Doctor Fate

Doctor Fate is the main character in a series of comic books of the same name that the US publisher DC Comics has been publishing since 1940.

The Doctor Fate comics are about the adventures of a magician of the same name, whose most distinctive feature is a metallic gold helmet that covers his entire head except for his eyes and from which he draws his superhuman powers.

The comics about Doctor Fate represent a mixture of adventure comics and magical-mystical themes, which can be understood as a sub-genre of the American superhero comics.

Standard version of the fabric

In the original version of the "Doctor Fate" stories - which, despite occasional reinterpretations, has remained the most formative to this day - Doctor Fate hides a mysterious man named Kent Nelson, who, thanks to his mastery of only vaguely described mystical arts, is equipped with two powerful artifacts - the helmet of Nabu and the amulet of Anubis - there are all kinds of adventures.

As a protector of humanity from threats of a supernatural kind, Fate travels the most different corners of the world as well as various legendary and fictional mythical and mystical spheres, such as other dimensions, the afterlife and the underworld, in order to repel threats of a magical or otherwise supernatural kind. His opponents include the magicians Wotan, Ian Karkull, Nergal, Mr. Who, The Clock, The Octopus and Mad Dog as well as various crazy scientists, mafiosi and other criminals.

Doctor Fate's visual trademark is the helmet of Nabu, a magical helmet made of gold that is the main source of his powers. In most of the stories, Fate also wears a kind of costume, in accordance with the conventions of the American superhero genre, that consists of a blue robe and a large yellow cape.

In this version, Nelson's skills as a magician are traced back to an event in his childhood: in 1920, Kent Nelson, around twelve years old, accompanied his father - the American archaeologist Sven Nelson - to archaeological excavations in the valley of Ur in the Mesopotamian desert, during which they found the tomb of expose ancient magician Nabu. After Sven Nelson has a fatal accident, Nabu - who is still alive in his grave as an undead dead because of his magic - takes the orphaned Kent under his wing and teaches him as his student in his arts. In the following years Nelson matured into a magician of great mastery. Nabu finally hands him a powerful helmet (the helmet of Nabu) and an amulet (amulet of Anubis), which massively strengthen Nelson's magical abilities.

In 1940 Nelson finally returned to the United States, where he took up residence in an invisible tower in Salem, Massachusetts. Given the numerous threats that humanity is facing at this point in time, Nelson and his partner Inza Cramer take up the fight against them. He is also supported by Nabu, whose spirit is inherent in the Nabu helmet and who advises him with his wisdom.

Later versions

During the Second World War , the Doctor Fate series developed at times into a pure superhero series, in which the previously dominant themes of magic and mysticism were given up: Instead, the character Doctor Fate was remodeled into a doctor who instead dealt with psychic ones Had to deal with threats from common criminals.

After Kent Nelson relived stories from the early 1960s to the late 1980s that were in the same vein as his early adventures - that is, they revolved around magicians and wizardry - an important innovation was introduced in the early 1980s by the Inza Cramer made part of Doctor Fate: In a story, Kent Nelson and Inza acquired the ability to magically connect to the person of Doctor Fate, who was able to draw on the knowledge and experience of both people.

At the end of the 1980s, DC finally decided to completely replace Nelson as Doctor Fate: To this end, the publishing house Kent Nelson died without further ado, in order to replace him with a new Doctor Fate: This was the young Eric of the artifacts of Doctor Fate inherited. Like Fate with Inza, Strauss was able to merge with his stepmother Linda Strauss if necessary through a kind of fusion into a single personality and transform into Doctor Fate.

In 1990 the Doctor Fate identity passed from the Strauss' to Inza Cramer, who had her own adventures as the new Doctor Fate for about a year, which were philosophically influenced and mainly revolved around her attempts to make the world a better place.

In 1994, with the character of Jared Stevens, another new Doctor Fate was introduced: Stevens, who called himself “Fate” for short, was introduced as a mercenary in his own series - which was first known as Fate and then as The Book of Fate appropriated Doctor Fate's helmet and amulet, forged them into a dagger and a bracelet to use as weapons in his battles against supernatural threats.

In 1999, Jared Stevens was left to die in the course of a new edition of the Justice Society as part of a new team series and the now restored artifacts of Doctor Fate were transferred to a new character named Hector Hall, who joined the Justice Society as the new Doctor Fate. In addition to the Justice Society series of the same name , this character was also placed at the center of its own five-part miniseries.

In the latest variant of the material, a short-lived series published in 2007, the late Kent Nelson's great-nephew, Kent V. Nelson, takes on the identity of Doctor Fate.

Publications under the title "Doctor Fate"

The character of Doctor Fate was first featured in a story by author Gardner Fox that was published in More Fun Comics # 55 in May 1940 . The visual design for the figure goes back to the draftsman Howard Sherman , who also did the drawings for the first Doctor Fate stories. A superhero-typical origin story about Fate was first told in More Fun Comics # 67 from May 1941.

During the Second World War, Fate experienced further adventures in the More Fun Comics and - as a member of the Justice Society of America's superhero team - in the All Star Comics . His last adventure of his own was in Mor Fun Comics # 98 in July – August 1944, and in the JSA stories he last appeared in All Star Comics # 21 from the summer of 1944.

In the 1960s, Doctor Fate was revived as a character to appear in the annual Justice League of America series of team-up stories in which members of the Justice League of America superhero team (Superman, Batman, etc.) shared adventures with their 1940s predecessor, the Justice Society of America. It was revealed that both teams lived on parallel worlds (the JLA on Earth 1 and the JSA on Earth 2) and could visit each other through dimensional portals. Such a joint JLA / JSA story appeared in the Justice League series every year until the 1980s .

In addition, several other stories appeared in the 1970s and 1980s in which Doctor Fate is adventuring together with other DC characters: In World's Finest Comics # 208 from December 1971 and DC Comics Presents # 23 from July 1980, Fate acted alongside Superman while he meets Batman in The Brave and the Bold # 156 of November 1979 . In 1st Issue Special # 9 of December 1975 (author: Martin Pasko, draftsman: Walt Simonson ), for the first time in more than thirty years, a story was presented that revolved solely around Doctor Fate.

From February to September 1982, Doctor Fate solo stories were published as back-up stories in issues 305-313 of series The Flash . These were written as authors by Cary Bates (305), Martin Pasko (# 306 to 309) and Steve Gerber (# 310-313).

In 1986, DC released the three-part mini-series The Immortal Doctor Fate , which consisted of reprints of older material (the back-p stories from Flash # 305-313; a story from More Fun Comics # 56, DC Special Series # 10, and 1st Issue Special # 9)

In the late 1980s, a miniseries called Doctor Fate was released, followed by an ongoing series designed by Jean Marc DeMattheiss and Shawn McManus . William Messner-Loebs later took over the reins as an author.

In the 1990s followed the series Fate and Book of Fate , which revolved around the new Doctor Fate, the mercenary Jaredd Stevens and ran from 1994 to 1996.

In 2007, DC launched a series of one-shots that deal with how Doctor Fate's helmet looks for a new wearer after Hall's death: Each of these separately readable stories briefly encounters a different character from the DC universe into possession of the helmet before it wanders on: Detective Chimp , Ibis the Invincible, Sargon the Sorcerer, the angel Zauriel and Black Alice experience adventures wearing Fate's helmet, without either of them being able to master his magic permanently.

Following these one-shots, a new Doctor Fate series was launched, the first edition of which appeared in February 2007. Steve Gerber acted as the author , while Paul Gulacy could be won as the draftsman . The series was discontinued after the eighth edition in September 2007 due to the sudden death of Gerber. The seventh edition was written by Adam Beechen based on Gerber's concept notes , while the eighth edition was a collaborative effort by Beechen, Gail Simone , Mark Waid, and Mark Evanier , with each author presenting an alternative ending for the same starting plot.

action

Minor characters

The main supporting character in the Doctor Fate stories is Fate's partner Inza Cramer (also Inza Sanders and Inza Carmer in early stories before the Cramer name caught on in the 1960s).

In 2007, a series of one-shots appeared in which the Fate helmet briefly came into the possession of a different magical figure from the DC universe: In the course of their own one-shots, Detective Chimp, Ibis the Invincible, Sargon the Sorcererer, Zauriel and Black Alice adventure with Fate helmet. Following these booklets, a new Doctor Fate series was brought onto the market, the first edition of which appeared in February 2007. Steve Gerber acted as the author, while Paul Gulacy could be won as the draftsman. The series was discontinued after the eighth edition due to Gerber's sudden death. The seventh edition was written by Adam Beechen based on Gerber's concept notes, while the eighth edition was a collaborative effort by Beechen, Gail Simone, Mark Waid and Mark Evanier, who each presented an alternative ending for the same original storyline.

Adaptations in other media

The character of Doctor Fate has so far appeared in various television series based on characters from the DC universe. The character was in various episodes of the animated series Superman (episode "The Hand of Fate", originally dubbed by George Del Hoyo ), The Justice League and in the cartoon Justice League. The New Frontier used. Furthermore, Fate was in episodes of the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold (episode "The Eye of Despero!" And "The Fate of Equinox"; originally dubbed by Greg Ellis ) and Young Justice (episode "Denial"; dubbed by Edward Asner ) built in.

Fate was first portrayed by a real-life actor in the series Smallville , in which Brent Stait appeared in the double episode Absolute Justice in 2010 .

So far, Doctor Fate has also produced six different action figures, all of which are based on the Kent Nelson version of the material: The first two appeared in 1985 as part of the “Super Powers Collection” from the toy manufacturer Kenner, who sold them with a mini-comic. In 2000, DC Direct released a Doctor Fate figure as part of the Mystics, Mages and Magicicans series. In 2009 two different Fate figures appeared as part of the "Series 8 - Giganta" series on DC Universe Classics. In December 2009, a two-figure set “Dr. Fate versus Wotan ”as part of the“ Batman The Brave and the Bold ”figure series.

In 2017, the character of Doctor Fate made an appearance in Injustice 2. There, as an omniscient magician, he saw the threat to earth from the alien Brainiac. His helmet, however, drove him slightly crazy and he initially seems implausible.