Doctor Fate Appreciation Thread and his 74th Birthday!

[friendly-fire-press]

What does everyone think of the earth 2 new 52 dr fate?

So far I really like him, his background and design ... hopefully, we'll get to see more of him soon

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

mortymantis

He's no Kent Nelson or Hector Hall for that matter! This is not to say that I dislike Khalid as Fate as I actually own a piece of Nicola Scott's original art when he discovers the Helmet of Nabu.



For me at least, he suffers from 90's angst and is a little bit of a whiner! I was actually quite peeved that Robinson overlooked the original Golden Age identity in favour of a BRAND new one and his origin is really convoluted. I'm a big believer if you can't explain a comic character's origin in one page, you've messed up.

With that said, I'm not sure how Khalid will fare in the Earth's 2 weekly given the promo image and somehow Constantine ends up with the helmet as well. Hopefully when he fixes the Helmet of Nabu with magical super glue, he'll also be back in action against Superman.

I would also love to see a half helm Dr. Fate (ala Kent Nelson) turn up on the main DCU. Give him a wife (Inza Nelson) or a girlfriend (Inza Cramer) and they could be a pair of mystic investigators or something...

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

Even though Fate was a BLIGHT (heh) on Doctor Fate, I did admire writers Len Kaminski and Steven Grant when they tried to give Kent and Inza a fitting end after they were screwed over from Zero Hour.

But man what a terribe 90's character!



It's a shame that Grants Sentinels of Magic (Circle of Light) original idea was dismissed as it would have featured the Three Fates... Kent and Inza as individual Dr Fates with Jared Stevens as Fate. It would of been based in the tower of fate with the doctors recruiting magic users together depending on what threat the
Earth faced. They even pencilled the first issue which is locked away somewhere at DC where unpublished comics live.

[John Venus]

Even though Fate was a BLIGHT (heh) on Doctor Fate, I did admire writers Len Kaminski and Steven Grant when they tried to give Kent and Inza a fitting end after they were screwed over from Zero Hour.

Wasn't that by Keith Giffen though? He wrote them passing the mantle to Jared Stevens and moving onto the next life.

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

Wasn't that by Keith Giffen though? He wrote them passing the mantle to Jared Stevens and moving onto the next life.

Len Kaminski and Steven Grant took over the first title "Fate" and then Len finished it off. Basically Fate and Sentinel (Green Lantern) helped get the spirits of Inza and Kent into heaven. Giffen rebooted Fate and basically made Kent and Inza energy beings who went off exploring the universe.

Weird stuff as Superboy Prime punches didn't exist back then

[John Venus]

Len Kaminski and Steven Grant took over the first title "Fate" and then Len finished it off. Basically Fate and Sentinel (Green Lantern) helped get the spirits of Inza and Kent into heaven. Giffen rebooted Fate and basically made Kent and Inza energy beings who went off exploring the universe.

Weird stuff as Superboy Prime punches didn't exist back then

Ah, thanks.

And yeah, I am aware of the differences between then and now. No Superboy punches but plenty of Anti-Monitor's and Parallax's back then.

[The Flash]

Hey Flash... Dr. Fate has had a diverse career in the DC Universe and I personally believe the Golden Age Doctor Fate is the best version. To make a long story short, a 12-year old Kent Nelson was on an archaeological dig with his father Sven in the Valley of Ur.

Unbeknown to them both and while exploring, they released an ancient gas that held Nabu, a godlike being in status which killed Sven Nelson. Nabu was an Egyptian Wizard and also a Lord of Order from another realm with godlike powers. The Lords of Order fought a never ending battle against the Lords of Chaos and Nabu protected Earth.

Depending on which origin you read, Nabu wiped the memory of Sven's death from Kent and trained him in the mystic arts. Years passed and when Kent became a man (or Nabu aged him to adulthood), the Lord of Order removed the mind wipe from Kent which forced Kent to destroy Nabu's mortal shell in rage.

Nabu as an energy being explained what he had done and then gave Kent the mystic artifacts of Dr. Fate which was the Helm of Nabu, the Cloak of Destiny and the Amulet of Anubis. Kent donned the items and became Dr. Fate who waged war on the Lords of Chaos and their agents on Earth.


These two images sum up his history rather well...

You can try the 1999 JSA series. The first arc is about the coming of the new Dr. Fate. JMS also wrote a Brave and the Bold issue showing Dr. Fate (Kent Nelson) and Hal Jordan teaming and getting into a debate about predetermination and fate.

That's the most recent stuff that I can think of. If you are willing to look even further back, there is the Giffen/DeMattis Dr. Fate mini series from the 80's with Kent Nelson passing the torch to Eric and Linda Strauss and the subsequent ongoing that came from it.

Thank you both. I don't mind hunting down back issues so I'll definitely look into everything that's been mentioned in this thread.

[Mar-Vell]

I'm a newcomer to Dr. Fate, and I only really know him as he is in Earth 2. However, I've really grown fond of this character, and I'm ready for him to stop mumbling and grumbling, and start fighting again.

Also, after looking at the above pictures of him, I have to say that although I really like his current black costume, I like some of his blue versions better.

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

Just for fans, here is a Doctor Fate helmet that we designed from polished steel!



It's fully wearable but a little big. I really need to get back to making another one and our bronze helmet is even more gold looking

Unfortunately the picture doesn't do the helmet justice either but man does it look cool on the bookshelf though!

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

Thank you both. I don't mind hunting down back issues so I'll definitely look into everything that's been mentioned in this thread.

Also check out THE IMMORTAL DOCTOR FATE issues 1 - 3 which boasts some awesome characterisation about the character. You should be able to find this series quite cheap on eBay.



If you're looking for the original character, there is the Doctor Fate Archive as well which collects his golden age appearances from More Fun Comics

[The Odd Man]

Let's not forget his Earth-One counterpart, Dr. Chaos!

chaos.jpg

[John Venus]

Just for fans, here is a Doctor Fate helmet that we designed from polished steel!



It's fully wearable but a little big. I really need to get back to making another one and our bronze helmet is even more gold looking

Unfortunately the picture doesn't do the helmet justice either but man does it look cool on the bookshelf though!

Awesome helmet dude!

Dr. Fate is on the list of characters I want to cosplay one day.

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

It's also great to see Doctor Fate get some merchandise love as well!

[John Venus]

It's also great to see Doctor Fate get some merchandise love as well!

I had no idea there were so many Dr. Fate action figures out.

Let's not forget his Earth-One counterpart, Dr. Chaos!

chaos.jpg

Don't you mean Earth 3?