Giovanni Zatara

**Giovanni "John" Zatara** great magician and crime-fighter of the Golden Age, and a member of the All-Star Squadron. He is the father of Justice League member **Zatanna Zatara**. with the ability to manipulate true magic, who used his powers to fight crime and evil. Zatara's distinctive magical abilities involved speaking his incantations backwards to focus their power.A lso known as the bearer of the Helmet of Nabu, turning him into the new **Doctor Fate**.

## Character Info

### Relatives

Leonardo da Vinci (ancestor, deceased)Luigi Zatara (grandfather, deceased)Sindella (wife, deceased)Zatanna Zatara (daughter)Zachary Zatara (nephew)

### Occupation

Stage Magician(Retired), Crime Fighter(Retired), Nabu avatar(Retired)

## History

### Early Life

On his fifteenth birthday, Zatara's grandfather, the famous stage magician Luigi Zatara, gave him a box of the tricks from his magic act. The boy showed an aptitude for stage magic and began to pursue the craft professionally at only nineteen. His early attempts at performing professionally were unsuccessful until he discovered the notebooks of his reputed ancestor, Leonardo da Vinci. While reading the notebooks, which Leonardo wrote in backwards spelling as a security precaution, Zatara learned that he had the gift of true magic. With this new knowledge, Zatara developed a successful stage show. During his premiere performance, a fire broke out on stage, forcing Zatara to use true magic to put it out. While the audience mistook the incident as part of the act, Zatara realized the true value of his power, and he resolved to use it help others.

### Heroic Career

During the early days of World War II, Zatara decided to use his powers as a force for good. Zatara became a famous crime-fighter and eventually joined the All-Star Squadron. Zatara also met and became friends with Thomas Wayne.

Sometime later, Zatara confronted King Inferno on the slopes of a mountain in northern Turkey. The battle ended in a massive rockslide that severely injured Zatara. Zatara was rescued and nursed back to health by a woman named Sindella.

After a time, Sindella and Zatara would marry and have a daughter. Sindella

Around the same time, Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed, blaming himself for failing to stop their young son, Bruce, from being orphaned. The death of the Waynes was hard on Zatara and he buried himself into crime fighting.

### Doctor Fate

When Inza the wife of former host of Nabu refused to continue on as she wanted to live the rest of her life in peace away from the helmet. Zatara learned her predicament, he volunteered to take her place as the helmet's host - to which it accepted. Zatara became the new Doctor Fate, forced to share his consciousness with the spirit Nabu.

### 12 Years Later

Over the years, Zatara developed a deal with Nabu - for one hour, one night every year, the helmet would release Zatara as its host so that he could reconnect with his wife before returning to his hostly duties.

When the Lords of Chaos made a new play for Earth, having grown dissatisfied with Klarion's work, Justice Society called on Doctor Fate to aid in the fight as one of the champions for the Lords of Order. Though Nabu was hesitant to get involved, especially due to the under preparedness of the magicians that sought his aid, Zatara's consciousness within the helmet convinced the spirit to accept Their Help - as Zatara's mortal body was beginning to age and therefore wasn't strong enough to fight alone. This is when the Helmet discovered it's new Host in the son of the Original Host Nelson Kent.

### Retirement

Settling down and using a spell to de age his wife so that she could finally have her dream of a child, they were blessed with a little girl and they named her Zatanna.

When Zatara's daughter Zatanna was very little, the world became aware of Superman, the beacon for the new age of superheroes. Zatara saw how, even as a toddler, his daughter idolized the hero.

His wife developed Cancer, as a punishment for using the spell to de age her Zatara believed, she died at leaving him as a single father to raise his daughter.

The loss of his wife. proved too much for Zatara, prompting him to lapse into alcoholism. Many years later he would conquer his demons when he accepted Bruce Wayne's request to teach him the secrets of escape artistry and illusion.