Doctor Fate: 10 Things Only Comics Fans Know About The DC Comics Superhero

Legendary James Bond veteran Pierce Brosnan is set to play Doctor Fate in the upcoming Black Adam movie starring Dwayne Johnson. DCEU fans may not be familiar with the character, but he has a long history in DC Comics going back to the Golden Age, first appearing More Fun Comics #55 back in 1940.

Doctor Fate has been an integral part of the greater DC universe ever since, though he may not be as prominent even in the comics as say Superman or Batman. He shares some similarities with Doctor Strange, and actually very literally intersected with him in the comics back in the 90s.

10 Nabu The Wise

The concept of Doctor Fate begins with the ancient Mesopotamian god Nabu The Wise. In the original comics strip that introduced the character, archeologist Kent Nelson goes on an expedition with his father and discovers the tomb of Nabu.

Nabu trains Kent as a sorcerer, gifting him with several powerful artifacts, including The Amulet Of Anubis and the Cloak Of Destiny. His magical spells appear often as Egyptian hieroglyphs, such as an ankh, and he is among the most powerful magicians in the DC Comics universe.

9 The Helmet Of Fate

The most significant gift Nabu bestowed upon Kent Nelson was the Helmet Of Fate. The vast majority of his magical power comes from the helmet. Without it, he’s an accomplished sorcerer but limited in his ability.

At one point in the comics, the helmet contained the soul of Nabu himself and he inhabited the body of whoever wore the helmet. Later revisions to continuity, like Crisis Of Infinite Earths (adapted for the CW Arrowverse) changed this so Nabu was merely a mystical presence, available to guide the wearer if necessary.

8 Powers And Abilities

With the combined power of the Amulet Of Anubis, Cloak Of Destiny, and Helmet of Fate, Nelson gained a tremendous array of mystical powers.

Among them are illusion casting, invisibility, phasing, flight, levitation, astral projection, and many others. Perhaps the most significant powers Doctor Fate has are interstellar and dimensional teleportation. Doctor Fate can walk between dimensions, which makes him an ideal candidate to explore the concept of the multiverse in upcoming DC movies like Flashpoint.

7 Justice Society Of America

Doctor Fate became a founding member of the original Justice Society Of America in 1940, in All-Star Comics #3. Though a major member of the team at the time, he left the team in 1944 and only made sporadic appearances in the comics after. Later comics in the 70s and 80s expounded upon this era, revising elements of the JSA history here and there.

The canonical status of the team was severely compromised by changes made to DC history in Crisis On Infinite Earths in 1985, which led to more revisions down the line. Numerous other characters from the JSA will appear in the Black Adam movie.

6 Many Versions Of Doctor Fate

 Similar to the Martian Manhunter, recently introduced in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the Martian Manhunter has various versions through different iterations of DC continuity. Since the powers of Nabu can be bestowed to whoever wears the Helmet of Fate, numerous characters have taken the mantle beyond Kent Nelson.

After Kent died, the talismans of Nabu fell to Eric and Linda Strauss, successively. Other characters to be Doctor Fate (sometimes just Fate) include Khalid Nassour, Khalid Ben-Hassin, Hector Hall, Kent V. Nelson, and others.

5 The Fate Of Kingdom Come

The version of Doctor Fate in the seminal 90s comic book series Kingdom Come is unique among all the versions of the character. This version featured Nabu The Wise able to manifest through the Helmet and Cloak without the need for a living host. This gave him a spectral appearance that glowed bright yellow.

Doctor Fate sided with Batman in the epic clash between heroes in the story, trying to deescalate an apocalyptic battle between newer, more ‘extreme’ heroes like Magog and classical heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman.

4 Lord Of Order

Nabu, and consequently Doctor Fate, are more than simply powerful mystics. They are together a Lords Of Order, beings of great mystical power that represent order in the universe.

They are diametrically opposed to the Lords Of Chaos, whose ambition goes beyond their title. The Lords Of Chaos seek to bring about “kali yuga”, where chaos reigns supreme throughout existence. The Lords Of Order are in a constant battle to preserve some equilibrium and defend against the coming of chaos.

3 Justice League Dark

Doctor Fate has been part of various superhero teams over the years. One of the most unique is Justice League Dark, which is set to be a streaming series for HBOMax from producer J.J. Abrams. This team is specifically dedicated to handling mystical threats and is composed of some of DC’s heaviest hitters in the magic department.

The team first came together in 2011, as part of the New 52 reboot of DC continuity. Other team members have included John Constantine, Madame Xanadu, Swamp Thing, Shade: The Changing Man, and Zatanna, who will be the subject of a movie written by Promising Young Woman writer and director Emerald Fennell.

2 Detective Chimp

One of the most unique and unlikely friendships in Justice League-related comics belongs to Doctor Fate and Detective Chimp. He first appeared in 1959, at the dawn of the Silver Age, but his major interaction with Doctor Fate came decades later.

In the 2005 Days Of Vengeance crossover, the current Doctor Fate dies and leaves custody of the Helmet Of Fate to Detective Chimp. Chimp tries it on for size, but it won’t fit, so he has Shazam throw it into outer space. It eventually comes back, into the hands of Kent V. Nelson, the grandson of the original Doctor Fate.

1 Doctor Strangefate

Doctor Fate and Doctor Strange share some similarities in terms of power and appearance. Those shared traits were exploited in the 90s when Marvel and DC joined forces for a unique crossover called Amalgam Comics.

This one-time event combined similar heroes and villains from both universes. Fate and Strange were mashed together into the form of Doctor Strangefate, with the added bonus of also being an amalgamation of Charles Xavier, Professor X.

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