Dr. Fate (Ltd. 1987) (DC Comics) [COMICS]

Doctor Fate is one of DC's oldest and most important spellcasting characters.  Around since the Golden Age, the character has a long and involved history, though I think I really only knew him from the Super Powers cartoon and toys.  In 1987, J.M. DeMatteis launched a very different take on Doctor Fate with a four issue mini-series that was popular enough to spawn a subsequent regular series (more on that in future posts).  With pencils by Keith Giffen, the limited series introduces new characters in the role of Fate in a way that still remains controversial among some comics fans today.

Issue # 1 sets a dark, intriguing, and sometimes confusing tone for the series.  Nabu, the Lord of Order who originally bonded with a human named Kent Nelson to become Doctor Fate, is battling against Typhon, a Lord of Chaos, when he's recalled by the other Lords of Order.  They want Fate to stop fighting against chaos as the universe is cyclical and, although chaos will soon reign supreme, an age of order will follow thereafter.  It also seems that Kent Nelson is tired of having been Fate for decades and is ready to move on to what comes next--even if that's the afterlife.  But Nabu's not ready to give up and finds another mortal to be the next Doctor Fate: a long boy named Eric whom he magically ages into

adulthood.  Eric's step-mom, Linda, has a strange  . . . yearning for Eric, but Eric as Fate loses a battle against Typhon and is taken into an asylum run by a chaos-led psychiatrist named Stoner.  

In Issue # 2, we revisit the origin of Doctor Fate and see how complicated the morality of what Nabu did to Kent Nelson really was.  In the asylum, Nabu inhabits Eric's body to fight Typhon, who has taken over Stone's body.  Honestly, I'm not really sure what happened in the issue--sometimes the atmosphere is great, but the plot is hard to work out.  This is almost like an early Vertigo book (just before Vertigo was a thing).

With Giffen & DeMatteis in charge of my (favourite comic ever) Justice League International, it's no surprise that four Leaguers make guest appearances in Issue # 3.  Martian Manhunter, Mister Miracle, Guy Gardner, and Batman are summoned by the Phantom Stranger to help out as Stone has taken the power of Fate (I think) and is using it to cause chaos all around the world.  Indeed, this evil Fate defeats the Phantom Stranger, but Eric/Nabu come to confront him.  At least, I think that's what happens?

Issue # 4 reminds me that Giffen's artwork--especially his faces--is an acquired taste, and I haven't acquired it yet.  The famous big shocker here is that Eric and his step-mom Linda can merge together to form Fate in a way that kicks Nabu out.  Nabu, exiled form the Lords of Order, takes over a new body--that of Kent Nelson, who has died since he's no longer Fate.  The new status quo is then a trio of characters--Linda, Eric, and Nabu/Kent.  It's an interesting set-up, though I find the crucial character of Eric very much a cypher compared to Linda and Nabu.

There's a lot more to say about the trio, but I'll save that for my posts on the regular series--which has a very different tone than this limited series.