Immortal Doctor Fate

 

The Doctor is in...side the helmet!  For those not in the know, that's a hint at the origin of Doctor Fate.  

Below will be a look at this Lord of Order, with three very special Baxter stock issues from the 1980s....the Immortal Doctor Fate!

Three special issues that give you the facts about Dr. Fate, all presented on shiny paper....and a part of your regular Super Blog Team-Up check up!

Immortal Doctor Fate #1 (January, 1985)

The first issue, with its stunning wrap around cover by Walt Simonson, gives you the basics on Doctor Fate, his origin and his settings, as well as reprinting the covers for First Issue Special #9 and More Fun Comics #56 on the interior covers (in black and white), which are two of the three tales reprinted within this mighty tome (and if you needed only one Dr. Fate book in your life, this would be the one!).

But, first up, the origin of Doctor Fate, as told by his wife, Inza Nelson (with a little help from Paul Levitz, Joe Staton and Mike Nasser) from DC Special Series #10 (April, 1978), "This Immortal Destiny".

Here, Inza relates the tale of how young Kent Nelson was on an archeological dig in Sumeria with his father, Sven, when the boy unearthed a crypt, releasing Nabu (Earth's resident Lord of Order) who was healing.  The gas which was healing Nabu was fatal to Kent's father, so Nabu took the boy as his own, training him in sorcery and magic, as well as giving him the helmet and amulet that enabled him to take on the mantle of Doctor Fate....and that is why Inza was so upset.....but, more on that later.

The next story in this issue is Doctor Fate's second appearance from More Fun Comics #56 (June, 1940), by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman (as well as Dr. Fate's first cover for the issue).  Here, Dr. Fate faces Wotan in the underworld, beating and imprisoning him (odd that their second tale is the one reprinted, but it is a follow up story to the first tale, and those so inclined for more Golden Age Dr. Fate info can check here!).

The last story is the best, with "The Mummy That Time Forgot" from First Issue Special #9 (December, 1975) by Martin Pasko and Walt Simonson.  

Here, Dr. Fate faces the mummified Khalis, a former foe of Nabu, who takes the Amulet of Anubis from Dr. Fate, and hurts him in his first battle, forcing Dr. Fate to retreat to his tower in Salem, where the helmet (which has the spirit of Nabu in it, making Kent Nelson into Dr. Fate), releases his hold on him, so Inza can tend to his wounds (which grates on Inza, as it has for years).  Kent researches Khalis, and goes to fight him, but only defeats the mummy with the power of the sun and an artifact.

More info on the two 1970s issues can be found here....

Immortal Doctor Fate #2 (February, 1985)

The second issue has a cover by Keith Giffen and Gary Martin, and contains reprints of Doctor Fate's back up stories from the Flash #306 to #309 (February to May, 1982) with stories by Martin Pasko, Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt (and on the interior covers, a house ad for the Doctor Fate Flash back up series and the cover to Flash #310....both in black and white).

Apocalypse Of The Fifth Sun!

Here, Doctor Fate has two things to deal with....the resurrection of an ancient Aztec god, Totec, at the Boston Museum, and the wife of his host body of Kent Nelson, Inza, who is getting frustrated with her eternal life...without her husband.  These two problems intersect as Inza follows Doctor Fate after he took Kent to face Totec.

Twilight Of The Fifth Sun

Totec, who was really the Lord of Chaos, Malferrazae, has Inza and Doctor Fate captive, transporting the items, as well as his prisoners to Mexico City, where he plans to resurrect his old empire.  Doctor Fate breaks free to battle Malferrazae's undead legion, while the Lord of Chaos unleashes Inza's jealous to use as a weapon against Doctor Fate!

Dawn Of The Sixth Sun

Doctor Fate battles Inza's jealousy given life via Chaos magic, while Malferrazae torments her body with tales of how he will take the world and devastate Doctor Fate by turning his host, Kent Nelson, against him.  Doctor Fate magics out the villain's plan, and uses his own magic to bring Inza to him....but Inza's jealousy is able to remove the helmet of Doctor Fate from his head, leaving Kent Nelson (who has only vague ideas of what Dr. Fate does) to deal with the world's trouble!

Tomorrow Is Forever

Kent Nelson (the host of Dr. Fate) finds the decaying body of his wife, Inza, still alive due to the magic which kept her and him alive for decades.  Kent comes up with a plan to draw back Inza's jealousy and get the Fate helmet back, reintegrating Inza's soul and body, as well as becoming Doctor Fate again to defeat Malferrazae...all while the archeologist Vernon Copeland in charge of the Boston Museum finds out about Kent and Inza (archeologists in their own right), and makes plans for Inza.

Great little short back up stories from the Flash....made that much better by being able to read them at one time! 

Immortal Doctor Fate #3 (March, 1985)

The third and final issue has a cover by Keith Giffen and Gary Martin, with reprints of the back up stories from Flash #310 to #313 (June to September, 1982), with stories by Steve Gerber, Martin Pasko, Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt, and black and white covers to World's Finest Comics #208 and More Fun Comics #61 (though these two issues don't make the collection).

American Gothic

Kent Nelson sees horrible disasters happening in New York, Mongolia and China, drawing him to go into action as Doctor Fate (and again driving a wedge between Kent and his wife, Inza)....where she becomes frustrated with her situation, and meets with Vern Copeland (who had wanted to talk to Kent, but finds Inza also an archeologist, which allows him to further his plans for this attractive woman.  Doctor Fate traces the seeds of the world's evil to a cornfield in Iowa, and immobilizes a farmer who shows up to protect his field....Fate thinks.  Really, the farmer is more than he seems, and sends Doctor Fate away to another realm!

Rogue Gods

Doctor Fate finds himself  trapped in a limbo dimension, the "Nihil-verse" by his "farmer" foe who is much more than an Earth mystic.  The "farmer" is still growing his seed of evil, as Inza meets Vern Copeland for dinner (and he wants more than is on the menu with Inza).  Doctor Fate is found by the Lord of Chaos, Vandaemeon, and they battle.  When Fate gets the upper hand, he magically reaches out to Inza at their Tower home as a beacon to guide him home...but she's out with Vern!

Blood Of The Sun

As the battle of Dr. Fate and Vandaemeon continues, Inza realizes being with Vern is a mistake, but then she is taken under a magic spell, as Dr. Fate homes in on where she is to return....knocking Vern unconscious as he returns to his dimension.  Weakened by his battle, Fate removes the helmet for Inza to take Kent home, where Kent and Inza argue about her time with Vern....with Kent headed to sleep to recover, and Inza leaving due to their fight and Kent's lack of trust in her.  Kent awakens alone in their tower, finding out the disasters have grown, having to go into action as Doctor Fate, finding the small seed of evil having grown into a larger multiverse damaging gem....and the "farmer" in charge, reveals himself to be Ynar, a renegade Lord of Order!

Crimson Testament

The red gem of Ynar is remaking the multiverse, as Ynar was in league with Vandaemeon (both of whom had become disenchanted with their sides, and teamed up to remake everything for themselves against both order and chaos).  The pair fed the energy of Dr. Fate's mystic battle in the Nihil-verse into the gem to get the power to reshape reality.  As everything around him turns red, Inza arrives, thinking it is the end of the world.  She, Fate, Kent and their Tower are the only things unchanged by the combined Order/Chaos magic.  Knowing he is not powerful enough alone to defeat the magic of both a Lord of Order and Chaos, Dr. Fate adds Inza into the mix, hoping the power of her human spirit can bolster his magic enough.  Which it does, allowing Fate to stop the end of the world, casting the two renegades out of the universe.  A nice side effect....Kent and Inza had to share their essence, seeing they both were really love each other (yet still have trust issues to work out).

A happy ending, leaving Doctor Fate to appear in JLA/JSA crossovers as well as the Crisis On Infinite Earths (not knowing what fate....or is that Fate?....would have in store for them after!

Of course, if you need more doctors in your life, you need to check out the rest of the blogs of the Super Blog Team-Up, as we have many Doctors on call this month, as we share a medical theme for our blogs!

Here are the links!

Magazines and Monsters 

- Doctor Voodoo Avenger of the Supernatural 2009

In My Not So Humble Opinion

- Lucy Van Pelt

Comics Comics Comics…

- Dr Who Marvel Comics and the Power of Podcasts. 

Pop Culture Retrorama

- Doctor Thirteen the Ghost Breaker

Radulich in Broadcasting Network

- Long Road to Ruin: Dr. Dolittle (1998 & 2001)

- Metal Hammer of Doom: Motley Crue - Dr Feelgood

SuperHero Satellite

- The Lonely Life Of Dr. David Banner

Asterisk51

- Dr. Bong, an Actual Doctor

Thank you for stopping by, and hopefully you'll be back if I've entertained you, and hope you enjoyed the variety of my fellow Super Blog Team-Up friends as well!

Wanted Dummy Nyarl-Amen Human Fly Bandits Solomon Grundy Master Man

More E. Nelson Bridwell goodness from the past, as shown on these Nick Cardy covers for Wanted: The World's Most Dangerous Villains #3 (November, 1972) and #4 (December, 1972).

This time, it is foes of Vigilante, Doctor Fate, Hawkman, Green Lantern and Kid Eternity....all from the Golden Age, with villains of the Dummy, Nyarl-Amen, the Human Fly Bandits, Solomon Grundy and Master Man.

The Little Men Who Were There

First up, the first story reprinted in Wanted #3 is Action Comics #69 (February, 1944) by Joe Samachson, Mort Meskin and Joe Kubert, featuring the western Vigilante and his foe....the Dummy (though the original cover by Wayne Boring and Stan Kaye featured Superman fighting the Prankster!).

The Dummy was a small man, with a big evil intellect, who after finishing a train robbery, sent a message to Vigilante about his next robbery....he was going to heist a flying plane! 

Vigilante (Greg Sanders) and Stuff the Chinatown Kid got aboard that plane to keep it safe, but the Dummy and his men used a shrinking ray at their blacksmith headquarters.  The Dummy and his men were hidden in a crate on the plane, and enlarged to go after the diamonds on the plane, and escaped via parachute.  Vigilante and Stuff followed them back to their HQ, but that was the Dummy's plan....so he could use the shrink ray on them!  After a fight with a chicken (!!!), Vigilante and Stuff turned the tables on the villains and shrunk them, defeating them easily.  Then, they presented the villains to the police...in a parakeet cage!

The Dummy was the only villain from the third issue who appeared outside the tale reprinted, featuring in issues of Leading Comics with the Seven Soldiers of Victory, as well as facing Vigilante in other issues of Action Comics (sadly no other Vigilante/Dummy stories were reprinted).

The Fish-Men Of Nyarl-Amen

Next up is the Doctor Fate reprint from More Fun Comics #65 (March, 1941) by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman (though Bernard Baily's Spectre was on the cover). 

Here, the Doctor faced the ancient foe of Nyarl-Amen!

Nyarl-Amen were fishmen from the sea who ruled over 50,000 years ago, and Dr. Fate saw them attacking a Hawaiian naval base in the here and now!  The fish-men attacked the soldiers with ancient mystic weapons, but Doctor Fate drove them off.  Doctor Fate followed them to their undersea home, where he found that Nyarl-Amen was gathering information on the worlds' armies to plan an attack against mankind.  Using his ancient sorcery, he fought Nyarl-Amen, who perished falling on his own sword, with Dr. Fate destroying the city of the fish-men to end their ancient evil.

The Human Fly Bandits

Last but not least of the first issue of reprints, is a Hawkman/Hawkgirl tale from Flash Comics #100 (October, 1948) by John Broome and Joe Kubert (with a Kubert Hawkman cover no less!). 


The flying duo faced The Human Fly Bandits!

John Rotor was the villain of the story, and he was kidnapping Professor Garvey (an inventor friend of Carter Hall and Shiera Sanders) when the alter egos of Hawkman and Hawkgirl came upon the crime, and stopped Rotor from kidnapping Garvey in their heroic alter egos (though they had to chase a car up a building to do it!).  The professor had invented a way to deny gravity via gyroscope and the Human Fly Gang wanted it.  Rotor and his men were tracked by Hawkman and Hawkgirl, but the gang overpowered them using their new walking on walls gimmick.  Captured, Hawkgirl was placed in a giant thermometer, with Hawkman fighting to get a chemical before being thrown in with her.  The plan was to use a heating plate, and have the mercury suffocate them as it rose from the heat.  But, Hawkman got a chemical that would explode in contact with the mercury, which it did, allowing the Hawks to escape, then capture the villains (though they destroyed the professor's gyroscopic car in the process).

Fighters Never Quit

First up for the fourth issue of Wanted is All-American Comics #61 (October, 1944) by Alfred Bester and Paul Reimman (who also drew the cover), it must have been Monday, featuring the debut of Solomon Grundy and his first battle against Green Lantern Alan Scott!



Cyrus Gold was an old thief who died in Slaughter Swamp 50 years before this story.  Escaping hoods wandering the depths of Slaughter Swamp outside of Gotham found a reanimating corpse...who could articulate enough to say he was born on Monday (which gave them the idea to name him Solomon Grundy). 

Getting non-prison attire on Tuesday, the new gang went to rob a jewelry story on Wednesday, facing Alan Scott (at least until the gang pulled out guns, at which point Alan left to become Green Lantern).  Solomon Grundy proved invulnerable to Green Lantern's mystic ring (which was only vulnerable to wood), and with his tremendous strength beat Green Lantern.  Going over the battle with his pal, Doiby Dickles, Alan found out that Solomon Grundy dropped the silver ring of Cyrus Gold in a robbery (Gold having died 50 years ago, escaping police in Slaughter Swamp...his body was the basis of Solomon Grundy).  After Solomon Grundy had a looting spree on Thursday, Green Lantern confronted him again, where the giant nearly killed Green Lantern!  Dazed, Doiby tried to confront Solomon Grundy on his own on Friday (with Alan eventually recovering and going to help on Saturday....but he forgot his Power Ring!).  Fighting Grundy in a trainyard, Green Lantern was able to trick Grundy in front of a train, perhaps spelling an end to Solomon Grundy as the sun rose on a Sunday.....

Only this and Grundy's JSA appearance from the Golden Age have been reprinted, but his Silver Age appearances (against Dr. Fate and Hourman, and two battles against the JLA and JSA have been).  Grundy would soon become very popular, facing Superman in his title and becoming a member of the Legion of Doom on the Super Friends cartoon.

Master Man

The last story of the fourth issue is from Kid Eternity #15 (May, 1949) by William Woolfolk and Al Bryant (with an original cover by Al Bryant)...

....featuring the debut of Master Man, evil foe of Kid Eternity and his helper, Mr. Keeper!



As Kid Eternity could summon dead heroes to help him by saying "Eternity", Master Man was empowered by the devil to bring up dead villains for more dastardly deeds by saying "Stygia". 

Outside a prison, Master Man first summoned evil Russian Rasputin to break into a prison (where Kid Eternity and Mr. Keeper brought up coach Knute Rockne for help).  Foiling Master Man's plans, the devil bid him to kidnap Kid Eternity, and use the Spanish Inquisition's main torturer, Torquemada, against the kid.  Fighting free after being found by Mr. Keeper, Kid Eternity summoned Will Rogers for help....then Master Man summoned Mongol Batu Khan, whom Kid Eternity had face European Charles Martel...with Kid Eternity eventually beating Master Man...who was dragged to hell via a fissure because of his failure.

Master Man would later return with other Satanically influenced villains to face the Marvel Family and Kid Eternity in two digest issues of Adventure Comics (the Marvel Family's last solo tales before the Crisis On Infinite Earths).

E. Nelson Bridwell seemed to be picking favorites here, as both Vigilante and Kid Eternity would have their Secret Origins featured in a soon to debut new reprint title that he edited, and the Hawkman and Dr. Fate stories were more for the heroes (though Green Lantern was a big thing).  The letters' pages promised if there was enough demand, new stories would be possible, but later issues didn't prove that out (but, unlike the first two issues, these were all Golden Age stories!).

Remembering Martin Pasko

Martin Pasko (August 4, 1954 to May 10, 2020) was a writer/editor for television and animated features for years, but his beginnings were in the comic book industry.

His works proved to be very influential to fans, and later comic professionals as well...

...so, here are a look at a few of his best that I've covered (and a few more that should likely get a look at, sometime in the future!).

Superman

When working on the Superman titles in the 1970s, two of the villains he revived were Metallo and the Parasite.  Both storylines unfolded over many issues, and would be the issues that helped keep them in the forefront of Superman villains (after Luthor, Brainiac and the Phantom Zone villains) for decades to come.

Wonder Woman

Pasko came into the Wonder Woman title during the later issues of her twelve labors to rejoin the JLA, and stuck around for a few issues after....enough to have two Wonder Women meet, and the adventures to switch to World War II (as was going on TV with Lynda Carter at the time).  Marty didn't stick around for too many WWII issues, though....

Doctor Fate and Eclipso

Trying for a bit of a mystical bent, Martin Pasko got an incredible First Issue Special, featuring Dr. Fate (and later wrote the Dr. Fate back ups in Flash in the 300s), and had the Metal Men face Eclipso for two issues of Metal Men, all with art by Walt Simonson.

Batman related

Though not working on the Batman title proper, Marty did work on a few titles around the Batman, most notably Man-Bat and the Joker

(for all of an issue each; writing Man-Bat's later team-ups with Batman and Superman as well in Brave and the Bold and DC Comics Presents).

JLA/JSA

Speaking of team-ups, working with E. Nelson Bridwell and Paul Levitz, Marty Pasko got to write team-ups of the JLA and JSA, with those teams working with the Marvel Family and the Legion of Super-Heroes, respectively, in Justice League of America.

Superman Team-Ups

Martin Pasko got to start a title of Superman team-ups in DC Comics Presents, giving readers the first two issues with a race with the Flash, and later issues as well, including a team-up with Wonder Woman, and issues with Man-Bat, Plastic Man and Metamorpho.

Action Comics

Back to Superman, and one of his best works, Marty Pasko wrote Action Comics 500, a tour of Superman's life, and the follow up issue to that as well, showing his strength as a writer, taking what was there and finding the interesting things in it!

It was his ability to find the character and make stories around that character that served him best...

...including his revival of Swamp Thing in Saga of the Swamp Thing, or in his run with Blackhawk in Action Comics Weekly and Blackhawk's own title....

...in his Hollywood career, where, among so many great credits, he wrote the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode "Happy Birthday, Buck" and polished Batman's origin flashbacks in the Batman: The Mask Of The Phantasm movie....

...in his role as writer and story editor on series like Batman: The Animated Series and Thundarr The Barbarian (where he named Ookla the Mok with friend, Steve Gerber), and why Martin Pasko will be missed.

First Issue Plus One: Doctor Fate

Digging into the history of Doctor Fate, one sees that he had one era where he had shown as a particularly bright light....

...that of the 1970s.

Being a major player in JLA/JSA team-ups was not his only function at this time, as he had two solo ventures worth taking a look at!

Here they are, appearing as if by magic!

The Mummy That Time Forgot

First up is the first Dr. Fate solo tale since the 1940s, 1st Issue Special #9 (December, 1975) by Martin Pasko and Walt Simonson, all under a cover by Joe Kubert.


This issue was a great showcase for the golden gladiator, introducing readers of this issue to Kent Nelson, archeologist, who lives in a mystic tower in Salem, MA, with his wife, Inza...

...all the while harboring the mystic entity of ancient Lord of Order Nabu, which when Kent dons his helmet..

...turns Nelson into the protector of the universe, Doctor Fate!

This issue starts in the Boston Museum of Egyptology, where a great evil breaks loose, one that Dr. Fate has feared...that of Khalis!  This animated mummy attacks the doctor, taking away his mystic amulet, with Fate heading back to his sanctuary, and removing the helmet of Nabu, allowing Inza to care for the injured Kent Nelson.   Inza tries to care for her husband, but curses the fates that make her share him with Nabu, and leaves their tower.

Kent awakens, to go to study about Khalis....who was a follower of Anubis in 2030 B.C., and causing chaos in the Egypt of that time, until Nabu came and stopped the mad sorcerer, who was punished by being mummified alive, with Anubis insuring Khalis would stay alive, to come back at some future point to retrieve the amulet of his power...and that day was today!

Kent also reflects on his own origins (more on this later), and Inza feels she stormed out too quickly, yet goes to investigate the museum Khalis came from.  Nelson becomes Dr. Fate again, chasing after Khalis, and using what power he has available, but still unable to defeat his foe, at least until Inza arrives with a piece of Khalis' sarcophagus with Nabu's seal....giving Dr. Fate the ability to stop Khalis' plan to turn modern Boston into ancient Egypt by invoking the power of the Egyptian sun god, Amon-Ra.

Once the battle is completed, Inza and Kent reunite, getting back the amulet, and figuring out a way the three of them can live together.

A stunning story by Marty Pasko that added a little of the Egyptian look to Dr. Fate's bag of tricks, especially the use of the Ankh, all thanks to Walt Simonson's vibrant art, and one of many special issues of First Issue Special, which included characters like the Warlord , Metamorpho, Creeper and Atlas.

This Immortal Destiny

All that, but only a hint of the origin behind Dr. Fate.  DC Special Series #10 (1978) by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton and Michael Netzer explores his origins more fully, expanding upon the original tale told back in More Fun Comics, all under a cover by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.

This issue starts with Inza brooding in Dr. Fate's Salem Tower, poring over the tomes that give life to Dr. Fate's history.


Young 12 year old Kent Nelson was accompanying his archeologist father, Sven Nelson, onto a dig in Sumeria, when the boy stumbled upon the sleeping form of Nabu, releasing him from his suspended animation (with the gas keeping him under killing Kent's dad).

Now alone and grief stricken, Kent's anguish was replaced by Nabu's magic, as the Lord of Order explained that he was a host to an ancient mystic power, that had been hibernating since his battles in ancient Egypt, waiting for this day, when he could teach a new student the mystic arts, to prepare that body to be his new host to fight the forces of chaos across the multiverse.  Nabu gave Kent the amulet of Khalis and helm of Nabu, and, accepting them....became Doctor Fate.

But, Kent didn't know that would also mean handing control of his body over to Nabu, a fate which Inza was still wrestling with....

This issue also contains origins of the New God, Lightray, and Dr. Fate's fellow Earth-2 inhabitant, Black Canary (though her origin is more complex than the one told here, as it is the Earth-1 Black Canary relating the origin of her mother, the Earth-2-Black Canary).


These will be tales explored at a different time.

Looking for an inexpensive way to read these classic tales?  Look no further than The Immortal Doctor Fate #1 (January, 1985), that reprints these two stories, along with a classic Golden Age adventure of Dr. Fate vs. Wotan, all under a wraparound cover by Walt Simonson, the first of three issues reprinting Dr. Fate (the next two focusing on stories from his time as a back up in the Flash), showing off the magic that is Dr. Fate!