Kent Nelson was born in 1928 to Sven Nelson, a noted archaeologist, and Celestine Babcock Nelson, a spiritual medium. Celestine died under unknown circumstances shortly after Kent's birth, and Kent became a tagalong for his globe-trotting father. In 1940, Sven and Kent were conducting a dig in the Valley of Ur in Mesopotamia when the younger Nelson stumbled upon an ancient sarcophagus containing the giant body of the mystic, Nabu the Wise. Upon opening the sarcophagus, Kent released poison gas which immediately killed his father.
Nabu, a mystical Lord of Order originally from the planet Cilia, took pity on the boy and used his magic to block the grief from the young boy's mind. Over the intervening months, Nabu schooled the boy in the ways of mysticism, teaching him to cast spells and fly. During this time, Kent aged years instead of weeks and had grown to adulthood by late summer. Kent had grown fond of Nabu, but the Lord of Order required one last act, his own death. Hesitant, Nabu removed the inhibitions he had placed on his student's grief. Enraged by his father's death, Kent slew the old wizard. His body destroyed, Nabu revealed his true nature: an energy being, a millennia-old Lord of Order. Presenting Kent with two gifts: a helm and an amulet, he was joined with Nabu who used his body as an agent against the Lords of Chaos, becoming Dr. Fate. On his first adventure as Dr. Fate, Kent Nelson rescued Inza Cramer from the warlock Wotan, and eventually married her. By virtue of Nabu's talismans the couple retained their youth for decades - but eventually the strains of battling the forces of chaos caused the spells to fail and the couple rapidly aged and died, entering the spirit world within the Amulet of Anubis.
Refusing to cede his battle against chaos, Nabu chose a new host for the Artifacts of Fate, the young boy Eric Strauss who like Kent Nelson was transformed into an adult. Although now an man, Eric remained with his step-mother Linda Strauss. While battling against an agent of chaos, Dr. Benjamin Stoner, who stole the Strauss' mystical powers becoming an evil version of Dr. Fate, both step-mother and son mystically merged and reclaimed the power of Dr. Fate. To guide the Strausses, Nabu resurrected Kent Nelson to serve as their mentor, but eventually both of them met a mortal fate, but their souls lived on in others who had recently departed and were resurrected by Nabu.
Nabu eventually resurrected Inza Nelson, and like the Strausses, both she and Kent Nelson merged to form Dr. Fate. In time, Kent was no longer able to merge with his wife and she assumed the role as a new wholly female Dr. Fate. Inza Nelson was a proactive Dr. Fate and prone to abuse her abilities. In time, she would perish during an event known as Zero Hour. After Inza Nelson's death the Artifacts of Fate came into the possession of grave robber named Jared Stevens, who forged the artifacts into weapons which he used as the mercenary known only as Fate.
Meanwhile along a parallel tract the son of Carter (Hawkman I) and Shiera Hall (Hawkgirl I), Hector Hall was born in Cairo Egypt while his parents were on an archaeological expedition. Unknown to his parents they had been cursed by Hath-Set, resulting in their child being born without a soul. Hath-Set's plot was for the child to serve as a vessel for his agent of vengeance known as the Silver Scarab. As a young adult and apparently as a result of his body being possessed by the agent of Hath-Set, Hall created a solar powered armor constructed of Nth metal dubbing himself the Silver Scarab.
Hall and other progeny of the Justice Society applied for membership in the team, but were rejected by their elders and eventually formed their own team dubbed Infinity Inc. In time, the curse of Hall's possession would eventually take over his mind and he would die in the ensuing battle against his teammates. Without a soul, Hall's consciousness was cast into the realm known as the Dreaming. Two nightmares, Brute and Glob, desiring to control the realm in the absence of its master Morpheus, convinced Hall to possess the now soulless body of the deceased Dr. Garrett Sanford becoming the new guardian of dreams known as the Sandman. When Morpheus returned to the realm of dreams he cast Hall into the realm of the dead, where he was destined to be reborn as an agent of balance.
Believing the spirit of Nabu had returned through a child, the dark lord Mordru, and his minions the Sons of Anubis, plotted to steal the Artifacts of Fate. Killing the current agent of balance, Jared Stevens (Fate), the artifacts mystically returned to the Tower of Fate. Abducting the newborn child Mordru was poised to take possession of the artifacts when the transformation began. With the intervention of the Justice Society, the transformation was complete and Hector Hall was reborn as a new agent of balance, Dr. Fate.
Current Version:
Kent V. Nelson
Former Versions:
Kent Nelson
Inza Nelson
Hector Sanders Hall
