Warning! Spoilers ahead for Zatanna #1!Oh come on, did DC Comics really just kill one of the best and coolestJustice Leaguemembers right as their newest series began? I’ve been waiting to see one particular hero take the spotlight for a while, but not like this!
The DC All In initiativehas been going strong for a few months now, and to DC’s credit, its done a great job of showcasing the larger parts of the DCU rather than just the more popular heroes. But it looks like a fan-favorite hero’s latest adventure is over before it ever really begins.
Zatanna is Stabbed Through the Heart in a Jaw-Dropping Ending
DC’s Most Powerful Magic User Met Her Match?
InZatanna #1by Jamal Campbell and Ariana Maher,Zatanna Zatara is preppingher crew for a new stage show. The magician has chosen a vintage theatre, the Terpsichore, which has a rich history of legendary performers, including an old Hollywood legend, the Lady White.Zatanna and her crew continue to prep for the show, but a performer named Adam is having troublegetting into the role. While Zatanna gives the young man a pep talk, two other crew members discuss the Lady White and the legends surrounding her.
As if on cue, the Lady White invades the Terpsichore and uses magic to kidnap Zatanna’s entire crew and bring them onto the Astral Plane. Zatanna gives chase and discovers that the Lady White has placed Zatanna’s crew in simulations of White’s old films. Zatanna rescues each crew member from their trap but she’s having trouble locating the troubled performer Adam.Zatanna eventually tracks down Adam to a realm modeled off of an old film noir movieand saves the young man before he’s shot to death.
Zatanna is then suddenly stabbed with a glowing sword by a mind-controlled Adam.
With her entire crew safe, Zatanna confronts the Lady White, who reveals she’s organized this little hunt to witness one particular moment firsthand. Zatanna is then suddenly stabbed with a glowing sword by a mind-controlled Adam. Zatanna tries in vain to cast a spell to remove it, but the Lazy White utters one first,causing the sword to expel lightning within Zatanna. The Lady White disappears with Adam while Zatanna falls to the ground and lies helpless in the rain.
Zatanna is One of the Few Heroes To Never Die Until Now
I have to admit, I didn’t see Zatanna being killed at the end of her first issue. While it makes for a hell of an ending, it’s also a really out-of-left-field choice. I mean, Zatanna has faced down demons, gods, and powerful cosmic threats, but here, she’s taken out by a mysterious apparition we’ve never seen before using a guy we’ve also never seen interact with Zatanna?I’m just a bit floored that DC Comics would let Zatanna meet her maker so unexpectedly, and in the first issue of a new series to boot.
Of course, death means nothing in the modern superhero world. I mean, at this point, you’re more of an outlier if youhaven’tbeen killed in some form or fashion. Once upon a time, if a hero died, that was pretty much it for them. But now hero resurrections are more common than ever. And let’s face it, if anyone knows how to escape the most perilous and deadly situations,it’d be someone as skilled as Zatanna.
But man, this issue raises a lot of questions. Why does the Lady White want Zatanna dead? Why the whole show-y display if she was just going to mind control Adam to kill Zatanna? And why pick Adam and not one of hermore powerful Justice League allies? But the biggest question is how Zatanna is going to get out of this. I mean, I don’t doubt for a second she’s got something to help her escape death, but even if she does,what’s to stop the Lady White from permanently putting Zatanna down?
Zatanna’s Going to Need Powerful Magic to Survive Her New Foe
Speaking Backwards Isn’t Going to Do the Trick
Whatever the reason the Lady White has marked Zatanna for death, she’s got more than enough power to do so. Zatanna might be able to make it out of this nail-biting conclusion alright, but she’s going to need some serious magic to overcome this attack and stop her new enemy. Hopefully, this really isn’t the end for theJustice League’smost powerful magic user, and she’s got some trick up her sleeve to survive this.
