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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.