List of DC Comics characters: Z
Colby Zag
[edit]Zale
[edit]Zan
[edit]Zaneth
[edit]Tim Zanetti
[edit]Zara
[edit]William Zard
[edit]Zatanna
[edit]Zatara
[edit]Giovanni Zatara
[edit]| First appearance | Action Comics #1 (June 1938) |
|---|---|
| Created by | Fred Guardineer |
| Teams | All-Star Squadron Justice Society Dark Cult of the Cold Flame |
| Abilities |
|
| Aliases | Master Magician |
Giovanni "John" Zatara, simply called Zatara, is a fictional magician and superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938 during the Golden Age of Comic Books, making him one of DC Comics' oldest characters.[1]
Fictional history
[edit]The son of Italian immigrants and a descendant of Leonardo Da Vinci, Giovanni becomes a successful stage magician and superhero. Originally depicted as human,[2] the character is later depicted as a homo magi whose teaching from Phantom Stranger helped control his magical abilities at a young age.[3][4] In his adult hood, the character garners a reputation among his contemporaries, rivaling Doctor Fate,[5] and is the father of Zatanna and uncle of Zachary Zatara.[6] He is also a love interest of Madame Xanadu prior to meeting Sindella.[7]
At the conclusion of the 1986 Swamp Thing storyline "American Gothic", John Constantine assembles Zatanna, Mento, and Sargon the Sorcerer to battle the entity known as the 'Great Evil Beast'. The four hold a séance at Wintersgate Manor, the home of Baron Winters in Georgetown, to summon the Beast. The Beast burns Sargon to death and attempts to kill Zatanna as well. Zatara absorbs the Beast's attack, sacrificing himself to save his daughter's life.[8]
Zatara has made sporadic appearances in the afterlife since his death. In the Reign in Hell miniseries, Zatara is part of a resistance movement operating in Hell. As with most of the 'dead', he risks becoming fodder for Hell, where the physicality of the damned is used for general resources. At his request, Zatanna sends Zatara's soul to the Abyss, a realm that Hell cannot touch.[9] In the Blackest Night event, Zatara is resurrected as a member of the Black Lantern Corps and attacks Zatanna. Zatanna is successful in banishing the Black Lantern, but is left psychologically crushed from having to kill her father.[10]
Powers and abilities
[edit]A master magician, Zatara invokes magical effects and casts spells by speaking a spell or phrase backwards for a desired effect (known as "Logomancy").[11] Additionally, Zatara is a capable stage magician, skilled in prestidigitation, a skilled escape artist,[11] and can be manipulative and deceptive against other magicians.[12]
Zatara in other media
[edit]Television
[edit]- Zatara appears in a flashback in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Zatanna", voiced by Vincent Schiavelli.[13]
- Zatara appears in Young Justice, voiced by Nolan North.[13] This version is a member of the Justice League and was originally trained by Kent Nelson. After Nelson dies, Zatara is forced to don the Helmet of Fate and become Doctor Fate, Nabu's host, to prevent Zatanna from doing so. Due to the strain of hosting Nabu's power, Zatara ages rapidly over the course of several years and maintains his sanity by reciting the Lord's Prayer. In the fourth season, Zatanna forms the Sentinels of Magic to free Zatara by arranging for Nabu to rotate between its members as hosts.[14]
- Zatara appears in DC Super Hero Girls, voiced by Phil LaMarr.[13]
Film
[edit]Zatara makes a cameo appearance in Superman via a mural.[15]
Video games
[edit]Zatara appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[16]
Miscellaneous
[edit]- Zatara appears in the "Zatanna" entry of the Cartoon Monsoon contest, voiced by Steve Blum. This version is the frustrated father of a teenage Zatanna.
- Zatara appears in a crossover between The Batman Adventures and Superman Adventures. This version previously taught a young Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent.
- Zatara appears in Smallville Season 11 as a member of Shadowpact during World War II.[17]
Zach Zatara
[edit]Zauriel
[edit]David Zavimbe
[edit]Zebra-Man
[edit]Lori Zechlin
[edit]Leon Zeiko
[edit]Zeiss
[edit]Philo Zeiss is a mercenary, contract killer and bodyguard, surgically enhanced to augment his speed and reflexes, and equipped with vision-enhancing goggles and extensive martial arts training. He is brought to Gotham City by the Sicilian Mafia, where he battles Batman to a standstill and nearly kills Catwoman.
Doris Zeul
[edit]Zeus
[edit]Maxie Zeus
[edit]Clifford Zmeck
[edit]Zod
[edit]Zodiac Master
[edit]Zodiac Master is the name of a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
The masked villain known as the Zodiac Master makes his presence known in Gotham by predicting a succession of disasters, all of which he has secretly orchestrated. Having cemented his reputation, he starts offering odds on the relative success or failure for the plans of various criminals, all in exchange for 25% of the take.[18]
Zodiac Master in other media
[edit]- Zodiac Master makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "A Bat Divided!".
- Zodiac Master appears in The Lego Batman Movie.
Ashley Zolomon
[edit]| First appearance | The Flash (vol. 2) #197 (June 2003) |
|---|---|
| Created by | Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins |
Dr. Ashley Zolomon is a character appearing in DC Comics. The character made her first appearance in The Flash (vol. 2) #197 (June 2003), and was created by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins. She is a profiler in Keystone City's police department who a colleague of Wally West / The Flash and the estranged wife of Hunter Zolomon / Zoom.
Ashley worked with the F.B.I. when she met Hunter and they married with the two specialized in apprehending low-level costumed criminals until Hunter inadvertently caused her father's death by mistakenly believing that the Clown was incapable of using a gun, causing their estrangement.[19] Ashley replaced her ex-husband as a profiler, exposing Mister Element and getting in a car accident for which she's hospitalized.[20][21][22][23] Ashley deals with the Flash's various enemies which revealed Zoom still attached emotionally to Ashley instead of Cheetah and she helps Linda Park.[24]
Ashley Zolomon in other media
[edit]An alternate universe variant of Ashley Zolomon appears in The Flash episode "Versus Zoom", portrayed by Tatyana Forrest. This version is Hunter Zolomon's mother and was murdered by her husband which traumatized their son.
Hunter Zolomon
[edit]Zookeeper
[edit]Zor-El
[edit]Kara Zor-El
[edit]Kara Zor-L
[edit]Zilius Zox
[edit]Victor Zsasz
[edit]Tony Zucco
[edit]Zuggernaut
[edit]| First appearance | Firestorm the Nuclear Man #69 (March 1988) |
|---|---|
| Created by | John Ostrander and Joe Brozowski |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength, near invulnerability, energy discharge, long, sharp claws and fangs |
| Aliases | Matvei Rodor |
Further reading
| |
The Zuggernaut is a supervillain and symbiotic alien life form in the DC Universe.
The character, created by John Ostrander and Joe Brozowski, first appeared in Firestorm the Nuclear Man #69 (March 1988).[25]
The Zuggernaut is an alien who crashed on Earth as a meteorite in Russia. It was found by, and bonded to, Matvei Rodor, a black marketeer. Rodor is in conflict with a corrupt Moscow prosecutor named Soliony and agrees to Zuggernaut's offer of help in exchange for being its host.
Returning to Moscow, they attack Soliony, who has been interrogating Mikhail Arkadin. Arkadin summons Firestorm and escapes the jail to find Zuggernaut threatening Soliony. Zuggernaut is driven off when Firestorm burns their chest.[26]
Zuggernaut reappears a short time later and allows itself to be captured to get to Soliony. Again Firestorm intervenes, creating discord for both the alien and its host.[27] Their fight with Firestorm is interrupted by Stalnoivolk, allowing Rodor to override Zuggernaut's desire to fight Firestorm and chase after Soliony. They, in turn, are delayed by the Russian super-team Soyuz, allowing Firestorm to catch up and stop them. This results in Rodor being killed and Zuggernaut withdrawing to find a new host.[28]
Zyklon
[edit]Der Zyklon is a fictional DC Comics character created by Roy Thomas and first appeared in All-Star Squadron #45 (May 1985).
As noted in that issue, the word zyklon is German for cyclone. Zyklon was given the power to move at superhuman speeds by scientists of the Third Reich, and assisted Baron Blitzkrieg, in stealing the Liberty Bell. Their plans were thwarted by Johnny Quick, Liberty Belle, Hawkgirl, and the Flash, members of the All-Star Squadron. [29]
Werner Zytle
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 339. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ^ DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #5 (December 1980)
- ^ Wagner, Matt (2009). Madame Xanadu: Disenchanted. DC Comics. ISBN 978-1-4012-2291-8.
- ^ Matthew K. Manning; Stephen Wiacek; Melanie Scott; Nick Jones; Landry Q. Walker (2021). The DC comics encyclopedia: the definitive guide to the characters of the DC universe (New ed.). New York, New York: DC Comics. ISBN 978-0-7440-2056-4. OCLC 1253363543.
- ^ Tynion IV, James; Álvaro Martínez Bueno; Raul Fernandez; Brad Anderson (2019). Justice League Dark. Vol. 2, Lords of order. Burbank, CA: DC Comics. ISBN 978-1-4012-9460-1. OCLC 1110150328.
- ^ Mitchell, Kurt; Thomas, Roy (2019). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-60549-089-2.
- ^ Wagner, Matt (2009). Madame Xanadu: Disenchanted. DC Comics. ISBN 978-1-4012-2291-8.
- ^ Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #50 (July 1986)
- ^ Reign in Hell #5 (January 2009)
- ^ Justice League of America (vol. 2) #39–40 (January - February 2010)
- ^ a b Matthew K. Manning; Stephen Wiacek; Melanie Scott; Nick Jones; Landry Q. Walker (2021). The DC comics encyclopedia: the definitive guide to the characters of the DC universe (New ed.). New York, New York: DC Comics. ISBN 978-0-7440-2056-4. OCLC 1253363543.
- ^ Tynion IV, James; Álvaro Martínez Bueno; Raul Fernandez; Brad Anderson (2019). Justice League Dark. Vol. 2, Lords of order. Burbank, CA: DC Comics. ISBN 978-1-4012-9460-1. OCLC 1110150328.
- ^ a b c "Zatara Voices (DC Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved May 17, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
- ^ Matadeen, Renaldo (December 27, 2021). "Young Justice: Phantoms Made Zatara's Origin More Tragic - And More Suspicious". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ Brooke, David (July 12, 2025). "'Superman' reveals Hall of Justice mural: 300 years of heroes on display". AIPT. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
- ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 4, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ Smallville Season 11: Olympus #1-4
- ^ Detective Comics #323 (January 1964)
- ^ The Flash (vol. 2) #197 (June 2003)
- ^ The Flash (vol. 2) #203-207 (December 2003-February 2004)
- ^ The Flash (vol. 2) #210-211 (July-August 2004)
- ^ The Flash (vol. 2) #213 (October 2004)
- ^ The Flash (vol. 2) #215 (December 2004)
- ^ The Flash (vol. 2) #219-225 (April-October 2005)
- ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 357. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
- ^ Ostrander, John (w), Brozowski, Joe (p), De La Rosa, Sam (i). "Back in the U.S.S.R." Firestorm, vol. 2, no. 69 (March 1988). DC Comics.
- ^ Ostrander, John (w), Brozowski, Joe (p), De La Rosa, Sam (i). "Return of the Zuggernaut" Firestorm, vol. 2, no. 72 (June 1988). DC Comics.
- ^ Ostrander, John (w), Brozowski, Joe (p), De La Rosa, Sam (i). "Blood Red Square" Firestorm, vol. 2, no. 73 (July 1988). DC Comics.
- ^ All-Star Squadron #45 (May 1985)