History Recap / BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE54Zatanna

* ShoutOut: The spiked pit appears to be a tribute to a similar scene from ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'', or perhaps [[Series/{{Batman}} the live-action series]], in which the spikes turned out to be rubber.

* AdaptationalMundanity[=/=]AdaptationalSuperpowerChange: Since the original ''Batman'' animated series is significantly lower-key than the comics (and what the DCAU [[FantasyKitchenSink eventually turned into]]), the Zatanna that appears here has no literal magical powers like the comics character or when she returns in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' --she's just a very competent mundane illusionist.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane:
** Zatanna seems like an ordinary stage magician until the end, when she pulls [[StealthHiBye a disappearing act]] on Batman. ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' simply presents her with her usual complement of magical powers.
** The Joker card could be interpreted as a coincidence, or a genuine prediction of Bruce's future.

* RetCanon: Zatanna as Bruce's childhood friend becomes canon in the DC Comics Universe.

* ShoutOut: The spiked pit appears to be a tribute to a similar scene from ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom''.
** Or perhaps [[Series/{{Batman}} the live-action series]], in which the spikes turned out to be rubber.

* SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay: Batman calls Zatanna "Zanna"--a nickname only "John Smith" called her, which she claimed to hate.

* StageMagician: Zatanna, and her father Zatara. Zatara has the traditional top-hat-and-tails magician look,[[note]]It was less of a cliché when he started out--the character first appeared in 1938, in a back-up story in the same comic that introduced Superman.[[/note]] while Zatanna uses a femme version of the same look that shows off her legs more.

** Then at the end of the episode, it's Zatanna who does this to Batman, leaving a note saying that she also hates goodbyes.

* YouAnsweredYourOwnQuestion: Zatanna: "What do you care about some leggy dame [[StockingFiller in nylons]]? Or have I answered my own question?"

* PickACard: In the flashback, Zatanna invites Bruce to pick a card from a deck and attempts to not only identify it without looking at it, but describe what it foretells about his future.

* YouGotSpunk: The villain tells Zatanna, while holding her at knife point, "You are most ''engaging'', my dear--beautiful, impetuous... I could be persuaded to spare you if ''properly implored''..." [[AgonyOfTheFeet ''CRUNCH'' Cut to Zatanna's heel crushing his foot.]]

* YouAnsweredYourOwnQuestion: Zatanna: "What do you care about [[ShesGotLegs some leggy dame]] [[StockingFiller in nylons]]? Or have I answered my own question?"

* AdaptationalSuperpowerChange: Since the original ''Batman'' animated series is significantly lower-key than the comics (and what the DCAU [[FantasyKitchenSink eventually turned into]]), the Zatanna that appears here has no literal magical powers like the comics character or when she returns in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' --she's just a very competent mundane illusionist.

* YouGotSpunk: The villain tells Zatanna, while holding her at knife point, "You are most ''engaging'', my dear--beautiful, impetuous... I could be persuaded to spare you if ''properly implored''..." ''CRUNCH'' Cut to Zatanna's heel crushing his foot.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Montague Kane is modeled on Creator/OrsonWelles, probably because of Welles's own interest in stage magic.

While Bruce and Alfred watch Zatanna's magic act, Bruce remembers how he first met her while learning escape artist techniques from her father Zatara. She was clearly interested in him, and asked him to write... but he never did, and she had no way to find him since he was using the alias "John Smith."

* AdaptationalSuperpowerChange: Since the original ''Batman'' animated series is significantly lower-key than the comics (and what the DCAU [[FantasyKitchenSink eventually turned into]]), the Zatanna that appears here has no literal magical powers like the comics character--she's just a very competent mundane illusionist.