Warning: Contains spoilers for Zatanna: Bring Down the House #2!
Summary
In the world of DC Comics, it’s not just superheroes with capes that exist, but magicians and sorcerers and secret societies. One of these newly-introduced societies is an ancient magical cult thatZatannastumbles into, and it’s like nothing fans have ever seen before, which is exactly why I think it would fit perfectly into the newDC Universemovies that James Gunn is creating.
Zatanna is getting a twist on her own origin storyinZatanna: Bring Down the House, a DC Black Label series by Eisner-winning writer Mariko Tamaki and artist Javier Rodríguez. In the second issue, Zatanna, the daughter of a celebrated magician, discovers that her father was a part ofmystical society of magicians who reside in the so-called Palace of the Casters.
Going on design alone, this society is one of the mostvisually stunning comic atmospheresI’ve ever seen, and I can’t help but imagine how it would look on the big screen — especially considering how it clearly took inspiration from that same big screen.
Not the Superman City — the Film
The Palace of the Casters owes its design to a famous piece of art: the filmMetropolis.Metropolisis a 1927 science-fiction silent film that still defines the very genre. At the time of its release, the movie also pushed the envelope of what was possible in cinema, creating a new brand of retro-futurism that is still part of films and comic books today. I think Zatanna’s new secret society looks just like the filmic Metropolis, with its staggering heights and otherworldly atmosphere.Merely that the design pays homage to this film shows me it’s perfect for a film adaptationand would fit right intoGunn’s new DC franchise.
Zatanna’s New Devilish Red Costume Is a Gift to All Cosplayers
Zatanna’s hottest costume yet has just dropped in official art for her new Black Label series, and it’s bound to become a top pick for cosplayers.
James Gunn’s Phase One of the DCU IsGods and Monsters
Gunn’sSupermanPremieres in 2025
In a cinematic world of gods and monsters, there must be magic like this.
Gunn isn’t starting the new DC Universe from the very beginning, with a billionaire boy in an alleyway and a baby Kryptonian in a space pod, but has elected to start in the middle of the story. Just as one might jump into comics and find the world already furnished, so thisMetropolis-like cult is perfect for Gunn’s already established world. In a cinematic world of gods and monsters,there must be magic like this, as well as ancient societies.I’m tired of seeing Superman’s origin a hundred times over, and Gunn is fixing this withhis newSupermanmovie— but I think he can do the same for other heroes, like Zatanna.
So many good world-building moments are missed out on just for another failed origin movie to premiere. But taking fromZatanna: Bring Down the House,I think Gunn has the opportunity to do something no other comic book movie has done by trusting the audience to not need an origin story and instead expanding the lore that fans like me already love. Gunn is preparing the world for gods and monsters in theDC Universe, but I’m waiting for a magic show. There’s no better place to start than withZatannain the Palace of the Casters.
DC Universe
The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.
