Zatanna

Zatanna Zatara is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Murphy Anderson, Zatanna first appeared in Hawkman vol. 1 #4 (October-November 1964).

Fictional character biography

Zatanna is the daughter of magician Giovanni Zatara and Sindella, a member of the mystical “Homo magi” race. Zatanna is a direct descendant of the artist Leonardo da Vinci, and is related to Nostradamus; Alessandro Cagliostro; alchemists Nicolas Flamel and Evan Fulcanelli; and King Arion of Atlantis. Her younger cousin, the teenager Zachary Zatara.

Zatanna makes her living as a stage illusionist prior to discovering her magical abilities while investigating the disappearance of her father.

Zatanna assists the Justice League of America on a number of cases before being elected to membership in Justice League.

In the 1993 limited series Zatanna: Come Together, Zatanna worries about her lack of focus in using magic. She decides that her father’s style of magic is wrong for her, and explores her mother’s mystical heritage.

In the 2004 limited series Identity Crisis, Zatanna is a member of the Justice League at the time the villain Dr. Light brutally attacks and rapes the Elongated Man’s wife, Sue Dibny. When apprehended, he threatens the JLA members’ families. Although Zatanna is prepared to erase Light’s memories of the incident (as she had done to other villains with dangerous knowledge to the League), tampering with Light’s mind sparks a debate among the League members: should the villain’s personality be transformed in order to prevent him from repeating his crime? Zatanna, Hawkman, and The Atom (Ray Palmer) vote for such action, while Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) vote against. The Flash (Barry Allen) breaks the tie. Zatanna mind-wipes Light, and the process results in his intellectual abilities being lowered. In the midst of the process, Batman appears and tries to stop it. Zatanna freezes him, and the members vote to erase Batman’s memories of
the incident as well.

Her relationship to Batman sours after he discovers the alteration to his memory. When Zatanna helps Batman with reconnaissance at one of Ra’s al Ghul’s Lazarus Pits, she asks him why he came to her. “I needed someone I can trust,” Batman says. “But I had to settle for you.” However, after Infinite Crisis, their relationship appears to have warmed; in Detective Comics #824 he calls her for information on a card-counter involved in scamming the Penguin. He makes no mention of their conflict, and casually calls her by her nickname, “Zee”.

After departing from the League, Zatanna continues to appear on stage and to defend against mystical threats, joining the Sentinels of Magic.

Zatanna’s mind-wipe of Dr. Light in Identity Crisis is not an isolated occurrence. Catwoman discovers that her journey from villain to hero and her resulting efforts to lead a moral life are the result of Zatanna’s mental intervention. Catwoman comes to distrust her memories, motives, and the choices she has made since that incident. In retaliation, Catwoman covers Zatanna’s mouth with a piece of duct tape and shoves her out a window.

A 2005 four-issue Zatanna limited series was published as part of Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers of Victory event. In it, at a support group for superheroes, she recounts a failed magical ritual to search for her father’s tomes, during which one of her past spells summons a shapeshifter named Gwydion, who kills her companions. This trauma, combined with her guilt from her former mind-wipes, robs her of her powers. With the help of her new apprentice, Misty Kilgore, she captures Gwydion to use as her own. She eventually regains her confidence and powers, and uses them to defeat Zor, a rogue Time Tailor who released the Sheeda as a plague to infect and degrade the entire universe. As a reward, the other Time Tailors allow her one last meeting with her father, who reveals that his books were written in her, his “greatest spell and gift to the world.” In the final battle against the Sheeda, Zatanna casts a spell to move time and space, retroactively positioning the Seven Soldiers to overthrow the Sheeda.

In Detective Comics #833, it is revealed that Zatanna’s father was a friend of Thomas Wayne. Zatara trained Bruce Wayne in the art of escape; and Bruce and Zatanna were childhood friends. Bruce helps Zatanna investigate the death of one of her former assistants; all clues point to a performer named Ivar Loxias. However, Loxias is revealed to be the Joker in disguise; he shoots Zatanna in the throat and incapacitates Batman. Zatanna is able to heal herself by writing a curing spell in her own blood, and she is instrumental in foiling the Joker’s scheme. Bruce puts Zatanna’s betrayal behind him, allowing the two to renew their friendship.

Zatanna helps Catwoman, to whom she owes a favor, mind-wiping Angle Man and Film Freak, who had been subdued by Selina after the two discovered her secret identity and threatened her child.

Following the flooding of Earth-26, the Zoo Crew and other humanoid animal refugees escape, transformed into their animal counterparts and unable to speak, even though they retain their human-level intelligence. Zatanna encounters the group and takes Captain Carrot as a pet for use in her magic act, unaware of his true identity.

On the “Roll Call” of Justice League of America #22, Zatanna is listed as a part of the team. Called upon to aid with Red Tornado’s restoration in his android form, she proves herself able to stay on the team by using Red Tornado’s soul to best a new, powerful iteration of Amazo combining her mystical might to the powers and abilities of the current League.

Shortly before the mysterious disappearance of Batman and the Final Crisis events Zatanna is stalked and targeted by Hush, wanting to get his vengeance over Bruce Wayne over the people he loves most: Zatanna herself and Selina Kyle.

Paul Dini announced at Comic-Con 06 he is writing a hardcover graphic novel starring Black Canary and Zatanna. On his blog, Dini revealed that Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti will handle the art.

Relationships

Zatanna has had various romantic relationships with fellow DC characters, including John Constantine (with whom she practiced tantra) and Doctor Thirteen. Zatanna also has a kindly semi-parental friendship with Timothy Hunter. She also (currently) has a strong friendship with Batman due to their shared pasts. In Detective Comics #843 and #844, Zatanna and Bruce briefly discuss the possibility of having a more meaningful relationship. Both later concede that Bruce is too devoted to his cause as Batman to give her the relationship she wishes for, but the pair reaffirm their bond as close friends. Catwoman, however, appears to consider Zatanna a more dangerous contender for Bruce attentions than Jezebel Jet (his current fiancée at the time). A pep talk between the young women confirms how Zatanna really meant, during the fateful discussion with Bruce, exploring the possibility of a true romance, but turned off quietly resigned to the role of best friend and confidante. Claiming to act on Bruce’s best interest, she pushes Selina into confessing her feelings to Bruce before Jet is able to seal the deal, stepping down.

Powers and abilities

Zatanna is a powerful sorceress whose abilities are apparently genetic. As a tribute to her father and as a focal point, she usually casts spells by speaking verbal commands backwards. She has also proven capable on many occasions of casting spells by speaking normally, and, in rarer occasions, the ability to use magic for simple tasks without speaking. Like Black Canary, Zatanna’s reliance on her voice often led to her being bound and gagged by villains in Silver Age stories, thus rendering her ‘powerless’. On very rare occasions, Zatanna has cast spells by writing
them in her own blood rather than speaking them aloud. As stated by herself and Batman, blood magic is far more powerful than spoken incantations , it’s used as a last resort, only to heal from severe physical damage preventing her to speak, like having her larynx mangled by a bullet, or her mouth magically erased by her own powers. The only magic command issued in both cases, Heal me, had to be spelled backwards, as she were speaking (so, laeH em).

Even if not as precisely as Madame Xanadu, Zatanna has proven herself able to call upon tarot reading for insight or divination. Apparently, such task doesn’t require verbal incantations, spoken or written, at all, nor is tied to a specific tarot deck.

The limits of her powers have never been clearly established. She has been called the most powerful member of the Justice League, and is often depicted working alongside the most powerful magic-users on Earth, including Doctor Fate, Madame Xanadu, and Captain Marvel. She has used her powers to command elemental forces, heal, transmute and transmogrify objects, manipulate minds, and attack her opponents with energy blasts. She has resurrected the city of Metropolis from ruin, merged Aquaman’s spirit with the entire ocean, and manipulated time and space. During a portion of her initial tenure with the Justice League, her powers were more limited, consisting in the manipulation of fire, air, water, and earth. Furthermore, her powers seems tied to her self-confidence, as the long series of blunders described in Seven Soldiers left her both emotionally and psychologically shattered, both powerless, until she was able to restore her lost confidence.

Zatanna may be harmed by magic, even if her training makes her able to defend from the most magic users. Along with Etrigan and the Phantom Stranger she was able to keep her own against an host-less Spectre, and was later able to banish alone the god-empowered Mary
Marvel from her home, but the current iteration of Amazo was able to employ her own powers to take away her voice, acting fast enough to leave her off guard and unable to defend herself. Powerful enchantments against beings of magic, like gods, are able to restrict her as well, preventing her to access enchanted places or dispel the adverse charm.

Zatanna is a skilled illusionist, showgirl and stage magician even without resorting to her innate magical powers. In fact she considers part of her “training” exercising into Sleight of Hand tricks, and she claims to have invented a variation of the three card shuffle game called the Zatara shuffle, in which she’s so fast and precise that, even without resorting to cheat, only skilled gamblers as Selina Kyle are able to follow the movements of her hands.

Zatanna owns a mansion called Shadowcrest, in which she keeps a vast library of magical knowledge, as well as an arsenal of powerful relics, enough to do “just about anything you’d want to do.” Shadowcrest seems to exist in a completely different dimension, although it is initially located outside of Gotham.

Originally Posted by Kain Darkwind of the Dicefreaks forums.

On this Thread

Zatanna Zatara
Medium humanoid (human)
Wounds	13 WP, 115 VP (21d6+21)
Initiative	+2
Speed	30 ft.
Armor Class	16 (+2 Dexterity, +4 mage armor), touch 12, flat-footed 14
Base Attack /Grapple	+10/+10
Attack	By spell
Full Attack	By spell
Face/Reach	5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks	Lacigam drow!
Saves	Fort +7, Ref +8, Will +18
Abilities	Strength 11, Dexterity 15, Constitution 13, Intelligence 17, Wisdom 18, Charisma 20
Skills	Bluff +25, Craft (visual) +13, Concentration +25, Diplomacy +19, Escape Artist +22 (+24 bindings), Intimidate +15, Knowledge (arcane lore) +27, Listen +14, Perform (stage magic) +26, Search +15, Sense Motive +15, Sleight of Hand +24, Spot +25, Spellcraft +42, Truespeak +27, Use Magic Device +25, Use Ropes +7 (+9 bindings)
Feats	Ability Focus (lagicam drow!), Iron Will, Magical Aptitude, Greater Spell Focus (enchantment), Greater Spell Penetration, Skill Focus (Spellcraft), Spell Focus (enchantment), Spell Penetration
Epic Feats	Epic Skill Focus (Spellcraft)
Climate/Terrain	San Francisco
Organization	Solitary (unique), with John Constantine or with the JLA
Challenge Rating	21
Treasure	Kinky magician outfit
Alignment	Chaotic Good

Lacigam Drow! (Sp): Zatanna creates magical effects by making a Spellcraft check. Failure on such a check means Zatanna’s turn or time is wasted. All of Zatanna’s spells are subject to Spell Resistance. Zatanna has a caster level of 21 for all her magic.

Zatanna can attempt more than one effect at a time. She adds together the Spellcraft DCs of all the effects. She must also add together the Truespeak DCs of the attempted effects if she chooses to quicken her magic in this manner. Failure is as normal.

Using any effect with a Spellcraft DC of 40 or more leaves Zatanna fatigued for 1 minute. If she is already fatigued, any effect with a Spellcraft
DC of 30 or more makes her become exhausted for 10 minutes. If she is exhausted, any magical effect she makes make her take 1 point of Constitution and Charisma damage.

Zatanna takes a -5 penalty to Spellcraft checks if she is fatigued. This penalty is increased to -10 if she is exhausted.

By speaking backwards, Zatanna can use her magic faster. She can make a Truespeak check, at the same DC of the Spellcraft check which, if successful, reduces the casting time by one step (from hours to 10 minutes, 10 minutes, to minutes, minutes to intense actions, intense actions to full round actions and such, to a minimum of a swift action) If the Truespeak check beats the DC for 10 or more, the action is further reduced by another step.

She may also bolster the DC of any saving throw against her magic by using a Truespeak check equal to the Spellcraft DC of the spell effect.
For every 5 points by which she exceeds the Spellcraft DC, her magic’s saving throw DCs are increased by +1.

Some known effects of magic are shown below, but Zatanna can accomplish nearly anything given the proper application of her spells. These examples do not take in consideration the possible reduction in casting time due to a successful Truespeak check.

Alter Size: Zatanna can increase her size to Large or decrease it to Small with a successful Spellcraft check (DC 20) as a full round action. For every 10 points by which she exceeds this DC, she may increase or decrease her size another category. She gains the normal bonuses to Strength and Constitutionby increasing her size in this way.

Change Morality: Zatanna can change an helpless being’s alignment with a successful Spellcraft check (DC 40 + the target’s HD). If she fails this check, the target’s mind can become permanently damaged, dealing 2d4 points of drain to Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
Using this ability takes 10 minutes and it can be resisted with a successful Will save (DC 29). The save DC is Charisma based. This is an enchantment effect.

Counterspelling: Once per round as an immediate action, Zatanna can make an opposed caster level check against another magic user using a spell or spell-like ability. If she succeeds, the spell is countered.

Zatanna may also use this power to reduce the caster level of a spell or spell-like effect. The spell is dampened and reduced in caster level by 21.

Using this ability does not requires a Spellcraft check.

Create: Zatanna can create small items with her magic as a full round action. The Spellcraft check DC is 20 +1 for every pound of item to be created.

Dispel: Zatanna can dispel magical effects as a standard action. She makes dispel checks at +21.

Using this ability does not requires a Spellcraft check.

Icy Prison: Zatanna can encase a creature in ice with a successful Spellcraft check. (DC 20 + creature HD) The ice has a break DC equal to the Spellcraft check used to create it, and hit points equal to 2 x the Spellcraft check used to create it.

Mind Wipe: Zatanna can erase memories from a being. Using this ability requires a successful Spellcraft check (DC 20+ the target’s HD) and it can be resisted with a Will save DC 29 Will save. The save DC is Charisma based. This is an enchantment effect.

Paralysis: Zatanna can paralyze a creature for 1d10 rounds if she succeeds on a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + creature HD). A successful Will save (DC 29) reduces the duration to 1 round. For every 10 extra points in the check beyond the original DC, the duration lasts an extra round. The save DC is Charisma based. This is an enchantment effect.

Prestidigitation: Zatanna can duplicate the effects of any spell of 5th or lower level with a successful Spellcraft check (DC 20 + spell level) as a full round action. She can also add any metamagic effects to these spells, as long as the effective level of the spell is 5 or below. DCs for the spells are determined as nomal for magical spells. (DC 15 + spell level)

Teleport: By making a DC 15 Spellcraft check, Zatanna can teleport herself to any place she chooses, as by a greater teleport spell. For every extra 5 points in the check above 15, she can teleport an extra creature in this way. Using this ability is an intense action for Zatanna. She can increase the Spellcraft check DC by 20 in order to travel through different planes with this ability.

Transmutation: Zatanna can transmute a five foot cube of matter from one form to another with a successful Spellcraft check (DC 20). For every 10 points by which she exceeds the DC, she may transmute another five foot cube. If an object is larger than the volume possible by her Spellcraft check, Zatanna fails to transmute the object. If she uses this ability in a living creature, it can be resisted with a successful DC 27 Fortitude save. The DC is Charisma-based.