#khalid ben-hassin

[dcs-fkin-mystics]

Interesting how both renditions of Khalid as Dr. Fate feature that eye detail that Kent Nelson doesn’t have.

[the-antiapocalyptic-man]

What would be your ranking of the different Dr.Fates?

Inza Cramer - all due respect to Kent, the best and brightest Fate.

Khalid Nassour - I think Khalid's sort of the ideal concept of Fate for modern audiences and addresses a lot of the typically golden age issues with Kent (mostly shared with Hawkman and Blue Beetle as he was originally conceived).

Jared Stevens - fucked up little gremlin of a man whose first thought on getting a bunch of magical objects was to DIY that shit to fit his aesthetic, and I think that's beautiful

Kent Nelson - the gold standard (no pun intended) but also he's always Oded Fehr in my mind, which is a v calming voice

Hector Hall - Fate's got legacy built into the concept--arguably Kent Nelson is a legacy for Nabu--so Hector's multi-faceted JSA heir apparent bit really suits Fate-as-Hero over Fate-as-Magical Being

LoSH Era Fate (Sofie?) - she looks hella cool, which is unfortunately a big deal in my book, we're very aesthetic driven around here

The Strausses - dysfunction junction, but I love fusion characters (see also: Firestorm) so uh, points for that?

Kent V. Nelson - uh, Steve Gerber worked on this version which is neat? idk, handing off the Helm to some guy who's vaguely related to the original smacks of laziness, I'm glad he didn't stick around so Khalid could get the role.

Ben Stoner - don't like him, seems like a dick

If we're including parallel universes, Khalid Ben-Hassin and E-20's Kent Nelson are near the top (actually Kent-20 might be my favorite?). I'd add Jared-13, but he's basically just prime!Jared in an environment where he can thrive. Steel Maxum is fantastic. No comment on the Zataras.

[orange-s-mario]

[cosmicmordecai]

It fucking frustrates me that like in my studies for Doctor Fate, they really wanted to make that bitch relevant and worked SO DAMN HARD despite the bad ideas etched in there when they were a white dude. Hector, Jared, and Kent Nelson all got that character shilling where they’re like the BEST FATE EVA!

But then the moment Doctor Fate is actually Egyptian men, all of a sudden Doctor Fate is getting his ass kicked by Evil!Superman. All of a sudden, Prime Earth Khalid is now considered “not as powerful” as other Doctor Fates when the lore changed so the Helm of Fate is firmly in Egyptian mythology connected to Osiris though Nabu is still trapped in it. The moment Doctor Fate is PoC, they don’t even bother giving the character a substantial rogues gallery or give him hefty roles in the crisis events that warrants a character of Doctor Fate’s magnitude.

Oh and in media? Khalid has to share the role PART TIME to characters whom aren’t even deeply involved in DF lore (they got their own lore).

[panels-of-interest]

Doctor Fate vs. Superman.

[from Earth 2 (2012) #17]

[doesithavetobeaspider]

Earth 2 #11 art by Nicola Scott

[comicreadingorder]

New 52 Earth 2 - Earth 2 Society Reading Order

After a failed invasion by Apokolips, Steppenwolf was left behind on Earth and has been in hiding. During that time superpowered people have disappeared. The series starts 5 years later with the slow resurgence of new-but-old heroes. The title got sloppy after #26 and the addition of weekly World’s End issues but always told a story on a grand scale and found ways to introduce new and interesting versions of old characters.

Update: I guess this also works as a Val-Zod reading order/introduction since I’ve noticed this post getting more attention as the rumor of a movie with him grows. If that’s all you’re interested in you can start at #17 with Tom Taylor’s run. Though he continues a lot of things from Robinson’s cut-short-story, so I’d still suggest starting from the beginning. It’s only an extra 18 issues, and they’re good! Bold=important parts of the main story Italics=optional (with explanations)

Earth 2 1-6, 0,

DC Universe Presents 0 -- The Mister Terrific story.

Earth 2 7-12

Earth 2 Annual 1

Earth 2 13-16

Earth 2 15.2 -- 16 ends Robinson’s run so there’s no reason to read this filler issue about Solomon Grundy before it. Or at all.

Earth 2 17-20 -- After Robinson left, Tom Taylor takes over for a short but good stint.

Earth 2 Annual 2

Earth 2 21-26

Earth 2 15.1 -- I put this villain issue here because the character doesn’t appear until World’s End starts and I had to re-read this around then because I’d already forgotten what happened. Even then it’s not really helpful.

Earth 2 Future’s End 1 -- Kind of a sneaky What If about the future of Earth 2. It’s written by Daniel H. Wilson, who orchestrates and writes most of World’s End and Earth 2: Society.

Earth 2: World’s End

The main reason I made this list is because Earth 2: World’s End was a weekly comic while Earth 2 was monthly, but they’re telling the same story and cross over. What that means is I had to figure out where to intersect regular Earth 2 issues with WE ones. Which turned out to be incredibly annoying.

Earth 2 World’s End 1

Earth 2 28 -- This is a one-shot that explores the backstories of some characters introduced in WE1. I stuck it before 27 because one doesn’t affect the other and I think it works best right after those characters are introduced.

WE 2, 3

Earth 2 27

WE 4-8

Earth 2 29

WE 9-13

Earth 2 30

WE 14-17

Earth 2 31

WE 18-22

Earth 2 32 -- This doesn’t fit anywhere, this section is also where some weird gaps happen. My guess is the issue was supposed to bridge some things but ended up telling a completely different story, as sometimes happens in events, and the intended stuff fell between the cracks.

WE 23-26 -- Leads into...

Convergence 0-8 -- While not good, I think part of the reason this was received so poorly is because it’s very much a continuation of Earth 2, with those heroes being the protagonists of the story. The event connects things between World’s End and Earth 2: Society.

Earth 2: Society Sneak Peek -- Each title in the short-lived DCYou era got an 8 page prologue. Usually they were added onto another full comic, but as far as I can tell this one existed by itself as a free online preview. (Link in the name.)

E2S 1-14

E2S Annual 1

E2S 15-22

[thisdayincomics]

February 6

The Earth-2 incarnation of Doctor Fate is an Egyptian man named Khalid Ben-Hassin. Khalid accompanies archaeologist Kendra Saunders while she is exploring a pyramid in Egypt and discovers the Helm of Nabu, but is reluctant to wear it due to Nabu's spirit affecting his thoughts and sanity. After teaming up with other "Wonders" (superpowered heroes), Khalid fights the villain Wotan and discovers the Tower of Fate, Nabu's extradimensional base of operations, and assumes the identity of Dr. Fate. Khalid becomes traumatized and psychologically damaged after he is mercilessly attacked by a brainwashed Superman. He first appears in Earth 2 #9 (February 6, 2013).

[renaroo]

The Legacy of Fate

Khalid Ben-Hassin  |  Kent Nelson  |  Inza Cramer  |  Khalid Nassour

Bonus: 

[maghrib-genova]

So it's been confirmed that Marwan will join Black Adam casts. So proud and happy for him to lend a role in this movie 👏🏾❤.

The mystery role though some speculated to be Sabbac a.k.a Ishmael Gregor. A supervillain Half Demon..

I don't think it's the case, because it would look like Jafar from Aladdin at the end of the movie coming straight to DC universe as this character, but who knows. 🤔

There is another role he could play though that will not typecast him as a villain again after Aladdin, he could play as Doctor Fate!

Doctor fate is a sorcerer, well known as Kent Nelson but he also have other alter egos such as Khalid Ben-Hassin and Khalid Nassour. I could see Marwan playing as someone with Khalid Ben-Hassin name for sure 👀

Plus point is that this character also has the immortality ability as one of his traits!

Like how cool is that to link the immortal Yusuf Al-Kaysani with immortal Khalid Ben-Hassin character 👏🏾 (they could be long long lost brother)

Since I really love Doctor Strange from marvel cinematic universe, I wish that Marwan could play as Doctor fate for real! Another sorcerer for me to love!

While waiting for his character reveals I would imagine him as doctor fate for now, because seriously it's what he deserve, to play a cool superhero! Instead of playing as a villain and die and disappear for possible later installment of the movie ...

He might even get his own standalone movie later if he played as hero 🥺

[dcs-fkin-mystics]

Kent Nelson’s entry in the DC Ultimate Character Guide New Edition (2024).

Addendum under the cut

I really want to point out that despite all the information being accurate to Kent & up to par, DC continues the trend of using images of Khalid Ben-Hassin for Kent, a white character, simply because his outfit looks more lit & fitting than anything Kent wears with the exception of his DCEU outfit.

I think it’s saying something when the supposed quintessential and “most popular” Doctor Fate is represented by a person of color in the same role while Ben-Hassin isn’t even brought up beyond one panel of him telepathically reaching Val-Zod.

The bio isn’t the only offender. DC’s own official website does this too.

[the-antiapocalyptic-man]

Wow, a whole week with no headverse stuff or new art, my bad. I picked up a big project, so that’s going to be my focus for a while. That said, i had some older sketches I finished coloring a few weeks ago, so I thought I’d use them to dig a bit more into my OCs for the setting: Blanca Hernandez and Inza Ben-Hassin. Like Vivian, they’re both trans*women, which is something of a recurring theme for headverse OCs lol (Aloysius notwithstanding)

So Blanca is actually based on the Green Lantern of Earth-D, Jose Hernandez, but with the future handle of Jessica Cruz from JL vs The Fatal Five. Headverse!Jess actually served as the previous Limelight, specifically as the GL equivalent for LexCorp’s Infinity Incorporated (an enterprise that absolutely collapsed when at least two other members ended up being moles for major superheroes and the Pemberton Estate successfully sued over rights to the name). Limelights in general are usually just Lanterns whose rings weren’t forged on Oa but still access the Green Emotional Spectrum, with Blanca getting hers in the era following the collapse of the famous “Four” lanterns (Stewart, Jordan, Rayner, Gardner) as 2814′s protectors, with Jo Mullein, Jess Cruz, Simon Baz, and others filling in the roles of cosmic protectors.

Inza is largely a composite character of Inza Kramer (the original Dr Fate’s girlfriend/eventual wife) and the Earth-2 Fate, Khalid Ben-Hassin. She’s a Kahndaqi-German folkorist and literally wrote the book on Black Adam, Aztar, Heggra, and even Nabu, which drew her into the orbit of med student Khalid Nassour, Nabu’s current host as Doctor Fate. I’ve gone back and forth with whether or not Inza ever becomes Fate herself, but she does become quite skilled in spellcasting and eventually takes on the name Northwind after incorporating Thanagarian mysticism into her arsenal.

Like I said, I might be slowing down with headverse stuff for a bit while I’m focused on other things, but I’ve got another major OC lined up soon. They’re a bit different in that they’re not a reworking of an existing character or concept at all, though they’re seeped in DC lore and take a lot of visual cues from an existing family of characters.

[docgold13]

There's also 3 other Doctor Fate's. Kent V. Nelson who's such a nonentity he might as well just have been Kent Nelson reborn. The Earth 2 Fate known as Khalid Ben-Hassin who I guess was the prototype for Mainstream Khalid? & The LoSH Fate who's a nifty idea that was badly executed.

wow, a whole lot of Fates out there.  Nabu is a bit lazy... always making someone else do his job for him.  

[cosmicmordecai]

“Awful stories”

But this anon guy liked the Linda/Eric story where the step-mom is in love/caught feelings with her step-son whose fucking 10 starting out & later is physically aged up but not mentally? Never mind the fact the two Khalids are the only characters where the Egyptian aesthetic makes sense, even though Nabu keeps being misinterpreted as Egyptian.

I came across this and just thought this was funny between this and the insistent of being a “fag” for a moniker.

[ittybittytatertot]

I know you said you're not very good at predicting things, but I love reading your thoughts on the matter. So now we'll get more character-focused. Do you think M'gann and Conner will be married by the end of S3? Do you think Wally will come back? Do you think Zatanna will find a way to save her father?

No, no, and no.

Supermartian Wedding. (And keep in mind I say this as someone who likes supermartian and would love to see them married) If DC’s mandate of heroes aren’t allowed to be happy + general narrative convention is anything to go by, M’gann and Conner won’t get married (or they will but it will get very dramatically interrupted, but I find that unlikely). 

I’m hoping it will be something where they just postpone the wedding for Superheroics stuff, but there’s also a chance one of them will die. I think the break up Supermartian-haters are hoping for is unlikely too.

Wally Returning. (Again I say this as a HUGE Wally West fan) I can only see him returning at the very last minute of the season if at all. But I think he might really be dead because Wally West fans are so constantly shit on. If by some miracle he did return I think it’ll be a time travel thing.

Zatanna’s dad. (Again, giant Zatanna fan). She definitely will never stop trying to save her dad, but the only way she’s going to rescue him is if she finds someone else to put on the helmet. Her dad’s definitely made her promise to never do that, and probably made Nabu promise to never accept her as a host again, so she’d have to find someone else (other Fates include Khalid Ben-Hassin, Jared Stevens, etc.). 

But that would just be sacrificing someone else’s life for her dad’s, which wouldn’t be very heroic. As much as it would be an interesting dark turn (very season 2 M’gann), I don’t think she’s enough of a character in the show for the writers to do that. Easier to just let her tragedy be 1 dimensional.

[heroicadventurists]

Versus Series

Which Sorcerer will reign supreme in a battle of dominance? Leave a comment below.

Doctor Strange

Full name: Stephen Vincent Strange

Team affiliations:

Avengers

Defenders

Illuminati

Infinity Watch

Midnight Sons

New Avengers

The Order

Abilities:

Mastery of magic

Utilizes mystical artifacts, such as the Cloak of Levitation and the Eye of Agamotto

Genius-level intellect

Trained physician

Skilled martial artist

VERSUS

Dr. Fate

Full Name:

Kent Nelson

Eric Strauss

Linda Strauss

Inza Cramer Nelson

Jared Stevens

Hector Hall

Kent V. Nelson

Khalid Ben-Hassin

Khalid Nassour

Team affiliations

Kent:

All-Star Squadron

Justice Society of America

Lords of Order

Justice League Dark

Justice League

Kent, Strauss:

Justice League International

Hall:

Justice Society of America

Sentinels of Magic

Kent V.:

Justice Society of America

Abilities:

Mastery of magic