Doctor Fate is one of several fictitious superheroes who feature in American comic books published by DC Comics. Doctor Fate is the name of a succession of sorcerers that have appeared in the DC Universe under various names. The character’s debut appearance was in More Fun Comics #55 in May 1940, and it was created by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman.
The Kent Nelson version of the character has appeared in a variety of DC-related entertainment, including the television series Smallville, in which he is portrayed by Brent Strait, and the forthcoming DC Extended Universe film Black Adam, in which Pierce Brosnan will star. However, casual fans may be unfamiliar with DC’s incredible and uber-powerful sorcerer, who appeared two decades before Marvel’s Doctor Strange. Keep an eye out for a look back at DC’s most powerful magic-based hero’s tumultuous eight-decade history.
Fate wore a gold cloak and helmet and used his magic to fight criminals. Fate’s magical abilities were almost unrivaled. Thanks to his spell-casting skills, he could fly, teleport, wield super strength, astral project, fire mystical energy bolts, cast illusions, and employ telepathy, telekinesis, and pyrokinesis—you name it. With all of these powers, there was very little he could not accomplish. Today, we will tell you all about Dr. Fate and how he rose to become one of the world’s most powerful magical beings.
Who Is Doctor Fate?
For the first time, audiences learned of Fate’s beginnings in 1941’s More Fun Comics #67. Kent Nelson was the son of archaeologist Sven Nelson, and the two of them were researching the Valley of Ur in Mesopotamia around the year 1920 when they came across an underground pyramid. It held Nabu, an ancient immortal from the planet Cilia who had been frozen in time for thousands of years.
Kent let him go, but the lever accidentally let forth a toxic gas, killing his father. Nabu orchestrated the scenario to get a new host, it was later revealed. The “curse of King Tut’s tomb,” which was common folklore at the period, was referenced in this story.
When archaeologist Howard Carter found King Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1923, several members of his team inexplicably died, giving rise to the common modern tale. Gardner Fox obviously utilized that as a model for Doctor Fate’s history.
Nabu then resolved to teach the young kid the mysteries of the cosmos, endowing him with extraordinary abilities and relieving him of his sadness by showing him the power of absolute molecular control.
In the Lords of Order’s never-ending struggle against the Lords of Chaos, he would act as an agent working on their behalf. The Lords of Order are mystically powerful higher beings who represent order. During the Ninth Age of Magic, the Lords of Order operated as avatars of the concept of stagnation prior to the reality-altering events of Flashpoint.
They function as a deterrent to the Lords of Chaos in a perpetual quest for universal domination by devoting their virtually limitless strength to empowering mortal agents. The Lords of Order’s nature changed as a result of the reality-altering events of Flashpoint; once a group of sorcerer-kings, they discovered a wellspring of raw magic powerful enough to decay their physical bodies, but they became mystical beings formed of energy. They fight the Lords of Chaos over how to regulate this raw magic, taking it upon themselves to govern it till the end of time.
After completing his training, Nabu presented him with an amulet, cloak, and helmet, which he used to become Doctor Fate, a good champion. Although Nabu’s ghost would constantly guide him through the helmet and he would awaken with little memory of his own accomplishments, Kent would go on adventures as Fate.
While passing through Alexandria, he met a lovely college girl named Inza Cramer, who would become his long-term loving partner and confidante. His first combat was with Wotan, the evil sorcerer who would later become Fate’s arch-foe, who attacked him through Inza and an agent named Thomas Frawley. Soon after, they married and moved into a mysterious tower in Salem, Massachusetts. Fate was able to hide his tower from mortal eyes thanks to his sorcery. Kent and Inza were able to maintain their youth and energy for decades thanks to their magical abilities.
The Fate Helmet is the main source of all of Doctor Fate’s powers, he would quite frankly not be as powerful he is without it. It is also known as the Helmet of Nabu. It is a golden helmet, when united with humans, it can transform them into powerful beings. The Helmet teamed up with human Kent Nelson to form Doctor Fate.
The helmet allows the spirit of Nabu to take possession of its wearer, bestowing it with tremendous magical abilities. It then connected with Chloe Sullivan, allowing her to view the futures of Oliver Queen and Clark Kent, and later utilized by the metahuman Icicle to provide him similar superpowers. The mask appears to be sentient, conversing with individuals in low whispers and providing them advice and expertise.
The Helmet of Nabu is a highly powerful relic that requires a human host to activate its powers and abilities. The helmet is sentient without a host, but it is primarily inactive. The helmet has limited mobility on its own and appears to be clairvoyant since it once glanced back at Clark when he used his X-ray vision to peek into the bag it was in. When a host bonds with the helmet, they can gain skills like teleportation, flight, telekineses, invulnerability, and precognition.
Doctor Fate Encounter With Chaos and Death
Doctor Fate has had a turbulent time dealing with Chaos and Death and it seems like they never leave his back, hounding him and the people he loves time and time again. Doctor Fate attempted to stop the threat of a Lord of Chaos being released on Earth after an encounter with both Flashes from Earth-One and Earth-Two. Unfortunately, the Lord of Chaos kidnapped Inza and used her to weaken Fate’s powers and erase his resistance.
Despite being nearly defeated, Fate was able to overcome the Lord of Chaos and undo the devastation he had caused, all because of his drive and passion to save Inza. Fate’s meeting with Lords of Chaos would not be his last, as he was soon transported to a new universe where he had to face Vandaemeon. Fate returned disheartened after failing to fight the Lord of Chaos, only to discover that Inza had abandoned him.
Fate eventually realized that this was all part of a plot to break him and that the mastermind was a rogue Lord of Order named Ynar, who had aligned himself with Vandaemon in order to gain control of the universe. Fate was powerless in the face of their combined energies but owing to Inza’s unexpected return, he was able to fuse the Kents’ consciousnesses inside the Helmet of Nabu, giving him enough power to destroy the Lords of Order and Chaos. Kent and Inza acknowledged their profound love for one other after a lot of struggle and began striving to enhance their relationship.
Later, Dr. Fate joined the new Justice League as a founding member, and the heroes stopped Darkseid’s plan to turn the people of Earth against heroes. Kent’s most recent League adventure pitted him against the Gray Man. Fate went into space to reflect on the circumstances of the conclusion of that case.
Chaos and order were at an all-time high in the late 1980s. It was the Kali Yuga, man’s final epoch. The order had withdrawn from combat, waiting for Chaos to devour itself and usher in a new Golden Age. Kent and Inza had both accelerated their aging due to the Kali Yuga’s strain. This would usher at the end of Doctor Fate.
The stress on Inza became intolerable, and she committed suicide in 1987, leaving Kent devastated and on the edge of suicide. Nabu had taken a more controlling role in the relationship, refusing to let Kent die until he could locate a new host body. Kent grudgingly assisted Nabu in locating Eric Strauss as his new Fate protege.
Kent only realized that Doctor Fate was supposed to be the outcome of the merging of two people with a magical bond, similar to his bond with Inza, during this brief period. Kent persuaded Nabu to make Eric Strauss and Linda, his human link, the new Doctor Fate. Kent then requested to die, and Nabu agreed to let him do so.
Directly or indirectly, Chaos had to do with the end of the supreme sorcerer.
Doctor Fate in Various Story Arcs
Afterlife and Return is one of Fate’s primary storylines, in which the Nelsons enjoy an afterlife in which they live regular lives unwittingly in the Amulet of Anubis after the events of Chaos and Death where both Inza and Kent lose their lives. They had a son named Kent, and Fate would once again intervene in their lives.
Nabu travels to Salem’s Tower of Fate in despair, hoping to clear the way for the TRUE Dr. Fate, Kent, and Inza Nelson. When they look into the Anubis amulet, they see Kent and Inza Nelson’s souls. Linda and Nabu prepare to fight Benjamin Stoner while Jack C. Small and Petey search for the amulet for the Nelsons. Linda can touch the items and become Fate with Nabu with the help of Nabu.
To fight the Anti-Fate, Nabu and Linda develop a four-armed Dr. Fate. However, they fail, and the Lords of Chaos are rejected by the Anti-Fate. Jack C. Small and Petey realize that Hesse is trapped inside the amulet. They track down the Nelsons with his assistance and attempt to persuade them to return to Earth.
This world was dubbed “heaven” by Inza because the Nelsons could live their lives as they pleased. They even had a son named Kent junior in this world. Inza does not want to leave this ostensibly perfect world, but she eventually decides that they can make this life reality on Earth.
Unfortunately, Linda succumbs to her injuries during the battle with the Anti-Fate, and her soul is absorbed by Wendy, a recently deceased woman. She is reunited with her husband Eugene and their daughter Raina, and the three of them will grow up to become the new seeds of mankind. When Nabu is given the option of becoming a human or an eternal Lord of Order, he chooses humanity, and his soul is implanted in Wendy’s unborn child. Doctor Fate is replaced by Kent Nelson and Inza Nelson
In the events of Zero Hour, Dr. Fate was reformed into the male Dr. Fate in 1994, although this time under Kent and Inza’s control. Dr. Fate commanded the Justice Society in its decisive showdown against Extant, a Parallax minion, during Zero Hour. Extant vanquished the JSA, and because he wielded the might of both a Lord of Order and a Lord of Chaos, he compelled Dr. Fate to split, tossing the helmet and amulet throughout the netherverse, finally returning to Egypt, the hub of Fate’s power.
Kent and Inza attempted to reclaim the Fate objects from mercenary Jared Stevens, who would eventually become the new Fate. Kent and Inza were rejected by the things, therefore the Nelsons chose Jared Stevens to be the new keeper of Fate.
The Nelsons were killed after a bloody battle with the demon Kingdom’s servants, and they were eventually let back into the afterlife. After surrendering the objects to Jared Stevens, Kent and Inza became disembodied souls who appeared to exist in a pocket universe within Fate’s amulet.
He then made a brief cameo in Blackest Night, when his fate was unknown until he was resurrected as Black Lantern and then destroyed in New York City when the JSA’s bomb went off.
Finally, in A Last Sign Of Life, it is revealed that a fraction of the original Doctor Fate was inside Hal Jordan’s ring after he was injured on a distant planet and his ring’s energy was virtually depleted. Fate set a fragment of himself, going through time, within the ring in the contemporary times, when he and Jordan shook hands years ago. Fate barely had enough power to keep him and Jordan alive for a short time before returning to his body and passing on what he had learned there.
They start debating if Fate should use his power to save Jordan. Because the source of Fate’s loss of immortality has never been revealed, it’s possible that the spell Fate cast was the genuine reason. Despite the fact that he has the ability to change his own fate, Fate chooses to assist Jordan in escaping from that world.
What Makes Doctor Fate So Powerful?
The Fate’s abilities were defined as “the secret of the conversion of energy in matter and matter in energy” in their early years of publication. Doctor Fate’s powers are largely derived from the mystical Helmet of Fate in the current continuity. Kent Nelson, on the other hand, has spent his life honing his skills as an expert explorer and amassing his own personal magical powers.
He possesses Magic Sense, which allows him to detect the presence of magic in his environment. He also has cosmic awareness, meaning he can tune in to the cosmos and perceive oncoming mystical happenings, as well as sense other people’s auras and discern if they are aligned with good, evil, or none at all.
He also possesses clairvoyance, as well as the abilities of Chronokinesis, Astral Projection, Dimensional Travel, Divination, and the capacity to obtain Eldritch Blasts, which are Ankh-shaped blasts. He also has the abilities of Energy Construct Creation, Negation, and Energy Resistance, as well as the capacity to manage energy. He was an expert at building Force Fields; one of them could survive Aquarius’ strikes for a full week. In addition to all of this, he has Healed,
Illusion Casting, Invisibility, Magnetic Manipulation, and Hypnosis are all abilities that can be used. He is well-known for his ability to perform Molecular Reconstruction on organic stuff. It may appear that we are going on and on, but he has many more capabilities and abilities. It is not for nothing that he is known as the supreme sorcerer.
He possesses the ability to execute Necromancy rituals as well as Resurrection, Telepathy, Teleportation, and Divine Empowerment. Nabu is aware of Ra’s actual name and can use his divine power to temporarily boost his own or others’ magic. In fact, if Dr. Fate so desired, he could render Superman immune to magic. Fate has no emotion while wearing the helmet, and is totally immune to Psycho-abilities.
Kent Nelson, without his helmet, however, has just the following magical abilities: immortality and invulnerability – Dr. Fate could resist military weapons and a mansion-destroying explosion. Along with this, he possessed the ability of Telekinesis, which, when combined with his helmet, was powerful enough to move an entire planet.
Without it, Fate might only be capable of lifting cars. He can fly and has superhuman strength, as well as being a master of archaeology, hand-to-hand combat, Jujitsu, occultism, medicine, and multilingualism as being an archaeologist/occultist he speaks Portuguese and Spanish and many ancient languages.
All of this makes Doctor Fate an extremely powerful sorcerer and there is practically nothing he cannot do and no power that he does not possess. It is insane, to think that such an all-powerful agent of justice has largely remained confined to the pages of DC comics.
Mind-Blowing Versions Of Doctor Fate In Various Forms Of Media
While Doctor Fate is yet to have a live-action film debut (it is coming soon and we are super excited about it!) He has been seen in multiple animated films in the DC Universe. Doctor Fate as played by Kent Nelson can be seen in the opening credits of the animated film Justice League: The New Frontier.
In the animated film Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, an evil reality version of Doctor Fate, he makes a guest appearance. He is shown as a lower-ranking member of the Crime Syndicate. Doctor Fate also appears in the Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash-animated film.
The helmet of Doctor Fate can be seen in the animated film Justice League Dark. Steel Maxum, an initial iteration of Doctor Fate, is voiced by Greg Grunber in the animated film Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay. Kent Nelson also makes an appearance in the animated film Justice Society: World War II.
There have been a few live-action Doctor Fate adaptations that hit our tv screen that is worth noticing. Doctor Fate’s incarnation, Kent Nelson, and his wife Inza Nelson, played by Brent Stait and Erica Carroll, respectively, appear in the Smallville two-part episode “Absolute Justice.”
The Helmet of Nabu resurfaced in Season 10’s “Lazarus,” as Chloe Sullivan uses it to track down the Green Arrow. Doctor Fate’s helmet reappeared in the Constantine episode “Non-Est Asylum” as one of several items kept at Jasper Winter’s home. Doctor Fate as played by Kent Nelson also appears in Stargirl.
The list of appearances is even longer when it comes to animated series. Doctor Fate, as portrayed by Kent Nelson, appears in DC Animated Universe series. Doctor Fate as played by Kent Nelson appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Doctor Fate as portrayed by Kent Nelson also appears in the Young Justice animated series.
Kid Flash and Aqualad temporarily take up the Helmet of Fate after Nelson dies, until Nelson’s spirit convinces Nabu to let them go. Khalid Nassour is also voiced by Usman Ally in the fourth season of Young Justice: Phantoms.
This version is Zatanna’s protégé. Doctor Fate appears in Mad episodes 22 and 46, as well as a series of animated shorts on Cartoon Network’s DC Nation block. Doctor Fate as played by Kent Nelson once again appears in the Justice League Action episode “Trick or Threat.
There was very little he couldn’t achieve with all of these abilities, making him maybe as powerful as Superman. Despite this, he never took off as a figure on par with Superman, Green Lantern, or the Flash. However, the Justice Society of America is about to make its big-screen debut, with the magical sorcerer Dr. Fate assisting in leading the charge in this darker DC film. We can’t wait to finally see the supreme sorcerer make his live-action film debut!