Doctor Fate (Khalid Nassour)

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Doctor Fate
Khalid Nassour in Justice League Dark.png
Khalid Nassour as Doctor Fate.
Art by Álvaro Martínez.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceConvergence: Aquaman #2 (July 2015)
As Doctor Fate:
Doctor Fate #1 (June 2015)
Created byPaul Levitz
Sonny Liew
In-story information
Alter egoKhalid Nassour
Team affiliationsJustice League
Justice League Dark
Lords of Order
PartnershipsKent Nelson
Nabu
Abilities
  • Mastery of magic
  • Extensive medical knowledge

Khalid Nassour is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Levitz and originally drawn by Sonny Liew, Khalid is one of the latest fictional sorcerers to use the "Doctor Fate" identity and is one of DC Comic's most notable Muslim characters, having starred in his own Doctor Fate solo series.

Publication history[]

After the conclusion of the Convergence limited series in June 2015 and the start of the "DC Rebirth" line, DC launched a new Doctor Fate ongoing series, written by Paul Levitz and drawn by Sonny Liew. The title focused on the newest Doctor Fate, an Egyptian-American medical student named Khalid Nassour.

According to Levitz, Dan Didio and Jim Lee wanted a different feel from the original incarnation when Gardner Fox created him during the Golden Age of Comic Books. Levitz said the Egyptian connection of the original is what fascinated him the most.

"So looking at the kinds of diversity we have today, and remembering a bunch of my conversations with Egyptian Americans, I just thought, what if a person who gets the helmet this time, in this world, is an Egyptian American young man?"[1]

"And for a visual look, the guys really wanted something fresh - not the standard superhero approach that's been going on for the last few years. I liked Sonny Liew's work years ago on My Faith in Frankie, and ran into him in Singapore a few years ago when I got the chance to be the guest of honor at a convention there. And I've watched his work and stayed aware of it in the years since."[1]

The series ran for 18 issues from June 2015 to November 2016.[2]

Fictional character biography[]

Khalid Nassour is an Egyptian-American medical student who is the son of Elizabeth Nassour and Mohammed Nassour. He was looking for a gift for his girlfriend in the Brooklyn Museum when the statue of Bastet held out its hand and gave him the Helmet of Fate. As Doctor Fate, he fought bad guys. When he healed his father's blindness, Anubis took Khalid's sight which is briefly negated when Khalid is wearing the Helmet of Fate. Anubis later attacked the world and Doctor Fate confronted him at a power plant. Obtaining the Staff of Power, Doctor Fate defeated Anubis.[3]

It was revealed that Khalid's mother is the niece of Kent Nelson, making him Khalid's great-uncle. When Khalid meets his great-uncle, Kent becomes a mentor to him. The two of them later discovered that Osiris is behind the mummies and the Ghost of Julius Caesar. After that mission, Kent deems that Khalid is worthy to be the next Doctor Fate and continues to train him as his ward.[4][5][page needed]

In the pages of Justice League Dark, it is revealed that Khalid was imprisoned by Nabu (who has taken over as Doctor Fate) within a magical vase. When the vase is accidentally broken when the Justice League Dark arrive at the Tower of Fate, Khalid is temporarily freed and tries to warn them that Nabu is helping the Lords of Order release the Otherkind only to be trapped back in the vase.[6] After the events of the Witching Hour, the vase containing Khalid is brought to the JLD's headquarters where Man-Bat uses magic to free Khalid from it. He learns of Nabu and the Lords of Order's plans involving the Otherkind.[7][8]

Powers and abilities[]

Khalid demonstrated limited magical abilities due to his pharaoh bloodline, allowing him for his mystic affinity.[9] These abilities would be increased under the tutelage from Kent Nelson.[10] While wearing the Helm of Fate, Khalid's magical abilities are bolstered from the artifact's formidable magical power, bestowing him powers associated with Doctor Fate such as flight, healing, control over the natural elements (wind, fire, earth, air) and lightning, and intangibility.[11] Khalid was also bestowed with the mystic artifact known as the "Staff of Power" by Osiris, capable of projecting energy that enabled him to defeat Anubis.[12]

In addition to his magical powers, Khalid is knowledgeable in the occult and the workings of the universe.[10] He also has extensive medical knowledge and is a certified emergency medical technician (EMT).[13]

In other media[]

Khalid appears in the fourth season of Young Justice, voiced by Usman Ally. While him being Kent Nelson's great-nephew and a Muslim is intact, this version's lineage is different, being one of the Homo Magi (a race of humans capable of controlling magic) and therefore, a descendant of Arion. He struggles with his identity as both Muslim and a sorcerer due to his faith forbidding sorcery. Khalid is also one of Sentinels of Magic, a group of young heroes whom are proteges to Zatanna. He becomes Dr. Fate in the episode "Kaerb Ym Traeh!"

Reception[]

Jessica Plummer of Book Riot acknowledged the superhero and compared the likeness of the superhero to Marvel Comics Kamala Khan. While Khan is an original Muslim superhero, so is Khalid. "He’s got a great design and is part of a demographic that is still woefully underrepresented in comics" according to her.[14]

Collected editions[]

Title Material collected Pages ISBN
Doctor Fate Vol. 1: The Blood Price Doctor Fate (2015-2016) #1-7 & DC Sneak Peek: Doctor Fate #1 176 978-1401261214
Doctor Fate Vol. 2: Prisoners of the Past Doctor Fate (2015-2016) #8-12 128 978-1401264925
Doctor Fate Vol. 3: Fateful Threads Doctor Fate (2015-2016) #13-18 142 978-1401272418

See also[]

Zachary, Brandon (26 September 2019). "Khalid Nassour: What Happened to DC's Last Doctor Fate?". CBR. Retrieved 3 April 2020.

References[]

  1. ^ a b "LEVITZ Channels DITKO For June's New, Unusual DR. FATE". Newsarama. 2015-04-16. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  2. ^ "GCD :: Series :: Doctor Fate". Comics.org. 2015-08-01. Retrieved 2017-02-20.
  3. ^ Doctor Fate (vol. 4) #1-4 (June 2015). DC Comics.
  4. ^ Doctor Fate (vol. 4) #12-16 (July-Nov. 2016). DC Comics.
  5. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; Wiacek, Stephen (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK. ISBN 9780241232613.
  6. ^ Justice League Dark (vol. 2) #2 (Aug. 2018). DC Comics.
  7. ^ Justice League Dark (vol. 2) #8 (Feb. 2019). DC Comics.
  8. ^ Matadeen, Fenwick (1 February 2020). "DC's 'Sorcerer Supreme' Has Returned More Powerful (and Dangerous) Than Ever". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  9. ^ Levitz, Paul (2016). Blood price. Sonny Liew, Lee Loughridge, Nick Napolitano, Steve Wands. Burbank, CA. ISBN 978-1-4012-6121-4. OCLC 933580456.
  10. ^ a b Tynion, James, IV (2019). Justice League Dark. Volume 1, issue 1-3, 5-6, The last age of magic. Alvaro Martinez, Daniel Sampere, Raul Fernandez, Juan Albarran, Brad Anderson, Adriano Lucas. [United States]. ISBN 978-1-4012-8812-9. OCLC 1158974787.
  11. ^ The DC comics encyclopedia : the definitive guide to the characters of the DC universe. Matthew K. Manning, Stephen Wiacek, Melanie Scott, Nick Jones, Landry Q. Walker, Alan Cowsill (New ed.). New York, New York: DK Publishing. 2021. ISBN 978-0-7440-2056-4. OCLC 1253363543.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. ^ The DC comics encyclopedia : the definitive guide to the characters of the DC universe. Alan Cowsill, Alexander Irvine, Steven Korté, Matthew K. Manning, Stephen Wiacek, Sven Wilson (First American ed.). New York, New York: DK Publishing. 2016. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0. OCLC 936192301.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  13. ^ Levitz, Paul (2016). Prisoners of the past. Sonny Liew, Ibrahim Moustafa, Lee Loughridge, Saida Temofonte. Burbank, CA. ISBN 978-1-4012-6492-5. OCLC 945719105.
  14. ^ Plummer, Jessica (19 March 2020). "Give This Hero a Comic Book: Khalid Nassour (Doctor Fate)". Book Riot. Retrieved 3 April 2020.

External links[]

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