Three Years After His Film Debut, This Black Adam Star Remains One of DC’s Most Underutilized Assets

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DC Comics has legions of incredible characters, with many of these having their roots in the Golden Age of Comics. This is the case for Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, as well as the original versions of Green Lantern, The Flash, Hawkman and others. One other character who debuted in this era has consistently stayed around, but he’s rarely been given his due, despite his potential.

Doctor Fate is one of DC’s oldest characters and its first major magical hero, and he’s consistently tied to the Justice Society of America. Sadly, he usually goes without an ongoing comic book of his own, and that’s when he’s even acknowledged by DC. In the decades since his introduction, Doctor Fate has essentially been usurped by characters published by DC and other companies, but this shows a potential path forward in terms of pushing him into the spotlight.

Doctor Fate’s Lack of Use Belies His Long Comic Book History

First Appearance: More Fun Comics #55 by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman

Debuting about two years after the first appearance of Superman, Doctor Fate is a mantle that’s been carried by eight different people. The original version was Kent Nelson, the son of an archaeologist who was looking for the Helmet of Nabu. This artifact and the Nabu entity itself chose Kent as its new host, engineering its release and the death of Kent’s father to take the young man under his wing. Becoming Doctor Fate, an agent of the Lords of Order, Kent Nelson’s grief was traded for immense powers of a supernatural nature.

These abilities are tied to the Helmet of Fate, making Fate’s powers nearly limitless. His classic adventures were heavily inspired by similar fantasy and horror works, namely the stories of H.P. Lovecraft and the various Fu Manchu novels (among other works) by the writer Sax Rohmer. These creepy, pulp-like elements fit the era perfectly, and Doctor Fate’s more fantasy-derived concepts and powers made him stand out compared to the other “mystery men” superheroes who were also founding members of the Justice Society of America.

The second incarnation seen in comics was Eric and Linda Strauss, a stepmother and her stepson who united into the new Doctor Fate. They were replaced by Inza Cramer (who herself became Kent Nelson’s wife), with her successor being the infamous Jared Stevens, who simply used the name Fate. Eschewing the character’s usual tropes and wielding a shard of the Helmet of Fate as a knife, Stevens was a dark and gritty demon hunter who more than blended in with the more brutal developments seen after Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The next Doctor Fate was Hector Hall, the son of the Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl (and the husband of Golden Age Wonder Woman’s daughter, Fury), who’s himself a victim of their meandering continuity. Kent V. Nelson was the next version and the grandnephew of the original, while Khalid Ben-Hassin was an original incarnation seen in the New 52 reboot in the series Earth-2. The current Doctor Fate is Khalid Nassour, who was previously a protégé of Kent Nelson.

Given all these mantle swaps, fans might expect the character to be a big deal. Despite this and his long history in the medium, Doctor Fate has rarely been seen as even a B-list DC character. This is due to his only occasionally having an ongoing series of his own and the fact that he’s so intimately tied to the Justice Society of America. Thus, when that team goes into disuse or has its continuity radically altered, Doctor Fate is similarly changed or put on the backburner.

Collected versions of his comics aren’t common, and he’s only now receiving an upcoming omnibus by creator J.M. DeMatteis. This has kept him fairly obscure, even though his magical prowess should logically see him as a lot more prominent. Likewise, he’s even appeared in most animated and live-action DC Comics continuities, be it the DC Animated Universe, the TV show Smallville and even the DC Extended Universe in the 2022 movie Black Adam. Ironically, the movies are a major source of newfound fame for Doctor Fate’s counterpart from another company, and this only highlights how DC is missing several major opportunities with the hero.

Doctor Fate’s Marvel Counterpart Shows the Path to Success

First Appearance: Strange Tales #110 by Steve Ditko

Doctor Strange came after Doctor Fate and debuted in the Silver Age, but he’s arguably always been a bigger deal. While he’s still far from the success seen with characters such as Spider-Man and the X-Men, the master of the mystic arts has long been recognizable, especially among hardcore Marvel fans and those who love the company’s more esoteric paranormal publications.

This has only increased in the past decade due to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has pushed the character of Doctor Strange more than ever. It remains to be seen how much of this was “organic”, so to speak, as it’s becoming abundantly clear that the popularity of some Marvel Studios movies and characters hinged more upon the overall interest and momentum of the MCU during and before 2019. Still, it’s inarguable that Doctor Strange is more popular than ever, and Marvel has taken advantage of this since it happened.

He’s increasingly treated as the go-to source and master when it comes to all things supernatural, and this also gives him ties to more horror-based characters such as Ghost Rider, Blade and the Midnight Sons. This puts Doctor Strange in an interesting position as a character, namely due to his ties to the Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

While he deals with more physical and blatantly “superheroic” threats on occasion, he’s also well-suited for more fantasy-based storytelling that can sometimes take experimental and even trippy forms. As he’s one of the few “classic” MCU characters who remain in use and fairly popular, this recent push will likely remain in place for him. Marvel is finally respecting its Sorcerer Supreme like never before, which is why DC needs to act accordingly when it comes to an even older character.

Doctor Fate Can Be Central to DC’s Magical Trinity

The Hero Deserves to Be Right Besides Two Other Mystical DC Comics Characters

Doctor Fate isn’t the only major magical DC character, but he should logically be the most prominent of them. After all, the Helmet of Fate and the powers of Nabu give him limitless magical knowledge, and this is a fact that should be increasingly emphasized and revered. At the same time, he rarely casts spells on his power, and this makes him different from what some fans might expect.

The other two big names in terms of DC’s magical “Trinity” would be John Constantine – the Hellblazer – and the theatrical magician Zatanna. The latter is both a stage magician and a practitioner of actual magic, and she has her own untapped potential. On the other hand, when written well and not like a generic superhero, John Constantine is more of a magically inclined scoundrel who deals with his issues through trickery. This allows these three to occupy different spaces from each other, and it would be wise for DC to use them accordingly.

Zatanna has almost always been a second-stringer at best, but that may finally be changing. Her recent miniseries Zatanna: Bringing Down the House was well-received, and she now has an ongoing by Jamal Campbell that’s already being lauded for its art. It seems that she’s finally being given the momentum and promotion she always needed, and now, all that’s left is to do the same for Doctor Fate.

In a sense, he can occupy the “Superman” role of this Trinity, with Constantine and Zatanna as his equivalents to Batman and Wonder Woman, respectively. It helps that each of these characters has their own broader ties to the wider DC Universe. For instance, Constantine is connected to Justice League Dark and the Vertigo DC Comics characters, Zatanna is a member of several Justice League teams, Shadowpact and the Sentinels of Magic and Doctor Fate is related to both the Justice League and the Justice Society.

Thus, it’s only logical that Doctor Fate’s presence be known throughout the DC Universe, especially if it results in more comic books. These could each focus on the different bearers of the Doctor Fate mantle from throughout the years. A miniseries based on Kent Nelson’s Doctor Fate could echo DC’s brief “The New Golden Age” banner of comics, while an ongoing could instead focus on Khalid Nassour.

These shouldn’t be generic superhero comic books, either, but instead borderline horror comics in the pulp fantasy tradition. Any version of Doctor Fate is worthy of a darker, more mature “Black Label”, and this might be the best place to redeem the contentious Jared Stevens.

Constantine hit it big in the Vertigo books published by DC, so Doctor Fate could see similar success in a more experimental story that’s not as bogged down by continuity. No matter what form this takes, the character has a lot of potential that the publisher isn’t utilizing. Thankfully, this can be fixed by simply taking what’s worked for similar characters and playing to Fate’s strengths.

“}]] Doctor Fate has never cast a spell of popularity, but the success of other characters is the reason for DC to finally give him the magic touch.  Read More