For nearly 12 years, numerous DC Comics heroes and villains, as well as a variety of guest fighters, have been featured in theMortal Kombat-esque battles between a tyrannical Superman and a freedom-fighting Batman in NetherRealm Studios’Injusticeuniverse. From DC classic characters such as Wonder Woman to fellow comic book-originating characters such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, fighters of all kinds have been featured inInjustice’s campaign, multiplayer, and expanded media.
However, some characters have been focused on more than others, with several fighters not returning in the 2017 sequelInjustice 2. Withrumors of NetherRealm creating anInjustice 3soon, the developer should consider bringing back oneInjustice 1DLC fighter as a mainstay in the next campaign: Zatanna.
The History of Zatanna in the Injustice Universe
First appearing in 1964’sHawkman #4,Zatanna is one of DC Comics’ most popular magic usersand female superheroes. The daughter of world-renowned magician and sorcerer Giovanni Zatara, Zatanna was born with innate magical powers, the most famous of which being her ability to manifest anything into action or being by saying phrases and backwards, such as saying “etativel” to levitate. Growing up idolizing her father, Zatanna became a powerful magician and sorceress in her own right as well as a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, leading her to join and even lead several superhero teams, such as the Justice League, Justice League Dark, and Sentinels of Magic.
In August 2013,Zatanna was the final DLC fighter to joinInjustice: Gods Among Us’ roster after coming in first place in a Twitter poll for the most requested character to join the game. Zatanna would later join the free-to-play mobile versions of bothInjustice 1and2for iOS and Android devices. Here, Zatanna uses her magic powers and magician tricks to teleport about the battlefield, burn and electrocute her opponents, and become intangible, among other move sets. Zatanna was voiced by Lacey Chabert, who first portrayed the character in the 2010 animated seriesYoung Justiceand later reprised her role as Zatanna in the 2013 gameYoung Justice: Legacyas well as the 2016 animated seriesJustice League Action.
Zatanna’s Role in the Injustice Comics Explained
Since Zatanna is a DLC character, she doesn’t play a role inInjustice 1’s main campaign. However, she does appear in theInjustice 1comic book prequel serieswritten by Tom Taylor and Brian Buccellato. Set in the five years leading up to the events ofInjustice 1, the comics follow Superman building up his One Earth Regime and Batman recruiting allies to stop the Kyrptonian. Zatanna first pops up inInjustice Year Three, aiding Batman’s efforts by granting the Insurgency asylum in the Tower of Fate, rescuing John Constantine, and later teleporting the Insurgency to Alaskan lead mines for refuge. Zatanna’s Classic Battle mode ending later suggests she imprisoned some Regime forces in the Tower of Fate after Superman was defeated.
WhileZatanna often appears as a side characterin books, she has headlined several ongoing and mini-series of her own, such as Jamal Campbell’s 2025Zatannaseries.
Zatanna’s Potential Role in Injustice 3
Zatanna doesn’t appear in theInjusticecomics beyond the beginning ofInjustice Year Four, and she never makes an appearance in the mainlineInjustice 2game or the 2021Injusticeanimated film adaption of the first game. She does appear in the 2018Injustice vs. Masters of the Universeseries, set afterInjustice 2’s bad ending, wherein Zatanna recruits He-Man to help fight against a Brainiac-empowered Superman and shields the Insurgency from Superman’s surveillance. However, if NetherRealm is working on anInjustice 3, they’ll likely ignore the events of the He-Man crossover to develop their own sequel story. Despite being MIA for most post-Injustice 1stories, there’s still a lot of potential for Zatanna to appear inInjustice 3and related expanded media.
With Doctor Fate slain by Brainiac and the Helmet of Fate crushed by Superman inInjustice 2, there are only a few magic heroes or villains left in theInjusticeuniverse. Zatanna could return inInjustice 3as the leader of a new Justice League Dark alongside Swamp Thing, Constantine, a reformed Raven, and a new Shazam afterBilly Batson was killed by Superman inInjustice 1. She could also be depicted training new magic users to ensure there’s always a strong defense against Superman, as magic is one of his greatest weaknesses. If Zatanna doesn’t appear in the gameInjustice 3, she could still be featured in comics set betweenInjustice 2and3as DC has routinely publishedInjusticeprequel comics set before the games’ events.
