Exclusive: Get A Closer Look At Zari's 'Legends of Tomorrow' Totem
found herself possessed by the spirit of the goddess. Erica Cerra appeared briefly in that [...]
The character of Zari Tomaz (Tala Ashe) was added to the cast of DC's Legends of Tomorrow last week, and with her came an item that has quite a history with comic book fans and fans of pop culture: her necklace or "totem" which calls back to the classic Secrets of Isis TV series.
ComicBook.com has been provided with an exclusive look the production art for the totem which can be seen on The CW TV series. The totem was designed by Ken Hawryliw with input by Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim.
"I was so excited," Guggenheim said of how he reacted when he first got a peek at the totem prop, which at first glance does resemble the item worn by actress Joanna Cameron on both her necklace and her tiara.
In the original TV series, Andrea Thomas would touch her amulet and call out for "oh mighty Isis" in order to change into the goddess and harness her power. The character made her major splash in DC Comics in 2006 as "Adrianna Tomaz" became Isis as part of the weekly comic book series 52. There, too, she had an amulet and was a female counterpoint to Black Adam. It should be noted that the Legends of Tomorrow character's full name was announced as Zari Adrianna Tomaz.
"Look: I make no secret of the fact that I loved the Shazam/Isis Hour from when I was growing up. It was very important to me that certain elements from the original Saturday morning show were reflected," Guggenheim stated at a Q&A last week.
In addition to the Shazam/Isis Hour, Isis and a version of her amulet were represented in the Smallville episode "Isis" where Lois Lane (Erica Durance) found herself possessed by the spirit of the goddess. Erica Cerra appeared briefly in that episode as Adrianna Tomaz.
The totem and its connection to another Legend -- Amaya -- will be explored in DC's Legends of Tomorrow Season 3.
"It's still a bit of a mystery to me, but I know that the totems are what is bringing them together and also links them to Kuasa, but the connection between the totem bearers does become a larger part of the season at a certain point," actress Tala Ashe teased.
DC's Legends of Tomorrow airs at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Tuesday nights on The CW, following new episodes of The Flash.
