Proficiency in magic dependent on the host; the Helm of Fate bestows basic magical powers to those chosen including spell-casting, control of the elements, flight, and healing.
Bearers of the Helm of Fate are granted various sorcerous artifacts including the Amulet of Anubis and Cloak of Destiny. The former grants powers over spirits, contains a pocket universe, and protects against mind control. The latter grants superhuman strength and is fire-proof.
Doctor Fate (also known as Fate) is the name of multiple fictionalsuperheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character has appeared in various incarnations, with Doctor Fate being the name of several different individuals in the DC Universe, who are a succession of sorcerers. The original version of the character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, and first appeared in More Fun Comics #55 (May 1940).
In the DC Universe continuity, Doctor Fate was originally conceived by Nabu, a cosmic being affiliated with the Lords of Order and Mesopotamia, as he acted against the forces of evil caused by the Lords of Chaos, evil magicians, and malicious mystical entities. Overtime, Nabu instead empowered mortal agents to act on his behalf, the first being Kent Nelson. Overtime, the Doctor Fate line succeeded to other magicians in the DC Universe, including Nelson's wife, Inza Cramer, Hector Hall, and Nelson's grandnephew, Kent V. Nelson. In the rebooted continuity of DC Universe, the latest and second-longest running incarnation of Doctor Fate is Khalid Nassour, similarly the grandnephew of Kent Nelson chosen by the Egyptian pantheon to act as the newest Doctor Fate.
The Doctor Fate character has appeared in various incarnations across multiple forms of media based on both comic and original characters; The Kent Nelson incarnation has appeared in several media, such as the television series Smallville, in which he is portrayed by Brent Stait, and the upcoming DC Extended Universe film Black Adam, in which he will be portrayed by Pierce Brosnan. In animated media, several incarnations of Doctor Fate has appeared in the Young Justice animated series; Nabu, Khalid Nassour and Kent Nelson's versions of Doctor Fate has appeared in the animated series alongside other original incarnations based on pre-existing characters such as Zatara, Zatanna, and Traci 13.
Publication history
More Fun Comics #55 (May 1940) introduced the first Doctor Fate in his own self-titled six page strip. The character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, who produced the first three years of monthly Doctor Fate stories.[2] After a year with no background, his alter ego and origins were shown in More Fun Comics #67 (May 1941).[1]
DC eventually replaced the existing Doctor Fate with a new character, Jared Stevens. Stevens was introduced in a self-titled series called Fate, launched in the wake of Zero Hour in 1994,[10] which was cancelled after 23 issues in September 1996. The character then starred in The Book of Fate, which ran from February 1997 to January 1998 for twelve issues as part of DC's "Weirdoverse" imprint.
In early 2007, DC published a new Doctor Fate comic starring Kent Nelson's grandnephew, written by Steve Gerber and illustrated by Paul Gulacy.[11][12] Due to Steve Gerber's death, the seventh issue was written by Adam Beechen using Gerber's notes. The final issue was written by Beechen, Gail Simone, Mark Waid, and Mark Evanier, who each wrote a different ending to the story.[13]
Following the events of the Flashpoint mini-series in 2011, DC's continuity was rebooted. As part of The New 52 initiative, a new Doctor Fate named Khalid Ben-Hassin was created by writer James Robinson[14] and artist Brett Booth. The character was featured in the Earth 2 ongoing series from #9 (February 2013) onwards.[15]
After the conclusion of the Convergence limited series in June 2015, DC launched a new Doctor Fate ongoing series, written by Paul Levitz and drawn by Sonny Liew. The title focused on the newest Doctor Fate, an Egyptian-American medical student named Khalid Nassour.[16] The series ran for 18 issues from June 2015 to November 2016.[17]
The original Doctor Fate, Kent Nelson is a Swedish-American who discovered the tomb of Nabu with his father. Having accidentally killed his father due to a deadly gas released from his tomb, the Lord of Order felt pity for the child and trained him in the ways of magic for two decades, bequeathing him his mystical amulet, helmet, and cloak, as well as all of his knowledge before Nelson started his career as a mystic superhero. He was a founding member of the Justice Society of America.[18]
Eric and Linda Strauss
Justice League America #31 (October 1989): Linda Strauss as Doctor Fate. Cover art by Adam Hughes.
After Kent's death, Nabu chooses Eric Strauss and his stepmother Linda to be the next Doctor Fate, with Eric and Linda having to merge into one being in order to become Fate.[19] Nabu goes on to possess Kent's corpse in order to personally advise them.[19] The three of them are soon joined by a friendly demon called Petey and lawyer Jack C. Small.[20]
Eric is killed on Apokolips during a battle with Desaad, forcing Linda to become Doctor Fate on her own.[21] Linda is killed soon afterwards by the Lords of Chaos. Eric and Linda's souls are reincarnated in the bodies of Eugene and Wendy DiBellia while Nabu reincarnates in Eugene and Wendy's unborn child.[22]
Inza Cramer Nelson
Kent and Inza, whose souls have been inhabiting a fantasy world within the amulet, are resurrected in younger bodies,[22] but only Inza can become Doctor Fate.[23] As Doctor Fate, Inza becomes more proactive and reckless in the use of her powers, which leads to her temporary separation from Kent.[24]
The Nelsons learn a Lord of Chaos named simply "Chaos-Lord" has possessed the helmet. This provides Inza with magic derived from Chaos instead of Order, which is why Kent and Inza can't merge to become Doctor Fate.[25] Kent reunites with Inza and helps her defeat Chaos-Lord.[26] Inza then discovers her new powers come from the people of Earth rather than the magic of Order and Chaos.[26][27] The Nelsons start merging as the male Doctor Fate again, but the two of them can become separate Doctor Fates if needed. When operating as separate Doctor Fates, Inza wears the helmet and Kent's original costume while Kent wears the half helmet and costume he used in the late 1940s.[28]
Sometime later, the Nelsons and the JSA face the supervillain Extant during Parallax's attempt to change the history of the universe. Extant uses his time manipulation powers to rapidly age Kent and Inza to their proper physical ages. Extant also scatters the helmet, amulet, and cloak. The aged and depowered Nelsons then retire.[29]
After retiring, the Nelsons hire smuggler Jared Stevens to recover the helmet, amulet, and cloak from an Egyptian tomb. When the Nelsons try to collect the artifacts, they are murdered by two demons. During the battle, Jared attempts to use the amulet as a weapon, which then explodes and imbues him with various magical abilities and a red ankh-shaped scar over his right eye. Jared's injuries force him to use the cloak as a wrap for his right arm and to melt the helmet into a set of ankh-shaped darts and a dagger for use as weapons. After defeating the demons, Jared is contacted by Nabu, who attempts to make Jared the new Doctor Fate. Jared refuses and escapes, becoming a demon hunter using the alias "Fate".[10] During his battles, he teams up with the supernaturally powered team of fugitives Scare Tactics, Etrigan the Demon and other forces to combat threats from the realm of Gemworld.[citation needed]
Jared is later murdered by Mordru, who attempts to kill all the agents of Chaos and Order and claim Fate's artifacts for himself.[4] Jared's equipment reverts to its original forms and returns to the Tower of Fate upon his death.[30]
During the Dark Nights: Death Metal storyline, Jared is among the superheroes that were revived by Batman using a Black Lantern ring.[31]
After Jared's murder, the mantle of Doctor Fate, along with a restored helmet, amulet, and cloak, is passed to a reincarnated Hector Hall.[5] The Justice Society is reformed to protect the newly reborn Hector, who is being sought by Mordru so that he can use the boy's body to unlock the magical potential of Doctor Fate's artifacts for his own benefit.[32] Hector's new body is the biological son of Hawk and Dove, who are agents of Chaos and Order, respectively, which makes Hector an agent of balance instead of one side or the other.[33]
When the Spectre goes on a quest to extinguish magic, he banishes Hector and his wife to a snowy mountain landscape for all eternity, which they are only able to 'escape' by entering the Dream realm, although this essentially kills their bodies and means they can never return to Earth.[34]
Doctor Kent V. Nelson, Kent Nelson's grandnephew, becomes the new Doctor Fate in Countdown to Mystery #1 (Nov. 2007).[35] Unlike previous versions of Doctor Fate, Kent V. Nelson's incarnation holds no affiliation with the Lords of Chaos and Order (including Nabu), as the characters were killed off during the Days of Vengeance event. The character was created by Steve Gerber in an attempt to revitalize the Doctor Fate character and has no inherent ties to Egyptian/Mesopotamian mythology.
Modern continuity
After the events of Flashpoint, the continuity of the DC Universe was rebooted and the majority of the history of Doctor Fate was revised, removing the majority of the other incarnations.
In the recent continuity, Nabu's time on Earth with a physical body is the first person to be called Doctor Fate, although he simply went by the Fate for a time. In the Blue Beetle series, he is depicted in the past having one battle the Blue Beetle's scarab, Khaji-Da and the demigod Arion, once a fellow Lord of Order corrupted due to Khaji-Da (later stories retconned this reasoning) and their promise to protect his beloved city. He defeats Arion but the scarab escapes his grasp. He would later resume using the name in the modern era in a ensuing conflict between himself, Jaime Reyes, and a resurrected Arion. During this time-frame, he had used his successor, Kent Nelson, to manifest on the physical plane due to his physical body having deteriorated long after the initial conflict between Arion and the scarab centuries ago.[36]
Kent Nelson in the newly revised continuity is the first mortal host to be Doctor Fate. He retains his original origin from the previous continuity and some of his earlier adventures. This version of Nelson is treated more callously by Nabu overall, used initially as a unconscious host to materialize himself onto the physical plane due to no longer having a body to create for himself. Nelson eventually regains control of his body in a ensuing magical conflict involving one of Nabu's former allies. He would come to find his apprentice and successor in the form of his great nephew, Khalid Nassour, whom was chosen by Nabu's allies, the Egyptian Gods, to becoming Doctor Fate.
In June 2015, a new Doctor Fate series was launched, starring the Earth-0 incarnation of the character, an Egyptian-American medical student named Khalid Nassour.[16] Khalid would be bestowed the Helmet of Fatte by the Egyptian goddess Bastet whom masqueraded as his pet cat. Initially, He was not as widely powerful as the other Doctor Fates of the previous reality though he retained some magical powers in spite of it. It was later revealed that Khalid's mother, Elizabeth, was the niece of Kent Nelson, making Khalid his grandnephew.[18] Due to his inexperience, he is eventually taken in by Kent Nelson as his apprentice, the both of them being Doctor Fate.[37] Khalid would permanent become the sole Doctor Fate in the pages of Justice League Dark's "A Costly Trick of Magic" storyline where Nelson perishes in battle with Upside Down Man, having completed enough of his training to be considered one of the world's foremost magicians.[38]
Skills, abilities, and resources
General abilities and powers
Synonymous among all the bearers, Doctor Fate is considered a powerful sorcerer nearly unmatched in the art of spell-casting in the DC Universe; with the combined might of all artifacts associated with Nabu, Doctor Fate is said to possess nearly unstoppable magical abilities (flight, teleportation, dimensional travelling, invisibility, necromancy, etc). While not present in all bearers, the majoirty of Doctor Fate's magic and abilities appear in the form of an ankh. Though all bearers vary in actual skill, the Helm of Fate grants all Doctor Fates to have sufficent mystic power that potentially makes them among the most powerful practioners of magic within DC Universe's Earth.[39][18]
Mystic artifacts
The Artifacts of Fate
The "Artifacts of Fate" are specific magical talismans wielded by those affiliated with Nabu and Doctor Fate. The artifacts are known to be powerful, with anyone wielding a single one considered a sign of respect and infamy.[40]
Helmet of Fate: A magical helmet that grants the bearer godly level powers. The Helmet of Fate (sometimes called the Helm of Fate, Helmet of Anubis, Helmet of Thoth, or Helm of Thoth) is considered one of the most powerful magical artifacts in the universe. The Helm of Fate bestows the same magical basic powers, allowing the bearer powers such as flight, healing, spellcasting, the ability to channel and redirect the natural elements (wind, earth, water, fire, and lightning).[41][39]
Amulet of Anubis: A circular device, the amulet is a powerful talisman created by Anubis bestowed automatically to those who bear the Helm of Fate. The amulet grants several mystical abilities, giving the wearer the ability to resist psychic/astral probing and mind control as well as possessing formidable magical power itself. While a powerful artifact, its mind controlling capabilities and powers were inferior to a Lord of Order such as Nabu.[42] The amulet also houses a universe separate from the main universe, allowing the wearer to hide their existence or to trap powerful entities within.
Cloak of Destiny: A magical cloak that gives the user superhuman strength, limited invulnerability and is fireproof. The cloak automatically appears on those whom bear the Helmet of Fate.
Inza Cramer's artifacts
Globes of Power: Magically constructed globes used by the Inza Cramer incarnation of Doctor Fate, created as a method of helping others without needing to directly intervene other citizens during her tenure in New York. The globes are powered by Doctor Fate's magic and act in a similar manner to AI, able to perform simple magical fixes or alert her to threats requring her attention.[43]
Khalid Nassour's artifacts
Staff of Power: A mystical staff gifted to Khalid Nassour's incarnation of Doctor Fate by Thoth powered by the blood of a pharaoh. It allows for energy projection-related powers. Only the Khalid Nassour version of Doctor Fate can use it due to his pharaoh lineage.[37]
Other artifacts
Orb of Nabu: An orb-like device used by Doctor Fate in order to search for unknown threats, functioning similarly to a scrying glass. Despite its naming and Doctor Fate's association with magic, it is one of the few devices he uses not explicitly magic; the crystals that make up the orb are considered radio sensitive and react to his brain when in use. Though technological in nature, Doctor Fate often uses it and his magic in order to discern what is being hidden from them.[44]
Doctor Fate's Patrons
While the Helm of Fate itself is a magical artifact suffused with potent magical power, the Helm can also house an entity to act as a patron; each patron of the Helm of Fate allows certain incarnations of Doctor Fate to access unique abilites and powers as well as exert a level of influece onto it's bearers:
Nabu: The most commonly depicted patron; A powerful Lord of Order and often the creator of the Helmet of Fate, Nabu's patronage allows for the bearer to have potential access to all of his knowledge. However, Nabu's patronage also comes at the cost of Nabu influencing his will onto his bearers such as Kent Nelson. He can, however, choose to allow his bearerers to act autonomous, as he did with the Khalid Nassour and Eric/Linda Strauss incarnations of Doctor Fate.
Chaos: Inza Cramer's version of Doctor Fate was later revealed to be powered by a Lord of Chaos simply known as "Chaos". Chaos's patronage allows Doctor Fate to practice chaos magic, allowing them the ability to perform magic powered by imagination.[43] Later establishment of chaos magic refer to this form of magic as a form of magic that requires no system (sigils, chanting, etc.) to perform.[45] Chaos would claim that his influence over Inza was subtle and typically allowed free will due to believing the evil she fought being an opponent to the Lord of Chaos's objectives inheretly along with amusement over the confusion of the Lords of Chaos fighting evil.[43]
Hauhet: Khalid Nassour's version of Doctor Fate would later have the Egyptian detiy inhabit the Helm. Due to her divine sphere of influece within space and time, the Helm of Fate is capable of seeing through multiple timelines. After the Helm suffered some damage in it's battle with the villain known as Upside-Down Man, the Helm could see glimpses through time at the cost of some of the bearer's sight.[46][47]
Tower of Fate
The magical headquarters bestowed to bearers of the Doctor Fate mantle; acting as a nexus point of magic and reality on Earth, the Tower of Fate has no doors or windows, only accessible to those by magic. The inside of the tower appears as twisted maze of stairways and hallways in which the laws of physics do not apply.[41] The Tower holds a large collection of arcane texts within its personal library, including materials saved from the Great Library of Alexandria prior to its burning. As part of its defenses, the Tower possess mystic barriers and, at one point, a protector in the form of a Lord of Chaos.
Neighbors of Kent and Inza during their stay in New York City upon their second attempt at living a life on Earth following their resurrection from the Amulet of Anubis. Their niece is Debby Niles, a New York police officer who befriends Inza. Both Tilda and Tooly are supporters of Inza's Doctor Fate, believing her to be a force of good helping the disadvantaged in their particular neighborhood.
Shat-Ru
Doctor Fate (1988 - 1992) #25
A Lord of Order who annexed himself from his brethren in an attempt to punish Doctor Fate, believing Nelson to have humiliated the Lords of Order with his inability to enforce order onto Earth. Trapped in Nelson's old body by Inza, he eventually becomes a reluctant ally of Kent and Inza, posing himself as Nelson's grandfather. He is notable for his characterization of hating humanity in general. Despite that, he fell in love with the human, Dorothea.
Debby Niles
Doctor Fate (1988 - 1992) #30
A African American police officer who is the niece of Kent and Inza's neighbors, Tilda and Tooly Wilson. While initially skeptical of Inza's Doctor Fate incarnation, she later befriends Inza after learning she is Doctor Fate from their souls interacting with one another in a near-death experience and the two become best friends.
Mary Louise Wilson (nee Grant)
Doctor Fate (1988 - 1992) #25
An elderly woman who was born over a century ago, acting as a host to the Egyptian entity known as T'giian, a Lord of Kemet. She is freed from T'giian's control from Inza's actions as Doctor Fate. Later, the two would merge when Mary was hospitalized as T'giian tricked her into being her host. However, Mary would learn that despite T'giian's insistence, her will was powerful enough to override T'giian, giving her powers. She serves as a parallel to Doctor Fate (particularly Inza), having similar magical abilities to a Lord of Chaos derived from an Egyptian entity, having been alive for over a century similar to Inza. When merge, she refers to herself as "Mary T'Giian".
Dorothea
Doctor Fate (1988 - 1992) #31
A young woman who became enamored with Shat-Ru's denouncement of humanity and his philosophy from his perspective as a Lord of Order, initially unaware of his true nature and developed feelings for Shat-Ru despite his apparent elderly age while being in Kent Nelson's body. She would later learn and accept his nature as a Lord of Order and initiated a sexual relationship when he admitted to having developed feelings for her.
Nelson's ex-wife and mother of his daughter, Laryn. She divorced Nelson upon learning of his infidelity with a younger woman.
Laryn Nelson
Countdown to Mystery #1 )(November, 2007)
Kent V. Nelson's young daughter. He would distance himself from Laryn for years after his divorce from Marisa, something he regretted.
Kent V. Nelson's friends and allies
Maddy
Countdown to Mystery #3 )(January, 2008)
A skilled psychic whom Nelson visits soon after donning the Helmet of Fate in an attempt to learn more about it, using her skills to service others despite skeptics often not believing her. Also a skilled practitioner in the magical arts, she assists him in his understanding of the Helmet of Fate despite being jealous of the Helm choosing him, finding him to be an amateur sorcerer with little actual ability and understanding.
Inza Fox
Countdown to Mystery #4 )(February, 2008)
A witty cartoonist and comic book artist working for the fictional Pain Comics who saves Nelson while in his hallucinogenic episodes and helps him. She coincidentally shares the same first name as his great aunt. Through her comic book series "Killhead", Nelson believes Inza to have suffered abuse through her ex-boyriend and has coded her own story of abuse through her characters. He would begin to develop feelings for her.
The mother of Khalid Nassour and the niece of Kent Nelson. Like her uncle, she is also a renown archaeologist. She is initially unaware of her son's duties as Doctor Fate but later suspects it due to her son's frequent disappearances and supports him. In the Young Justice series, she is instead named "Jane Nassour" and is both homo magi and a descendant of Arion. Despite this, she is also presented as having given up magic upon converting to Islam and disapproves Khalid's decision to honor his homo magi roots.
Mohammed Nassour
Convergence: Aquaman #2 (July, 2015)
The father of Khalid Nassour. A former doctor in Egypt, he immigrated to America from Egypt after marrying Elizabeth and worked as a cab driver, unable to be re-certification in the United States. He is aware of his son's identity as Doctor Fate and supports him in balancing his hero and personal life as well as Khalid's goals to becoming a doctor. Being of Egyptian descent, Mohammed also has knowledge of Egyptian lore and mythology, characterized as having pride in his heritage. He also makes a brief appearance in the Young Justice series, also supporting Khalid in his endeavors of balancing his Islamic faith and his homo magi heritage.
A fictional depiction of the Egyptian goddess of the same name. She is the goddess responsible for choosing Khalid as the next Doctor Fate due to his pharaoh bloodline. While she is initially skeptical of choosing Khalid from his reluctance of accepting the role, she comes to believe she chosen a capable champion and guides him in his path as Doctor Fate. She tends to inhabit the family cat, Puck, to communicate with Khalid and helps protects his personal life when his duties as Doctor Fate inteferes with it.
Justice League Dark 2021 Annual #1 (January, 2022)
A fictoinal depiction of the Egyptian deity of the same name. Hauhet replaces Nabu as the resident spirit within the Helm of Fate when Nabu disappeared. The Egyptian deity over space and time, her influence in the Helm allows Khalid the ability to see through other timelines at the expense of losing his sight for each time he uses the ability. Khalid is initially unaware of her presence until Merlin attempts to usurp control of magic. Hauhet also appears in the Future State event, revealing herself to be an ally of Nabu and repairs the Helm back to full power after Nelson's sacrifice against Upside-Down Man damaged the artifact.
Stitch
Teen Titans Academy #1 (May, 2021)
A non-binary animated ragdoll who becomes Khalid's apprentice some time after the death of Kent Nelson. She is a student at Teen Titans Academy and later founds Young Justice Dark, a younger counterpart of Justice League Dark.
Khalid's love interests
Shaya Halim
Convergence: Aquaman #2 (July, 2015)
Khalid's girlfriend aspiring to be a doctor like Khalid himself.
Akila
Doctor Fate Vol 4 #3 (October, 2015)
Khalid's childhood best friend and an activist with goals of protesting against wrongdoings from people in Middle Eastern countries despite her family frowning upon her activities. Unlike her family, the Nassours typically support her endeavors and prefer her over Shaya. She tries to get Khaid active into activism, unaware that his rejection of it stems from his double life as Doctor Fate. She also harbors romantic feelings for him.
The cosmic opposite of the Lords of Order and ultimate rival to the Lords of Order and their empowered agents. The Lords of Chaos exists as an enemy to all Doctor Fates, working to ensure to bring about an age known as "Kali Yuga", a period in which chaos and reigns supreme in the known universe.
Considered among the, if not, most powerful Lords of Chaos, Mordru is an entity considered to possess an ultimate level of magic and is an adversary of multiple heroes and contemporaries of Nabu such as Amethyst and Arion as well other heroes like the Legion of Super-Heroes. A master of black and chaos magic, he aims to dominate all of the universes with the combined powers of his own and the Lords of Order and Chaos.
Mordru most notably comes into conflict with the Hector Hall & Kent V. Nelson incarnation of Doctor Fate.
Xanadoth
Superman #23 (September, 2020)
Considered among the most powerful of Lords of Chaos, Xanadoth once ruled over her brethren until she was betrayed by her own kind, who teamed up with the Lords of Order to seal her away and erased all records of her existence. She is later revived after the artifact which contained her essence was collected by the Department of Extranormal Operations agent, Veronica Bissett. She comes into conflict with the Khalid Nassour incarnation of Doctor Fate, Superman, Justice League, and Justice League Dark, seeking to subvert all of existence in her variant of chaos with powers from the other Lords of Order, Chaos, and Eternal Balance.
Dr. Benjamin Stone / Anti-Fate
Doctor Fate #1 (July 1987).
A former chief psychiatrist in Arkham Asylum, Dr. Stone was chosen by the Lords of Chaos as their agent and was corrupted specifically be the Lord, Typhon, to become an antithesis of Doctor Fate. He comes into conflict with the second Doctor Fate, the young Eric Strauss.
Lords of Order
Ynar
The Flash #310
(June, 1982)
A renegade Lord of Order who became disillusioned with the battles between the Lords of Chaos and Order, he teams up with another likeminded Lord of Chaos to end the conflict between the two by force, pitting him at odds with the Kent Nelson incarnation of Doctor Fate.
A contemporary of Nabu as a Lord of Order, Arion is a one of the few Lords with a physical body and a demigod associated with Atlantis and its people, the ancient Atlanteans (called the homo magi) and their descendants, the modern-day sea-faring Atlanteans who adapted to their undersea environment. While typically an ally of Nabu and hero of his own caliber, Arion comes into conflict with Nabu when he is turned insane due to the influence of his Tear of Extinction, a weapon created to destroy gods powered by a cosmic force known as the "Death Force", and is further amplified by the discovery of the Khaji-Da. Nabu defeats and seals away Arion, though he is resurrected and is a foe of both Kent Nelson's Doctor Fate and Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes). Arion's original state is later resurrected by Merlin during Khalid Nassour's lifetime as Doctor Fate, placed under mind control.
Antagonistic Egyptian deities and followers
Khalis
1st Issue Special #9 (December, 1975)
The mummy of an ancient priest and a follower of Anubis who was mummified and buried alive by Nabu and the original holder of the Amulet of Anubis and its terrifying power. He comes into conflict with the Kent Nelson incarnation of Doctor Fate when he was revived and sought back the power of Anubis's amulet.[48]
A fictional version of the Egyptian god of the same name, he is the deity that empowers one of his faithful followers, Khalis, placing him at odds with both Nabu and later the first of the sorcerous line of Doctor Fate, agents of the aforementioned Lord of Order. Anubis most notably has enmity with the Khalid Nassour incarnation of Doctor Fate, as the pharaoh's blood running through his veins allows him to invoke power over him as he seeks to gain power and influence beyond his cosmic station and influence in wake of the weakening of his fellow Egyptian gods.
A powerful sorcerer who is the archenemy of Doctor Fate. Originally a woman of a primitive tribe, she was raped and beaten nearly to death by her tormentors. Dedicated to understanding the purpose of humanity and the suffering it entails, she escaped her tormentors and found refuge with an old sorceress, who began to teach her sorcery. Upon her mentor's death, the woman became a fully realized sorceress in her place and amassed more power, enough to be worshipped as a goddess. Using her powers, she learned how to extend her life through mystic means and transfer her souls into other bodies, allowing her to reincarnate at will as both man and woman though preferring the male form. Wotan eventually adopted his name after the ruler of the Germanic and Norse people despite having no association with the name. Using his powerful mystic and scientific talents, Wotan's pursuit of ultimate power to answer his question would place him at odds with the Kent Nelson incarnation of Doctor Fate.
A scientist who gained the power of sorcery and a shadow form.[49]
Other versions
Khalid Ben-Hassin
In 2011, DC Comics rebooted the DC universe through "The New 52." On Earth 2, Khalid Ben-Hassin is the grandson of Kent Nelson.[citation needed] He and Kendra Saunders-Munoz are hired by the World Army to find the Tomb of Nabu. When they did, Khalid gained the Helmet of Fate while Kendra grew bird-like wings. When he is not wearing the Helmet of Fate, Khalid acts crazy in front of everyone as he claims that Nabu can still speak to him this way.[50]
In the Earth-1 universe, Professor Lewis Lang and his assistant Burt Belker discover a helmet in the Valley of Ur in Mesopotamia that is identical to the helmet on Earth-2 except for its blue color. This helmet contains a Lord of Chaos that possesses Burt and turns him into the sorcerer Doctor Chaos, whose costume is identical to Doctor Fate's except for a reversed color scheme. Superboy confronts Doctor Chaos and removes the helmet from Burt, jettisoning it into space.[51]
Post-Crisis
Books of Magic
While Timothy Hunter is being guided through the world of magic by the Phantom Stranger, the two of them observe Kent, though he is unaware of their presence.[52] Sometime later, Mister E shows Hunter a future version of the helmet that resembles a human skull and kills any of its worshippers who wear it. The helmet has given up on life itself and the war between Order and Chaos. Mister E revealed that in the past, he attempted to kill Doctor Fate and destroy the helmet but was stopped by the Justice League.[53]
Earth-22 (Kingdom Come)
The Kingdom Come universe features a version of Nabu who is able to channel his consciousness through the helmet and cloak without the need for a host body. This version of Fate sides with Batman's group and is among the survivors at the end of the final battle.[54]
Doctor Fate's helmet made a brief appearance in the Constantine episode "Non Est Asylum" as one of several artifacts stored in Jasper Winter's house.[58]
The Kent Nelson incarnation of Doctor Fate appears in Stargirl.
Doctor Fate appears in the Young Justice, with Nabu voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.[59] This version of Nabu is the spirit of Vandal Savage's son Marduk, who the Lords of Order ascended to a higher plane and turned into their champion to battle the forces of chaos on Earth. Additionally, Nabu's host's will is completely overwritten as a requirement for those who bear his helmet. In the present, Kent Nelson initially wears the helmet until he dies, leading to Kid Flash and Aqualad temporarily taking up the Helmet of Fate until Nelson's spirit convinces Nabu to release them. After Zatanna wears the Helmet however, Nabu refuses to release her until her father Zatara offers to take her place. Years later, Nabu would gain a rotation of hosts with Zatanna, Zatara, Traci Thirteen, and Khalid Nassour.
An original incarnation of Doctor Fate named Steel Maxum appears in the animated film Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, voiced by Greg Grunberg. He was chosen by Nabu to become Doctor Fate for his fitness until Scandal Savage and Knockout betrayed him and stole a "Get Out of Hell Free" card from him. In response, Nabu ousted Maxum from the Tower of Fate for his recklessness and irresponsibility and replaced him with "some chick" according to Maxum. In the present, Maxum joins a male strip club as the "Pharaoh" before he is simultaneously confronted by the Suicide Squad and Professor Zoom and his henchmen, Silver Banshee and Blockbuster. While Silver Banshee knocks him unconscious, the squad retrieves and escapes with Maxum. After regaining consciousness, he explains how the card works before the squad leave him on the streets, where Zoom's henchmen catch him.
A variation of Kent Nelson / Doctor Fate appears in the animated film Justice Society: World War II. This version is a codebreaker from Earth-2 who was active during his Earth's version of the titular war.
Video games
The Kent Nelson incarnation of Doctor Fate appears as a NPC, later a playable DLC character, in DC Universe Online.
Several Doctor Fate action figures have been released, with most of them based on the Kent Nelson version of the character.
The first Doctor Fate figure was released in 1985 as part of the second wave of Kenner's Super Powers Collection.
DC Direct released another figure in 2000 as part of the Mystics, Mages and Magicians collection.
A third figure was released with the Justice League Unlimited series (2004–2006) as a single figure and as part of three-pack collections.
DC Direct released a fourth figure in December 2007 as part of its second wave of DC: The New Frontier action figures.
Two Doctor Fate figures were released in April 2009 as part of the DC Universe Classics toyline: a Classic Kent Nelson version with regular yellow armor, and a "Chase" variant Modern Hector Hall version with gold accent armor and helm.
The Imaginext "DC Super Friends" toyline included a Dr. Fate figure as part of their mystery package campaign in 2019. He was packaged with a snap-on lightning power accessory.
At the 2004 San Diego Comic-Con International, DC Direct announced a full-size replica of Doctor Fate's helmet and amulet for release in 2005. The helmet was displayed with upcoming items during the February 2007 Toy Fair, but is still not available for purchase.
References
^ abBeatty, Scott; Wallace, Dan (2008). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. New York: DK Publishing. p. 103. ISBN9780756641191.
^V, Ram (2022). Justice League Dark: The Great Wickedness. Dan Watters, Sumit Kumar, Xermanico, Christopher Mitten, José, Jr. Marzán, Romulo Fajardo. Burbank, CA: DC Comics. ISBN978-1-77951-551-3.
