Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate is the name of several characters in the DC Universe.
Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson)
- Main Article: Kent Nelson
Pre-Crisis
Kent Nelson
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Kent Nelson
At one point, the Spectre sensed a murder, and when he went to investigate he found Dr. Fate standing over a corpse. Spectre accused him of murder and attacked him, but Fate, who told him he was being presumptuous to think he had any power of him, used his mystic arts to counter him. They realized they were evenly matched, and Fate told him he’d discovered the murder and was speaking to the dead man. The dead man gave them enough clues to figure out that he’d been murdered by occultist Micah Cole, who was working on the U.S. government program codenamed the Nightmare Codex. Fate and Spectre flew to Washington and the newly constructed Pentagon. Reverend Col. James Powell admitted that the U.S. was in an occult arms race with the Axis. Hitler was seeking the Spear of Destiny and the Ark of the covenant. The U.S. had sent an archaeologist to get to the Ark first, and were using the Pentagon to harness the power of the Elder gods with the help of Micah cole. Powell said souls were needed to fuel the magic to summon an Elder God, but claimed they were only using the souls of convicted murderers executed in the electric chair. Michah’s murder of an innocent came as a shock to him, and he realized Micah was trying to hijack the project to bend the elder god to his own designs. Micah summoned Koth-Shugoth, and Fate and Spectre combined their magic to keep it from fully emerging from a dimensional gateway. Spectre killed Micah, turning him into a dusty skeleton, and pushed Koth-Shugoth inside the gate, finding himself in the dimension God had exiled the elder Gods too. He felt insignificant and powerless before Koth-Shugoth, but the Spectre-Force took over, telling Koth-Shugoth he’d make an example of him for daring to cross the boundaries in which god permitted him to exist. Spectre returned to the Pentagon, assuring Fate that Koth-Shugoth would nevermore trouble mankind. (Spectre Annual v2 #1)
When Dr. Fate died, the spirits of him and his wife were diverted into Fate s amulet by Nabu. Nabu broke his chains, but Dr. Fate entered the amulet and transferred his power into Kent Nelson and the other spirits in the amulet. Dr. Fate told Nabu he wanted him to learn compassion, and entrusted the job of teaching him to the other spirits. (JSA v1 #63)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Kent Nelson
Doctor Fate (Eric Strauss)
- Main Article: Eric Strauss
Doctor Fate (Linda Strauss)
- Main Article: Linda Strauss
Origin
Linda Strauss was a young woman who married Henry Strauss, a wealthy man much older than her. After the passing of her husband, Linda became the guardian of Henry's only son, Eric Strauss, unaware that the kid was chosen by Nabu to become the next Doctor Fate. (Doctor Fate v1 #1) Eric was aged to adulthood thanks to the magic of Nabu and eventually, Linda understood that her strange attraction to Eric was in fact the result of a mystical bond between them, which allowed them to merge together and become the new Doctor Fate without the presence of Nabu in their conscience. After the passing of Nabu's first human host, Kent Nelson, Nabu took over his body and assisted Linda and Eric in their quests as Doctor Fate. (Doctor Fate v1 #4)
Eric and Linda remained under constant training by Nabu, who occupied the body of Kent Nelson. (Doctor Fate v2 #1) During one of their missions, Nabu formed an alliance with Typhon, the Lord of Chaos. This caused Eric to lose control of himself, allowing Linda to take control of Doctor Fate. (Doctor Fate v2 #4)
Linda struggled with the fact that Eric had died and it affected her performance as Doctor Fate. When Dr. Benjamin Stoner became the Anti-Fate once again, Linda was forced to merge with Nabu in order to stop him. Although they succeeded, Linda was deadly affected by the encounter. She died shortly afterwards, but her soul was allowed to remain on earth in the body of another woman. There, she learned that the soul of Eric had also been allowed to remain on Earth and now they were both married in their new bodies. Both souls were allowed to remain on Earth to protect a cosmically important girl thanks to the interference of The Phantom Stranger. (Doctor Fate v2 #24)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
Doctor Fate (Inza Nelson)
- Main Article: Inza Nelson
Although Inza now understood Fate's need for Kent's body, she still resented the fact that her husband had to be gone while she remained trapped in the Tower of Fate. However, Inza's luck changed when Vern Copeland, the new director of the Natural History Museum tried to contact Kent Nelson to give a speech at the museum. Kent was away on a mission as Doctor Fate and Inza agreed to go in his place, as she was also experienced in archaeology as her husband. (The Flash v1 #310) While discussing academics over dinner, Inza realized that Copeland was romantically interested in her, despite her being a married woman and him being older than her. At first, she maintained their interactions strictly on a professional level, but as hours passed, she eventually gave into desire and fell for the man's approaches. (The Flash v1 #311)
Doctor Fate (Jared Stevens)
- Main Article: Jared Stevens
Doctor Fate (Hector Hall)
- Main Article: Hector Hall
Doctor Fate (Kent V. Nelson)
- Main Article: Kent V. Nelson
Doctor Fate (Khalid Nassour)
- Main Article: Khalid Nassour
Doctor Fate (30th Century)
- Main Article: Unknown
Overview
The bearers of the mantle were one of the many that were part of Fate's Legacy. (JSA Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)
Among the spells known to him included:
- Silver Spikes of Sharudim : fired silver spikes that manifested and fired at targets to impale them. (Countdown to Mystery v1 #1)
- Jaduan Shield : a golden shield to protect him from attacks. (Countdown to Mystery v1 #2)
- Jaduan Spears : firing either individual or multiple red arcane energy spears. (Countdown to Mystery v1 #2)
- Spirit Winds of Azagoth : a blast of wind that could also allow him to fly. (Countdown to Mystery v1 #2)
Relics used by Doctor Fate included:
- Helmet of Fate :
- Amulet of Anubis :
- Cloak of Destiny :
- Orb of Nabu :
- Globes of Power :
- Staff of Power :
The Tower of Fate was built long ago as a symbol of the Lords of Order, built in their honor. (Justice League Dark v2 #2)
Notes
- The concept of Doctor Fate was created by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman where he made his first appearance in More Fun Comics v1 #55 (May, 1940).
- In Amazing Heroes v1 #113 (1987), Fox recalled in an interview that, "Doctor Fate (I originally called him Doctor Droon, but the name was editorially changed) was one of my favorites. I created him and even sketched out the original costume he would wear - but that costume was changed by artists over the years, for one reason or another. To my knowledge, I wrote all the Dr. Fate yarns that appeared, up until 1968, when I left comic book writing to a great degree. I always liked the supernatural; I read Lovecraft, Derleth, Sax Rohmer, Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Whitehead, all the others, Fate was a derivation from my imagination influenced by those writings"
Alternate Versions
- In Kingdom Come v1 #2 (1996), an alternate version of Doctor Fate appeared in the reality of Kingdom Come set on Earth-22 in the Multiverse. This version was the sentience of Nabu himself who by this time could manifest without the need for a human host to bear its mystical power. By channeling his consciousness through the Helm of Fate and Cloak of Destiny where he was known simply as Fate.
- In Doctor Strangefate v1 #1 (1996), an alternate version of the character was merged with that of Doctor Strange in the reality of the Amalgam universe. This version was actually Charles Xavier who was a telepathic Meta-Mutant who was travelling the Himalayas when he was rescued by Nabu the Ancient One who was Lord Supreme of Order. Taught the mysteries of the supernatural world at the feet of the Nabu, Xavier tapped the energies of forces both telepathic and mystical, making the sorcerer one of the most powerful beings in the universe known as Doctor Strangefate.
- In Final Crisis: Superman Beyond v1 #1 (2008), an alternate version of Kent Nelson appeared as Doctor Fate in the reality designated as Earth-20 in the reborn Multiverse. Kent Nelson was a world-leading adventurer of his Earth, who discovers the Helmet of Fate and Amulet of Anubis and became the superhero Doc Fate, operating out of a windowless skyscraper in Manhattan. At some point, he formed the Society of Super-Heroes and had bested Ibn al Ghul.
- In Earth 2 v1 #9 (2013), Khalid Ben-Hassin was shown to be Doctor Fate in the alternate world of Earth-2 in the post-Flashpoint Multiverse. On this Earth, he and Kendra Munoz-Saunders were hired by the World Army to conduct an archaeological expedition to Egypt. There, they discovered the tomb of Nabu with Khalid finding the Helmet of Fate that transformed him into Doctor Fate whilst Kendra had wings grafted to her that turned her into Hawkgirl. He was bonded to Nabu when wearing the helmet but whenever he took it off he experienced bouts of insanity leading to him reluctantly living in this role before banishing the helmet to the Tower of Fate.
In other media
Television
- In Young Justice, Doctor Fate appeared in the setting of the animated television series. Originally, the Lord of Order Nabu had once been human and was the son of Vandal Savage. After perishing in a battle caused by his father's alliance with the Lord of Chaos Klarion, the Lords of Order recruited Nabu's soul for their cause. The Helmet of Fate was created as his talisman with Nabu's spirit being channeled into a human host and become the Lord of Order known as Doctor Fate. Because of this, Nabu had to rely on human hosts to have a presence on the physical plane. Whilst he was in control, the souls of his hosts remained within the Helmet, powerless to influence the outside world. Many years later, his host body came to be Kent Nelson who as Doctor Fate joined the Justice Society of America. Nelson's wife Inza convinced Kent to stop wearing the Helmet of Fate, and Nabu remained trapped in the Helmet for 65 years.
- In Stargirl, Doctor Fate was referenced in the setting of the live-action DC Universe television series. He was one of the heroes killed by the Injustice Society of America with the Helm of Nabu surviving in the care of Pat Dugan.
Film
- In Black Adam, the Kent Nelson Doctor Fate appeared in the setting of the live-action film where he was portrayed by actor Pierce Brosnan.
Video games
- In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Doctor Fate had a cameo appearance in the setting of the fighting video game.
- In Injustice 2, Doctor Fate appeared as a playable fighter in the setting of the fighting video game where he was voiced by actor David Sobolov.
Appearances
- More Fun Comics v1: (1940)
- Justice Society of America:
- Earth 2:
External Links
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