Boomstick: Zatanna, DC's magnificent Mistress of Magic.
Wiz: There are those who wield the Mystic Arts like Gods to reshape creation to their whims.
Boomstick: And there are those who just like to put on a hell of a show! Either way, don't mess with them if you know what's good for you!
The second episode of season nine kicks off with a battle between two women so skilled in the mystic arts, they can quite literally bend reality to their will. Though both may seek a different purpose with their magical might, their mastery is undeniable, but for the Scarlet Witch and Zatanna, only one can prove superior in their craft and survive in a death battle.
Beginning the episode is a look at the Scarlet Witch, born as Wanda Djanga Maximoff. As children, she and her brother Pietro were poor Romani raised in the Wundagore Mountains who had the fortune of being granted powers by the High Evolutionary. Less fortunately, however, Wanda was unable to control her newfound mystical powers, and before long, she was branded a scarlet witch. Yet she and her brother would be saved from the mob's wrath by none other than the Master of Magnetism himself, Magneto. Thus, to repay the favor, Wanda and Pietro, as the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, were recruited into Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, but after his imprisonment, they would have a change of heart and join Captain America's Avengers, alongside fellow criminal Hawkeye. Scarlet Witch's powers, however, seemed underwhelming at first, only being able to change the probability of events through her hexes, alongside simple energy blasts, telekinesis, and force fields before exhausting herself. And yet over time and under the tutelage of Agatha Harkness, her powers began to growth in strength and scope, learning how to slow and stop time, drain and absorb the energy of others, duplicate herself and others, teleport to alternate dimensions, and even stripping others of their powers entirely. It became clear that there was more to Wanda than met the eye, as in reality, her powers were not granted by the High Evolutionary or through allegedly being the daughter of Magneto, but rather as a gift of the elder god Chthon, who desired to shape the Scarlet Witch into his future vessel.
Through the Chaos Magic of her hexes, Wanda is able to change the probability of any event imaginable, turning impossible odds into absolute certainty, and vice versa. Over time, her powers have grown in power to the point of being able to rival even the mightiest of gods. This statement isn't an exaggeration, either; the Scarlet Witch's Chaos Magic has been described as the counterpoint of the Phoenix Force, the embodiment of cosmic order, and Wanda has fought and even temporarily erased from existence the Phoenix itself. At her height, Wanda could exert complete control over energy; weather; the elements; the mind, body, and soul of others; and time, matter, and reality itself. She is able to erase others from existence with but a thought, and can effortlessly rend the fabric of the very universe. Scarlet Witch's powers aren't limited to just what Chaos Magic can allow, either; despite not being the source of her powers, the High Evolutionary granted her receptiveness to channeling magical energy, so much so that she is the sole "nexus being" of the Earth-616 universe, serving as a focal point for said universe's magic energies, one belonging to all other timelines. At one point, she was considered as a top candidate for the title of Sorcerer Supreme, and it's easy to see why by her sheer magical ability.
However, Wanda still has flaws despite her mystical might, namely being limited to a human body that can be overpowered by physically stronger opponents. That being said, she has survived being shot with a bullet described as throbbing "with world-shattering energy" that would've reduced any of her allies to vapor. Another limitation is that she needs to think of a spell to produce its effects, theoretically opening her up to a swift assault. Despite these flaws, Wanda is not one to be underestimated by any means, as she's deflected Thor's hammer Mjolnir, kept pace with others such as X-Man who can fight within planck time, and is able to boost her speed beyond the very concept of speed by herself. Yet despite being one of the most powerful magicians to ever exist, Scarlet Witch resented the pressure this placed upon her, as she'd only ever desired a quiet marriage with The Vision and their children. Unfortunately, this wasn't meant to be, as the Vision was dismantled and, as they'd been conceived by drawing upon the magic of Mephisto, her children would be taken from her by the demon himself. This proved to be too much for Wanda's mind to handle, and in desperation, she decided to tap into the Life Force to rewrite reality and create an entirely new universe, one where mutants were the dominant species, and in the House of M, she had the family she'd always wanted, but at the cost of her sanity. Yet this wasn't to last, either, as her friends and family began to turn on her when they discovered their lives had been completely fabricated, and upon the death of her beloved brother Pietro, she only uttered three words: "No more mutants." With this hex, Wanda weaved her magic throughout all of creation, creating cracks throughout the omniverse that threatened to destroy the entirety of Marvel's endless cosmology, and proceeded to wipe nearly all of mutantkind from existence. And while she has kept her mystical abilities in line since this fateful event, the threat has remained, as a reminder of the danger that awaits those who would oppose the Scarlet Witch.
After an advertisement for the episode's first sponsor of The Northman, the hosts take a look at Wanda's opponent, Zatanna Zatara. Though at first glance she may appear to be but a simple stage magician, the magic she displays is anything but simple parlor tricks; the shows she displays are true reality-warping magic. The daughter of Giovanni Zatara, she learned all she knew from her father, who put his powers to work as one of the DC universe's earliest superheroes alongside Superman himself, and the man who mentored Bruce Wayne in all manners of escapology. As Giovanni was a stage magician himself, his daughter was more than happy to be his assistant in his shows and learn all she could from him in manners both mundane and mystical.
Inheriting her father's mystical might, Zatanna is able to make whatever she can imagine into reality by speaking the desired effect backwards, a technique Giovanni based on the diaries of his ancestor Leonardo da Vinci, who's theorized to have written his ideas backwards to obscure them from the repressive Catholic church. These sentences come so naturally to her that when Backslash reversed time while she spoke in an attempt to prevent this, she easily began to speak in palindromes so that her incantations would remain backwards regardless. Among the many effects of Zatanna's reality-warping spells, she can transmute matter on an atomic level, teleport herself across dimensions, command the elements, render herself invisible, eliminate the powers of others, cast illusions, read and control minds, stop time, and eliminate others from existence with a sole word. Needless to say, despite her showy appearance, the Mistress of Magic is not a foe to be taken lightly, as she is among the DC universe's most powerful sorcerers. This might was easily displayed when she was confronted by Zor, a past enemy of the Specter. To defeat such a foe of unbelievable strength, she focused her magic to shatter the bounds of reality, and reached out beyond the very comic panels themselves to pull Zor's universe apart with him inside. While such a feat may seem incomprehensible at first, it all comes down to belief; if Zatanna believes she can do something, it will happen. As described by herself, her magic runs on the basis of asserting one reality, then replacing it with another, similar to the powers of other magical DC characters such as Doctor Fate and Green Lantern, which have been described in the same fashion. However, no ordinary person can call upon the mystical arts, as Zatanna's genetic disposition is what grants her the capability of wielding magic; her mother was a homo magi, a sub-race of humans naturally adept at magic.
With such a mastery of magic, Zatanna became a worthy member of both the Justice League of America and the Justice League Dark. She's condensed an entire year's worth of sunlight into a singular mighty blast, made ruptures across space and time spanning the entirety of the DC multiverse, and has claimed to be equal to even pre-Crisis Superman. The only limitations to her spells are her imagination and will, as Zatanna's backwards speaking is actually just a mere mnemonic to aid her concentration, and she can cast spells by mental incantation alone if need be. She can match the likes of Martian Manhunter, who's scanned all minds upon Earth in a planck instant, and Doctor Fate, whose helmet travelled across the universe at the incalculable "velocity of god", and she has fended off such threats as the Upside-Down Man, the primordial darkness of evil incarnate, and Pralaya, the void beyond creation. The last of these beings consumed all of reality in the DC universe, but Zatanna's magic held firm in keeping Pralaya at bay, and with the aid of the Swamp Thing and John Constantine, defeated the void's personification and regrew reality's entirety within seconds. Despite all of her power, however, the Mistress of Magic still has her flaws, chief among them being that should her will or focus falter somehow, her magic can come crumbling down. For a time, her magical abilities were debilitated alongside her self-confidence, as the fundamental power of belief meant that her doubt in herself weakened her mystic prowess. Zatanna has also struggled within herself to live up to the legacy of her beloved father Giovanni, especially after his heroic passing, and this has likely played some part in her on-and-off romance with John Constantine. Regardless, the Princess of Prestigitation is a professional both on and off the stage, always abiding by one key facet: the show must go on.
An advertisement for the episode's second sponsor of Better Help later, these two mighty magicians are ready to meet, and it's time for a death battle... with magic!
As the Mistress of Magic Zatanna steps out on stage, she met by the applause of her live audience. Bowing and thanking her viewers, she proclaims that for her first trick, she will pull a rabbit from her hat. However, by a twist of fate, she instead ends up summoning the Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff. Zatanna, surprised by the result, gives a sheepish "ta-da!" to the audience who applauds her. Annoyed, Wanda calls Zatanna a "two-bit Sorceress", angering Zatanna into summoning some chains that fly forth to hold the Witch in place.
FIGHT!
Unintimidated by the chains, Wanda uses her magic to turn them back onto Zatanna whom she then slams around the theatre while Zatanna assures her audience that this is all part of the show. Zatanna then transforms herself and the chains into a swarm of rabbits that swarm Wanda, who uses her chaos magic to transform them all into playing cards. But when she picks one of them up, she is confused to see an image of Superman who emerges from the card and punches her into the wall.
Wanda decides to summon an illusion of Hulk to counter the illusion of Superman, but Zatanna summons an illusion of Wonder Woman to deal with Hulk, but then Thor dispels the illusion of the Amazon. Wanda conjures up a red fog and establishes that the difference between her and her opponent is power as the red curtain transforms into the red headpiece of the now giant Scarlet Witch.
Wanda tries to crush Zatanna, but the stage magician uses a magic barrier to protect herself, then tells her that she believes that the difference between the 2 is not power, but presentation as she enlarges herself with a firework display. As Wanda tries to attack her, Zatanna reaches towards the viewer and puts her hand out of the screen.
Zatanna ends up falling through the void until she finds herself in a strange world that is full of what appear to be universes, one of which ends up being crushed by the Scarlet Witch. Zatanna throws one of the universes at Wanda and starts juggling three more before throwing them at her as well. Livid, Wanda screams and destroys several of the universes, but Zatanna uses a magic barrier to protect herself.
Zatanna tries to cast another spell, but Wanda screams out "NO MORE SOUND!" and overcomes her opponent's barrier. Zatanna teleports away from inside the blast as Wanda calms down a little, until she hears Zatanna talking inside her head. Zatanna says "No more witches" in reverse which depowers her opponent who is then trapped inside a box and cut in half by a saw.
Zatanna reappears on stage with the 2 halves of her dead opponent and concludes her show with a bow, which receives a round of applause.
KO!
As Boomstick praises Zatanna's finishing act, the hosts explain how the Mistress of Magic proved to be the superior sorcerer over her foe. Both women were equal in the sense that they could do anything with their magic just by thinking. At her best, Wanda could threaten the very fabric of creation whereas Zatanna could defend herself from Pralaya, who was capable of the same. And so, the hosts decide to look at their weaknesses.
Even though both women are as powerful as each other, Wanda needed to tap into the Life Force to reach the peak of her powers at the risk of losing her sanity. When her powers were at their peak during the events of "House of M", Doctor Strange, who was weaker than her, managed to knock her out with a simple spell, and after her "No More Mutants" spell, only a tiny portion of mutants was left unaffected, likely due to interference from Strange and Emma Frost. To be clear, this mental instability doesn't negatively affect her power specifically, but it does leave her vulnerable to lapses of judgement. Up against Zatanna, Wanda could not afford to suffer any interference in her spells for even an instant. But Zatanna has successfully maintained her willpower fighting against enemies that are just as strong as the Scarlet Witch, meaning that she doesn't have the same weakness that can easily be exploited. Also, Zatanna doesn't need to say her spells backwards because, just like Wanda, her spells come from her mental impulses, which helped her against powerful beings like Pralaya. While there are certainly scenarios in which Wanda could take the win, Zatanna's experience and mental stability would allow her to stay in the game long enough to take full advantage of any slip-up the Scarlet Witch inevitably makes to close the curtain on her.
Wiz: The winner is Zatanna.
Scarlet Witch vs Zatanna contains examples of:
- All Part of the Show: While they are still battling on her stage, Zatanna pauses to assure the crowd that everything happening is part of the show.
- Always Someone Better: While both are more or less equal in terms of power, Zatanna has the leg up in two fronts. First off, her powers stem from a personal belief in herself, and is usually in a good headspace, and anytime her powers falter, it's usually because she's lost confidence. By comparison, Wanda is far more mentally unstable in general and tapping into her full power tends to accelerate that, leaving her vulnerable to even comparatively weaker foes in moments of lost focus. Secondly, Zatanna's faced dozens of Reality Warpers on par with herself and Wanda, meaning the latter was hardly the worst she's ever faced.
- Ascended Extra: While this isn't her first time appearing on-screen proper (and given some decent spotlight to boot), this is the first episode to feature Jocelyn in the lab alongside Wiz and Boomstick, being the one to explain the true nature and history of Wanda's powers, as well as just how powerful some of Zatanna's capabilities are.
- Aspect Ratio Switch: Interestingly for this fight, the fight animation starts off with a shorter yet wider aspect ratio with black bars on the top and bottom of the screen. This changes once Zatanna reaches beyond the fourth wall, reaching through the video and taking the fight to another realm, where the fight takes place with a fullscreen ratio.
- The Cameo: Both Zatanna and Scarlet Witch use either Summon Magic or illusions to bring in teammates of theirs, all former Death Battle combatants (and all with 2 or more battles under their belts at that). Zatanna brings in Superman and Wonder Woman while Scarlet Witch summons The Hulk and Thor.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Both fighters have their moment of this.
- What kicks the fight off is Scarlet Witch calling Zatanna a two-bit sorceress.
- While Scarlet Witch was already the more aggressive of the two, Zatanna playfully tossing a universe at her is what causes her to tap into her full power in an attempt to erase Zatanna from existence.
- Expendable Alternate Universe: Zatanna does not hesitate to throw around entire universes to attack Wanda, and Wanda's meltdown in reaction also annihilates multiple universes. In other words, the fight led to the destruction of several alternate universes, but Zatanna stays cheerful despite the immeasurable degree of destruction that results from that.
- Foil: Much like other combatants in prior episodes, Zatanna shares some similarities with Wanda, such as being among the most powerful, if not the strongest magic user in their respective settings capable of warping reality in some manner or another. The difference is that Zatanna's power stems from her belief in her abilities, and anytime her power falters is usually because she lacks confidence in her own abilities or worth when compared to her father, one of the first superheroes (and one of Batman's own trainers no less!), whereas Wanda suffers from severe mental problems and crises, such as the shitshow that was House of M.
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: Zatanna pulls this off, reaching outside of the video itself to find an advantage to take on Wanda with.
- Karmic Death: In House of M, Wanda uttered the words "No more mutants", causing a mass De-power to every mutant in the world, and in some cases, killing them. Zatanna is implied to do the same here with her "Sehctiw erom on" (No more witches in reverse) chant before sawing her in half.
- My Rules Are Not Your Rules: Despite Wanda using a hex that prevented Zatanna from using any sound to use her chants, the latter is still able to use her magic and can be heard talking, either mentally speaking or overwriting Wanda's hex with her own spell as its noted her "speaking in reverse" isn't a requirement of her spellcasting but something she does to help her focus.
- Mythology Gag: Zatanna reaching beyond the video's borders to take the fight to another dimension replicates a feat from her battle against Zor.
- Once More, with Clarity: A short lived example. While most of Zatanna's spells aren't translated, her final one, which ultimately wins her the battle, is revealed.Zatanna: Sehctiw erom on! No more witches.
- Sanity Has Advantages: Given the close match in power, which sorceress can maintain focus is a deciding factor in the fight. Wanda's instability gives her a significant weakness to Zatanna's broadly level head.
- Shout-Out:
- When mentioning how Mephisto took Wanda's children from her, Boomstick remarks that it wouldn't be the last time he'd do something like this.
- The theory that Leonardo da Vinci's backwards writings were to obscure them from the church is accompanied by footage of the Spanish Inquisition.
- When the Justice League Dark is mentioned, Boomstick describes it as "the Shadow the Hedgehog version" of the Justice League of America.
- After Scarlet Witch declares that the difference between them to be their power levels, Zatanna declares her own conclusions on what their difference is: Presentation!
- Summon Magic: Both Wanda and Zatanna use this early in the fight, with Zatanna summoning copies of Superman and Wonder Woman while Wanda summoned copies of Hulk and Thor.
