Zatanna Zatara

Zatanna Zatara: 1972 - 1996
Zatanna Zatara is the daughter of world famous stage magician Giovanni "John" Zatara and a mysterious woman named Sindella. Zatanna was raised by her father after Zatanna was given to him a few nights after she was born, her mother vanishing as quickly from Giovanni's life as she had arrived. Giovanni trained Zatanna as a stage illusionist. At eight years old, Zatanna began working as her father's magician's assistant. During one off-season, while rehearsing in their hometown of Gotham, Giovanni Zatara took on boy billionaire Bruce Wayne as another apprentice after the boy agreed to finance their next two world tours. Zatanna and Bruce were both thirteen at the time and became close friends during the eight months that Bruce trained with them, with Zatanna even describing Bruce as her first crush.

As a teen, she stopped serving as her father's assistant and began opening shows for him. By the time she was twenty, Zatanna became the main attraction of the show, with Giovanni working behind-the-scenes. Zatanna had began a relationship with a British rocker turned occultist, John Constantine. It was during the premiere of her first solo Gotham show, Zatanna disappeared in such a manner that caught the entire audience (and her father) off-guard as she literally vanished before their eyes and did not return to finish the show.

Zatanna had, in reality, been summoned by her mother, Sindella, to finally learn how to make use of her arcane heritage. In a dimension where time had no meaning, Zatanna came to know her mother well and unlock the secrets of true magic. In that time, perhaps due to some enchantment her mother had placed on her mind or a feature of the dimension itself, but Zatanna thought little of her father or the world she left behind. It was not until she had mastered the arts of scrying that she, on a whim, chose to search for her father and when the magic revealed nothing, Zatanna begged her mother to tell her why that would be. Sindella was also curious as to why this would be and agreed to send Zatanna back to investigate.

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'.

Abilities

 * World Class Stage Magician
 * Reverse-Speech Sorceress
 * Expert of Elemental Magic
 * Expert on the Occult in General
 * Master Hypnotist
 * Training in Martial Arts under Black Canary

Trivia

 * Zatanna joined the Justice League in 2011 nominated by Batman.
 * People know her identity due to her being a celebrity.
 * She's a vegetarian.

Links and References

 * Appearances of Zatanna Zatara
 * Character Gallery: Zatanna Zatara