Zatanna: A life on stages

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my humble post.

Everyone knows the double life of Zatanna Zatara. Combining the noble task of saving the world and defending magic with a successful career in the world of stage magic is not easy. Zatanna seems to struggle at times to balance the two most important aspects of her life. Today I want to focus on analyzing why continuing to strive to keep her show going on is so important to her.

A family tradition

It's a known fact that Giovanni Zatara was a world-renowned magician. He is the man the one who taught Zatanna everything and the one who introduced her to the world of show business. However, he wasn’t the first Zatara to be successful performing sleight of hand and optical illusions on a stage. So before talking about him, we should answer a simple question: who got him interested in magic? The tradition of wonder people with magic has ed through generations of Zaratas. It all goes back to his grandfather and consequently great-grandfather of our girl Zatanna. The great Luigi Zatara.

Luigi had been a famous magician in Italy, wowing people all over Europe. Giovanni was just a child when his parents decided to start a new life in America. They moved from Italy and raised him like any other American child with the help of his grandfather. Of course, Luigi didn’t want his grandson to forget his roots. That was the reason why he gave her the gift that would change his life. A box with all his tricks from his magical performances, including his iconic top hat. He dreamed that his grandson eventually would become a great wizard like him.

Of course, this didn’t catch the attention of Giovanni who like any young boy considered it something stupid. But magic wouldn't let one of the greatest magicians ignore his fate so easily. When he went to throw the magical kit away, a rabbit jumped out of the hat. This sudden event amazed the boy and aroused his interest in following in the footsteps of his grandfather. Following the aesthetics of the tuxedo and the top hat, he began to dabble in the world of magic and entertainment.

This is how Zatara - Master Magician was born.

His performances weren't really successful at first. He had to face an audience bored with the same old sleight of hand and optical illusions. But failure was not an excuse to give up. Giovanni needed to think bigger, give the audience something that will really blow them away. This motivated the decision to move to Manhattan where the big theaters were and to start his research about magic. It was then that he immersed himself in the mysteries of the occult. Crawling through books, magic found him once again. Reading one of the famous backwards texts of his ancestor Leonardo Da Vinci aloud, he made a mannequin involuntarily move.

A wonderful discovery. Real magic existed and he could control it by speaking backwards. That was the key that would make his shows have the success that he longed for. The public would never believe that what they were seeing could be real, his cover was their own disbelief. That made him show the world feats that would make him become the magnificent performer acclaimed by the audience. He would not only be successful in theaters, his fame grew so much that he even participated in some movies. Until the day of his death, Giovanni skillfully combined his stage work, his duties as a hero and the difficult task of fatherhood.

Luigi and Giovanni are not the only relatives of Zatanna who made a living on stage. Her younger cousin, Zachary Zatara, motivated by his uncle and his cousin, put on the tuxedo and a top hat and tried his luck in show business. He’s making his way to stardom although he still has work to do before achieving the same fame as the Mistress of Magic. Although there’s no doubt that the magical talent that runs through his veins helps, he has even complained about his cousin's exaggerated paychecks while he has to pay to put on his show. Zach may love being a celebrity even more than she does although he’s still on his way and certainly the name Zatara opens many doors.

Raised to be a star

Tragedy struck the Zatara family when Zatanna was just a child. The mysterious death of her mother, Sindella, in a traffic accident from which her body couldn’t be found left Giovanni with the heavy responsibility of raising his daughter alone. As if keeping his career on the rise and using his gifts to save the world weren't enough. Fatherhood isn’t easy, but this man really did a great job.

He could be considered a strict father. From a very young age, Giovanni instilled the discipline of the stage in his daughter. Getting up at 5 am to practice escapology tricks, long hours of rehearsal despite exhaustion, and sticking to a schedule were just some of the tasks that little Zatanna learned to live with. Not many children are capable of mastering Houdini's milk can trick or escaping from a straitjacket. Her childhood was far from normal, but without a doubt, she would not have gotten this far if it weren't for her father's teachings. Probably the hardest thing for a little girl was life on the road. Although she has mentioned spending most of her childhood in New York, her father often worked in San Francisco, Las Vegas, or Gotham. Not to mention the tours around the world.

Zatanna soon became a valuable assistant for Zatara. People loved to see the girl in her magician costume running around the stage. There was no room for shyness. From a very young age, she got used to exposing herself to the stares of the audience and the dazzling spotlights. This is how she started her own career. Known as Zatannna, Princess of Prestidigitation, she was slowly gaining more fame. Eventually, she began her career separately, seeking her own identity. Still, her collaborations with her father were common as well as with her cousin Zach. After Giovanni's death, her prowess on and off stage earned her the title of Mistress of Magic.

The reasons behind the scenes

It’s more than obvious. Zatanna loves fame. It is the warmth of the applause, the euphoria of hearing the ovations and above all those "woow" and "ooohh" when leaving people in awe thanks to her tricks. Like any other artist, fans are an important part of the job. They are the ones who motivate her to improve and learn new tricks. Another of the more superficial advantages is money. Zatanna confessed to Bruce that her paychecks would make a billionaire blush. It's not that she brags about her fortune, which part of it is inherited from her father, but she is used to the good life. She stays in impressive hotel rooms, she has several cars, including a Porsche, she likes expensive restaurants... Not all her earnings come from the ticket sells, merchandising plays an important role here. Her Junior Magic Kit is very popular among kids and she also wrote a book called "Hex Appeal: The Modern Girl's Guide to Magic".

Some of these tricks may become repetitive and seem banal, for example the famous moment of pulling a rabbit out of the hat. But the audience like to see something they already know, probably because they find it more comfortable and less scary. That is the reason why she always starts her shows with these kind of tricks. It's her way of catching their attention and engaging them. For the illusionist, knowing that she makes hundreds and even thousands of people happy every time she sets foot on a stage is reason enough to find the motivation to put on the top hat and fishnets. The greatest reward after finishing a show is knowing that at least some of those people will leave the theater believing a little more in magic. After all, the purpose of these shows is not just to impress her fans. It’s all about bringing magic closer to those who aren’t meant to understand it. Not letting the magic die.

However, not everything is fame and money, not even her mission to entertain people. There are more personal reasons that motivate her to go ahead and work hard on her shows. The most obvious one that everyone knows is simple. The best way for a magician to hide is in plain sight. No one believes that what Zatanna does on stage is true magic, only those who truly know her power. The people who attend her shows and witness true wonders are too blind to believe that not everything is about optical illusions and sleight of hand.

Nor should we forget the danger that comes with a life in magic. Almost all magical s have lost loved ones because of it, and Zatanna is no exception. It's well known that those who get too involved with her do not have a happy ending. Life on stage means moving around often, not spending a long time in the same place. That leaves little opportunity for someone to grow too attached to her and end up suffering the consequences. It seems logical and yet this is not the deepest of motivations either.

The real reason lies in her own power. Zatanna is considered the Sorceress Supreme. She has enough power to alter the laws of nature and this can make the real world meaningless. What's the point of getting up every morning, talking to other people, or even vital tasks like eating or sleeping if you know that none of that matters? If she allowed herself to be consumed by magic, she wouldn't need the rest of the world. She would lose her humanity. So that's definitely the real reason for sticking to a schedule and forcing herself to deal with real people. In her own words: “So you stay something like a human.”

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I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing about the reasons why her job on stage is so important for Zatanna. Keep tuned if you want to know more about this fascinating woman. I'll be posting again very soon.

Evah a doog yad!