I took a deep dive into the mystical side of DC Comics to put together this new guide for Pledgeonaut Patrons of CK, and I was surprised to learn that the hero whose guide I was constructing has actually been nearly a dozen different characters over the course of their 80 years of comics history! Prepare yourself to enter the often-deadly magical side of DC, which has killed many versions of this hero along the way, with my… Guide to Doctor Fate!
I’ve always worked from the assumption that Doctor Fate is a major DC hero.
Why? Because I had his Kenner “Super Powers” toy as a little kid, and surely every hero who merited a unique sculpt in that legendary toy line was a major force in the DC Universe.
As it turns out, the story is slightly more complex than that.
Doctor Fate is not a singular hero in the DC Universe, but a heroic mantle and set of mystical powers that are often (but not always) connected to Nabu and the Lords of Order. It’s like how Doctor Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme, only if Strange died a lot more frequently and other people took up the role.
Actually, maybe it’s more like Buffy The Vampire Slayer…
The original Doctor Fate, Kent Nelson, lasted for over 45 years without dying – spanning from his introduction in DC’s Golden Age in 1940, through his Silver and Bronze age status as a member of the Earth Two Justice Society of America, and past Crisis on Infinite Earths to become a part of the modern DC Universe in 1987. For a brief moment in time, it seemed like he was poised to be one of the heavyweight heroes of DC’s new pantheon.
Maybe that’s why he merited a toy?
However, DC had a major shake-up in store for Doctor Fate and Kent Nelson. In the new DC Universe, Doctor Fate was a persistent presence… but his hosts were mere mortals. After writing out Nelson, DC would cycle through six hosts of Fate from 1988 to 2011, with each meeting an untimely end (usually during an event) before a new one was introduced. After maintaining a Fate title in some form for most of the 90s, the characters were mostly relegated to being JSA team members in the 2000s.
That made creating this guide both easier and harder than the typical guide for a singular DC hero. On one hand, I had much less continuity to worry about, and finite numbers of guest appearances! On the other hand, every time I thought I had the hang of a certain version of Fate and where they appeared, it was off-with-their-head (not literally) and onto the next.
Adding to my confusion, I’ve only read the most-modern Doctor Fates – who are Khalid Nassour as well as Kent Nelson, so I spent the entirety of the guide-making process asking, “But… he’s coming back… right?” It turns out that didn’t happen until the very bring of DC’s Rebirth in 2017.
Ah, DC. Is it a comic universe with consistent, comprehensible continuity, or just some kind of elaborate scam to market Batman across the globe? I’ll never be sure.
If you are a $1.99/month Patron of CK checking out this Guide to Doctor Fate upon its launch, you might notice it makes frequent references to another guide which isn’t live yet. Hmm… I wonder if we might be seeing that guide sometime very soon…
Patrons of Crushing Krisis currently have access to…
Exclusives for Crushing Cadets ($1/month): 28 Guides!
DC Guides (6): Batman – Index of Ongoing Titles, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Green Lantern Corps, Green Lantern: Hal Jordan, Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner, Omega Men
Marvel Guides (22): Alpha Flight, Angela, Beta Ray Bill, Black Cat, Blade, Captain Britain, Dazzler, Domino, Dracula, Elsa Bloodstone, Heroes For Hire, Legion, Marvel Era: Marvel Legacy, Mister Sinister, Sabretooth, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – present), Thunderstrike, Valkyrie, Vision, Weapon X, X-Man – Nate Grey
Exclusives For Pledgeonauts ($1.99+/month): 57 Guides!
All of the 28 guides above, plus 29 more…
DC Guides (14): Animal Man, Aquaman, Books of Magic, Catwoman, Doctor Fate, Flash, Harley Quinn, Houses & Horrors, Justice League, Mister Miracle, Nightwing, Outsiders, Suicide Squad, Swamp Thing
Marvel Guides (14): Ant-Man & Giant-Man, Champions, Darkhawk, Falcon, Gwenpool, Hellcat – Patsy Walker, Loki, Moon Boy / Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, Power Pack, Red She-Hulk, Sentry, Silk, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Venom
Indie & Licensed Comics: None right now
[…] working on the Guide to Doctor Fate launch earlier this week for Pledgeonaut Patrons of CK, I realized it was time for me to finally […]