This week, Zatanna hits the spotlight once again in a brand new series by superstar artist Jamal Campbell. And as longtime fans, you can’t blame us for being excited. It’s not difficult to spell out (eh?) everything we love about her. We could break down her most important storylines and most impressive moments for you, but why not let her do it in her own words? Let’s get to know Zatanna through ten of her best backwards-talking spells.
 

Arataz raeppa ot em!

First appears in: Hawkman #4 (1964)

This is the very first spell we see Zatanna cast in her debut, immediately drawing upon her lineage. Although Zee made her first ecnaraeppa in the 1960s, Zatanna’s comic book bona fides are as old as Superman. In Action Comics #1, the same issue we first met the Man of Steel, Zatanna’s father, Zatara, was in top hat and coattails performing magic of his own to fight crime. Zatanna’s appearance in the sixties heralded a reinvention of this Golden Age concept in much the same way that Hawkman himself had been reimagined for a new generation of readers. We meet Zatanna here in search of her lost father, on a quest which wound itself through issues of Hawkman, Detective Comics, The Atom, Green Lantern and Justice League of America—in the process, defining the modern-day phenomenon of the inter-title crossover storyline. Zatanna’s greatest spell of all? Making the DC publishing line a true shared universe.
 

Gib ecnartne!

First appears in: Zatanna: Everyday Magic (2003)

Just as Bruce Timm and Paul Dini reinvented the way we think about most of Batman’s supporting cast, Zatanna became inextricably linked to her cover identity as a famous stage magician due in large part to her appearance in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, appropriately titled “Zatanna.” Although that episode kept it ambiguous as to whether the show’s incarnation of Zatanna could actually perform magic, Dini would take that magic show on the road in 2003 with an original graphic novel establishing her presence as a professional prestidigitator. With a cry of “Gib ecnartne!” to emerge from backstage, it’s immediately apparent that Zatanna’s favorite kind of magic is the kind you only feel performing for a crowd.
 

Tegrof Kralc Tnek

First appears in: Identity Crisis #3 (2004)

We’d be remiss not to acknowledge Zatanna’s greatest shame: her participation in the Identity Crisis scheme. In an explosive incident which, for a time, would spell the end of the Justice League, Zatanna was revealed to have been working with an inner circle within the team which had clandestinely taken it upon themselves over the years to wipe the minds of dangerous enemies who learned their private identities. To the rest of the team’s shock, this also included the mind manipulation of Batman himself, who had discovered and attempted to foil them. All sins eventually come to the surface. We can’t forget, but we can move forward.
 

LAEH EM

First appears in: Justice League of America #24 (2008)

How do you cast a spell when you have no mouth? One of the coolest moments in Zatanna’s history came in a desperate struggle between the Justice League, the killer android Amazo and the trickster god Anansi, where Zatanna’s powerful magic is neutralized early on when the spider deity takes away Zatanna’s ability to speak. But as all the stories go, the only way to overcome a trickster spirit is by being trickier. After an elbow to the face gives Zatanna a severe nosebleed, our mistress of magic reveals a new development which will continue to dictate her growth as a sorceress going forward: magic isn’t about verbal speech, but intentionality. By casting the backwards incantation for a healing spell on the ground in her own blood, Zatanna gets herself back into fighting shape and turns the tide for the team. Ssadab.
 

Gnikrow sehtolc

First appears in: Zatanna #1 (2010)

This mantra, sometimes simply shortened to “krow sehtolc” in Zatanna’s first ongoing series, was always how you knew it was time to get down to business. A simple transformation spell into her classic hat and fishnets look, this cantrip is Zee’s own equivalent of Clark Kent ducking into a phone booth, or Diana Prince twirling in place.
 

Egad! No bondage!

First appears in: Zatanna #12 (2011)

Zatanna finds herself in more than a mouthful of trouble when she encounters “Backslash,” a criminal who stole a fairy sword that can manipulate time. By casting a counterspell every time Zatanna spoke to reverse her words, every technique she tried against him was neutralized before an instant had passed…until Zatanna frees herself from captivity with the realization that some spells come out the same both ways. Backwards brigands beware the power of the palindrome.
 

Trulb tuo S'worrom eurt noitacol!

First appears in: Young Justice Season 1, “Humanity” (2011)

The Young Justice animated series is beloved for many reasons, particularly in the way it thoughtfully manages its enormous cast of characters, their dynamics with one another, and the way they fill out the world while giving each of them a moment to shine. The season one episode “Humanity” introduces a younger Zatanna to “the Team” of young covert heroes, charming her way through her peers on sheer charisma. But it’s while the Team interrogates Professor Ivo that Zatanna proves her true utility, cutting through the Gordian knot of getting to the truth with a simple spell that instantly compels Ivo to spill the beans with immaculate comedic timing. It also, troublingly, foreshadows the Team’s budding penchant for invasive mental manipulation. But you can’t blame this one on Zatanna.
 

Leef ton stibbar evol, kaeps I!

First appears in: DC Super Hero Girls Season 1, “Adventures in Bunnysitting” (2019)

Watch any episode of Lauren Faust’s 2019 reinvention of the DC Super Hero Girls, and it’s easy to see why her take on “Zee” Zatara is a favorite among fans. As a younger hero with more power and confidence than experience or finesse, Zee’s spells often produce great effects with…unintended consequences. Take, for example, this early “hate spell” that Zee casts on a tidal wave of instantly reproducing bunnies as a bout of quick thinking to keep them apart. The reproduction stops as intended, although the bunnies turn their new wrath on the city itself. As even the greatest magic users of the DC Universe will tell you, magic doesn’t solve problems so much as change them.
 

Tlobrednuht dna gninthgil!

First appears in: Justice League Dark #21 (2020)

Yrev, yrev gninethgirf. By this point, as frequent point woman for the Justice League Dark, Zatanna’s powers had grown to the point where intention is everything. What’s the point of being one of the most potent sorcerers in the universe if you can’t vanquish a horde of floronic zombies by quoting your favorite Queen song?
 

Wep wep!

First appears in: Justice League Dark #25 (2020)

Your honor, my client Zatanna Zatara has never done anything wrong in her entire life and I move to absolve her of all crimes forever. Sustained? Good. Let’s get lunch.
 

Zatanna #1 by Jamal Campbell is now available in print and as a digital comic book.

Alex Jaffe is the author of our monthly "Ask the Question" column and writes about TV, movies, comics and superhero history for DC.com. Follow him on Bluesky at @AlexJaffe and find him in the DC Official Discord server as HubCityQuestion.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Alex Jaffe and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.