For some reason, superhero comics have a hard time dealing with magic. Magic-based heroes like Captain Marvel and Doctor Strange are forever having trouble getting their own solo series going, and its even worse for those under them. But I believe DC’s Doctor Fate could be an interesting spin on the magical hero that could surprise fans and be a capable part of the New 52 with the right story and creators.
Originally created back in 1940 by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman, Doctor Fate is the orphan son of a Egyptian archeologist who was raised by an Egyptian spirit in the ways of magic and life. He was one of the founders of the original Justice Society of America, and has been a supporting character in the DC since. He’s had one chance at a solo series in the 80s, but never really stuck with readers. In the modern New 52 he hasn’t made an appearance in the main universe, but just recently popped up in James Robinson’s Earth 2 series with a few tweaks. What I’m proposing in this week’s Remake & Reboot isn’t an alt-reality version of Doctor Fate, but a mainstream return for this magic hero.
The Concept:
For this, I’d make the original story of Kent Nelson as Doctor Fate the nugget of this retelling. In light of the New 52 and all the heroes being relatively new to the scene, this Doctor Fate could be an ages-old hero that stays out of the limelight. The new comic series could flip between his early adventures in the 1920s with his modern ones, not unlike Ed Brubaker does frequently in Captain America… but for this, I’d have more kick.
If you remember, Kent Nelson fell into this role during a expedition his father, an archeologist, was undertaking in the Middle East on the site of ancient Mesopotamia. Nelson opened a tomb of an ancinet Egyptian wizard named Nabu, inadvertently killing his father. The spirit of Nabu took pity on Nelson, and raised him as a magician. When his training and childhood was complete, Nabu possessed the memorable Doctor Fate helmet, amulet and cloak and bestowed it to Nelson to use in battle. Imagine a New 52 Doctor Fate series flipping between the teen Kent Nelson being raised by an Eygptian spirit and then to the modern-day where he himself is a wizened old adventurer.
In terms of threats and adversaries, I’d borrow a bit from his appearance in Smallville and have the modern-day Doctor Fate beleaguered by everything he’s seen and all the secrets he’s learned about the universe. That could weigh heavily on Fate, while he also fights new versions of his frequent villains like Wotan and the excellent Ian Karkull.
The Creators:
The Writer – Joe Keatinge: Keatinge may just be in the budding stages of his career, but he’s already impressed me with his work on Glory and Hell Yeah. Marvel has already taken notice of this West Coast creator, and it’d be to DC’s advantage to give this creator a look. In terms of why Keatinge would be my pick for Doctor Fate, I think he’d bring a fresh perspective to the character (like he did on Glory) without being weighed down by fandom and trying to stay 100% true to what’s come before for the character.
The Artist – Scott Kolins: To me, Scott Kolins is one of the architects to the modern DCU. With Geoff Johns he revitalized The Flash, but in the modern New 52 he seems to be out of the main mix of titles. I’d love to see Kolins tackle re-inventing Doctor Fate, and really giving it a kinetic spin that makes him a bit less stoic and a bit more rough-and-tumble.
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I’d love to see a nice long run of Dr. Fate, his design really intrigued me as a kid and I’ve enjoyed what little I’ve read of him. After reading Madman for the first time a few years ago, I was struck by how much I’d like to see Mike Allred do a magic-based hero comic (Dr. Strange or Dr. Fate). Kolins would be awesome, but I think Allred would be awesome as well.
Allred on the JSA, which would star Dr. Fate, of course, would be incredible. I can’t argue with Scott Kolins, either.
I would love a new Dr.Fate series.
+1
Isn’t Dr Fate another loose end from Flashpoint? During Flashpoint, there was this race to gain control of the Fate helmet or something? I dunno, I forgot most of it already.
I think Dick Grayson became Dr. Fate in a mini. Hawkgirl has referenced Dr. Fate in Earth-2, so he should pop up eventually.
It would be really cool (plus Scott Kollins is one of my favorite artists)
I always thought Dr. Fate was one of the best character designs of all time. Love his look and he’s an interesting character. I thought for sure he would get his own title in the New 52 but I was wrong 🙁
The only thing I’ve read that he has a pretty big guest role in is Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing. The epic crisis crossover issue. He was fantastic in that and that awesome helmet needs an ongoing all to itself.
Kolins would be an OK artist for this, but a better one would be Frasier Irving. Think how awesome that would be!
I’m not familiar with anything by Joe Keatinge except Hell Yeah, which I dropped after 3 issues because it was an incoherent mess. Instead, I would get James Robinson. Look at how deftly he handles “times past” stories with the Shade – he’d be a shoe-in for a Dr. Fate story that flipped between eras. And he has the proper respect for the character, I think.
Instead of a regular series how about a mini series. I rather the creative teams have time to complete an entire arch without having a sub step in to finish a storyline. Plus we all know how the big companies like the number one issues. Just subtitle each mini series like Dr.Fate:Dark Awakening or Dr.Fate:Dome head returns.
Some great ideas all round (especially Frazer Irving on art).
For anyone who’s not read much Dr Fate, track down the Eighties series, which had two different approaches, both wonderful. JM DeMatteis and Shawn McManus gave us a mother and stepson sharing the role, whereas Bill Loebs, Vince Giarrano, Scott Eaton and Peter Gross gave us Inza Nelson as neighbourhood heroine. I’d love a collection of the latter.