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115-606: Marvel Encyclopedia: Fantastic Four (2004) originally designated the Amalgam Universe as Earth-962 in the Marvel Multiverse , then The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005 re-designated it as Earth-9602 . Page 436 of the book The Essential Wonder Woman Encyclopedia (2015) by Phil Jimenez and John Wells (under the entry "Wallis, Angelica" in the "W" section) designated

230-553: A legacy hero , with new incarnations introduced throughout their publication history. After the New 52 reboot, the portrayal of Doctor Fate as a legacy character itself was retroactively redefined in official sources; Within the DC Universe , champions from ancient Egypt originally bore the Helmet of Fate, becoming a human vessel for Nabu and acting as a protector of humanity. However, starting in

345-633: A Doctor Fate tale from More Fun Comics #56 (June 1940), in a three-issue limited series titled The Immortal Doctor Fate . Doctor Fate later appeared in several issues of the Crisis on Infinite Earths , assisting various heroes from the DC Multiverse battle the Anti-Monitor and later Amethyst. Despite the significant alterations to various histories resulting from the crisis, much of Kent Nelson's personal history remained largely unaffected, although much of

460-459: A bi-weekly run of one-shots depicting the search for a new Doctor Fate. These were intended to be followed by a new Doctor Fate ongoing series in April 2007, written by Steve Gerber and illustrated by Paul Gulacy , featuring the new Doctor Fate. However, the series was delayed due to extended production and creative difficulties. Gerber said in an interview for Newsarama that the story intended for

575-480: A helmet, he gains a willing host in Justin Guilder, who is vying alongside Hector for the affection of love interest, Caitlin. Hall is assisted by a Wiccan coven but is later mortally injured and meets Nabu's spirit in the helm, who berates him due to not living up his potential despite being seen as the most powerful Doctor Fate incarnation. Overpowering Nabu and his verbal abuse, he revitalizes himself and defeats

690-586: A highly regarded incarnation. The character is notable marked by his complex and antagonistic relationship with Nabu, who often works to supplant his will and personal agency. While an experienced and respected hero who is often sought after for advice in his later years, Nelson often becomes disillusioned with the role over time and is supportive of a successor. Nelson's character expresses an approach of Doctor Fate in which focuses on grand supernatural problems and believes problems in regards to humanity being mundane and doesn't warrant such attention but adheres to

805-450: A malpractice and negligence lawsuit but retains hiss strong moral and ethical code even after discovering the Helmet of Fate and becoming the newest incarnation of Doctor Fate. The younger Nelson is also less apt in mystical arts and his intended characterization includes working to becoming more formidable. Alongside his great uncle, the character's other familal connections include ex-wife Marissa Nelson, and daughter Laryn Nelson. Although

920-484: A representative for Lords of Chaos in which used their powers for benevolent reasons. Unlike prior versions predating her, she often used her overwhelming power to simultaneously address both grander universal issues and more "local" issues such as social inequality and poverty , the latter in a district in New York City. Jared Stevens, although sometimes acknowledged as an agent of order or agent of balance, primarily

1035-576: A role in the Justice League / Justice League Dark crossover. In late 2022, the Nassour version concurrently appeared in the 2022 Justice Society of America comic and in several other notable crossovers such as Lazarus Planet and Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths . In the Justice Society of America comic title, the character's status quo from the previous Justice League Dark title carries over with

1150-625: A series of back-up stories running in The Flash from #306 (February 1982) to No. 313 (September 1982) written by Martin Pasko (aided by Steve Gerber from #310 to No. 313) and drawn by Keith Giffen . In 1981,DC's All-Star Squadron elaborated upon the adventures of many World War II-era heroes, including Doctor Fate and the JSA. Doctor Fate made occasional modern-day appearances in Infinity, Inc. throughout 1984,

1265-406: A tenure longer than four years, as he is depicted as a medical school graduate and being a first-year resident physician. In 2024, aspects of past incarnations' histories are restored by Geoff Johns and Nelson makes posthumous appearances during the 1940s which expands on his histories in the new reality that followed the New 52. One noted change includes him having a young arrogant sidekick Salem

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1380-537: Is a single dimension, such as Earth-616 , the mainstream Marvel Universe. A reality is the collection of a universe, where a version of the planet Earth exists, and the various other dimensions associated with it, like Asgard, the Dark Dimension, or the Negative Zone. Universes, where a planet Earth exists, are infinite, and there is (generally) one version of Asgard, one version of the Dark Dimension, one version of

1495-507: Is as yet unstated. The numeric designations of these alternate universes have been confirmed by Marvel Comics throughout the years and compiled in 2005's Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes , and in Marvel publications since the release of the Handbook . Many official numbers are random or use other numbers as a base, the best example of this is Ultimate Marvel . 1610

1610-459: Is depicted in early issues of the Fate series by John Francis Moore , where he is hired by elderly Kent and Inza Nelson to retrieve the lost artifacts of Doctor Fate. The pair are killed by demons when they try to collect the artifacts and Jared comes into contact with Nabu. Jared rejects his attempt to make him Doctor Fate under his control and circumstances causes him to alter the forms of the artifacts,

1725-403: Is not human nor had a childhood, created by elder gods and placed upon Earth to battle the forces of evil. One year later, the character was given a new origin with the alter-ego, Kent Nelson. Kent was the son of archaeologist Sven Nelson who encountered Nabu as a child during an excavation and accidentally kills his father by releasing poisonous gases. Nabu explains he is immortal alien being from

1840-463: Is often cited as the most formidable version of the character and is subjected to being compared to later versions; the Eric and Linda Strauss versions were once stated to potentially surpass Nelson in raw power combined but do not rival his knowledge. Hall's version is recognized as potentially the most formidable version of Doctor Fate than even Nelson while Cramer was considered more talented. Conversely,

1955-425: Is primarily supported by Egyptian deities , namely Bastet and Thoth , alongside several archangels and the aforementioned Nabu, retaining the status of agent of order. Eventually, this arrangement later changed to resembled Nelson's portrayal but replaces Nabu with Hauhet , a mysterious Egyptian goddess whose true agenda is unknown. The Inza Cramer version worked inadvertently as a "agent of chaos", acting as

2070-429: Is the collection of alternate universes that share a universal hierarchy. A large variety of these universes were originated from another due to a major decision on the part of a character. Some can seem to be taking place in the past or future due to differences in how time passes in each universe. Often, new universes are born due to time traveling; another name for these new universes is an "alternate timeline". Earth-616

2185-568: Is the established main universe where the majority of Marvel books take place. The Marvel multiverse is protected from imbalance by the Living Tribunal , a vastly powerful humanoid cosmic entity, who is one for the entire multiverse. It may act to prevent one universe from amassing more power than any of the others or from upsetting the cosmic balance in some way. It is only overseen by the One-Above-All , an omnipotent entity said to have created

2300-513: Is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . The first version was originally created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, debuting in More Fun Comics #55 (May 1940). Eight characters have served as incarnations of the character within the mainstream DC Universe , with each new version after the original attempting to reinvigorate

2415-522: Is the swapped numbers of 616 with a 0 to differentiate it from the already existing 161. In addition, many universes have also been designated with numbers by fans with various methods for the numbering, such as the birth date of an important Marvel staff member (artist Nelson Ribeiro for the Transformers U.S. Universe, Earth-91274 ) or the spelling of a name with a touch-tone phone ( Animated Silver Surfer Earth-936652, spells out Zenn-La). In 2014, during

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2530-642: The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes . The numerical designations for these are rarely revealed outside of reference works such as the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005 . A.R.M.O.R. and Project Pegasus however seem to possess vast knowledge of other Marvel realities, using the same designations; whether this is simply narrative convenience on behalf of Marvel's authors or an unusual decision by these agencies to use an effectively alien catalog method

2645-601: The Captain Britain Corps . This numerical notation was continued in the series Excalibur and other titles. Each universe of the Multiverse in Marvel also appears to be defended by a Sorcerer Supreme at nearly all times, appointed by the mystic trinity of Vishanti to defend the world against threats primarily magical in nature from within and beyond and bearing the Eye of Agamotto . Later on, many writers would use and reshape

2760-422: The DC Universe . Throughout the publication history of the character, specific descriptors of the character's expressed is sometimes consistent with one another; the original and Hall versions were both cited as among the "greatest living sorcerers" due to possessing the artifacts associated with Doctor Fate. Simiarly, both the Nassour and Hall versions are both comparable to noted sorceress Zatanna and alongide

2875-602: The Justice League Dark: The Great Wickedness storyline, depicting a status quo change wherein the Helmet of Fate is damaged and is inhabited by a new entity. Connected to the Future State crossover event depicting an older Khalid Nassour having lived through the aftermath of the events of the "Great Wickedness" storyline, the entity is revealed to be the Egyptian goddess, Hauhhet. Nassour would also play

2990-563: The Molecule Man results in the destruction of the Multiverse, triggering various 'incursions' as Earths crash together and destroy each other, the Beyonders' assault culminating in Doctor Doom stealing the power of the remaining Beyonders and bringing the last of the parallel universes together into a single 'Battleworld'. Doom rules this reality for eight years until key heroes and villains from

3105-469: The Spectre and the Living Tribunal created an amalgamated universe , in which only Access and Doctor Strangefate (Charles Xavier) (an amalgamation of Doctor Fate , Doctor Strange and Professor X ) knew the truth about the merge. The two characters fought against each other either to reverse the change (in the case of Access) or to preserve it (in the case of Doctor Strangefate). Access managed to separate

3220-588: The Ultimate Marvel titles, Amazing Spider-Girl , the Marvel Adventures titles or GeNext , though it is possible that the issue of time may be related to their exclusion. This was apparently retconned during the " X-Men: Messiah Complex " storyline, where Forge stated that all mutants in possible future timelines were depowered, not in parallel universes. This, in addition to A.R.M.O.R.'s observation that Lyra arrived from an alternate reality indicates that

3335-625: The "company" had existed for decades, with stories and editorial comments referring to a fictional history stretching back to the Golden Age of Comic Books , including retcons and reboots ; for example, they referred to Secret Crisis of the Infinity Hour (an amalgamation of Marvel's Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars , DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths , Marvel's The Infinity Gauntlet , and DC's Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! , respectively), which featured

3450-484: The 1900s, the mortal chosen to wear the helm is given agency and the name "Doctor Fate". This portrayal is reinforced during Geoff John's 2022 Justice Society of America run, where Nelson reveals he is the first person to bear the Doctor Fate codename, whereas past incarnations did not. Although specific accolades of each incarnation vary, the Doctor Fate character is considered among the most powerful superheroes in

3565-548: The Amalgam Universe as Earth-496 in the DC Multiverse . In Dark Crisis: Big Bang #1 (February 2023), it was re-designated as Earth 1996 . On two separate occasions – April 1996 and June 1997 – DC and Marvel co-published a total of 24 one-shot "first issues" (12 in April 1996 (six by DC and six by Marvel) and 12 in June 1997 (again, six by DC and six by Marvel)) under the imprint Amalgam Comics . The issues were all presented as if

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3680-726: The Brothers with the help of the Amalgam Universe's superheroes; before the merge had taken place, he had planted shards of the two universes inside Batman and Captain America . Once he discovered the Dark Claw (an amalgamation of Batman and Wolverine ) and Super-Soldier (an amalgamation of Superman and Captain America), he used those shards to give the Spectre and the Living Tribunal the power to restore

3795-510: The Curse, becoming more secure and confident in the process. In the 2005 Day of Vengeance crossover, Hector is killed by the Spectre and Nabu briefly acts in place of Doctor Fate. He gathers gather mystics and later confronts the ghost, driven to insanity and commits towards a witch-hunt for all magic users, destroying the Lords of Chaos and Order in the process. Fatally injured, he succeeds in stopping

3910-497: The DC You initiative, which saw an emphasis on "story over continuity", loosening the restrictions of continuity to allow for a diverse range of genres while some characters underwent status quo changes. The title focused on the newest and most recent incarnation of Doctor Fate, an Egyptian-American medical student named Khalid Nassour. Created with an emphasis on diversity and inspired by Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange,

4025-480: The Eric and Linda Strauss versions, are considered among the most powerful magic practicioners on Earth while the original Neslon and Inza Cramer versions shared the distinction of "one of the ten most powerful beings on Earth". Uniquely, the Kent V. Neslon version is expressed with the title of Sorcerer Supreme within comics. While all versions (sans Jared Stevens) are considrable in magical practice,the original version

4140-446: The Gods is references to taken place two years prior (1997). In late 1999, The story within the book (JSA Secret Files) also is part of and leads into the "Justice Be Done" storyline by James Robinson and David S. Goyer Jared Stevens is killed off and replaced with Hector Hall , the son of Hawkman and Hawkgirl who is reincarnated as the new Doctor Fate and aged up from an infant by

4255-576: The Invincible , Enchantress , etc.) getting involved in a civil war in hell between Neron, the current ruler, and duo siblings Satanus and Blaze , the demonic children of the Wizard Shazam . An inexperienced sorcerer, Nelson is unaware of how to escape from hell and battles Blaze, who lambasts him for his limited experience but is defeated when she hints how to focus his power. He also helps the group fight Lobo , who has been exiled to Hell. In 2010–2011,

4370-484: The Justice League, originally acting as "advisors" in the team and becoming reoccurring characters. Nassour would eventually permanently become the new Doctor Fate instead of Kent Nelson in the "Lords of Order" storyline. Nassour would also receive a new redesign as Doctor Fate. Nelson's character would be later killed off in the "A Costly Trick of Magic" storyline, leaving Nassour as the sole Doctor Fate character. While

4485-790: The Khalid as a member of the Justice Society and playing a crucial role in defeating Degaton. The series would showcase different iterations of Doctor Fate as Degaton hunts the JSA across time and later rectified the history of the character. In 2023, the Nelson version is referenced in the Knight Terrors storyline and the Nassour version appears in the Wonder Woman tie-tin. In late 2023 and 2024, Kent would make appearances in various titles such as Green Lantern: Alan Scott and Jay Garrick: The Flash ,

4600-462: The Lords of Chaos while a martial rift between the pair grows due to Inza's envy over Nabu's presence and Nelson's duties as Doctor Fate taking precedent over her and their marriage. In one instance, Totec weaponizes her envy against Nelson. In another, while Nelson battles a renegade Lord of Order and Lord of Chaos who team up, Inza nearly commits to infedelity with a museum curator. Sensing the rift to be potentially damaging to Nelson's mind, Nabu allows

4715-488: The Marvel Multiverse. As such, there can logically only be one Omniverse, as anything and everything that currently exists, existed in the past, can potentially exist at any time or may exist in the future is a part of it. As stated above, nearly every imprint, timeline and appearances in other media have its own separate universe. Most of these have been cataloged by Marvel Comics in many publications, being most notable

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4830-580: The Multiverse in titles such as Exiles , X-Men , and Ultimate Fantastic Four . New universes would also spin out of storylines involving time-traveling characters such as Rachel Summers , Cable , and Bishop , as their actions rendered their home times alternate timelines . The multiverse also plays a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), with the central and main universe having originally been known as Earth-199999 in external media and Earth-616 in internal media. The concept

4945-576: The Nassour versions was once stated (prior to training) to being less powerful than previous Doctor Fates and in later stories, it was asserted by the character was instead less powerful than either the original Neslon and Hall version. The Kent V. version was noted to be lacking in skill enough to obscuate his skills through the reputation of past incarnations and the Eric and Linda Stauss version in later stories were retroactively considered unremarkable compared to later versions. In his debut appearance in issue #55-56 for More Fun Comics (May–June 1940),

5060-609: The Negative Zone, and so on, associated with each. For example, beings like Dormammu and gods like Odin hail from separate dimensions, but they all nevertheless belong to Reality-616, and other realities like the MCU, have different variants of these characters. Note that whether any given specific use of the term " Marvel Universe " refers to the Marvel Multiverse (in general) or to the Reality-616 (in particular) can only be determined by

5175-409: The New 52 reboot in 2012, the Kent V. Nelson version is erased from existence alongside much of the past incarnations of Doctor Fate. In 2015, the current version of Doctor Fate is imagined by Paul Levitz as twenty-two year old biracial Egyptian-American Khalid Nassour, who is Muslim , a descendant of a line of Pharaohs , and a medical student. In his debut story, the "Blood Price", he inherits

5290-486: The Spectre but dies. In his final moments, he asks Captain Marvel to throw the helmet into space in hopes it finds a worthy bearer. Throughout 2007–2008, the Kent V. Nelson version is introduced by Steve Gerber following Hall's death in Countdown to Mystery . His origin depicts him as a former psychiatrist whose life spirals out of control following an infidelity, depression, and loss of medical license. The grandnephew of

5405-496: The Starheart's influence and abducts JSA team members and Sebastian Faust as the Starheart pits themselves against the JSA and JLA with the help Alan Scott's mind controlled children, Jade and Obsidian . He also helps the team fight against the new threat known as Scythe and helps Lightning deal with the rift between her and her father, Black Lightning , and is scarred in process when helping her through mystical means. Following

5520-500: The Witch Girl until her disappearance from time erased his memories of her. Among other minor appearances includes him being present when Wesley Dodds was recruited into the JSA, assisted Flash (Jay Garrick) alongside the JSA and the Boom (Garrick's daughter) in battling Doctor Elemental, and aiding Green Lantern (Alan Scott) when attacked by a group of similarly powered villains known as

5635-454: The believed designation of Earth-8107 . This has created some debate among readers, as some believe that the "Spiders" with numbers that do not match the "original" ones are alternate versions, or if the former numbers should be completely dismissed, despite being official. In the 2015 Secret Wars series, a confrontation with the Beyonders over the fate of the various alternate versions of

5750-506: The boy's father dies and is placed and under her care, she is both attracted and amazed by Eric for reasons she cannot explain. Eric is chosen to wear the Helmet of Fate and is aged up by Nabu. Conversely, Linda Strauss is the twenty-eight year old stepmother of Eric who she becomes attached and attracted to despite believing it to be inappropriate. Years earlier, she married Eric's father for his wealth but regrets it following his abusive tendencies. The pair later merges with one another to become

5865-472: The character depicts Nassour as a young adult burdened with significant responsibilities, embarking on a journey of self-discovery within a world reminiscent of Doctor Strange's mystical realm. Nabu's support under Khalid differs from previous versions and was noted to be akin to a "combination of a GPS system and the movie version of Iron Man 's J.A.R.V.I.S .", contrasting from past depictions as an overbearing presence and progenitor of his power. This version

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5980-414: The character for contemporary audiences. The most well-known version of the character is Kent Nelson , the original Doctor Fate and archaeologist who was empowered by Nabu of the Lords of Order in the 20th century and was a founding member of the Justice Society of America . Having been subjected to various comic book deaths , the character has been succeeded in the role. The current version of

6095-404: The character's comic book iterations, including Giovonni Zatara , Zatanna Zatara , and Traci 13 . In a 1987 interview, Fox recalled the genesis behind Fate, stating, "Doctor Fate (I originally called him Doctor Droon, but the name was editorially changed) was one of my favorites. I created him and even sketched out the original costume he would wear - but that costume was changed by artists over

6210-402: The character's history restoration into the prime continuity would retroactively make the character cousin to Khalid Nassour and the nephew of Elizabeth/Mohammed Nassour respectively, the new history has Nassour comment none were able to actually confirm his relation to the original Kent Nelson. Drawing inspiration from Marvel Comics 's Doctor Strange and Spider-Man , Levitz 's portrayal of

6325-639: The character, Khalid Nassour , is an Egyptian-American physician (originally a medical student ) chosen by the goddess Bastet as the latest incarnation of Doctor Fate. This version is supported by Nabu, Thoth , various archangels , and Hauhet . Receiving critical acclaim, the character is often portrayed as an important member of Justice League Dark . Other versions of the character include step-mother/son duo Eric and Linda Strauss , archaeologist Inza Cramer , smuggler Jared Stevens , reincarnated son of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Hector Hall , and former psychiatrist Kent V. Nelson. While not reaching

6440-618: The character, the series was cancelled after 23 issues in September 1996. The character then starred in The Book of Fate written by Keith Giffen, which ran from February 1997 to January 1998 for twelve issues as part of DC's " Weirdoverse " imprint, rebooting the character's origins and adventures. However, the revival of the JSA title in 1991 allowed an opportunity for the Doctor Fate character to be reworked, with Jared Stevens subsequently killed off. The next incarnation of Doctor Fate would come in

6555-544: The character, Kent Nelson, first appeared in his own self-titled six page strip in More Fun Comics #55 (May 1940), during the Golden Age of Comic Books , created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, who produced the first three years of monthly Doctor Fate stories. Soon after, the character's origin shown in More Fun Comics #67 (May 1941). Stories during the Golden Age included his love interest, Inza, who

6670-574: The characters makes his first ecounter with archnemesis Wotan and love interest Inza Crame. Wotan is beaten but learns he did not pass into the afterlife and encounters him once again, attempting to blow up the Earth. Fate manages to defeat him, placing him in suspended animation before buring him deep within the Earth. The character's origin was first revealed in All-Star Comics #3 (1940), written by Garnder Fox , cumilating to Doctor Fate stating that he

6785-524: The comic books taking place decades prior to the character's death in Justice League Dark . Khalid would also featured in the Absolute Power crossover, depicted as one of the heroes depowered by the machinations of Amanda Waller with the help of Amazo robots replicating the powers of heroes and Brainiac Queen. The original version is acknowledged as an agent of order under Nabu and is considered

6900-599: The comics and original characters; the Kent Nelson version notably appeared in the television series Smallville , in which he was portrayed by Brent Stait , and the DC Extended Universe film Black Adam , in which he was portrayed by Pierce Brosnan . The Khalid Nassour version debuted in the Young Justice animated television series alongside others based upon pre-existing characters not typically associated with

7015-495: The context of its use. A multiverse is the collection of alternate universes, with a similar nature and a universal hierarchy. The Marvel Multiverse contains the universe that holds Reality-616, most of the What If ? universes, as well as the vast number of the alternate Marvel Universe Earths. A Megaverse is a collection of alternate multiverses, which do not necessarily need to have similar natures and universal hierarchies. The term

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7130-539: The cost of the helm being depleted of power. Within several stories in 2021 onward (coinciding within the Infinite Frontier period), the character is revealed to have taken in non-binary animated effigy Stich as both child and apprentice in the mystic arts and had managed to restore the power lost against Upside-Down Man with Kirk Langstom's help as the Justice League Dark battled an evil Merlin. A new spirit,

7245-507: The earlier stories during the Golden Age were retconned out. In 1987, the Doctor Fate limited series was released, featuring the debut of Eric and Linda Strauss. The characters would replace Kent Nelson as Doctor Fate, who is killed off in the series. A subsequential ongoing series was released focusing on the former two characters, the first twenty-four issues having been written and drawn by J.M. DeMatteis and Shawn McManus , starting in

7360-567: The end of his own strip in More Fun Comics #98 (July–August 1944). The character later appeared in book such as the annual JSA/JLA team-ups in Justice League of America that began in 1963 and est Comics #201 (March 1971 and #208, December 1971); an appearance with Batman in The Brave and the Bold #156 (November 1979); and a solo story in 1st Issue Special #9 (December 1975), written by Martin Pasko and drawn by Walt Simonson . Doctor Fate and

7475-514: The entire Marvel Multiverse. According to the origin mythology, at the beginning there was only one universe, The First Firmament, but due to actions of Celestials existing there, it diverged. Then, the Multiverse went through several incarnations and eventually the Big Bang caused the existence of the Seventh Cosmos, where most well-known heroes originated. The seventh iteration of the Multiverse

7590-433: The events of Eric and Linda Strauss's time as Doctor Fate took place four years prior to the book's timeline (1995) and Jared Steven was chosen as Fate one year prior to the book's timeline (1998). Another SF&O issue reinforces Nelson's first time as Doctor Fate in 1940, Eric/Linda's time being four years prior to the book's timeline (1995) Jared being chosen one year ago (1998). However, Inza's activities during War of

7705-715: The fictional Marvel Universe , which in turn is part of a larger multiverse . Starting with the Captain Britain story in The Daredevils #7, the main continuity in which most Marvel storylines take place was designated Earth-616 , and the Multiverse was established as being protected by Merlyn . Each universe has a Captain Britain designated to protect its version of the British Isles. These protectors are collectively known as

7820-441: The first arc of the Doctor Fate ongoing series had been reworked to serve as the main story for Countdown to Mystery , a dual-feature eight-issue miniseries with Eclipso as the second feature. The first issue of Countdown to Mystery , with art by Justiniano and Walden Wong rather than Gulacy, was released in November 2007. Due to Gerber's death, the seventh issue was written by Adam Beechen using Gerber's notes. The final issue

7935-449: The following week, delaying both publishers' regular releases by one week. Six of the issues in the event were published by DC and six by Marvel. In June 1997 the process was repeated, but without the crossover event as a background. Later, both publishers collected their respective 12 issues into four trade paperback collections. All 24 of the Amalgam one-shots took place between Marvel Comics versus DC #3 and DC versus Marvel Comics #4,

8050-458: The form of Hector Hall , the son of the Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl who is reincarnated due to the machinations of a supervillain . A fan-favorite incarnation, the character was featured in the JSA title and a five issue Doctor Fate limited series in 2003. The character was killed in the Day of Vengeance limited series in 2005 as part of the lead in to the 2005 company-wide event story, Infinite Crisis . In early 2007, DC published

8165-409: The goddess Hauhet, is revealed to have replaced Nabu and grants Nassour the power to see into the future. In the 2022 " Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths " crossover, Nassour joins the Justice Society and helps in efforts to defeat Pariah and the Great Darkness. In 2023 during the Dawn of DC period, Nassour is mentioned in both the prelude and main even of the Lazarus Planet crossover and appears in

8280-643: The helmet now being a knife, the power of the Amulet of Anubis within him now, and the Cloak of Destiny now acting as bandages on his arm. He also instead utilizes the moniker of "Fate". In 1997, Keith Griffen later reboots his origins, wherein the elder Nelsons instead deceive Stevens into the role of Doctor Fate, allowing them to past into the afterlife peacefully and burdens him with the responsibilities. In 1999, an issue of DC's Secret Files and Origins establish various points in time: Nelson becoming Doctor Fate in 1940,

8395-482: The incident and would slowly possess him as Doctor Fate when he was an adult. Three years later in 1978, Paul Levitz 's revisions alternatively depicting Nabu as a cosmic being of the Lords of Order and sought to use young Kent, whom he aged to adulthood and imparted into him his mystical knowledge in the process. From 1981 to 1982, Nelson appears in backup issues in The Flash #306-313. Nelson continues to face foes from

8510-423: The last two issues of the crossover event. Between the two events of Amalgam Comics, the two publishers released a sequel crossover miniseries to DC vs. Marvel #1–4 primarily published by DC, DC/Marvel: All Access #1–4 (Dec. 1996–Feb. 1997 (issues #2 and 3 were both cover dated Jan. 1997)). A second sequel crossover miniseries primarily published by Marvel, Unlimited Access #1–4 (Dec. 1997–March 1998), followed

8625-476: The late-1980s, an older Kent Nelson appears as a key member of the Justice League International but is killed off in the1987 within J. M. DeMatteis 's Doctor Fate miniseries, which introduced the origin of Eric and Linda Strauss's incarnation. Eric Strauss is the ten-year-old son of a billionaire whose history of abuse led to the suicide of his birth mother and disdain of his stepmother. With

8740-434: The mantle of Doctor Fate from ancient Egyptian deities and archangels alike to oppose Anubis . Subsequent stories It is later revealed that he is connected to the Nelson bloodline through his mother, who is described to be Kent Nelson's favorite niece who inspired her towards archaeology . An elderly Kent also returns into the role and mentor Khalid and both are Doctor Fate concurrently, Nelson later takes precedent within

8855-507: The new Doctor Fate during a battle with villains, Anti-Fate and Typhon. The second series revealed both Eric and Linda to be a pair often reincarnated alongside one another subjected to familial, platonic, and even adversarial dynamics in each lifetime. In 1991,the pair are eventually killed off in different circumstances involving Darkseid (retroactively revealed to be a disguised DeSaad ) and Anti-Fate respectively but reincarnate into new lives, ending their run. Their tenure as Doctor Fate

8970-507: The original 2018 series was cancelled in 2020, the Justice League Dark series was re-purposed as a backup issue to the mainstream Justice League title, the backup issue being written by author Ram V , featuring a new storyline, with Khalid remaining a reoccurring member of the Justice League Dark subdivision. Khalid would also appear in several title crossovers such as Superman , Teen Titans Academy , and The Flash . Beginning in 2021, Khalid Nassour would appear in major storylines such as

9085-630: The original Kent Nelson, whom he is named after, he continues the Doctor Fate line when he dons the helmet sometime prior to the Final Crisis crossover event and battles longtime Doctor Fate villain, Nergal. Due to Gerber's death, the conclusion of the series features several different endings from his notes written by several other writers. In 2008–2009, the Reign in Hell storyline and comic title features Kent V. alongside other notable magic users ( Zatanna , Ibis

9200-518: The original Nelson's spirit appears to help Green Lantern while stuck on a planet with no way to escape, learning of his future death but chooses to save Hal instead despite his protests. Later, the current Nelson becomes involved in the Justice Society, helping the team fight against a team of villains targeting the JSA, later saving Mister Terrific 's life, and battling Mordru despite his limited talents before leaving to improve his abilities. In "The Dark Things" crossover storyline, he later comes under

9315-592: The pair to both mend their marriage and later merges her with Kent temporarily, formulating a new Doctor Fate transformation that defeats the renegade Lords and grants Inza a higher understanding of her husband's role. The character later appears in the Marv Wolfman and George Pérez 's Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover series, merging both Earth-1 and Earth-2 realities within the multiverse altering event, with all past definitive histories histories having been said to happen on this composite universe ("Earth"). In

9430-460: The planet Cilia and pities the boy, taking him in to teach him the "secrets of the universe" and raises him into adulthood to become Doctor Fate. The1963 "Crisis on Earth-One" and "Crisis on Earth-Two" storylines respectively revealed Neslon and the Justice Society of America's reality to be of Earth-2 and meets with the Justice League of Earth-1, a superhero team of a parallel world. After years of retirement, Doctor Fate becomes semi-active and helps

9545-502: The pre-existing Multiverse are discovered and released by Doctor Strange , who had been acting as Doom's 'sheriff' until the discovery of the survivors gave him an alternative. In the heroes' final assault on Doom's fortress, the Molecule Man, who had been the source of Doom's power, transfers Doom's power to Mister Fantastic when Doom acknowledges that Reed would have done a better job as 'God' than he did. Having restored Earth-616 as it

9660-510: The publication of the " Spider-Verse " storyline, writer Dan Slott posted on Twitter that the numbers that appear in wiki entries and handbooks do not count, only those that are published within "actual" stories do. This was in response to the questions that the different numbers for some Earths appearing in Spider-Verse brought up, such as the Spider-Friends being from Earth-1983 and not

9775-686: The rest of The Justice Society returned to All-Star Comics in 1976 with issue #58, for a two-year run ending with issue #74 and Adventure Comics #461-462 in 1978, and Adventure Comics #466 related the untold tale of the Justice Society's 1951 disbanding. During this period, Inza Cramer's name as such was amended. During the Bronze Age , the character's origin was retold in DC Special Series #10, and Doctor Fate again teamed up with Superman in DC Comics Presents #23 (July 1980), and featured in

9890-527: The role encompassing a high responsibility. This version of the character was created by Steve Gerber to simplify aspects of the Doctor Fate character, lacking any ties of other mythologies and the Lords of Chaos and Order , and is partially inspired by Marvel Comics ' Doctor Strange in his range of skills and powers. A great-nephew of his namesake, the original Kent Nelson, he is a respected psychaitraist whose life spirals downward following divorce from his infedility and loss of his medical license due to

10005-463: The role, with Nabu also briefly usurping it to battle Arion and assist the latest Blue Beetle , and appears in crossovers such as 2017's Dark Nights: Metal . During James Tynion IV 's run in Justice League Dark from 2017 to 2019, Kent, Khalid, and Nabu are featured heavily in the run. The pair are trapped by Nabu, who uses Nelson's body and conspires with other Lords of Order to destroy

10120-657: The same levels of iconic cultural recognition like those of Batman , Superman , or Wonder Woman , Doctor Fate remains as one of DC Comic's most enduring and long-standing characters, known for their distinctive name and design. The character often appears as a prominent or a major supporting character in various team-based comic book titles such as the Justice Society of America , Justice League International , Justice League Dark , and has had several self-titled comic book titles . The character has appeared in various incarnations across multiple forms of media based on both

10235-617: The same year which witnessed the 22nd and final annual Justice Society/Justice League team-up. In 1985, DC collected the Doctor Fate back-up stories from The Flash , a retelling of Doctor Fate's origin by Paul Levitz , Joe Staton , and Michael Nasser originally published in Secret Origins of Super-Heroes (January 1978) ( DC Special Series #10 in the Indicia), the Pasko/Simonson Doctor Fate story from 1st Issue Special #9, and

10350-467: The second event. Both crossover miniseries featured additional Amalgam characters. The two comic book universes came together when the two cosmic beings who were the physical incarnations of their respective universes (referred to as "the Brothers") became aware of each other after eons of slumber. To prevent the Brothers from destroying each other, characters from each universe battled to determine which universe would survive (a real world vote by readers of

10465-426: The series also rebooted he Kent Nelson character, depicting him as a previous Doctor Fate, a mentor figure with some of his old histories intact. The series ran for 18 issues, from June 2015 to November 2016. In 2018, DC launched a second Justice League Dark series written by James Tynion IV starring a new roster led by Wonder Woman. In this roster, Khalid and Kent Nelson were revealed to be eventual new members of

10580-428: The series experienced limited sales. Doctor Fate would also appear in several other crossovers and storylines, including Millennium and Cosmic Odyssey . Both characters are killed off halfway into the series, replaced by resurrected Inza and Kent Nelson from issue #25 onward in 1991. The series ended with issue #41. and following Zero Hour , DC killed off both Kent and Inza. A new incarnation, Jared Stevens,

10695-414: The series was conducted to determine the outcome of five of the in-comic battles, with three of them favoring the Marvel hero). Access , a new character created specifically for the event and co-owned by both DC and Marvel, served as a gatekeeper who became stuck while traveling between the two universes. When the battles were finished, neither universe was willing to go. To prevent their total destruction,

10810-616: The source of magic following the piercing of the Source Wall. Their plans are interrupted by Wonder Woman's newly created Justice League Dark and their allies, who first free Khalid from his imprisonment. Enlisting the power of chaos magic from Mordru , Kent is freed of Nabu's control and the team prevails in defeating the Lords of Order. Wonder Woman asks Nelson to don the helmet once more, who refuses due to his disillusionment and recommends Khalid, who also declines. The pair enlist themselves as advisory based members of Justice League Dark but when

10925-459: The spin-off. The former mentions he is bested by Nezha and the helm is stolen for his purposes and his disappearance was noticed by heroes. Dreamer discovers he is trapped in a dream-like state after being enlisted by Batman to help track him down. In his concurrent appearances in Geoff John's 2023 Justice Society of America series, chronologically taking place after Lazarus Planet, Nassour helps

11040-538: The stories, with the fans' hometowns formed by amalgamating the names of existing American cities. The first Amalgam event occurred near the end of the four-issue DC vs. Marvel crossover event in April 1996. In Marvel Comics versus DC #3, the DC and Marvel Universes were shown being combined into one – the Amalgam Universe – and the Amalgam one-shots were presented as the result of this. The first 12 Amalgam titles were released

11155-481: The team and future Helena Wayne fight against Per Degaton 's attempt to erase them from existence with the help of JSA members across time while a past Nelson reconciles the various alterations in his lifetime from Degaton. The title addresses timeline discrepancies, noting events like "Zero Hour" occurred eight years earlier and the 2015 Doctor Fate series is set one year prior. However, Khalid's appearances in other titles, especially Justice League Dark , suggest

11270-468: The team is pitted against Circe's Injustice League Dark, Khalid becomes the sole Doctor Fate and assists in their defeat. As the sole Doctor Fate, Nassour is a trusted member of Justice League Dark, was instrumental in both restoring the Parliaments governing the elemental forces of the DC Universe and the eventual defeat of Upside-Down Man, where Kent sacrifices himself to deal a powerful blow but at

11385-425: The teams. In 1975, the storyline from 1st Issue Special #9 reveals more of Nelson's earlier years, pitting him against the mummy sorcerer Khalis while dealing with a frustrated Inza, whom he has married fifteen years after becoming Doctor Fate. The story also retroactively changes aspects of his origin, revealing Nabu altered young Kent's mind to erase his grief and pain, establishing him as twelve years old during

11500-453: The topology of the Marvel Multiverse is based on new realities branching off from key nodes of a timeline instead of strictly parallel dimensions. Not every alternate dimension is an entire independent universe, but instead maintain a parasitic relationship to a parent reality. Others can exist outside the multiversal structure altogether. The classification system for alternate realities was devised, in part, by Mark Gruenwald . A universe

11615-566: The two universes. Batman, Captain America and Access were thus able to make the Brothers realize that their conflict was pointless and the two universes were separated once again. During the crossover event, pairs of DC and Marvel characters were merged into single characters. The same was done with teams and fictional locations. The 24 one-shots have been reprinted in four trade paperbacks : Multiverse (Marvel Comics) Within Marvel Comics , most stories take place within

11730-564: The villain Mordru, who he then battles and prevails thanks to the spirit of Kent and Inza within the Amulet of Anubis. Hector Hall's Doctor Fate also appears in the Day of Judgement comic title and crossover, depicted as a member of the Sentinels of Magic . In the 2003 Doctor Fate limited series, Hall battles the Curse, a demigod sorcerer that challenged Nabu in the past. Similar to Nabu in being bound to

11845-456: The well-known cover of Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, but with Super-Soldier holding the dead body of his teenage sidekick the American Girl (an amalgamation of DC's Supergirl and Marvel's Carol Danvers and James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes ) instead of Superman holding the dead body of Supergirl. Nineteen of the 24 issues included phony letter columns to provide the illusion of background to

11960-427: The winter of 1988. The series' premise involved the pair under the guidance of Nabu, who inhabited and taken Kent Nelson's identity. The series' also establishes a supporting cast for the characters, the recurring concept of kali yuga amongst the Lords of Chaos and Order , a period where chaos reigns and order is defeat, and established the incarnations to be the result of reincarnation cycles. During DeMatteis's run,

12075-448: The years, for one reason or another. To my knowledge, I wrote all the Dr. Fate yarns that appeared, up until 1968, when I left comic book writing to a great degree. I always liked the supernatural; I read Lovecraft , Derleth , Sax Rohmer , Howard , Clark Ashton Smith , Whitehead , all the others, Fate was a derivation from my imagination influenced by those writings" The original version of

12190-421: Was introduced in a self-titled series called Fate , launched in the wake of Zero Hour in 1994. The Doctor Fate character went through a radical redesign, dropping the "Doctor" title and gaining new weapons made from the previous related artifacts of Doctor Fate. Unlike prior depictions of the Doctor Fate character as a sorcerer, the character was instead a demon hunter. Considered an unpopular re-imagining of

12305-550: Was rebooted . As part of The New 52 initiative, an alternate version of Doctor Fate named Khalid Ben-Hassin was created by writer James Robinson and artist Brett Booth. The character was featured in the Earth 2 ongoing series from #9 (February 2013) onwards. After the conclusion of the Convergence limited series in June 2015, DC launched a new Doctor Fate ongoing series, written by Paul Levitz and drawn by Sonny Liew as part of

12420-512: Was before the Beyonders' incursions began, Mister Fantastic departs to recreate the multiverse with the company of his restored family. Below is a short, non-comprehensive list of some of the most noteworthy and significant universes in the Marvel Multiverse. Most of these were designated in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe on both physical print and the digital Appendix. Doctor Fate Doctor Fate (also known as Fate )

12535-497: Was destroyed as a consequence of the phenomena known as incursions and was eventually reborn as the eighth thanks to Reed Richards. According to him the ultimate fate of the Multiverse is to perish in all-encompassing heat death. According to Forge , mutants living on these alternate Earths have lost their powers due to M-Day , as stated in " Endangered Species "; however, this mass depowering has not been seen in any of Marvel's current alternate reality publications such as Exiles ,

12650-567: Was first introduced in Doctor Strange (2016) before becoming the focal point of the franchise in " The Multiverse Saga " (2021–present). Additionally, the Multiverse has also been explored in the X-Men film series , Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU), and the Spider-Verse franchise , with an emphasis on the latter regarding multiple versions of Spider-Man across different universes. The Multiverse

12765-409: Was known variably throughout the Golden Age as Inza Cramer, Inza Sanders, and Inza Carmer. When the Justice Society of America was created for All Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940), Doctor Fate was one of the characters National Comics used for the joint venture with All-American Publications . He made his last appearance within the book in issue #21 (Summer 1944), virtually simultaneously with

12880-401: Was portrayed as a demon hunter while his successor, Hector Hall , is agent of balance whose duties included preventing the conflicts between the two factions from leading towards destruction Doctor Fate is commonly empowered as an "agent of order", acting as a representative of the Lords of Order . Since the first Doctor Fate series in 1989, the character was retroactively established as

12995-520: Was posited in the 21st century edition of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. According to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes , and building on Mark Gruenwald 's original definition of the term, the Omniverse consists of all of fiction and reality combined, including all the works that are outside of Marvel's copyright restrictions, and therefore also outside

13110-614: Was revealed to have lasted for approximately a year within the series. In the same year during the second half of the second Doctor Fate series, Inza and Kent are revived in younger bodies. Circumstances makes Inza Doctor Fate, allowing her a social life and shifts her heroism towards social class issues and inequality alongside fighting the supernatural. Inza appears in the War of the Gods crossover and title alongside Wonder Woman and other superheroes to help thwart Circe's efforts from destroying Earth. In 1994, Jared Steven's first origin story

13225-546: Was written by Beechen, Gail Simone , Mark Waid , and Mark Evanier , who each wrote a different ending to the story. The character then appeared in the Reign in Hell miniseries and in Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #30 (August 2009), featuring in the book until its cancellation with #54 in August 2011. Following the events of the Flashpoint mini-series in 2011, DC's continuity

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