[7][8] The most well-known version of the character is Kent Nelson,[8] 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.

The current version of 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.

[11] 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 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.

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"[12] The original version of the character, Kent Nelson, first appeared in a 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.

In this roster, Khalid and Kent Nelson were revealed to be eventual new members of the Justice League, originally acting as "advisors" in the team and becoming reoccurring characters.

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.

[51][52] In late 2023 and 2024, Kent would make appearances in various titles such as Green Lantern: Alan Scott and Jay Garrick: The Flash, the comic books taking place decades prior to the character's death in Justice League Dark.

Now the spiritual son of both Hawkman and Hawkgirl late possessing memories of his past lifetime,[66] Halls is portrayed as legacy hero burdened with the responsibilities associated with Doctor Fate.

[65] Since Khalid Nassour's debut in the 2015 Doctor Fate series, Egyptian deities have served as patrons in place of the Lords of Chaos and Order for the aforementioned incarnation.

[56] The character's origin was first revealed in All-Star Comics #3 (1940), written by Garnder Fox, cumilating to Doctor Fate stating that he is not human nor had a childhood, created by elder gods and placed upon Earth to battle the forces of evil.

Nabu explains he is immortal alien being from 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.

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 the incident and would slowly possess him as Doctor Fate when he was an adult.

[56][93] 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.

Sensing the rift to be potentially damaging to Nelson's mind, Nabu allows 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.

[30] In 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.

[96] 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.

Jared rejects his attempt to make him Doctor Fate under his control and circumstances causes him to alter the forms of the artifacts, 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.

[98] 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.

[79] 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 the villain Mordru, who he then battles and prevails thanks to the spirit of Kent and Inza within the Amulet of Anubis.

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.

[103] In 2010–2011, 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.

[30] In 2015, the current version of Doctor Fate is re-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.

[111][58][57] A a revised version of Inza also appeared briefly in the second Justice League Dark series in a flashback, suggesting her history is similar to prior depictions, where she acted as the partner of Kent Nelson and the pair faced strains on their marriage due to his role as Doctor Fate.

[113] During Infinite Frontier, the character is revealed to have taken in non-binary animated effigy Stich as both child and apprentice in the mystic arts[114] and managed to restore the power lost against Upside-Down Man with Kirk Langstom's help as the Justice League Dark battled an evil Merlin.

[48] However, Khalid's appearances in other titles, especially Justice League Dark,[120][57] suggest a tenure longer than four years, as he is depicted as a medical school graduate and being a first-year resident physician.

[124][125] Nassour's involvement saw both the events of "Knight Terrors" unfold and Salem's return to the current timeline, where she is hostile due to his placement in the legacy of Doctor Fate.

[155] Being more akin to a demon hunter,[30] Stevens possessed mystic alterations from the Lords of Chaos and Order that granted him an enhanced physiology which included a healing factor and the power to see the fate of others through his eye accompanied by an ankh.

[157][158] The character's connection to Egypt has been subjected to various criticisms in recent years, with the Ben-Hassin and Nassour versions similarly created to be explicitly of Egyptian heritage to rectify this.

Moreover, Gerber expressed reservations about the recurring element of the Nabu entity controlling Doctor Fate, as he believed it hindered the character's ability to form meaningful connections.