Zatanna may technically belong to the "wider DC universe", but she's also pretty synonymous with the Dark Knight. The pair have been crimefighting partners and even share a romantic history, and while the famed daughter of magician Zatarra never made a physical appearance in the Arkhamverse, she is honoured on more than one occasion in Arkham Origins.
While wandering through the Jezebel Centre, players are able to find a poster advertising Zatanna's own magic show. Players have also pointed out a possible connection between the character and the My Alibi nightclub where Batman apprehends Bird, as you can spy a similar looking top hat in the building.
Zatanna isn't the only Bat-related character to get a shout in-game though. There are references to Basil Karlo, AKA Clayface; the Flying Graysons, the first Robin's acrobatic troupe; and even to some fan-favourite GCPD characters who didn't make the final cut for the title, including Renee Montoya (who later adopts the mantle of The Question), and Crispus Allen, who eventually becomes The Spectre in the comics.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
