Doctor Fate
| Doctor Fate (Scenesys ID: 1141) | |||
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| Quote | |||
| "Fate is never alone! Along the twisted paths I walk, others are ever at my side - in spirit if not in fact! They are those who serve the cause of justice!" | |||
| Profile | |||
| Full Name: | Dr. Kent Victor Nelson, M.D. | ||
| Gender: | Male | ||
| Species: | Magician | ||
| Theme: | DC (FC) | ||
| Occupation: | Archaeologist and Physician | ||
| Citizenship: | United States of America | ||
| Residence: | Tower of Fate (Waterloo, Avalon, Blüdhaven) | ||
| Education: | Princeton University (MD) | ||
| Status: | Dropped | ||
| Groups: | Mystic Arts-OOC, Justice League, JL Dark | ||
| Other Information | |||
| Apparent Age: | Actual Age: | 123 | |
| Date of Birth | 15 May 1908 | Actor: | Daniel Craig |
| Height: | 188 cm (6'2") | Weight: | 89 kg (196 lb) |
| Hair Color: | Blond | Eye Color: | Blue |
| Theme Song: | "Desert Rose" by Sting featuring Cheb Mami | ||
Profile
Kent Nelson has done what he can to keep out of the spotlight by secluding himself in the Tower of Fate, moving occasionally, but he has never assumed a new identity. He remains Kent Nelson, born 15 May 1908, and he still looks like he's 25 years old. It's only a matter of time before someone starts poking around. Doctor Fate is only known in certain circles. In the mystical community, he is world renown as an Agent of Order, a Mystic Defender of Earth, and as one of the world's most powerful mystics. He is a good man, but not very approachable. He has been around for more than a century, yet has kept to himself much of that time. His actions are largely undocumented. But his reputation has grown in recent years, thanks to the internet. Still, he is thought of in the same vein as Cthulhu, Huckleberry Finn, and the Invisible Man. Dr. Kent Nelson, M.D. is known to general public as a supercentenarian. On a good day, he might pass for ninety plus years younger. But he has a driver's license, bank card, library card, insurance card, social insurance card, a few credit cards, and all the other associated cards a man might find in his wallet. Whenever anyone asks, he explains it away as healthy living, the wonders of modern medicine, that it runs in the family, or just at typographical error. He does seem to be a bit of a recluse, though.
Current Player Approved: Available for Application
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Description
Description:
The first thing that often strikes one as an oddity would be the general outlandishness of his attire. He wears a partial set of armour, a cape, and what appears to be pure polyester. The man-made fabric looks slippery on him, as if to suggest that it would be difficult to get a hold of him, something that cotton wouldn't do nearly as well. It is skin tight over his entire body, with no loose material.
He is of course, fit and athletic. He would have to be in order to pull off what he's wearing. He has a strong upper body, as evidenced by his pecs, biceps, forearms, and abs. He seems to wear a full body suit made of that polyester or similar material, is a light blue, called azure, and resembles the sky on a bright and clear day.
Upon the man's head, he wears a helmet that may be made of pure gold. The way the man carries it, it must be extremely thin, or only gold in colour. Like the rest of the gold on his body, it is highly reflective. His ears are visible from two circular holes, which narrow into a vertical slit down towards his neck. There are two eye slits, cut into triangles for his eyes, which are the same colour as the fabric covering his torso. Over his nose, the rounded helmet forms its only angle, that of a line from his nose down to below his chin, which is covered by the fabric of his costume.
Draped around his shoulders is a long golden cloak, reaching to just above his feet. It doesn't quite touch the ground. This cloak is also reflective, but not quite as much as the helmet. Further down, either affixed to the cloak or with the chain hidden beneath it, lays a gold circular disk. Upon closer inspection, the disk has a raised rim, what appears to be Egyptian hieroglyphics. In the centre, there is another raised circle.
Rising up to the top of his forearms are a pair of gold gauntlets. They too seem to be made of not gold, for his fingers move effortlessly. It is almost as if they were made of some kind of plastic, allowing him the full range of movement despite the golden properties they exhibit. At his waist, which is slim, is a gold belt. It is straight at the top, and curves into a point aiming towards the ground on the lower side of the belt.
Below this, there is more of the azure blue polyester of his costume. He must be wearing some kind of cup or athletic protection, since it does leave something to the imagination before it oozes down, clinging to his thighs, knees, and calves. From there, his feet have slid into two golden boots. Whatever material they may have been made from, nothing on his suit seems to collect dust, debris, or defects of any kind. Even when he walks, the underside of his boots seems to be spotless, polished gold. These boots have give around his ankles, letting him stretch in all the normal ways, but come to a point, aiming upwards near the top of his shin, like a footballers shin pads.
You may not have heard of him, for his activities are not for mere mortals to know. But this is Doctor Fate, the Mystic Defender of Earth, an Agent of Order, and a superhero in his own right.
History
History:
Sven managed to release Nabu from his confinement, but in doing so, he exposed himself to poisoneous gas. Nabu was thankful for having been released but regretful that his freedom had robbed the boy of his father. Taking Kent under his wing, Nabu became a second father figure to him, teaching him the secrets of the universe, and instantly raising him to full adulthood. He went from twelve to twenty-five in seconds.
Over time, Nabu bestowed the Amulet of Anubis, Cloak of Destiny, and lastly, the Helmet of Nabu, which housed the ancient wizard's consciousness, and enabled Kent Nelson to become Doctor Fate. There is far more to this story, such as when Kent went to medical school, becoming a medical doctor, but like the biblical Jesus, some of his story has been lost for all time. Unfortunately, Kent Nelson is somewhat taciturn.
Personality
Personality:
But no matter how disconnected he may become, Doctor Fate will remain a hero. He is one of those people who are able to do good work without fame or recognition. He has saved the world countless times, yet it has never appeared on television, in the newspapers, or garnered any kind of recognition for his actions beyond the respect of those likeminded yet unknown heroes. Sometimes his standoffish nature can confuse others, but Doctor Fate concentrates on the big problems for the world, and those that the general populace never learn about. But if he was out and about, and someone asked him to help her cat out of a tree, he would. He's not so disconnected from the outside world that he would ignore the plights of others. Yet, many a time, he does just that by remaining in his door-less tower while heroes bang on the stone for his help. There are not many who can ignore the knock on a door as easily as the ring of a phone, but when Doctor Fate is preoccupied, there is always a good reason.
Doctor Fate has spent many an hour in his tower, contemplating threats from the small to the apocalyptic. Sometimes, he goes weeks and even months without being seen. It is his lot in life to wait, prepare, and be ready for when Fate is required. When he finally does make an appearance, he does so with a suitably grand entrance. Siegfried and Roy had nothing on him, as magicians or showmen. But even as he bears the brunt of an assault, whether it is mystic or otherwise, Doctor Fate responds with a measured even answer. He has been known to teach, perhaps even lecture, and educate his foes, even as he subdues them. A fine example of this is when he fought Modru. "I've looked into your soul, Modru. I know what you fear more than anything. Being constrained. Bound. Buried. In your natural state, you are pure energy. Even inhabiting a corporeal body such as this one is something you find distasteful -- but being imprisoned beneath a mountain of stone - that's much worse, isn't it? Your fate is this Modru: After suffering hundreds of defeats your essence will finally be interred here -- on this spot. Even as the stars burn out and the universe dies, even as time itself ends -- you will still be trapped here, preserved like an insect in amber. Within the rock of eternity!".
Abilities
Invulnerability:
One of the first permanent spells that Nabu taught Kent Nelson was one to make him invulnerable. Nabu had physically and mentally aged the twelve year old boy into a man in the prime of his life, where he has remained thanks to the spells cast upon him by Nabu and taught to Kent Nelson. His body, from the smallest of parts, such as his eyelashes, to his larger areas, such as his chest, has a hardness of 10 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. That is equal to diamonds, but less than Fullerite or aggregated diamond nanorods. He has been hurt, bruised, and even cut before, but those instances were the result of spells or beings with superhuman strength and often, equally hard diamond skin. He could survive a tank shell and not have a scratch on him, but the resulting smoke inhalation wouldn't be very good for his lungs, and he has to employ spells or use diamond tipped clippers just to keep his nails and hair from overgrowing. He may be for all intents and purposes invulnerable to impacts, but he has his vulnerabilities, just like everyone else.
Limited Immortal:
Doctor Fate is not truly immortal in that he can be injured, and presumably killed through violent means. But he does not age the way mere mortals do. He has been exposed to violent illnesses during the course of his work as Doctor Fate and as Doctor Kent Nelson, but found he was immune to them. He remains in the physical and mental prime of his life, retaining the full use of his faculties, and his physical potential. How long this will continue, he cannot say, but it seems that when Nabu aged him to twenty five and taught him magic back in 1920, the spell was permanent.
Telekinesis:
Skills
Academia:
Kent Nelson is a brilliant scholar. How much of that is natural intelligence and how much is through the life experiences he's had as Doctor Fate can never be sorted out. But the man, as he is now, is brilliant. He proved that by attending university without his helmet, and graduating with honours. He is one of those rare renaissance men who can effortlessly discuss the finer points of physics, chemistry, mathematics, language, history, and geography as easily as someone else might talk about the weather or the result of a recent sporting contest. He doesn't just converse on these subjects, he understands them. It's a subtle difference, but can be poignant depending on the circumstances.
Archaeology:
In 1984, Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas made a film about Indiana Jones. But from 1940 onwards, there was a man whose life mirrored the well publicised archaeologist. Kent Nelson might as well have gone by the name Jersey Nelson as he did Doctor Fate. Archaeology runs in Kent Nelson's blood. His father was one, and his son became one. There's nothing quite like an ancient mystery to get the blood flowing. Kent Nelson loves to globetrot, venturing into tombs, lost cities, all in the search for a relic. His job as Doctor Fate doesn't leave him with a lot of time to follow his great hobby, but that's all it is to him. It's a diversion. It's relaxing. And yet he is among the world's foremost authorities in the subject. His name, and his family name, is recognised by museums, heritage foundations, and any other organisations dedicated to discerning the mysteries of the past. He's written a few papers on the subject, but never a book, despite being offered the opportunity. Put a relic in front of him, and he'll probably be able to tell you its origin, approximate age, and identify any markings on it and their cultural significance. And all of that from a few quick glances.
Art Collecting:
Kent Nelson is an archaeologist at heart. He has a deep appreciation for old things. Between the magical item he's recovered over the years and housed in his tower, with old portraits, statues, paintings, sculptures, and other relics he's collected over the years, his home is a museum unto itself. He does know art, and has studied it from time to time. Visits to the British Museum, Louvre, and Czartoryski Museum are a common event for Kent Nelson. Although his personal collection would not rival any of those, it is nonetheless an impressive assortment of relics, treasures, paintings, sculptures, and magical items. And if ever the situation required it, for example if he were relieved his ability to use his magic and was being pursued while wearing any kind of normal attire, he could walk right into any museum in the world, stand in front of a painting, and begin to talk at length about it, as if he were a tour guide, although he might be given away by being a particularly knowledgeable tour guide.
Athletics:
Kent Nelson is in his late seventies, but he retains the youthful vitality of a man one third his age. He is in great shape for any man, and unnaturally good shape for a man of his age. He keeps himself in such great shape through the magic of Doctor Fate, good eating, and regular exercise. He could still improve his physique by going to the gym without his helmet, working on his stamina and endurance, but he has not gotten around to it yet. Really, if he were examined by another doctor who did not know his name or anything about him, the Doctor would say he was in great shape and probably around twenty five years old, but he could still improve if he went to the gym and used a routine to increase his strength, flexibility, whatever he wants to attain.
Balance:
As an Agent of Order, it is Doctor Fate's duty to uphold the ideals of Order in a cosmic sense. But dominance in the Order versus Chaos conflict does not come often, or easily. It is a conflict that has continued since the beginning of time. As a pragmatist, Doctor Fate instead strives for balance. This is not a betrayal of his beliefs, but an evolution of them. He, and the Lords of Order, as well as the Lords of Chaos for that matter, understand the conflict well. Stalemate is the most often result whenever they come in direct conflict, or a series of small victories and defeats. But in this conflict, there can be no true victory. So Agents of Order such as Doctor Fate hope for victory, but prepare and expect stalemate. But the Order versus Chaos conflicts that end in stalemate are anything but boring.
General:
Kent Nelson did not grow up in the same way as most human beings do. He completely bypassed his teenage years, and went right into adulthood. From there, he spent decades in virtual isolation, until he decided to acclimate himself to human society. It came late in life, but he has picked up on some of the mundane skills most people possess and take for granted. He can operate an elevator; turn on the lights in a room, a television, and computer. It is the last two of which have given him the greatest exposure to popular culture. He's never heard of Gilligan's Island, NCIS, or knows who Drew Carey is, but he can find information on the internet, grind his own coffee beans in a grinder, and eventually he will enter the twenty first century, just as soon as he catches up on everything from the twentieth century.
Jujitsu:
Jujitsu (literally translated as the "art of softness") is a Japanese martial art first developed for the Samurai. It was designed to allow the Samurai to neutralise an armed or armoured assailant without the use of arms, which left a myriad of grapples, pins, joint locks, and throws. The techniques are best used when the attackers own momentum, his or her energy, is used against them. Along the path of his heroic development, Kent Nelson decided to take up Jujitsu. He felt that while he had spells, he was a poor fighter, not much more than a brawler when fisticuffs were required. He has now spent several decades honing his skill. He may not be the best in the world at it, or as good as some people who have kept a rigorous schedule over a few short years, but he can hold his own, and his skills usually allow him to defend himself, even without his powers.
Linguistics:
Between his intelligence, magic, and experience, Kent Nelson can speak many languages. When he wishes to learn a new one, he simply casts a spell. Or he can have Nabu translate for him. But thus far, on his own, through the old fashioned way or his magic, he has learned to speak fluent Arabic, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Mayan, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, and Welsh. He can also speak and read dead languages, such as that spoken by the Ancient Egyptians and written in hieroglyphics. But since there are only a handful of beings in the world who can speak such archaic languages, these language skills are mostly used to translate old tombs or other items.
Magic:
Anyone could put on the Helmet of Nabu, Cloak of Destiny, and Amulet of Anubis. But Doctor Fate is more than the sum of his parts. Kent Nelson makes Doctor Fate who he is. He has an expansive catalogue of mystical knowledge to draw upon, developed over the decades. Much of it was taught by Nabu, but there is something to be said for the life experience of Kent Nelson. Spending more than a century around the mystery that is magic, he has learned a great deal, as evidenced by when he lost the Helmet of Nabu during his battle with the Spectre. Doctor Fate continued without the helmet because Kent Nelson made that choice. The number of humans who have gained his level of knowledge in this field are few and far between, in the sense that another like him may not come for a thousand years. If one wishes to know something about magic, Doctor Fate is often the first choice, or perhaps that should be last best hope. As if often the case, by the time someone asks him the question, he already has an answer, or is in the process of formulating one.
Medicine:
Kent Nelson does not know why Nabu christened him Doctor Fate when he became an adventurer, but since that time he has gone on to earn his M.D. He spent a few years working in a hospital, dealing with everything from the common cold performing thoracic surgery. He rarely practices anymore, having retired so to speak, but he retains the medical knowledge to deal with injuries or illnesses. He continues to read periodicals and journals, so for any complex problem, he is as good as any diagnostician.
Sciences:
Doctor Fate is a Mystic Defender of Earth. With such a title, a scientific background does sound out of place, but Doctor Fate happens to be something of a renaissance man. Kent Nelson had been adventuring as Doctor Fate for decades before he went to university, but when he did, he found that the sciences such as biology, chemistry, and physics were similar to magic. After earning a bachelor's degree, he went on to earn his doctorate, and became a very skillful surgeon. Although he rarely practices anymore, he does read scientific and medical journals, keeping up to date on the newest advances and theories. He's more of a diagnostician at this point.
Surgery:
Resources
Agent of Order:
Nabu is a Lord of Order, and Doctor Fate is his Agent on Earth. He is not the only Agent of Order on Earth, but he is the most prominent. It is his sworn duty to uphold the order of the universe in his little pocket of it. He must battle Agents of Chaos wherever he may find them, and continue the millennia old struggle of Order versus Chaos. It is his responsibility, his duty, and his life. He does good work in between these titanic struggles, but even in that, he promotes Order. But even with his status as the most prominent Agent of Order, it is not a military organisation. He does not command anything but the respect he has earned through his lifetime of service as Doctor Fate.
Amulet of Anubis:
The Amulet of Anubis, as the name might suggest, was an amulet crafted by the Egyptian jackal-headed god of the dead. It was created in 2025 BCE for high priest Khalis, with the intention of him using it to defeat Pharaoh Mentuhotep II and restore the 10th Dynasty. Nabu the Wise was able to help Pharaoh Mentuhotep II defeat high priest Khalis, and kept the amulet for himself. It is a powerful item indeed, granting the wearer numerous magical powers. It allows the wearer to be sensitive to the astral plane, allowing them to communicate with other minds, or dominant them. With it, high priest Khalis was able to raise a vast army, controlling the minds of the people. The amulet makes Doctor Fate an above average telepath, just a shade below Jean Grey. It also acts as a house of souls, allowing welcome souls to rest within the amulet, or forcibly imprisoning those on a temporary basis. Whatever souls reside within the amulet are there together, so imprisoning a soul while it is being inhabited by other good ones is not a good idea, as it would be the equivalent of locking some good and decent people to wander through a mall, while criminals were among the shoppers. They don't have to interact and can find their own space, but that space is finite. And last of all the powers, the Amulet grants Doctor Fate is his namesake. It gives him the gift of foresight. He is able to look into the future and see the ultimate fate of any being. This takes concentration and a deliberate desire to look into a particular fate. But while he is precognisant, he is not infallible. Fate can be changed. Whenever he does look into the future, that is the most likely conclusion, but with dimensional shifts, time travel, and all the other changes in the constants of the universe, what may be, is not always what will be.
Batman:
When Doctor Fate met Bruce Wayne, he was still a boy on his way towards becoming a man. Oh, he was schooled in the sciences, mathematics, and literature. He was trained in the martial arts, able to hold his own in a fight. But while he had learned all these things, he was rather like a doughnut. He had the trimmings of manhood, but his core, it was hollow. He was driven by an inner desire and little else. He came to Doctor Fate seeking more of these trimmings, but what he left with was a stronger core. Doctor Fate taught the young man how to centre himself. He taught him how to concentrate and see the world around him as the trimmings, rather than the meat of things. He gave the young man balance, composure, and helped to change Bruce Wayne into what he desired. He was no longer just a man but a force of nature. He was above it all. He was Batman. And while Doctor Fate has never asked, nor been told, he knows who his former pupil is. But he was just one of many teachers on that journey. And they all, to a degree, think of him as a son.
Cloak of Destiny:
Doctor Fate never seems to be without his helmet, his amulet, and his cloak. The last of these is his least powerful item, yet is often his most useful. When he wears the cloak, he is imbued with a number of abilities. He can manipulate his own molecular density and anything he desires attached to him to a degree that he can phase through solid objects or people. He can literally walk through walls. He is able to teleport himself, in a manner similar to that seen on Star Trek, although his is far flashier. It seems he is able to teleport to anywhere on the planet, but whether he can teleport between celestial bodies is not currently known. He can create illusions, similar to how the Green Lanterns do, and he is limited by his concentration, his will power, just as they are. He can make himself appear to be invisible, inaudible, though he can't conceal his scent or inertial displacement, or his body temperature. He can manipulate gravity, in order to fly, levitate himself and objects, or increase his strength through a sort of tactile telekinesis. There is considerable overlap in the spells he knows, and those conveyed upon him through his amulet, cloak, and helmet. When multiple items grant the same power, they seem to just augment each other.
Enigmatic:
Over the years, one of Doctor Fate's greatest assets has been his ability to conceal his emotional state. He has cloaked himself in secrecy. From head to toe, his body is concealed by his costume. He is a man of impeccable posture, which gives virtually nothing to any observant individual. Those who rely on body language, find him a blank slate. And even his helmet guards against any and all facial expressions being given out. It is only in his eyes that they may garner some shred of information, but it is rarely anything of consequence. When Doctor Fate speaks, it is with measured timing, and words that have been carefully chosen. This enigmatic outward appearance happened by coincidence rather than design. He is a man draped in mystery. Even those who consider themselves friends cannot say much about him other than that he is powerful, practiced, and professional. Even when one of these friends gets to know him well, to learn his true identity, all they will find are layers upon layers of mystery. The defences that have evolved over time are now almost impenetrable. He does not wish to be distant, but he is. And sometimes, in his darkest moments, he shares a private thought. Once one gets past all those layers, is there really anything there? Without the mystery, what is Kent Nelson?
Experience:
Someone once said that experience was "the benchmark of maturity". If that's to be taken as fact, then there is something to be said for Doctor Fate's decades of experience. He lived through World Wars, a Cold War, and into the Internet Age. He has a wealth of personal experience that he can draw upon, and has a philosophical bent that is different than the great majority of his heroic peers. His experience often proves invaluable, but it can also hinder him. In a world surrounded by apples, he is very much an orange.
Helmet of Nabu:
Above all, what makes Doctor Fate unique is the magnificent golden Helmet of Nabu that he adorns. For more than eighteen hundred years, Nabu the Wise wore that helmet. He poured his skill, his wisdom, his knowledge, and eventually his very soul into that helmet. To this very day, that is where the Lord of Order Nabu resides. It is his home. It is among the greatest single sources of magical power in existence, granting the wearer numerous and diverse abilities. When wearing the helmet, Doctor Fate is able to banish objects or beings to other dimensions, he gains invulnerability to virtually all forms of attacks, resistances to the heat, cold, and various energy sources, a type of protective force shield around his body. He can create objects out of thin air. The helmet acts as a house of souls, though only Nabu currently resides within its confines. He can manipulate his body to phase through solid objects, summon creatures, natural and mythical, as well as transport himself through space and time and across dimensions. He is able to see in the future, gaining great foresight of things to come. He can bind beings or objects to places, a task, or whatever he so chooses. He can influence others as if they were enamoured with him. He can cast lightning bolts from his hands or call them down from the heavens. He can telekinetically manipulate objects, defying gravity, flying, or even parting the seas. He gains great telepathic powers, unnatural intelligence, and cunning, can transmutate him or others to grow in size, shrink, or change form to create cunning illusions. He gains great speed, able to compete with the fastest speedsters. In essence, when wearing the Helmet of Nabu, Doctor Fate can do anything that he wishes. He is limited only by his human body, his concentration, and his imagination. He is never, however, an absolute master of any of these fields. The phrase jack of all trades, master of none is well suited to Doctor Fate. The Flash is faster, Mister Fantastic is smarter, Superman is stronger, and so on, but not significantly.
Martian Manhunter:
Doctor Fate owes his life to the Bronze Wraith, which was an alias employed by the Martian Manhunter years ago. He has not seen the Bronze Wraith since that dark night when together they saved the world, but he remembers the look of the man, and the debt he owes him. Doctor Fate has changed as well since that fateful night. At the time, he was without the Helmet of Nabu, and instead employed a half helmet, but the Martian Manhunter would easily recognise Doctor Fate for who he is. He may come one day to collect on that debt, so in a way, this is less a resource for Doctor Fate and more of one for the Martian Manhunter, but they worked well together once, and could do so again. In the Bronze Wraith, Doctor Fate saw a reflection of himself, a kindred spirit if he ever did see one. When next their paths cross, it will be as respected colleagues. And were it to happen again, perhaps as friends.
Mystic Defender:
Doctor Fate has been charged with the Mystic Defence of Earth by the Lords of Order. Nabu, the Lord that inhabits his Helmet, remains on Earth to aid in its defence. But Kent Nelson as Doctor Fate is the man solely responsible for the defence of the Earth from mystic threats. Kent Neson may not be the most powerful human wizard, that would be the Sorcerer Supreme, but he has been given the Helmet of Nabu, Amulet of Anubis, and Cloak of Destiny to give him the powers needed to accomplish his task as Doctor Fate. Failure is not an option in this goal. And thus far, he has managed to carry out his duties successfully for decades.
Nabu:
Nabu is the single greatest resource Kent Nelson has at his disposal. Nabu is also the least reliable. He inhabits the helmet that Doctor Fate wears, and acts as a confidant to Kent Nelson. Nabu is someone Kent Nelson can rely on for information, help, and assistance, but only when Nabu is in a cooperative mood. Much of the time Nabu is unresponsive, in some kind of sleep. But Kent Nelson had made his peace with that. Between what Kent Nelson has been taught, and the items at his disposal, he can deal with most anything that will come across his path. It's taken Kent Nelson decades to figure it out, but his thoughts on the matter are as such, "Nabu knows the age of every tree and the colour of every flower. And he knows just how wide my shoulders are. And he'll never give me anything to carry that's bigger than I can handle."
Orb of Nabu:
What is a wizard without his crystal ball? But unlike the thousands of charlatans out there who will tell you your fortune for a fiver, Doctor Fate's Crystal Orb of Nabu is real. With it, Doctor Fate can sit safely in his tower, watching others from afar. The Crystal Orb is in effect a type of spherical television, with audio and video. By reciting the incantations and concentrating, he can search the vastness of time and space for what he seeks, be it a person, place, event, or thing. He can see the future through it, or the past. But he mostly searches for the present. When well rested, he can search for things as easily as one might search through the television listings for a show. But it is taxing on his mental state, so he cannot spend all day, every day watching. He requires rest, and there are magics to hide from such techniques, were an unscrupulous person to wish their actions to go unnoticed. Peering through these protective veils is difficult, but not impossible. It all depends on the relative powers of the two magicians, and often, who has the greater strength of will.
Pragmatic:
Doctor Fate never acts without thought. He is sensible in all things, preparing for worst, while hoping for the best. His experience is both academic and practical, having spent more time in quiet contemplation and more time adventuring than most of the heroic community, simply because he's been around for more than a century. He has his convictions, his beliefs, but he is capable of making quick decisions, adapting to the situation. When he realised that he would not be able to recover the Pearl of Immortality given the interference of the Mandarin, he banished the Pearl to another place and time. On another day, he stood before the Green Lanterns, "Please. The android's nature has proved benign before. I believe it will again." The Green Lanterns pointed their power rings at him, and he stood aside. While he is a man of infinite patience, he recognises that few share this attribute. Human beings are rash creatures, and sometimes need to be given the chance to make their own mistakes.
Tower of Fate:
When Doctor Fate returned to the United States, he chose Blüdhaven in New Jersey for his home. He used his wealth to buy a tract of land in the countryside, and used his magic to construct a keep that he would call the Tower of Fate. It is a registered home, he receives mail, and from the outside appears to be a medieval keep that must have been deconstructed and rebuilt piece by piece in the new world. It is not all together an uncommon practice in Blüdhaven. Strangely, it does not appear to have an obvious entrance way. There are windows high above, but little else. Within those walls, excellent use of dimensional space has been made. It is the size of a large castle, with levels, wings, libraries, studies, meeting halls, dungeons, wine cellars, and all the other normal aspects of a castle. The tower is one of the greatest repositories of mystical knowledge, containing vast libraries of tombs and scrolls, magical artefacts, as well as mundane ones. It has served as Doctor Fate's continuous home for decades, and has only twice been broken into successfully. With a dragon among the mystical defenses, the idea of it being virtually impregnable is not unreasonable.
Wealth:
Doctor Fate has never had to worry about monetary things. He can provide for his needs quite easily. He could create wealth were he in need of it, but instead he has his own personal wealth to draw upon. He was the sole inheritor of his parents wealth accumulated over a lifetime of archaeological expeditions; he has earned money through his own medical practice as well as his archaeological endeavours. The wealth he inherited in 1920 had been invested in such companies as Ferris, Hewlett-Packard, Procter and Gamble, Roxxon, and Wayne. He has since invested his own wealth into companies such as Microsoft and AT&T. These investments are of course the high yield ones. He also had several that floundered, such as Studebaker and other far less well known flops. But the end result is that he does not need to worry about his finances for a very long time.
Wolverine:
Weaknesses
Aerobic:
If interrupting Doctor Fate's concentration is the easiest way to defeat him, then targeting his breathing is the easiest way to achieve that goal. Kent Nelson is a human being, and thus he is an aerobic organism. He needs to breathe oxygen. That's just a fact of the aerobic lifestyle. And that's not just to live. He needs that oxygen as a medium too; the air carries the sound of his voice. While not all of his spells require verbal components, many of them do. Or at the very least, the verbal component serves as a way to maintain focus during the act of casting one of his spells. Whether it is necessary or not, it helps him maintain his concentration, so if he cannot hear himself speak, and others can't, it unnerves him at the least, and forces him to use other spells at the worst. Early on, a number of his adversaries picked up on this, and he has suffered from more gas-related attacks than he would care to remember. He has spells to compensate for that, and he is precognizant, but he is not infallible. He can be fooled, deceived, or surprised.
Agents of Chaos:
The Lords of Chaos have chosen agents on Earth, acting on their behalf, just as Doctor Fate is an Agent of Order, acting on the behalf of Nabu and the Lords of Order. They are the equal and opposite of Doctor Fate and his colleagues. The most prestigious Agent of Chaos on Earth is known as the Anti-Fate, but they continue right on down the line, right into each and every human beings life. The forces of Order and Chaos can be seen as lowly as when a person parks in front of a parking meter and pays for their time, upholding order, or ignores it, hoping not to get caught, and upholding chaos. The Agents of Order and Chaos are simply the personification of this basic concept. And it is their lot in life to battle for their side of this ancient struggle.
Anti-Fate:
Dr. Benjamin Stoner, M.D., was the President and C.E.O. of the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Typhon, a Lord of Chaos, chose Stoner to be the Mystic Attack of Earth several decades after Kent Nelson had become Doctor Fate. Stoner was to sow discontent, disorder, and spread anarchy as the Anti-Fate. He is every bit the nemesis for Doctor Fate, possessing similar powers, yet the opposite mission. They have clashed on many occasions, but so far, Doctor Fate has always managed to get the upper hand. That is a trend that cannot continue indefinitely, and when it changes, the Ant-Fate will not be so magnanimous in victory as Doctor Fate has been.
Childhood:
Kent Nelson did not enjoy what most would call a typical childhood. First of all, his childhood took place between 1908 and 1920. It should be noted that he only enjoyed twelve years of childhood, and it should be noted that his childhood, what can be said of it, took place took place in the build up and during World War I. He suffered great tragedy in this time, losing his mother to a viral disease over the course of two weeks when he was eight, and then his father when he was twelve. He never developed some of the social skills people pick up through time and interaction. He completely bypassed his teenage years and went from pre-teen to adulthood, in one day. In all his time since, he has never quite developed those skills. He has compensated, but he had a very different upbringing from virtually any other human being in history, and it can show at times. He had family, an uncle on his father's side, but after he lost his father and became Doctor Fate, he never saw that side of his family again. He has taken some interest in the line as it has progressed over the decades, but he has not had direct contact with them since he was a boy.
Code of Honour:
Every man and woman lives by their own code. Where they draw the line on right and wrong differs from person to person. Doctor Fate is willing to kill when necessary, but he will avoid it whenever possible. He believes that there are better means to achieve his goals. He believes in fighting face to face, so to speak. He has jujitsu training, but he makes himself a target, rarely trying to dodge or avoid reprisals. In a way, he's like a boxer. He will gladly take a blow so that he is in great position to attack. He knows he is powerful, and this belief or confidence makes him approach matters fearlessly. He will use the minimum amount of force necessary, until he is taxed enough to worry. So, in a way, he will lower himself to his adversary's level. It is also of note that while he can do things, he has his own self appointed limits. While he could go into the future or the past, he does not. He understands the dangers of tampering with the natural flow of the universe, so if he can avoid tampering with it, he will. And it's rare that he cannot avoid it.
Concentration:
Perhaps the greatest weakness of Doctor Fate is that few of his abilities are able to be done, and then remain in effect. He is not like Superman, who can inherently move fast, fly, or strong. Superman does not have to concentrate on his abilities any more than someone has to concentrate on carrying a bag or reading a sign. Doctor Fate has to devote his mental resources to maintain any spell or ability he engages. He has to think about them, continue it, and distractions can be potentially lethal for him. He has devoted himself to improving his concentration to the point that there are others, such as a young Batman, came to him to learn his secrets. For Doctor Fate, keeping his concentration and ignoring distractions is a life and death struggle. He has won many battles, but it only takes one loss to lose this war.
Dependencies:
Kent Nelson is dependent upon a number of things in his life. Doctor Fate can exist without the Helmet of Nabu, as has been proven before, but it is not without severely diminishing his power. If he were to lose the Amulet of Anubis and Cloak of Destiny, Doctor Fate would cease to exist. Kent Nelson does have some abilities taught to him by Nabu, but they are minor compared to the powers those three items grant him. He depends on the continued flow of magic from Avalon. Take away his access to that magic, and Kent Nelson might become an old man, showing his true age. And on top of all this, the man inside Doctor Fate, Kent Nelson, depends on all the things a normal human depends on. He needs to be able to breathe. His body is far weaker than his outward appearance would suggest. Doctor Fate may be immortal, but Kent Nelson is not. He can be injured, he can be neutralised, and he can be killed. Break his arms, mute his voice, or simply knock him unconscious, and Doctor Fate's effectiveness disappears. Remove his items, and Doctor Fate disappears.
Enemies:
Doctor Fate has made no shortage of enemies in his decades of service. Even today, in this modern age with its technology, wealth, and heroes abound, Doctor Fate has no shortage of mystical concerns. But it is not just the mystically inclined who harbour Doctor Fate ill will. The evil genius Mister Who, whom could grow to amazing size and possessed incredible strength due to the "Z" solution and the Mandarin, a Chinese man who possessed alien created rings of power are two examples of this. But the great majority of Doctor Fate's enemies are mystically inclined, such as Modru, Grey Man, Ian Karkull, Kulak, and Wotan. And every few thousand years, he also has to fight the Spectre. It's a good thing he's already done that this century, so with any luck it will be a long time before Doctor Fate gets schooled by him again.
Failure:
No, Doctor Fate does not have a fear of failure. He doesn't expect it to happen, or have any self-fulfilling prophecies. Well, that may not be true, but not in this context in any event. What failure to Doctor Fate means is what happens when his various magical spells and abilities do not have the desired effect? Talking about the consequences of failure of so many diverse powers and abilities is never easy, but when Doctor Fate attempts to do something with a spell, power, or ability taught to him by Nabu, read from a book, scroll, or given through an item, it usually works. When it fails, it can be because of an opposing force, such as a directly from a person, or through another spell. Or it can be because his concentration was interrupted. These effects are often random, and depend a great deal on the circumstances. The further along that he was in the casting before it was interrupted, and the more powerful the spell, the greater the effect of the failure. Sometimes there can be no noticeable effect from a failure. And sometimes the consequences can be dire for his person, or for the entire world. It all depends. But the simple math is percentage completed multiplied by the power equals the consequences.
Isolation:
Whether by his upbringing, his duty, or his on his own, Kent Nelson is an isolated man. He counts few as friends, and even fewer as confidants. If you discount Nabu, he has in his near seventy years of service gone for months without speaking to another living soul. He has since those dark days made a concerted effort to reintegrate himself into human society. And since then, he goes through phases of virtual inactivity to breakneck action. At present, he is in the tail end of one of his inactive phases, where he spends most of his time buried in his Tower, studying, contemplating, but he has been in such a state for a while now, and is contemplating coming out of his self-induced shell. But it takes time, and is never easy, even for a man who's done it half a dozen times. He remains unaware of fashion trends, popular culture, movies, and has few people to talk to. But it's not just that. He does not know how to talk to people. He is socially awkward and disinterested. Those people skills that are developed by exposure just never appeared for him, and those that did have mostly atrophied. With a few exceptions in people and places, he's remained alone for the past seven decades. And it takes its toll on a man's soul.
Nth Metal:
Nth metal (also called Ninth metal) is an alloy native to Thanagar. It possesses properties native to all metals. It has mass, density, a melting point, a boiling point; it is able to be fashioned into a variety of implements, and all the other normal characteristics of a metal. But it is once forged and worked into a shape, an extraordinarily strong and sturdy alloy. But what makes it famous among those who know of it are its unconventional attributes. When fashioned into something personal, a weapon, armour, or even a simple rod, it imbues the wielder with the ability to fly, enhanced strength, speed, durability, protection from extreme elements, lightning, heightened regenerative properties, and other effects as yet unknown to Doctor Fate. These chaotic abilities it imbues are steeped in chaos magic, the very same magic the Lords of Chaos employ. It is disruptive and unpredictable when combined with the orderly magic that Doctor Fate employs. But against an Agent of Order, there are few weapons better suited to the battle than to employ one made of Nth metal. When Nabu the Wise trained Prince Khufu in the use of Nth metal weapons, his magical abilities were negated, redirected at him, or a number of unpredictable effects. Those training sessions were short lived, and it is a battle Nabu has cautioned Kent Nelson on avoiding at all costs.
Personality:
Doctor Fate's personality does not lend itself to interaction. He is a man of few words, succinct and to the point. He is accurate in his statements, which are phrased as absolutes. When he argues, he presents them as a contemplative assessment of the source, weighing the positives and negatives. It doesn't leave much room for discussion. And most annoyingly, he's usually correct in his assessments. He is aloof, disconnected, authoritative, and smug. This is not intentional. But it is something that most intellectuals possess. He can come across as an intellectual, even among his peers. The only saving grace he has is that he seems to have endless patience, and whenever asked, will elaborate and explain his attitudes, thoughts, and ideas. He would make a very good professor. He knows his stuff, he is a good teacher, but he has that attribute that so many educators seem to have, haughtiness.
Popular Culture:
We may come from a fragmented MTV rap video culture, but Doctor Fate does not. His is a world of quiet contemplation, deliberative thought, and reason. "Go ahead, make my day", "May the force be with you", "You talkin' to me?", "I love the smell of napalm in the morning", or "E.T. phone home" mean nothing to him. Yet "Rosebud" does resonate with him, and Citizen Kane remains his favourite film of the few he has seen. He has never kept up with the latest trends, phrases, idioms, or any of the local talk. In every aspect of his life, he is a foreigner in a foreign land. He speaks English, as well as many other languages, but he misses some metaphors. Even if you never watched the X-Files, the phrase "Don't Scully me" will immediately conjure up images of someone using any excuse they can come up with except the most obvious one, which is often the truth, as Dana Scully was the sceptic to Fox Mulder's believer in the paranormal. Perhaps a better way to describe it is to present a scene from the film, Lost in Translation where Bob Harris said, "Does he want me to turn from the right or turn from the left?" The interpreter translated this to, "He has prepared and is ready. And he wants to know, when the camera rolls, would you prefer that he turn to the left, or would you prefer that he turn to the right? And this is the kind of thing he would like to know, if you don't mind." The Director said, "Either way is fine. That kind of thing doesn't matter. We don't have time, Bob, ok? You need to hurry. Raise the tension. Look at the camera. Slowly, with passion. It's passion that we want. Do you understand?" The interpreter translates it as, "Right side. And uh, with intensity." Most people understand what the interpreter did here, but Doctor Fate is lucky to get what was translated back to Bob Harris.
Signal:
Magic like everything else, is at its core a type of energy. It doesn't matter what kind of magic used, black, white, grey, fuchsia, it is energy, plain and simple. Doctor Fate is a great magician, and as such, he has a great deal of energy. But like other types of energy, it can be measured with the proper techniques, and tracked. So Doctor Fate, a Mystic Defender of Earth, is on a magical scale, several times as radioactive as Chernobyl. The man is a walking, talking, magical power plant, and that can be detected when you know how. It leaves a wake. When he visits a place, for a certain amount of time, someone in tune with the magical forces can know that a magical being of immense power sat down and had a coffee. It would be the same as someone walking around carrying some unshielded radioactive material. It might not be very healthy, but it works for the analogy; which also brings up the point of shielding. Now Doctor Fate has some magical shields against such things, but it only covers so much. Even with these shields, given that Nabu inhabits his helmet, there are few if any beings on Earth that give off as much of a magical signal as Doctor Fate. To the common man he may be a hard man to gain an audience with, but to a sufficiently trained wizard, he is as easy to spot as the Great Wall of China.
Withdrawn:
Logs
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| Title | Date | Scene Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Alky Alky Alky-hol! | October 21st, 2023 | Sinister, Fate, and Nick. |
| Exclusivity - and Bad Science | October 12th, 2023 | Discussions were had regarding the Machinations of Improbability, the Dreamstalker and Fate came a'calling. Apparently riddles bring out the sarcasm in both Sin and Nick. |
| Of Devil's Clubs and Angel's Feathers | October 8th, 2023 | An interesting night at Lux features Doctor Fate confronting Lucifer about a feather. They're joined by Sinister and Nick Drago who help Lucifer defend the decisions made. |
| Astral Bindings | August 4th, 2023 | Fate and Satana. |
| Once upon a time in NYC | July 10th, 2023 | A sound check, technological upgrades, Fate, Sin, the Devil, the Phantasm and a chickita with a brand new phone on the payroll. Sometimes, life can work out. |
| Trying to Catch Up | July 4th, 2023 | Nick and Thomas go to McAnally's to catch up and meet Doctor Fate |
| Lords and Angels | July 3rd, 2023 | Stop reading if you've heard this one, a Lord of Order and an Angel walk into a cafe... |
| Mystics and Mandarin | April 16th, 2023 | And mahjong! |
| Astral Flux: Hasta Manana | November 6th, 2018 | Kent Nelson drops in on Emma Frost's vacation, and manages to hold her attention long enough to point out something was very wrong with her. Oddly, she doesn't send him packing. |
Cutscenes
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| Title | Date | Scene Summary |
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