WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Truth & Justice #20, on sale now from DC.
Trapped in a dream and with her powers no working, Zatanna has found herself in a mind-twisting situation lately. While the disjointed dreamscape kept Zatanna guessing as to why she was trapped there, but her captor revealed himself to her as he tries to force some hidden information out of her.
And in Truth & Justice #20 by Preeti Chhibber, Lalit Sharma, Wendy Broome and Janice Chiang, on sale now, Zatanna's captor reveals himself to be the powerful Justice League foe turned The Sandman tormentor Doctor Destiny.
Zatanna had been traversing a strange dreamscape that seemed to be intentionally jarring her memory as well as her ability to fight back with her magic. She wasn't alone for too long though, he journey brought her into contact with people who also seemed to be trapped in this world. But as time passed and they all began pestering her for knowledge about a mission she had with Superman, Zatanna finally began to solve what was happening to her. Realizing that these people weren't real, she demanded truth. That was when Doctor Destiny revealed himself, stating that Zatanna knows what it is that he wants. Ironically, he wants the same thing she did in that moment: the truth.
When he confronts her at the end of the issue, Doctor Destiny stands as one of the most imposing magical threats in the DC Universe. But when first debuted back in Justice League of America #5 by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekwoski, the man who would become Doctor Destiny was merely a genius criminal scientist who used his inventions to battle the Justice League. Things began to change for him though when he created the "Materioptikon" a device capable of altering reality by drawing upon the fabric of dreams.
This was at first done through a method of science, but was later retconned in The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenbergto have a mystical component. In this revision of his history, John Dee was given the Dreamstone, a powerful relic belonging to the Dream of the Endless by his mother who had stolen it. John forced flaws and circuitry into the stone until it was attuned to him, giving him great magical powers and the ability create realities out of dreams and memories. By coming into contact with a Vertigo character, Doctor Destiny became his most horrifying self, famously forcing the patron of a diner into a living nightmare.
Like Destiny, Zatanna has also crossed the line between DC Universe and the mature readers Vertigo imprint that published The Sandman. Unlike Doctor Destiny, she managed to retain her moral integrity and history. Zatanna's biggest and most well-known crossing of comic lines is her relationship with John Constantine, the star of Vertigo's Hellblazer series. Their on and off romantic relationship has led to Constantine often having something to do with Zatanna's past, sometimes even honing their magical skills together during their earliest days.
But beyond that, Zatanna remains a hero and the same person she has always been, even if John Constantine drives her a little crazy from time to time. Doctor Destiny is a dark reflection of what could have happened though. Mere contact with the powers that exist in the Vertigo line transformed what was once a mad scientist into a threat even the Justice League feared.
And now, Zatanna is trapped in a dream world with him and she has something he wants. In these realities, Doctor Destiny is practically a god and Zatanna is already having difficulty performing magic here. But if anyone can handle Doctor Destiny one-on-one on his home turf, it's someone like Zatanna who has also crossed the lines between Vertigo and DC and lived to tell the tale.