Secret Identity: Kent Nelson
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 197 lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond
Occupation: Archaeologist, University Lecturer & Surgeon
Family: Son of Sven Nelson and Celestine Babcock. Kent Nelson
is married to Inza Cramer and for a brief moment of time, they had a
son called Kent. Kent's nephew is Aaron Babcock.
Residence: New Salem
Current Status: Apparently back from the Deceased
History:
Before the dawn of man, the earliest sentient beings in the Universe were from the planet Cilia
who evolved into the Lords of Order. These immortal beings pledged war on their chaotic brothers, the
Lords of Chaos and vowed to rid the universe of chaos. For millions of years, they waged battle on each
other, neither gaining an advantage over the other. During 3500BC, an outspoken Lord of Order called
Nabu challenged the way order was enforced on Earth. His punishment was banishment on Earth. Until
Nabu learned to think as the Lords of Order did, he would not return to the realm of order. Nabu took on
the form of an Egyptian magician to help the Pharaohs of Egypt battle chaos. An Egyptian priest named
Khalis (See 1st Issue Special #9) prayed to Anubis for magnificent power. The God Anubis, a Lord of
Chaos, offered the priest the amulet of Anubis to destroy Nabu. Nabu eventually defeated the priest of
Anubis but rather than destroying him, Nabu had him mummified alive as punishment for his crimes.
Nabu recovered the amulet of Anubis which he used to increase his godly power on Earth. Over the
centuries Nabu had grown weak from battling chaos and eventually put himself and his host body in a
deep sleep (a state of suspended animation) where he would wait for the next host body.
Almost five millennia later a young boy named Kent Nelson was born in 1928 (post-crisis) to
Celestine Babcock Nelson, a spiritual and Sven Nelson, a archaeologist. Kent's mother died sometime
after his birth under unknown circumstances. However, Kent's destiny was already written and at the age
of 12, his sheltered life would soon change. It was the early 1940's and Sven Nelson had decided to take
his son Kent on a dig to the Valley of Ur in Mesopotamia to an archaeological site. The natives were too
scared to enter the temple, fearing curses and the wrath of god which did not disturb Sven Nelson. Sven
and Kent ventured into the temple of Nabu the Wise that would soon change their lives. Kent wandered
around the temple and stumbled upon an ancient sarcophagus containing the giant body of Nabu the
Wise, an ancient Egyptian sorcerer. Kent felt that he had to pull the lever that was keeping Nabu asleep
after a thousands of years. After pulling the lever that kept Nabu in suspended animation, a poisonous
gas swept through the temple and killed Sven Nelson but left Kent unharmed.
As gratitude for his release, Nabu would offer to teach the boy magic. Kent did not want this
power but only to have his father back but with a wave of his hand, Nabu had removed all knowledge of
Sven's death from the boy. Within that week, Nabu had transformed Kent into a full grown man and
taught him the ways of mysticism, order and power. Nabu's last wish was for Kent to release all his
power on his master, Kent could not kill his master as he had grown attached to Nabu. Nabu made a
gesture of his hand and Kent remembered that the gas that freed Nabu had killed his father. In an angry
rage, Kent summoned all his power to destroy the murderer of his father. At that instant, Nabu's true
origin was revealed to Kent, Nabu was an energy being , a Lord of Order. Nabu explained the
circumstances of his fathers death and the never ending battle between Order and Chaos. As a final gift,
Nabu gave Kent a golden helmet and an amulet that would increase his powers. When Kent wore the
Helmet, he was joined with Nabu and earth would once again have a Lord of Order.
During Kent's first adventure as Dr.Fate, he fought his first adversary, the evil sorcerer Wotan
and rescued Inza Cramer from his evil clutches. Kent fell in love with Inza and
they soon married. (The true power of Dr.Fate was for man and woman to be joined but Nabu had
blocked the process so he could control Kent. Thus the trinity of Inza, Kent and Nabu could not be
performed) Fate magically created a tower in Salem Massachusetts as base of operations where he
would become Earth's mystic defender. Dr. Fate's first encounter with a hero of that era was the Spectre,
the wrath of God. Together they destroyed a military gateway to a netherworld of demons. It was World War II and America was pulled into the war, Dr. Fate and many other mystery
men help defeat an assassination attempt of President Roosevelt's life. At Roosevelt's request, they
formed the Justice Society of America.
During this time, Kent found the helmet becoming more and more possessive of him, so rather
than abandoning his battle against chaos, Kent created the half helm. Although Kent's powers were
severely limited, he still had the ability of flight, invulnerability and super strength. However, Kent donned
the helmet one last time in order to find the missing Spectre. Dr. Fate discovered that the Spectre was
under the control of Kulak and in a titanic battle with the Spectre, he was defeated and the helmet of
Nabu was lost somewhere in the netherverse. It would not be until the early 1960's that Kent Nelson
would somehow recover the helmet of Nabu and become Dr. Fate again. (All-Star Squadron #27-30) In
the 1950's Kent Nelson had retired his fate persona and became a physician. It was not until the 1963
that Kent would rejoin the Justice Society of America. As their Justice Society comrades aged, Kent and
Inza seemed immortal. The magic fate held over them, virtually stopped their aging process. Inza and
Kent also received a small portion of Ian Karkulls power (All-Star Squadron Annual #3) which gave them
even more vitality.
For the next 20 years, Dr. Fate participated with the JSA and JLA.
Dr.Fate was also the founder of new Justice League (Legends #66) where he and the Justice
League foiled the plans of Darkseid to turn the people of earth against heroes. Kent lasts adventure was
against the Gray Man. (JLI #7) During the late 1980's (Dr.Fate mini-series 1987) chaos and order were at
breaking point. It was the Kuli Yuga, the final age of man. Order had pulled out of battle, waiting for
Chaos to engulf itself to create the new Golden Age. The strain of the Kali Yuga on Kent and Inza had
caused them both to age rapidly. The strain on Inza was unbearable, in 1987, Inza committed suicide
which left Kent devastated and on the verge of suicide. Nabu had become more dominant in the
relationship and would not allow Kent to die until he could find a new host body. Kent reluctantly helped
Nabu find Eric Strauss as his protegee as the new Fate. It was only during these short few weeks that
Kent discovered that Dr. Fate was meant to be a triad. Man, Woman and Fate. Kent broke the hold of
Nabu over Fate which allowed Eric Strauss and his lover Linda to become the new Dr. Fate. Nabu
allowed Kent to die. The Nelsons enjoyed an afterlife in which they lived normal lives unknowingly in the
amulet of Anubis. They raised a child called Kent and once again Fate would play a role in their lives
again.
In desperation, Nabu travels to the Tower of Fate in Salem, to prepare the way for the TRUE Dr.
Fate, Kent and Inza Nelson. As the they look into the amulet of Anubis, they see the souls of Kent and
Inza Nelson. Jack C. Small and Petey venture into the amulet to find the Nelsons while Linda and Nabu
prepare to fight Benjamin Stoner. With Nabu's help, Linda can touch the items and become Fate with
Nabu. Nabu and Linda create a four armed Dr. Fate to battle the Anti-Fate. However, they fail and the
Anti-Fate rejects the Lords of Chaos. Within the amulet, Jack C. Small and Petey discover that Hesse is
inside the amulet. With his help they find the Nelsons and try to persuade them to come back to earth.
Inza called this world heaven as the Nelson's could live the life they wanted to live. In this world, they
even had a son called Kent junior. Inza does not want to leave this so-called heaven but eventually
agrees that they could make this life happen on Earth.
Linda dies from her wounds from the battle with the Anti-Fate as her soul goes into Wendy, a
woman who just recently died. There she is rejoined with her husband Eugene (Eric) and their daughter
Raina where they will become the new seeds of humanity. Nabu is given the choice between humanity
and being an immortal Lord of Order, he chooses humanity and his soul goes into Wendy's unborn child.
Kent Nelson & Inza Nelson become the new Doctor Fate.
In 1994, Dr. Fate was once again formed into the male Dr. Fate but under the control of Kent and
Inza. During Zero Hour, Dr. Fate led the Justice Society on its last battle against Extant, a minion of
Parallax. Extant defeated the JSA and as he had the power of both a Lord of Order and Chaos, he forced
the split of Dr. Fate, flinging the helmet and amulet through the netherverse which would eventually return
to Egypt, a nexus of Fate's power. Kent and Inza were aged tried to recover the items of Fate from Jared
Stevens, a mercenary who would later become the new Fate. The items rejected Kent and Inza and the
Nelsons had to choose Jared Stevens as the new holder of Fate. After a deadly battle with Kingdom, the
Nelsons were killed and were eventually allowed into the afterlife yet again. (See Fate I) During the
quickest retcon in history (See Fate II), the history of Jared Stevens was rewritten again. Kent and Inza
did not die after giving the items to Jared Stevens but became energy beings and their current Fate is
unknown.
Powers/Skills/Weaknesses:
Doctor Fate's magical powers are broad. These powers are derived from the possession of Kent
Nelson by Fate, a lord of Order called Nabu. Fate resides in the Helm of Nabu. When Kent dons the
helmet, he only vaguely remembers the experiences of Fate. The Golden Age Dr.Fate was one of the
most powerful heroes in the DCU, maybe second to that of the Spectre. ( See All-Star Squadron #27-29
where Dr.Fate fights a possessed Spectre) Dr.Fate was almost invulnerable to physical and magical
attacks and was capable of summoning large amounts of magic to perform various feats. Those who
wear the helmet can have access to the power/possession of Fate only if the helmet chooses.
However in the Legends story line, one of Darkseids lackeys, Glorious Godfrey had stolen the
helmet of Nabu and could not comprehend the powers and knowledge of the helmet and was stripped of
his intelligence. In the early 40's Kent Nelson decided not to use the helmet anymore as Fate became
more and more possessive of the host. Rather than giving up his hero days, Kent created a half helmet,
similar to the Helmet of Nabu but with the bottom half of his face visible. Although his powers
dramatically dropped, he was still one of the most powerful members of the Justice Society of American.
Kent eventually lost the helmet when fighting the Spectre in All-Star Squadron #29 and the helmet of
Nabu was recovered 20 years later. Kent and Inza Nelson are both immortal, a gift from Nabu, the lord of
Order. Kent Nelson knows jujitsu
Ability to summon & use large amounts of magic to perform almost any feat such as shields,
teleportation, increasing size etc.
Ability to create objects
Ability to summon creatures or banish creatures
Ability to travel through the time-stream
Flight
Speed
Super Strength
Almost invulnerable
Formidable opponent at Hand-to-hand Combat & Jujitsu
Without the helmet, Kent Nelson in an ordinary mortal. Without a mortal host, Fate cannot visit
the earthly plane. However, in the training of Kent Nelson (20 years in pre-crisis while 1 day in
post-crisis), Nabu taught Kent to use the following powers without the helmet; the ability of flight, super
strength and invulnerability. Although Fate cannot be destroyed, the mortal hosts main weakness is that
he requires to breathe. Areas where oxygen lacks or gases may harm the mortal host unless a spell has
been cast to protect the body. However, as seen in All-Star Comics #10 Kent Nelson can hold his breath
for a long time from his training with Nabu.
