Neil Gaiman and John Bolton introduced DC Comics' own bespectacled boy wizard, Timothy Hunter, before J.K. Rowling put pen to paper, but it was probably only a matter of time until the publisher leaned hard into Harry Potter with something like Mystik U. Twenty years, more or less.
RELATED: Zatanna, Sargon & More Head Back to School in DC's Mystik U
To their credit, writer Alisa Kwitney and artist Mike Norton don't shy away from the obvious comparisons as a young Zatanna heads to the titular college with a veritable who's who of the supernatural corners of the DC Universe: One student describes another a "leather pants Draco," and the convocation is held in a great hall straight out of the cinematic Hogwarts. But there's a good in-story explanation for the introduction of the never-before-mentioned Mystik U, with all of its familiar trappings, and the youthful ages of long-established characters: It's all the result of a reality-altering contingency plan by Rose Psychic to save the world by discovering which magician betrayed the others and became the powerful force of evil known as the Malevolence.
Who's Rose Psychic? She actually predates Superman, perfectly illustrating why DC is able to pull off something like Mystik U when other publishers might not be able to: It has a long history of supernatural characters -- a hodgepodge of stage magicians, paranormal investigators, sorcerers, professional skeptics and otherworldly monsters -- that stretches back to before the Golden Age of superheroes. Part of the fun of the miniseries, which debuted this week, is determining who's who, and what's what, on the campus of the university for young magic users, and how they fit into the larger story. So, let's do that.
Zatanna Zatara and Giovanni 'John' Zatara
OK, these are easy ones, as Zatanna has been a mainstay of the DC Universe for five decades, serving as a member of Justice League and Justice League Dark, and appearing in animation and on live-action television. Both a stage magician and an actual magician, she's the daughter of Golden Age hero Giovanni "John" Zatara. Father and daughter famously perform incrediblefeats by speaking incantations backward.
In Mystik U, Zatanna allows Rose Psychic to tap into her power to cast the spell required for their "contingency plan," which appears to create a new reality in which a young Zatanna works on stage as her father's assistant, completely unaware of either his powers or her own. When she says "And you can just go to hell," backward, demons appear and whisk her father away to a fiery netherworld, and then Rose Psychic takes the shaken teen to Mystik U for training.
Rose Psychic and Richard Occult
Rose Psychic is a bit more obscure, and a lot more confusing. When we're introduced to her on the second page of Mystik U #1, she has taken the place of Doctor Occult, who was lying injured on the steps just two panels earlier. Their relationship is a little complicated: Created in 1935 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, paranormal investigator Doctor Richard Occult and his assistant Rose Psychic appeared together in their first story, and then she disappeared for three years. When she returned, Rose was viewed more as an ally and an equal.
In the 1990 miniseries The Books of Magic, in which Gaiman and Bolton introduced Timothy Hunter, Rose was reimagined as the female identity of Doctor Occult, with the two representing the feminine and masculine aspects of the same person. That's why in Mystik U Rose exchanges places with Richard, and later, as the head of the university, she talks to him in the mirror (note in the image above they're both holding a cup of tea).
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Cain and Abel
Perhaps best known to modern audiences for their supporting roles in The Sandman, bickering biblical brothers Cain and Abel originally were hosts of DC Comics' horror anthologies House of Mystery and House of Secrets, respectively. The stammering Abel has long suffered abuse (and worse) at the hands of Cain; in The Sandman, Cain was depicted as killing Abel again and again, in a gruesome reenactment of his biblical murder, only for Abel to come back to life each time in the Dreaming. In that series, Cain also served as Dream's messenger to Lucifer, as his "mark" prevented any being from harming him.
In Mystik U, the two brothers (accompanied by Cain's pet gargoyle Gregory) so far appear to be little more than Rose Psychic's assistants, with a sniveling Abel first delivering files and later serving her tea.
June Moone/Enchantress
Fluidity and identity may very develop as a theme of Mystik U, which features not only Rose Psychic and Doctor Occult but also June Moone, who traditionally transforms into an incredibly powerful witch whenever she says the words "The Enchantress." She's one of DC's better-known magic users, for her appearances in the Suicide Squad, Shadowpact and Justice League Dark comics, and her role in the Suicide Squad movie.
In the debut issue of the miniseries June and the Enchantress effortlessly shift appearances and personalities for little discernible reason; for example, the blonde-haired June brushes her teeth, and then two panels later the black-haired Enchantress stands in her place. "Does your power change your personality?" she asks another student. "Do you feel like someone else when you do magick?"
Sebastian Faust
The aforementioned "leather pants Draco," Sebastian Faust is the son of classic Justice League villain Felix Faust, who betrayed him by selling his soul to a demon. However, Felix himself was tricked by the demon, which granted Sebastian the magical powers the elder sorcerer sought. It's perhaps understandable, then, why Sebastian is so prickly.
A one-time member of the Outsiders, Checkmate and the Sentinels of Magic, Sebastian is able to siphon power from the souls of others, granting himself a portion of their abilities.
Davit Sargon
A Golden Age hero in the familiar mold of a stage magician who's also secretly a real magician, Sargon the Sorcerer is reimagined in the new reality of Mystik U as Davit Sargon.
Powerful yet uncertain of himself (and not only when it comes to magic), Davit believes the Ruby of Life attached to his turban is the source of his abilities, until Madame Xanadu tells him otherwise. "Nonsense," she insists. "It's a tool to access your power."
Pia Morales
A new character, Pia Morales is a premed student who, to the disappointment of her surgeon mother, chose Mystick U over an Ivy League school. She accidentally discovered her powers about six months before the story opens, when she magically resurrected her cat after it was mistakenly given the wrong medication.
When Pia uses her healing powers, she manifests a green slime akin to ectoplasm, which ends up being responsible for bringing to life the creature that stalks the campus in the first issue.
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House of Mystery and House of Secrets
The titular buildings from DC Comics' long-running horror anthologies, the House of Mystery and the House of Secrets have been relocated to the campus of Mystik U, where the latter serves as the residence of Dean Rose Psychic. Traditionally, the House of Mystery and the House of Secrets exist simultaneously in Kentucky and in The Dreaming, which suggests either Mystik U is located in the Bluegrass State or Rose Psychic's spell was powerful enough to relocate the buildings. The latter somehow seems more likely.
Mystik U's Senior Staff
Dean Psychic meets in her residence with an unexpected mix of magical figures: To her left in the above panel are Donovan Caine and Vanessa Van Helsing, members of the 1980s team Night Force; Madame Xanadu; and Merlin the Magician.
Caine and Van Helsing aren't exactly major players in the DC Universe, which makes their inclusion a pleasant surprise. A descendant of Dracula foe Abraham Van Helsing with psychokinetic abilities, Van Helsing mentions in passing Baron Winters, the mysterious figure who assembled Night Force to battle evil supernatural forces. Caine is a professor of parapsychology who used Van Helsing for his experiments in tapping into the so-called "energy of evil."
Somewhat of a fixture of DC's supernatural landscape, Madame Xanadu has been a member of Demon Knights, Justice League Dark and the Sentinels of Magic. She's frequently identified with Nimue from Arthurian legend, which makes Merlin's presence seem less out of place.
Matthew the Raven?
It's difficult to say for certain, but the insulting bird in the House of Secrets is probably Matthew Cable, better known as Matthew the Raven. Introduced in 1973 in Swamp Thing #1, Cable was a friend of Alec and Linda Holland who was determined to track down the creature he believed had killed them. Matthew eventually died, only to later be revived as a raven by Dream, and became his loyal -- if frequently crude -- servant.
The bird in Mystik U #1 could be virtually anything, or anyone, except that Rose Psychic tells Merlin that it was "a gift from Cain," and asked that he choose another subject to cut open for divination.
Mister E
Undoubtedly one of the most abrasive magicians in the DC Universe, Mister E is positioned as Mystik U's dean of students, and one those tasked with finding the identity of the betrayer -- and he's willing to go to whatever lengths necessary to accomplish that.
A relative newcomer when compared to the likes of Rose Psychic, Doctor Occult and Zatanna, the enigmatic Mister E was introduced in 1980 in Secrets of Haunted House #31. A member of the so-called Trenchcoat Brigade from The Books of Magic and a founder of the Cult of the Cold Flame, Mister E isn't a traditional hero, and is sometimes downright villainous, which may explain some of his behavior in Mystik U #1. A tremendously powerful magician, he's able to "see" evil, despite being blind.
The Three Witches
The cafeteria workers are the Three Witches, Cynthia, Mildred and Mordred, originally the hosts of DC Comics 1960s-'70s horror anthology The Witching Hour, before going on to appear in The Unexpected, House of Mystery and House of Secrets.
However, the trio is likely better known to modern comics readers as the Kindly Ones from The Sandman, the Erinyes of Greek myth summoned by Lyta Hall to avenge the death of her son Daniel.
Frankenstein
Magickal Ethics 101 is taught at Mystik U by Frankenstein, who's appeared in many forms since making his DC Comics debut in 1948, appearing as a member of the Creature Commandos and, far more recently, the Seven Soldiers, Super Human Advanced Defense Executive (S.H.A.D.E.) and Justice League Dark.
Assembled using body parts from an assortment of corpses, Frankenstein is a zombie, effectively immortal, and is highly skilled at hand-to-hand combat, sword-fighting and firearms. Why he was selected to teach magickal ethics is anybody's guess.
Mystik U #1, written by Alisa Kwitney and illustrated by Mike Norton, is on sale now from DC Comics.