Zatanna: Pupaphobia (part two of four)

[espanolbot]

Previous part,
http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/4898422.html




Zatanna works her hand free, smacks the puppet away before getting her hand loose... at which point the fight is pretty much over, and she traps Hampel in a cage made from a one of her chairs.





Zee is less than sympathetic with the guy, saying that every performer goes through hard times, herself and her dad included. Hampel goes on to explain that when he was invited to appear on the bill in Boston with her dad, it seemed like a ticket back into the big time... except the theatre manager attempted to extort money from him, saying that either Hampel give him half of his yearly earnings at the theatre, or he's out on his ear again.

The guy them attacked Hampel with a knife when he refused to pay, there was a skuffle, and Oscar accidentally stabbed him to death... which is the point that Zatanna walked in on them, leading to Zatara thinking the worst and turning him into a puppet in response.

Oscar says that Zatara never gave him a chance to explain himself. Zatanna says that her father was an expect at reading people at a glance, so he must has sensed something wrong with Oscar, otherwise he wouldn't have used such a high level spell on him seemingly on impulse. The puppet points out that he could have just tied him up or knocked him out, yet her dad still impulsively turned him into a puppet while only knowing half the story.

...Which is someting that makes Zatanna pause, considering her dad also impulsively used a powerful spell on her when he mindwiped her... which left her with a crippling fear of puppets, regardless of his good intentions. With this in mind, she decides that considering her father was only human, he might actually have made a mistake here.

Comments

[icon_uk]

Yeah... I cannot see this ending well... taking a possibly homcidal puppet guy who is empowered by magic into an entirely magical construct.

[norj]

Oh come on what's the worse that could happen?

[icon_uk]

In the immortal words of Samantha Stevens; "Well...."

[crinos]

I dunno, I think it would be a nice subversion if it turns out the Puppet really was on the level, and turns out to be a recurring character in the comic as Zatanna tries to cure him.

Of course I doubt that will happen but still.

[espanolbot]

So he'd be Sid from Buffy?

[drtechnobabel]

I agree. I mean, even superheroes can make mistakes, especially when loved ones are in danger. Having Zatarra make one like this would be a little extreme, sure, but still understandable given the circumstances. Also, the dynamic between the Zatanna and Oscar would be entertaining to say the least.

But then again, he did tie her up and threaten her at knife-point, and only really explained things when he was rendered helpless, so yeah, he's probably a bastard.

[janegray]

I am usually the one championing "just kill him already" and hating on the "if you kill him you'll be like him" idiocy. But that's for torturers and mass murderers like the Joker or Black Mask.

Here... Even if the guy really is a robber and a murderer, even if he really did stab the guy while trying to steal money... That's the sort of thing that would normally earn you life in prison. Condeming him to a "And I Must Scream" fate worse than death seems incredibly excessive. Yes, the guy attacked Zatanna, but still, Zatara was a superhero (sort of), he should have better self control than that. You can't even say that Zatara acted in a moment of panic, because he then abandoned the puppet to his fate without ever trying to retrieve him.

It's as if Batman broke his rule against killing to dispose of the Riddler.

[espanolbot]

In all fairness, despite being a warm, friendly guy when it came to people that he liked (such as as the Wayne Family and, of course, Zatanna), he could be a cold so-and-so when the mood took him.

Take, for example, this example from Swamp Thing, where Zatara, Zatanna, John Constantine and a couple of other magicians are taking part in a ritual that they have to do to avoid the end of the world... only for them to start bursting into flames.


Giovanni would himself burn to death shortly afterwards (Zatanna starts to catch alight, and he transfers the fire from her to himself to save her life), but still...

[janegray]

Holy shit O_o

[espanolbot]

And Sargon was one of the people Giovanni called his FRIEND... and according to the first Books of Magic mini-series, his condition was continue into the afterlife, like Zatara who becomes a Standard Issue (albeit sentient) Ghost.