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Dr. Fate

Origins - Kent Nelson was the son of archaeologist Sven Nelson, and the two of them were exploring they discovered an underground pyramid. It contained Nabu, an ancient immortal who had been held in suspended animation for thousands of years.

Kent released him, but it led to accidentally killing his father. Nabu decided to mentor the young boy in the secrets of the universe, giving him incredible powers. He would serve as an agent of the Lords of Order in their never-ending battle against the Lords of Chaos. Having finished his training, Nabu gave him an amulet, cloak, and helmet to become a champion of good as Dr. Fate. Kent would go on adventures as Fate, although Nabu's spirit would always guide him through the helmet and he'd awaken with little memory of his own exploits. Along with the Spectre, he helped form the original Justice Society of America.

Kent soon felt the helmet was becoming too 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. After loosing the Helmet of Nabu sometime after World War II, Kent would not be Dr. Fate again for nearly fifteen years. In 1963 Nelson rejoined the Justice Society and his fellow heroes noticed that he had not seemed to have aged a day since they had last seen him. Through the power of Nabu it would seem Kent was nearly immortal. Nearly twenty years later Kent would go on to help form a new version of the Justice League. Soon after Kent and his wife Inza aged rapidly becoming their true age which would have been somewhere in their mid to late 60's. After Inza committed suicide in late 1987, Kent too found himself close to taking his life however Nabu would not allow him to die until a replacement for Fate was found. After a replacement was found Kent was allowed to die and was reunited with Inza. Believing they were in heaven but in reality they were inside of something called the Amulet of Anubis they began a new life together as their youth had been returned to them. Inside of the amulet they had a son named Kent Jr. Nabu brings them back out of the amulet and once Kent Nelson is Doctor Fate however this time his wife Inza is also in the mix as the two of them now form the mysterious sorcerer. In 1994 the two of them were thrust out of the Dr. Fate helmet, rapidly aging again and looking for another replacement for the Dr. Fate helm. Jared Stevens was the next Doctor Fate and he soon discovered that the spirits of Kent and Inza Nelson were still with him as Fate (he had dropped the Doctor part) as they were trapped inside of the amulet he carried. Jared Stevens with the guidance of Kent and Inza Nelson along with Nabu would fight the Lords of Chaos as Fate for five years before he was killed by the wizard Mordru. Hector Hall, the son of Carter and Shiera Hall (Hawkman and Hawkwoman), was the next person to become Dr. Fate. Hall would soon battle Mordru, beating him and trapping him inside of the amulet where Kent and Inza Nelson still resided. Hall would soon join the Justice Society as his predecessors had done. Due to being distracted by his missing wife, Mordru was able to switch places with Hall trapping him inside the amulet while Mordru would become Dr. Fate. Nabu would eventually free Hector who would then go on to beat Mordru and trap him inside of the Rock of Eternity. After finding his wife and being banished to a frozen mountain in Hell by the rampaging Spectre, the two of them chose to die and join their son Daniel who had become the new Lord of the Dreaming. The Nelson's grand nephew Kent V. Nelson is the current Dr. Fate. Kent, a psychologist by trade, was chosen by the Helmet of Fate that he found inside of a dumpster he was trying to sleep in. The process of becoming Dr. Fate was a slow process as he taught himself spells gradually. Kent would eventually turn to the Justice Society in order to find a place to hone his skills and to fully come to grasps with his new found powers and abilities. Although still not having achieved a mastery of his skills, Kent has made serious strides at becoming a trained sorcerer and hero.

Powers and Abilities - All versions of Dr. Fate seem to have the same powers and abilities the only difference being the strength of those powers as well as the different levels of mastery of the abilities. Doctor Fate is an accomplished sorcerer, and at his most potent able to match most other wizards in the DC Universe. Doctor Fate possesses a variety of mystical powers. Some of powers and abilities include telekinesis, mystic bolts of energy, illusion casting, flight, near invulnerability, super speed, enhanced strength, invisibility, astral projection, energy manipulation, post-cognition (seeing the past), time travel, regeneration, enhanced intellect, mental shields as well as mind control, summon or banish creatures, and teleportation.

Weaknesses and Limitations - By not wearing the Helmet, (as the original Kent Nelson did at one time), Doctor Fate loses much of his/her power and knowledge. Fate's main weakness is that his physical form can be stressed and destroyed. It is also revealed that Dr. Fate was not meant to be either male or female, but both united as one, and that unless this is realized Dr. Fate can never reach his full potential. 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. It has been shown that the latest version of Fate can be impaired by loud noises. It appears that his ability to 'hear' what the Helmet tells him is blocked or interrupted making it difficult for him to cast spells.