Doctor Fate

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Fictional biography

The Golden Age Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson)

Kent Nelson was the son of an American archaeologist in the 1920s. While on an expedition to Egypt, Nelson's father opened the tomb of the wizard Nabu, and was killed for the violation. (Nabu is named after a god from Babylonian mythology. The Nabu of the DC Universe may be meant to be this god.) However, Nabu took pity on the orphaned Nelson and raised him himself, teaching him the skills of a wizard and bestowing upon him a mystical helm and amulet.

Related Topics:
American - Archaeologist - 1920s - Egypt - Tomb - Wizard - Mystical - Helm - Amulet

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By 1940, Nelson had returned to the United States and housed himself in an invisible tower in Salem, Massachusetts, and embarked on a career fighting crime and supernatural evil as the hero named Doctor Fate.

Related Topics:
1940 - Invisible - Salem, Massachusetts - Supernatural

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Fate was a founding member of the Justice Society of America, though he left the group around 1945. As Kent Nelson, he romanced and eventually married a redheaded woman named Inza. His powers as Fate kept the two of them young through the 1980s. In 1942, he stopped wearing his full-head helm and switched to a half-helm which left his mouth and chin exposed.

Related Topics:
Justice Society of America - 1945 - 1980s - 1942

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It was later established through a retcon in First Issue Special #9 (1975) that the full helmet contained the personality of Nabu, who partially replaced Nelson's own personality when he donned the helmet. Switching to the half-helmet left Nelson in charge, but also stripped him of much of his sorcerous might, leaving him merely strong, tough, and able to fly, essentially a second-rate Superman. Another retcon, in All-Star Squadron #27, revealed that Fate switched to the half-helm because a supervillain stole Nabu's helm and both helm and villain were cast into an alternate dimension.

Related Topics:
Retcon - First Issue Special - 1975 - Fly - Superman - All-Star Squadron - Supervillain

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Fate presumably retired - or simply disappeared from public life - in the late 1940s and was inactive through the 1950s along with most other Golden Age superheroes.

Related Topics:
1950s - Golden Age

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When the Justice Society reactivated in the 1960s, Fate was a member - again wearing Nabu's helmet, though how it was recovered has not been revealed. Little is known of Fate's adventures during this period save for the JSA's annual gatherings with the Justice League of America from the parallel world of Earth-1 (the JSA being on Earth-2), and a pair of adventures he shared with fellow JSA member Hourman facing the monstrous Solomon Grundy and the villainous Psycho Pirate.

Related Topics:
1960s - Justice League of America - Parallel world - Hourman - Solomon Grundy - Psycho Pirate

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The Strausses, Inza Nelson, and Jared Stevens

Fate was also a member of the JSA in the 1970s, though he had become increasingly erratic and withdrawn from humanity, though still committed to protecting Earth against supernatural menaces. In the 1980s, Fate briefly joined the Justice League, but Nabu's magic was failing to keep Kent and Inza Nelson young, and the pair finally died. Nabu bound together a pair of humans, Eric and Linda Strauss, into a new Doctor Fate, the pair merging into one being to become the hero, but otherwise living their own lives. With Nabu animating Kent Nelson's old body, the three were active for a couple of years, until Eric was killed by Darkseid and Linda, without him, abandoned the identity.

Related Topics:
1970s - 1980s - Darkseid

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It turned out that the Nelsons' souls had been residing in Fate's amulet. They were resurrected in new, young bodies, but this time it was Inza who had Fate's powers. As a female Doctor Fate, she spent a couple of years striving to improve the lot of humanity, later aided by Kent once he was able to regain his Superman-esque powers of earlier years. Through means unrevealed, the pair later began merging as the male Doctor Fate again.

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It was this Fate who faced the supervillain Extant in the Zero Hour crisis, scattering Fate's helm, amulet and cloak, and greatly aging the Nelsons, who returned to Salem.

Related Topics:
Supervillain - Extant - Zero Hour

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The artifacts were discovered by Jared Stevens, who transformed the helm into smaller weapons and began a career as a balance between chaos and order as Fate. During his one encounter with the Nelsons, the latter pair were killed by minions of a villain, and their souls returned to Fate's amulet.

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The Modern Age Doctor Fate (Hector Hall)

Stevens' career only lasted a few years, and in the late 1990s he was finally killed by agents of the wizard Mordru, who wanted Fate's equipment for his own uses. Nabu had arranged, however, for Hector Hall (the former Silver Scarab and son of the original Hawkman and Hawkgirl) to be reincarnated as the new Doctor Fate, and with the aid of the reformed Justice Society, this came to pass, and Hall took up the mantle.

Related Topics:
1990s - Mordru - Silver Scarab - Hawkman - Hawkgirl

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Hall has operated as Doctor Fate from Salem since then, with Nabu - again inhabiting the helm, but no longer controlling Fate - advising him. The Nelsons' souls still reside within the amulet, and they are occasionally able to contact the outside world (including Kent once having encountered the 1990s Starman). Hall's identity is known to a clever few who have figured it out, and in his secret identity he socializes with some of the inhabitants of Salem, being on the whole more gregarious than his predecessors.

Related Topics:
Starman - Secret identity

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The parents of Hector's current body are the late Hank Hall (no relation) and Dawn Granger, better known as the super-heroes Hawk and Dove. Since they were empowered by the Lords of Chaos and Order respectively, the new Doctor Fate is, like Stevens, an agent of balance.

Related Topics:
Hawk and Dove - Lords of Chaos and Order

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Most recently, Nabu has made an attempt to take control of Doctor Fate, and he has been trapped in the amulet by the Nelsons. At the same time, Hector's wife Lyta (a.k.a. Fury) was revealed to have been imprisoned by Nabu to manipulate Hector. They are now reunited.

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Notable is that Hector is the father of Daniel, the current Dream of the Endless.

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