Zatara
Giovanni Zatara is a world-renowned stage magician who discovered he possessed genuine sorcerous power, casting spells by speaking words backwards. Debuting in Action Comics #1 alongside Superman, he became one of DC's earliest heroes, using his extraordinary magical gifts to battle crime and the supernatural.
Few characters can claim a legacy as storied as Zatara's — a magician who debuted in the very first issue of Action Comics in 1938, making him one of DC's true Platinum Age originals and a genuine piece of comics history. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the same legendary duo who gave the world Superman, Zatara has shared pages with Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Green Lantern across decades of adventure in Action Comics, World's Finest Comics, and Adventure Comics. With six key-issue appearances to his name and a publishing history stretching an astonishing 88 years, this is a character whose roots run deeper than almost anyone else in the DC universe. For collectors and fans who love the grand, pulpy sweep of comics' earliest era, Zatara is an essential figure — a reminder that the very first chapter of the superhero story was richer and stranger than most people realize.
Real name. Giovanni Zatara
Powers. : Zatara can project his astral body out of his physical form, and use it to search for persons or things, and to scout out potentially tricky situations. ; : Zatara's spell casting involves him, generally, speaking his incantations backwards. For example, saying "tegrof" would cause the target of the spell to forget something. The limits of Zatara's powers are unknown.
Trivia
- Joe Shuster has drawn more of Zatara's comics than any other artist in our catalog — 32 issues.
Top series
Covers through the years — 1938–2021
★ 1938 
1945 
1965 
1973 
1980 
1983 
1990 
1997 
2005 
2011 
2016 
2021