Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Zatanna: Trial of the Crystal Wand

Its not exactly clear to me what Cartoon Monsoon was, but it had something to do with a competition among aspiring amateur animators who produced segments for WB and then the public got to vote for their favorite. From my understanding, Zatanna was not one of the actual competing shorts, but it was produced for the Cartoon Monsoon and written by Paul Dini. The short aired in 2003 and it took me literally years of hunting to find it. Worth the effort? Well, it does feel good to be able to say I did finally get to see it even if it was not all that great. In 5 minutes, we were introduced to Zatanna and the wicked Klarion as they explored a mystic realm in pursuit of the Crystal Wand. It ended with Z taking on some evil playing cards... Fun.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Zatanna

I am going to be kind of hard on this episode. This was my introduction to the character of Zatanna and even though she was reimagined as a magicless illusionist for this episode, she never really seemed to fit in the world of BTAS to me. Years later after seeing her in other series like Young Justice (and even JLU), I am a little perplexed by her treatment in this series.

Crisis of Infinite Episodes - Just-Us League of Supertoons

Batduck proved a popular parody paving the way for a full on Justice League homage on Tiny Toons Adventures in 1992 during a segment of New Class Day titled Just-Us League of Supertoons.In the adventure, Batduck and Decoy were asked to join the League composed of Superbun,Wonder Babs, Little Dasher, Hawk Loon, Aquamutt, Pink Canary, Keen Arrow, and Scentana (extra points for the Zatanna homage). The invitation was revoked when the League realized Batduck had no powers.

Onscreen History of Zatanna

She loves speaking backwards to cast her spells, its time for the "Yrotsih Neercsno" of Zatanna. The magician mistress Zatanna Zatara first appeared in 1964's Hawkman #4. Usually seen with her trademark top-hat and tails, Z first appeared onscreen in Batman: The Animated Series in the 1993 episode bearing her name.

Evolution of the Batman (and Robin) - Gotham Girls

Between 2000 and 2002 a Flash-based web series depicting the girls of Gotham was produced for the world wide web titled Gotham Girls. The series' three season focused on the ladies of Gotham city: villainesses Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and Catwoman as well as heroines Batgirl and Zatanna.

The 3-5 minute episodes made up 30 episodes in total, some of which allowed interaction from the viewer such as being able to click on which spell to make Zatanna cast.

Overall, the episodes were pretty silly and fun with plots such as Harley Quinn getting turned into a baby by plant toxins.

The third season took a bit of a different approach. telling a story related to the Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero movie. In this season, Dora, the sister of Mr. Freeze's wife Nora, seeks revenge against costumed villains such as Freeze whom she blames for her sisters condition. In the process, she pretty much becomes Ms. Freeze.


Pretty much all of the character designs came from the simplified New Batman Adventures looks which actually adapted pretty well to the Flash animation format. The episodes are still available online, so go check them out:

Part 1

Up Next: Return of the Joker

Batman Serial * Batman and Robin Serial * Batman '66 TV * Batman '66 Movie * Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder * Batman on Scooby Doo * Batman the Super Friend * The New Adventures of Batman * Batman '89 * Batman Returns * Batman: The Animated Series * Batman: Mask of the Phantasm * Batman Forever * Batman and Robin * The New Batman Adventures * Boo Wonder * Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero * Batman Beyond * Gotham Girls

* Special Musical Edition * Special Christmas Edition *