Golden Age Dr. Fate (Kent Nelson) Appreciation 2021

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

About !%$ing time Funko Pop...

[sifighter]

Okay I think it's safe to say at this point there are two Doctor Fates, because Sheridan has used two versions in Teen Titans Academy and in Shazam. In the yearbook issue of Titans Academy we saw clearly classic Kent Nelson fate talk with Stitch but today in Shazam we see Khalid Fate referencing Justice League Dark. I think its safe to assume we have two different Fates right now.

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

Okay I think it's safe to say at this point there are two Doctor Fates, because Sheridan has used two versions in Teen Titans Academy and in Shazam. In the yearbook issue of Titans Academy we saw clearly classic Kent Nelson fate talk with Stitch but today in Shazam we see Khalid Fate referencing Justice League Dark. I think its safe to assume we have two different Fates right now.

The only problem is that Kent was 'killed' in Justice League Dark... nice original writing there guys, how many times has this been now? He's not Hawkman :P

Hopefully DC make the right choice which to keep around with the Black Adam film around the corner

[John Venus]

DC has forgotten what Dr Fate is about. They need to establish who Kent Nelson is at first so we give a **** about who he passes the mantle on to.

[sifighter]

DC has forgotten what Dr Fate is about. They need to establish who Kent Nelson is at first so we give a **** about who he passes the mantle on to.

Isn’t he basically the same character he was pre-flashpoint except now he has a grand-nephew in Khalid?

[MajorHoy]

Isn’t he basically the same character he was pre-flashpoint except now he has a grand-nephew in Khalid?

Has DC really done much to clarify that's what the case is these days?

[sifighter]

Has DC really done much to clarify that's what the case is these days?

I’m just saying besides some slight JLD retconning, he’s still the same original Kent Nelson of the JSA just now with extended family. He got brought back in the DCyou run of Doctor Fate, where he worked with and trained Khalid. Death Metal and Doomsday Clock had him with the JSA once more along with JSA going back and showing it’s him there in a forgotten past. So all that leads me to assume that it’s just standard Kent Nelson whose 100 years old or so but young thanks to magic like Alan Scott and with Khalid as his immediate superhero family.

[seismic-2]

It seemed as if DC couldn't decide even whether the character was supposed to be a hero or a threat, so it's no wonder that his identity is muddled.

[John Venus]

Fate isn't your typical happy go lucky guy who happens upon great powers. He looks like he could be your typical superhero but peel back the layers and he just becomes downright eerie. You have a child, who was bonding with his father when his fathers dies via an accident and the same guy who (accidentally) killed his father raises him and teach him all he knows. His helmet grants him great powers but at the cost of chipping away at his mental health and basically possessing him. Only Martin Pasko and Walt Simonson's series really explored this inherent eeriness in Fate's origin.

[DrNewGod]

Fate isn't your typical happy go lucky guy who happens upon great powers. He looks like he could be your typical superhero but peel back the layers and he just becomes downright eerie. You have a child, who was bonding with his father when his fathers dies via an accident and the same guy who (accidentally) killed his father raises him and teach him all he knows. His helmet grants him great powers but at the cost of chipping away at his mental health and basically possessing him. Only Martin Pasko and Walt Simonson's series really explored this inherent eeriness in Fate's origin.

The story I've never seen, and always wanted, was why Nelson carried on as Dr. Fate. Not what Nabu wanted, but what kept Kent at it. Early on, I could see it, he knew nothing else. But after learning there was more to life, what kept him putting on that helmet?

[sifighter]

The story I've never seen, and always wanted, was why Nelson carried on as Dr. Fate. Not what Nabu wanted, but what kept Kent at it. Early on, I could see it, he knew nothing else. But after learning there was more to life, what kept him putting on that helmet?

I assume much like the rest of the JSA? That they have a need to do good in this world and that they see a continuous need for that over the course of their long lives. They started by saving the world in WW2 and then continued on from big supervillains, crises, and etc. not to mention now that they are about 100, training the next generation.

[MajorHoy]

. . . not to mention now that they are about 100, training the next generation.

Those that haven't already passed on, that is . . .

[sifighter]

Those that haven't already passed on, that is . . .

I mean yeah that’s true, but Ted Grant, Alan Scott, Carter Hall, and Jay Garrick are all still very much alive. That’s at least 4 others besides Kent. 5 if we still get to count Wonder Woman. And Spectre and Johnny Thunder are ghosts now so I’m not sure how to count them.

Really they only killed off Dr. Mid-nite, Black Canary, The Atom, Starman, and Sandman. Not sure if the original Hourman is still alive after Geoff Johns JSA where Rick got him out the clock dimension, I know he was in JSA All-stars but after that was Flashpoint so I have no idea if he’s back.

[Doctor Kent Nelson]

DC just need to stop #@#$ing around with the character. Dr Fate is magic-based, so a simple explanation as to why Kent is still alive and like John Venus said, Nelson has many layers under his psyche that a modern writer has failed to explore. Rather, it's all about killing him and putting someone unknown in his place to tick a few boxes at a corporate meeting. Unfortunately DeMatteis and Giffen started this musical helmet of fate rubbish.

[DrNewGod]

The story I've never seen, and always wanted, was why Nelson carried on as Dr. Fate. Not what Nabu wanted, but what kept Kent at it. Early on, I could see it, he knew nothing else. But after learning there was more to life, what kept him putting on that helmet?

I assume much like the rest of the JSA? That they have a need to do good in this world and that they see a continuous need for that over the course of their long lives. They started by saving the world in WW2 and then continued on from big supervillains, crises, and etc. not to mention now that they are about 100, training the next generation.

As so often, I failed to express my main point. Dr. Fate of the 1940s was Kent Nelson (at least, he was after they got around to showing who was under the helmet). For that characterization, yeah, your point about carrying on for the same reasons as the rest of the JSA works, although he dropped out of the game quite early. However, in the Bronze Age (I think that's when it was done) Kent Nelson was reconceptualized as a vessel for Nabu The Wise. So the question I'd like to see answered is what's Nelson's motivation for being someone else's sockpuppet. What kept him at it?

As an aside, one of the things I hated about seeing All-Star Squadron cancelled while it was still in 1942 internal-calendar-wise was wondering how Thomas had planned to handle characters whose features were dropped during the war years. Dr. Fate was an early one, and I wonder if Thomas planned to keep him around past his cancellation date, or if he had some plan for sending the good doctor into retirement?