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).

Zatanna is the daughter of magician Giovanni Zatara (who appeared in Golden Age comic books) and Sindella, a member of the mystical “Homo magi” race. Zatanna is a direct descendant of the alchemist Nicholas Flamel (who was a famous alchemist in the 14th and 15th centuries), and Nostradamus . Her younger cousin, the teenager Zachary Zatara, is also a magician in the DCU.

The Vertigo series Madame Xanadu also has Zatanna's father as homo magi, and a descendant of Leonardo da Vinci. Zatara notes she met the Phantom Stranger as a child, and the Stranger gave her da Vinci's notebooks, written backwards. In time Zatara used this to focus her powers.

Zatanna makes her living as a stage illusionist prior to discovering her magical abilities while investigating the disappearance of her father. Zatanna's search for her father was the subject of the first major comic book crossover in 1964 , and in it, Zatanna interacts with Batman and Robin (in disguise as a witch and under the control of the villain The Outsider), Hawkman and Hawkwoman (Vol. 1, #4, Nov. 1964), the Atom (#19, May 1965), Green Lantern (Vol. 2, #42, Jan. 1966) and Elongated Man (Detective #355, Sept. 1966). The series culminated in Justice League of America #51 (Feb. 1967). This Justice League adventure took place during the Batman television craze where Batman was featured prominently on the cover. The premise that the witch in Detective #336 was Zatanna was perceived by many fans at the time as an attempt to get Batman participating in this issue of Justice League of America no matter how vague the connection to Zatanna's quest was.