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A member of the Justice League.

History[]

Zatanna appears in a Batman: The Animated Series, voiced by Julie Brown. She is an illusionist with no apparent magic powers. She developed a close relationship with Bruce Wayne (using the alias John Smith) during the years in which Bruce was traveling the globe learning skills that later serves well as Batman. In the episode "Zatanna", she visits Gotham City with her magic show, but finds herself being framed by criminal magic debunker Montague Kane. Her efforts to restore her name and stop the villain put her side-by-side with Batman. Batman reveals his John Smith identity to Zatanna during the episode.

Zatanna makes two appearances in the Gotham Girls flash animation episodes, voiced by Stacie Randall. In "A Little Night Magic", Zatanna walks home on her own after a magic show and has some adventures on the way: She turns a robber's gun into a snake, splits a truck in half when it almost runs her over, and turns some street thugs into toads after they take her hat. In "Hold the Tiger", Zatanna stops Catwoman from stealing the Cat's Eye Opals from a jewelry store. Zatanna does not arrest Catwoman but instead asks for help in finding her white tiger.

Zatanna made a cameo appearance in Batman Beyond. In the episode "Out of the Past", an elderly Bruce Wayne is looking through a collection of pictures on his computer of past loves, alongside Lois Lane, Catwoman and Barbara Gordon.

Zatanna appears in the Justice League Unlimited, voiced by Jennifer Hale (in "This Little Piggy") and by Juliet Landau (in "The Balance" albeit uncredited). In "This Little Piggy", she helps Batman search for Circe after the villainess turned Wonder Woman into a pig. Zatanna is apparently aware of Batman's true identity since her last appearance ("Bruce! I haven't seen you for so long...") and knows well enough to perceive the Dark Knight's romantic relationship with Wonder Woman. In this depiction, her spells are often cast backwards, but almost equally often cast without words, and on one occasion, speaking normally. Zatanna appeared in "The Balance" amongst the magic-based superheroes affected by the disturbance in the magical balance. In "Destroyer", Zatanna appears as one of many Justice League Members called to help fight the invading Apokoliptan forces. DCAU writer Paul Dini wrote both of Zatanna's appearances described above. In 1998, Alan Burnett told Wizard "Paul Dini wanted to use Zatanna because he’s secretly in love with her. It’s something we try not to talk about too much."

Powers and Abilities[]

Powers[]

  • Magic: Zatanna can cast a variety of spells simply by saying them backwards.
    • Clairvoyance
    • Teleportation
    • Telekinesis
    • Energy Construct Creation

Abilities[]

  • Prestidigitation: Zatanna is skilled in stage magic, performing simple tricks and elaborate illusions.
  • Occultism: She possesses an extensive understanding of Occult lore due to her mystic background.

Weaknesses[]

  • Mnemonic Incantation: Zatanna must be able to speak her incantations in order to make them work. Otherwise, her powers are not effective.

Paraphernalia[]

Equipment[]

  • Magic Wand

Notes[]

  • This version of the character is exclusive to the continuity of the DCC Animated Universe and is an adaptation of Zatanna. The original character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson and first appeared in Hawkman #4.
  • She was voiced by four different actresses:
    • Julie Brown for her first appearance, "Zatanna";
    • Stacy Randall for the webseries Gotham Girls;
    • Jennifer Hale for "This Little Piggy"; and
    • Juliet Landau for an uncredited performance in "The Balance"

Trivia[]


  • DCAU fan-favorite writer Paul Dini wrote both of Zatanna's major appearances, and likes the character quite a lot. In 1998, Alan Burnett told Wizard Magazine: "Paul Dini wanted to use Zatanna because he's secretly in love with her. It's something we try not to talk about too much." Dini is married to magician Misty Lee.
  • Zatanna is also known as Zanna and Z.

Screenshots[]

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