Doctor Fate Appreciation Thread and his 74th Birthday!

[John Venus]

I think Geoff and David changed the story about the previous "Fate" incarnations living in the helmet. Originally it was all the incarnations of Fate but apparently they were just part of Hector's defence systems and all imaginary.

I went back and checked the retrospective on Hector (the links which I posted a few pages back) and found that they went back and forth on it.

Originally they were incarnations of the previous Fates then they were revealed to be imaginary and when Nabu became evil, they were revealed to be real and trapped inside the helmet.

http://asylums.insanejournal.com/sca...y/1103207.html

For example, that little intervention? The one where Nabu said that all of the former agents were all just imagination figments? Yeah, he lied about that. And the whole affectionate worried fatherly figure thing was pretty much fake too. In fact, after he decides that Hector's too soft to do things his way, he pulls a Mordru himself and locks Hector back in the amulet in order to take a more ruthless hand in the fight currently going on between the JSA and Black Adam's forces (Black Adam having gone back to his homeland to squish a brutally dictatorial regime -literally, thanks to Atom Smasher- and take over the country himself).

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

I went back and checked the retrospective on Hector (the links which I posted a few pages back) and found that they went back and forth on it.

Originally they were incarnations of the previous Fates then they were revealed to be imaginary and when Nabu became evil, they were revealed to be real and trapped inside the helmet.

http://asylums.insanejournal.com/sca...y/1103207.html

Thanks John, unfortunately hunting for my JSA #50 is no easy task but I will check this out when my JSA Omnibus comes in June!

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

Interesting "legacy" picture of Nabu, Dr. Fate and Fate by Eddy Newell

[Savage Savant]

Been meaning to re-register on this board (mostly just to post in this thread ). Anyway from what I've read about Dr. Fate regarding his original adventures, what made Fate so unique were two concepts:

1. He was both a Mystic & a Scientist
2. He was one of the first Lovecraft/Cthulhu Mythos pastiche

In the original stories, Nabu wasn't a Lord of Order but an extremely powerful alien/cthulhu being from the planet Cicilia (I think that's how it's spelled) who came to Earth & disguised himself as a human sorcerer in ancient Egypt. Kent Nelson/Dr. Fate would also explain things scientifically and manipulate the energy/molecules within him & around.

He also didn't need the helmet to kick ass, Nabu taught him sorcery, telekinesis, flight and how to control his body on a molecular level, which made him immortal. He was also super-strong as well & then there's the Amulet of Anubis too. It was never about the damn helmet, it was always about the fact that he dared the most and he didn't care who he faced, he took on anyone. He was both Preternatural & Supernatural.

I don't understand why Fox or National at the time decided to depower him so early & have him fight stupid gangsters. That really hurt the character's potential and is probably one of the reasons why Fate never became as popular as Dr. Strange. What really ruined the character though was that stupid musical helmet nonsense started by deMatteis. I read that 4 issue Dr. Fate series & it was good writing but it was horrible from a Fate fan standpoint.

I honestly consider the Post-Crisis stories about the character to be irrelevant and void. The definitive Dr. Fate stories are the Gardner Fox ones, those All Star Squadron issues & The Immortal Dr. Fate.

Anyway those 2 aspects of Dr. Fate for me is what makes the character compelling, on top of being a very wise and fearless character. I honestly believe if Fate was never depowered or that musical helmet shit never happened he could've been as popular as Dr. Strange (I'm a fan of Strange as well FWIW), he's just as interesting as Strange & he predates him too.

[John Venus]

Interesting "legacy" picture of Nabu, Dr. Fate and Fate by Eddy Newell

Pics not showing bro.

Been meaning to re-register on this board (mostly just to post in this thread ). Anyway from what I've read about Dr. Fate regarding his original adventures, what made Fate so unique were two concepts:

1. He was both a Mystic & a Scientist
2. He was one of the first Lovecraft/Cthulhu Mythos pastiche

In the original stories, Nabu wasn't a Lord of Order but an extremely powerful alien/cthulhu being from the planet Cicilia (I think that's how it's spelled) who came to Earth & disguised himself as a human sorcerer in ancient Egypt. Kent Nelson/Dr. Fate would also explain things scientifically and manipulate the energy/molecules within him & around.

He also didn't need the helmet to kick ass, Nabu taught him sorcery, telekinesis, flight and how to control his body on a molecular level, which made him immortal. He was also super-strong as well & then there's the Amulet of Anubis too. It was never about the damn helmet, it was always about the fact that he dared the most and he didn't care who he faced, he took on anyone. He was both Preternatural & Supernatural.

I don't understand why Fox or National at the time decided to depower him so early & have him fight stupid gangsters. That really hurt the character's potential and is probably one of the reasons why Fate never became as popular as Dr. Strange. What really ruined the character though was that stupid musical helmet nonsense started by deMatteis. I read that 4 issue Dr. Fate series & it was good writing but it was horrible from a Fate fan standpoint.

I honestly consider the Post-Crisis stories about the character to be irrelevant and void. The definitive Dr. Fate stories are the Gardner Fox ones, those All Star Squadron issues & The Immortal Dr. Fate.

Anyway those 2 aspects of Dr. Fate for me is what makes the character compelling, on top of being a very wise and fearless character. I honestly believe if Fate was never depowered or that musical helmet shit never happened he could've been as popular as Dr. Strange (I'm a fan of Strange as well FWIW), he's just as interesting as Strange & he predates him too.

Giving Dr. Fate innate abilities outside of the helmet and the amulet? Yes.

Making Nabu an alien?

Weird molecular powers?

No power in the helmet?

No struggle for his humanity.

Aw hell no!

That's like.....half the stuff I like about the character.

[marshal99]

If i remember correctly during the all-star squadron issues , without the helmet full power , when he was wearing the half helmet , he still had some degree of invulnerability and super strength but no spell.

[marshal99]

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

Pics not showing bro.

Let's try again -

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

I love this pic of Kent Nelson from The Books of Magic... It sums up the weight on his shoulders. Husband, man and defender but at a huge cost!

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

If i remember correctly during the all-star squadron issues , without the helmet full power , when he was wearing the half helmet , he still had some degree of invulnerability and super strength but no spell.

Don't forget speed, hand-to-hand combat and jujitsu as seen in All-Star Comics #10.

Plus he was a doctor of archaeology and an M.D.

Kent was the man!

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

Been meaning to re-register on this board (mostly just to post in this thread ). Anyway from what I've read about Dr. Fate regarding his original adventures, what made Fate so unique were two concepts:

1. He was both a Mystic & a Scientist
2. He was one of the first Lovecraft/Cthulhu Mythos pastiche

In the original stories, Nabu wasn't a Lord of Order but an extremely powerful alien/cthulhu being from the planet Cicilia (I think that's how it's spelled) who came to Earth & disguised himself as a human sorcerer in ancient Egypt. Kent Nelson/Dr. Fate would also explain things scientifically and manipulate the energy/molecules within him & around.

He also didn't need the helmet to kick ass, Nabu taught him sorcery, telekinesis, flight and how to control his body on a molecular level, which made him immortal. He was also super-strong as well & then there's the Amulet of Anubis too. It was never about the damn helmet, it was always about the fact that he dared the most and he didn't care who he faced, he took on anyone. He was both Preternatural & Supernatural.

I don't understand why Fox or National at the time decided to depower him so early & have him fight stupid gangsters. That really hurt the character's potential and is probably one of the reasons why Fate never became as popular as Dr. Strange. What really ruined the character though was that stupid musical helmet nonsense started by deMatteis. I read that 4 issue Dr. Fate series & it was good writing but it was horrible from a Fate fan standpoint.

I honestly consider the Post-Crisis stories about the character to be irrelevant and void. The definitive Dr. Fate stories are the Gardner Fox ones, those All Star Squadron issues & The Immortal Dr. Fate.

Anyway those 2 aspects of Dr. Fate for me is what makes the character compelling, on top of being a very wise and fearless character. I honestly believe if Fate was never depowered or that musical helmet shit never happened he could've been as popular as Dr. Strange (I'm a fan of Strange as well FWIW), he's just as interesting as Strange & he predates him too.

I loved how Doctor Fate became an integral part of the the DCU post crisis until DeMatteis got to the character with all the new age BS but... Legends was awesome and so was the start of the Justice League with Fate and the Grey Man.

He also rocked in the original Justice League of America comics plus the All Star Comics of the 70's too! But you're right it was never about the helmet but the man beneath. It's a shame that DC flushed all that with the musical helmet of Nabu

[John Venus]

I loved how Doctor Fate became an integral part of the the DCU post crisis until DeMatteis got to the character with all the new age BS but... Legends was awesome and so was the start of the Justice League with Fate and the Grey Man.

He also rocked in the original Justice League of America comics plus the All Star Comics of the 70's too! But you're right it was never about the helmet but the man beneath. It's a shame that DC flushed all that with the musical helmet of Nabu

How long was he on the JLA?

Don't forget speed, hand-to-hand combat and jujitsu as seen in All-Star Comics #10.

Plus he was a doctor of archaeology and an M.D.

Kent was the man!

I love it when magic users show that spells and incantations aren't the only tricks in their bag.

Let's try again

Yep, I can see it now and the previous image too which didn't show the first 4 times.

It's a cool pic, I'd say. It really shows the legacy of Dr. Fate.

[John Venus]

I recently created a recommended reading list for Zatanna (http://i62.tinypic.com/2lcl4dh.jpg, http://i62.tinypic.com/2v9ohes.jpg ) and I want to create a similar one for Dr. Fate.

Admittedly my Fateology isn't as up to par as my Zatanna-ology so I need your help to put it together.

The format I go by is:

Essential Reading:

Includes solo series and mini series focusing on the character. Story arcs that establish the character and the world as well as issues that bring about major change to the character's status quo are also included. If they are part of a team then issues where they are the focus or plays a pivotal role are counted.

The key is that this is the section that covers the stories essential to one's understanding of the character.

Additional Reading:

These cover all the other appearances of the character. They are usually not there to introduce someone to the character or bring about major status quo changes. They are the characters going about their daily business. For example, a story about Dr. Fate teaming up with Aquaman to fight Cthulhu is not essential to your understanding of the character but it's a damn cool story nonetheless.

Having there been multiple Dr. Fate's, I thought it would be wise to create separate lists for each of them.

So which Dr. Fate stories would you recommend for readers wanting to get into the character?

[friendly-fire-press]

Anyone else intrigued by the idea of Constantine putting on the Helmet of Fate in Future's End?

[John Venus]

Anyone else intrigued by the idea of Constantine putting on the Helmet of Fate in Future's End?

Not me.

10char