Zatanna Zatara

* Zatanna Zatara
* Zatanna

Zatanna Zatara, usually known by just her first name, is a powerful Homo Magi. She is the daughter of Giovanni Zatara, and like him casts spells by saying what she wants backward.

## Character Origins

### Zatanna Zatara: 1972 - 1985

Zatanna was raised by her father after being given to him a few days after she was born by her mother, who quickly vanished. Giovanni trained his daughter in the mystic arts but also taught her the craft of stage illusion as a cover. At eight, Zatanna began working as a magician's assistant.

### Zatanna Zatara: 1985 - 1986

During one off-season, while rehearsing in their hometown of Gotham, John Zatara took on boy billionaire Bruce Wayne as another apprentice after the boy agreed to finance the Zataras' next two world tours. Zee and Bruce were both thirteen at the time and became close friends during those eight months. Zatanna would later describe Bruce as her first crush.

### Zatanna Zatara: 1986 - 1992

Soon Zatanna began opening shows for her father. While touring in the UK, at age eighteen, Zatanna had a steamy relationship with a certain British punk rocker. This love affair left John Constantine with a reignited interest in the occult and left Zatanna pregnant.

Zatanna and her father spent a year sequestered in Shadowcrest, the impressive family manor built in Gotham, allowing Zatanna to give birth to her son Zachary without the media's prying.

### Zatanna Zatara: 1992 - 1993

After recovering from childbirth, Zatanna became the star of the magic act, with her father working behind-the-scenes with John Constantine, who had joined the show as a sort of roadie during the off-season after a failed exorcism had tanked his musical career and landed him in an asylum. Giovanni tried to teach Constantine how to be both a better father and mage, but John proved to be a problematic pupil and worse father.

During the premiere of Zatanna's first solo show, in her hometown of Gotham, which was also billed as her twenty-first birthday celebration, Zatanna disappeared mid-act (and mid-sentence) in such a manner that it caught the entire audience off-guard and did not return to finish the show. The world was stunned, while Giovanni, John, and Zachary were scared.

### Zatanna Zatara: 1993 - 2006

In truth, Zatanna was summoned by her mother. In a dimension where time had no meaning, Zatanna welcomed the chance to spend time with her mother and study sorcery in a magic-rich environment. Due to the idyllic nature of that magical realm, Zatanna worried little of her father or son. It was not until she had mastered the arts of scrying that she, on a whim, chose to view her father.

When the magic revealed nothing, Zatanna begged her mother to tell her why that was. Sindella did not have an answer, nor could she produce a scrying of Giovanni Zatara. Finally, Sindella agreed to send Zatanna back to investigate what fate had befallen Giovanni Zatara.

### Zatanna: 2007 - Present

When Zatanna returned to Earth, she found herself returned to the world at the same day, time, and place of her departure... only the year had changed. Thirteen years had passed and though Zatanna had not aged a day physically there was much evidence to show how much time had passed. Her father's theater had fallen to despair and neglect; Gotham had become ravaged by an earthquake and an army of criminals, mercenaries, and assassins; and Zatanna's former boyfriend had become a chain-smoking occult detective, who was waiting for Zatanna's return on the street of the dilapidated theatre.

With John Constantine's help, Zatanna was smuggled out of Gotham and taken to Nanda Parbat to meet her father. Desperate to solve the mystery of what had happened to Zatanna after ten years of fruitless efforts, Giovanni Zatara had, with the help of John Constantine, located the Helm of Nabu, a legendary relic said to reveal the secrets of all things to its wearer. Though, Giovanni gave his body to the Helm, serving as a host vessel for the spirit of Nabu. As Giovanni had served Nabu as a faithful host for three years' time, he was given three weeks with Zatanna upon her arrival, but through the wonder of Nanda Parbat, the father and daughter were allowed to make the most of that time together, before Giovanni left his daughter to honor his promise and return to the Helm once more.

Zatanna returned to her father's old magic shop in Blüdhaven. There she ran afoul of Blockbuster's men and sent them packing, causing Nightwing to investigate. When she caught him snooping and recognized his lock picking technique, she almost mistook him for Bruce Wayne until she spell cast his mask away (that's cheating, girl) and soon started a brief fling (she's got magic, but she ain't got the chemistry Dick and I have, after all). Zatanna also tried the JL on for a bit, but ended up founding an offshoot with Constantine call Justice League: Dark, or just 'Dark Justice'.