   Dr. Light raped the wife of Elongated Man, Sue Dibny, while she was alone in the JLA Satellite. The Flash, Barry Allen, discovered what was going on and the JLA were able to capture him, before he left. Superman and Batman teleport back to their Earth duties, leaving Light with the rest of the League. While in the custody of the JLA, Doctor Light threatened all the league members' families. This resulted in the JLA members that were present voting to erase Light's memories. The League members realised that, even without his memories, he could still be a threat and also voted, four to three, to let Zatanna tamper with Light's mind so he would not be a threat again in the future, and as a result, she lowered his intellect. Batman returns and discovers what is happening and tries to stop them, but Batman would have his memories erased by Zee.

When Batman found out what Zatanna had done to him, their relationship, needless to say, was strained even for the Dark Knight. Zatanna helped Batman investigate the Lazarus Pit but when she asked him why he needed her, Batman said, "I needed someone I can trust, But I had to settle for you." In Detective Comics #824, although Zatanna still feels like she owes him, they seemed to have reconciled their relationship. The issue sees Batman asking for her advice in what for him is a much more sociable manner and even saying to her a "Thanks Zee."

Doctor Light was not the only villain to have their mental faculties tampered with. Catwoman learned that her new found morality was caused by Zatanna. She then asks her to wipe the memories of those villains that had deduced her identity.

Seven Soldiers

Seven Soldiers was a collection of seven miniseries plus two issues serving as book ends all written by Grant Morrison. Each of the seven characters ( Bulleteer, Frankenstein, Klarion, Manhattan Guardian, Mr. Miracle, Shining Knight and Zatanna) had four issues devoted to them. During the Seven Soldiers miniseries, Zatanna is suffering from a complete lack of confidence. Accidently incinerating the other members of a mystical expidition she was leading in another dimension brings matters to a head. This causes her to stop using her powers. With the help of her new apprentice, Misty Kilgore, she goes in search of her father's lost books in order to recover her abilities.

Her quest forces her to tackle a number of mystical threats including a shapeshifter called Gwydion (that had been released by her failed ritual), a tempter demon and an evil magician named Zor. Along the way, she also has to deal with the Sheeda, the common enemy of all the heroes in the series. It is Zatanna who finally brings all the heroes together to face the Sheeda in the final book of the series.

Mystic Advice

Regardless of whether or not she is part of the League, Zatanna is highly regarded for her knowledge of the magic arts. As she is a performing illusionist, she also spends more time on Earth's plane than many other magical heroes. This makes her more available than others. She is also more friendly than some. Although the events of Identity Crisis may have strained her relationships, she still has the trust of her allies. Recently she gave Superman help after he sought her advice on information from Arion ( Superman #662). More recently, she had been helping Mary Marvel come to terms with her new powers in the pages of Countdown to Final Crisis. Countdown #37 further highlights the vast repository of mystic knowledge and artifacts at Zatanna's disposal. Unbeknownst to Zatanna, Mary was under the influence of Eclipso, which caused her to attack Zatanna in an attempt to use her artifacts. Even with the incredible power of Shazam at her disposal, Mary was no match for Zatanna who quickly evicted her from her home.

Relatives

Zatanna is the daughter of John Zatanna and Sinderella. She is descended from Leonardo Da Vinci, as well as: Nostradamus, Alessandro Cagliostro, alchemists Nicholas Flamel and Evan Fulcanelli and King Arion of Atlantis. Her cousin is also a magician named Zachary Zatara.

Books Of Magic

Books of Magick Zatanna

Life During War time

In this mini series, Humans (known as the Bred) are at war with the ruling Faerie races (known as the Born). Both sides worship The Hunter (Tim Hunter) who has hidden in an alternate Earth of his own making without war, religion or magic. Zatanna is in Jerusalem, which is outside the war zone, searching for the keys to the Books of Magick to aid humanity in the war. Unlike the main Zatanna, she has blonde hair. She is still a powerful magician and uses backwards speech to focus her spells. The books also reveal that she had a relationship with that dimension's John Constantine. She plays a major part in the Bred's efforts.

T.V.

Zatanna as she appears in Batman: the Animated Series

Batman : The Animated Series

Zatanna first appeared in this series as an illusionist. She grows close to the young Bruce Wayne, when he seeks training from her father in escapology. Batman helps her when she is framed by a magic debunker.

Justice League Unlimited

Z on Smallville

Smallville

Serinda Swan was cast as Zatanna, and appeared in Smallville's episode entitled Hex. She appeared to grant Chloe's birthday wish following a stretch of hard times involving Brainiac's tampering with her mind to Doomsday crashing her wedding day. She granted Chloe's wish to have the life of Lois and it became true. Clark was also given a chance to wish. Ultimately, she was trying to resurrect her father through means of his magic book, owned by the Green Arrow. In the end she choose to not resurrect her father as it would come at the price of Chloe's life; something her father wouldn't have wanted.  At the end of the episode, she told the Green Arrow to call her if any mystical villains came to Metropolis. 

Video Games

Justice League Heroes

Zatanna is one of the main characters in Justice League Heroes for the Playstation 2 and Xbox. Her in game abilities include casting fireballs, healing, transforming enemies into rabbits, slowing time and casting protection spells. She voices her spells in her usual backwards speech ('Laeh' to heal for instance). She was included to add gameplay diversity to the group, as well as her being a fan favorite. Her voice is provided by Kari Wahlgrun.