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It has been suggested that Fate (comics) be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since April 2012.

Doctor Fate (also known by the diminutive, Fate) is the name of a succession of fictional sorcerers who appear in books published by DC Comics. The original version was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, and first appeared in More Fun Comics #55 (May 1940). In 1940, the character also became a founding member of the Golden Age superhero group the Justice Society of America.^[1]

The original Doctor Fate was Kent Nelson, the son of archaeologist Sven Nelson who died after Kent opened the tomb of the ancient wizard Nabu. The orphaned boy was trained by Nabu in the arts of magic.^[1]

After DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline, several different versions of Doctor Fate were introduced, but were relatively short-lived. Doctor Fate's appearances in other media and comics set outside the continuity of the DC Universe tend to be of the original Golden Age Kent Nelson incarnation.

Publication history[link]

More Fun Comics #55 (May 1940) introduced the first Doctor Fate. After a year with no background, his alter ego Kent Nelson and origins were shown in More Fun Comics #67 (May 1941). At this point, the character was shown to be an archaeologist's son who had discovered the tomb of an ancient wizard named Nabu.

Visually, the character was unusual in that he wore a full face helm in his earliest appearances. His love interest was known variably as Inza Cramer,^[2] Inza Sanders,^[2] and finally Inza Carmer,^[2] which was amended to Inza Cramer in the Silver Age.^[3] His enemies included (in order of first appearance) Wotan, Ian Karkull, Nergal,^[4] Mr. Who, The Clock, The Octopus, Mad Dog, and various mad scientists, mobsters, and thugs.

When the Justice Society of America was being created for All Star Comics #3, Doctor Fate was one of the characters National Comics used for the joint venture with All-American Publications. He made his last appearance in the book in issue #21 (Summer 1944), virtually simultaneously with the end of his own strip in More Fun Comics #98 (July - Aug. 1944).

In More Fun Comics #72 (Oct. 1941), Doctor Fate's appearance was modified, exchanging the full helmet for a half-helmet so his lower face was exposed. The focus of the strip shifted away from a supernatural tone to standard superhero action. By the end of 1942, the character had been changed into a medical doctor with fewer mystic elements in the strip. The character's popularity waned faster than many of his contemporaries', and the strip was cancelled before the end of World War II in 1944.

Doctor Fate was revived along with many other Justice Society members in the 1960s through the annual team-ups with the Justice League of America. These stories established that the two teams resided on parallel worlds. Unlike many of his JSA teammates, Doctor Fate did not have an analogue or counterpart among the Justice League.

Aside from the annual team up in Justice League of America, DC featured the original Doctor Fate in other stories through the 1960s and 1970s. These included a two-issue run with Hourman in Showcase #55-56, wherein it was revealed Kent Nelson and Inza Cramer had married since the end of the Golden Age;^[3] appearances with Superman in World's Finest Comics (#208, Dec. 1971) and DC Comics Presents (#23, July 1980); with Batman in The Brave and the Bold (#156, Nov. 1979); and a solo story in 1st Issue Special #9 (Dec. 1975), written by Martin Pasko and drawn by Walt Simonson. With this story, Pasko added the concept that the spirit of Nabu resided in the helmet and took control of Nelson whenever the helmet was donned.

In the early 1980s, Roy Thomas incorporated the retcon that Nabu inhabited the helmet into his All-Star Squadron series, set in late 1941, as an explanation for the changes in Doctor Fate's helmet and powers.^[5] (In a caption box on the final panel of All-Star Squadron #28's main story (Dec. 1983), Thomas indicated an explanation of how and why Nelson returned to the full helmet and possession by Nabu when the JSA reactivated in the 1960s was forthcoming, but it was never published).

This led to Kent and Inza, combining into one Doctor Fate, featuring in a series of back-up stories running from The Flash #305 (Feb. 1982) to #313 (Sept. 1982). Cary Bates wrote the initial story, with Pasko taking over as writer in issue #306, aided by Steve Gerber from #310 to #313. In 1985 DC collected these back-up stories, as well as a 1978 retelling of Dr. Fate's origin by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton & Michael Netzer (Nasser) originally published in Secret Origins of Super-Heroes (DC Special Series #10, 1978, in the indicia), the aforementioned Pasko/Simonson story from 1st Issue Special #9, and a 1940s Doctor Fate tale from More Fun #56, in a three-issue limited series titled The Immortal Doctor Fate.

Following 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths, Doctor Fate briefly joined the Justice League.^[6] Kent Nelson died of old age and the mantle of Doctor Fate was passed to a pair of humans, Eric and Linda Strauss, who merged into one being to become Doctor Fate, similar to Kent and Inza.^[7] Based on the success of the limited series, DC continued the story in a separate ongoing series, also titled Doctor Fate, by DeMatteis and Shawn McManus.^[8]

After two years, William Messner-Loebs became the writer, and the series and character shifted so that Nelson's wife Inza inherited the Doctor Fate mantle and starred in a year's worth of stories in which she tried to change the world for the better using her powers.^[9]

When Messner-Loebs' run ended,^[10] DC retired the character, replacing Doctor Fate with "Fate". The new character, Jared Stevens, was introduced in a self-titled series launched in the wake of Zero Hour in 1994.^[11] He was a mercenary whose weapons were the transformed helm and amulet of Doctor Fate. Both Fate and its follow up, The Book of Fate were canceled after relatively short runs.^[12]

In 1999, during the revival of the Justice Society in JSA, DC allowed the character to be reworked; Jared Stevens was killed^[13] and the mantel of Doctor Fate, along with a restored helm and amulet, was passed to a new character, in this case a reincarnated Hector Hall, son of the Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl.^[14] In addition to appearing in JSA, DC published a self-titled, five-issue limited series featuring Hall^[15] and positioned him as a prominent magical character in various company-wide event stories.

The character was again set up for change during the Day of Vengeance limited series,^[16] part of the lead in to the 2005 company wide event story, Infinite Crisis. This included both Hall^[17] and Nabu^[18] being killed off and Doctor Fate's helmet being sent to find a new wearer.

In early 2007, DC published a bi-weekly run of one-shot comics featuring the helmet passing through the hands of various magical characters. These included Detective Chimp; Ibis the Invincible; Sargon the Sorcerer; Zauriel; and Black Alice.^{[19][dead link]} The one-shots were intended to be followed by a new Doctor Fate ongoing series in February 2007, written by Steve Gerber and illustrated by Paul Gulacy, featuring Kent V. Nelson, Kent Nelson's grandnephew, as the helm's new wearer.^[20][21] However, the series was delayed due to extended production and creative difficulties. Steve Gerber, through an interview with Newsarama, revealed that the story intended for the first arc of the Doctor Fate ongoing series was being reworked to serve as one of the two stories for Countdown to Mystery, a dual-feature eight issue mini-series with Eclipso as the second story.^{[22][23][dead link]} The first issue of Countdown to Mystery, with art by Justiniano and Walden Wong rather than Gulacy, was released in November 2007. Due to Steve Gerber's passing, the seventh issue was written by Adam Beechen using Gerber's notes. The final issue was written by Beechen, Gail Simone, Mark Waid, and Mark Evanier, who each wrote a different ending to the story.^[24]

The character then appeared in the Reign in Hell mini-series,^[25] and next appeared in Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #30, joining the team and featuring in the book until its cancellation with #54 in August 2011.

Fictional character biographies[link]

Kent Nelson/Nabu[link]

Kent Nelson, the young son of American archaeologist Sven Nelson, accompanied his father on an expedition to the Valley of Ur in Mesopotamia in 1920. When Kent opened the tomb of the ancient wizard Nabu, a poisonous gas was released which resulted in Sven Nelson's death. Nabu, taking pity on the orphaned Kent, raised him and taught him the skills of a wizard, and then bestowed upon him a mystical helmet, amulet and cloak. He first met Inza Cramer and first fought his archnemesis Wotan in Alexandria, Egypt, on his way back to the United States.^[1][4][26]

By 1940, Nelson had returned to the United States and was residing in an invisible tower in Salem, Massachusetts. From this sanctum he embarked on a career fighting crime and supernatural evil as the hero Doctor Fate.^[1]

In late 1940, Doctor Fate was among the founding members of the Justice Society of America.^[27] He remained active with the group through the middle of the decade, resigning in 1944,^[28] and going into retirement,^[29] marrying Inza during the interim.^[3]

In 1942, Kent switched to a half-helmet when he felt Nabu's personality take control of his body whenever he wore the Helm.^[5] The change, while stripping him of most of his magical power, left Nelson in full control of his actions and still more than a normal human.^[30] During this time, Nelson acquired a medical license and became an intern at the Weatherby Free Clinic.^[31] Shortly thereafter, when a supervillain stole the Helm of Nabu, Nelson lost all access to it as both it and the thief were cast into an alternate dimension.^[32]

Even with the return of the JSA, Doctor Fate's activities were less than public. These included assisting fellow JSA member Hourman against Solomon Grundy and the Psycho-Pirate,^[3] and teaming up on various occasions with Superman^[33][34] and Batman.^[35]

When the Justice Society came out of retirement to work with the Justice League in the modern era, Kent returned as well, rejoining his old teammates.^[36] Though he had become increasingly erratic and withdrawn from humanity, Kent was still committed to protecting Earth against supernatural menaces. Kent also became an archaeologist like his father.^[3] During this time Nelson also went through a period where, in order to become Doctor Fate, he had to fuse with his wife Inza.^[37]

Kent later became the sole wearer of the Helm again and joined the re-formed Justice League.^[38] The magic Kent used to keep Inza and himself young soon failed, which resulted in the pair aging and dying in a short span of time.^[1]

During the Blackest Night event, Kent was resurrected as a member of the Black Lantern Corps.^[39]

Eric and Linda Strauss[link]

With Kent Nelson's passing, Nabu began the search for a new host. This search took him to a young man named Eric Strauss (aged to an adult by Nabu's magic) and his stepmother Linda Strauss.^[40] Nabu bound them so that they had to merge to become Doctor Fate, but could live apart when Fate was not needed.^[1] He then animated Kent Nelson's corpse to serve them as adviser and instructor.^[41] Since the tower Nelson used as a sanctum had apparently been destroyed, the pair operated out of Linda's apartment.^[8] Over time they were joined by a small, kind demon they dubbed Petey and a lawyer named Jack C. Small.^[42] Petey and Jack provided moral support and managed to assist in some of their battles.

During a battle on Apokolips, Eric was killed, leaving Linda to take over the role of Doctor Fate.^[43] Soon, the Lords of Chaos attacked Linda and killed her. The souls of Eric and Linda were then placed in the bodies of Wendy and Eugene DiBellia.^[44]

Inza Nelson[link]

Kent and Inza's souls, which had been inhabiting Doctor Fate's amulet, were resurrected in new younger bodies.^[44] However, they found that now only Inza was able to become Doctor Fate.^[9] Kent's old body was inhabited by another Lord of Order called Shat-Ru, and Kent pretended to be his own grandson.^{[volume & issue needed]} Inza became more confident, proactive and reckless in the use of her powers, which she used to improve the lot of humanity, leading her and Kent to separate for a while.^[45]

The Nelsons learned that a Lord of Chaos named T'Giian had taken residence in the Helm of Nabu, providing Inza with magic derived from Chaos instead of Order, and was the reason that Kent and Inza could no longer merge to become Doctor Fate.^[46] Kent eventually returned to his wife's side and helped her defeat T'Giian. Inza then learned that she derived her new powers from the magic of Earth, rather than Order or Chaos.^[47]

After defeating T'Giian, the Nelsons began merging as the male Doctor Fate again. The Nelsons retained the ability to become independent Doctor Fates if the situation called for it; in these cases, Kent's form would resemble that of the costume he wore when he used the half-helm.^[48]

In their last days as Doctor Fate, the Nelsons, along with the rest of the JSA, faced the supervillain Extant during Parallax's attempt to change the history of the universe. Extant, with seeming ease, caused most of the Justice Society to rapidly approach their proper physical ages. He also separated the Nelsons from the helm, amulet, and cloak. The greatly aged and depowered Nelsons returned to Salem and went into retirement.^[49]

Jared Stevens[link]

Main article: Fate (comics)

After the Nelsons' return to Earth, Jared Stevens discovered Doctor Fate's raiments and altered them into a knife, a set of throwing darts, and an armband. He called himself simply "Fate". His sole encounter with the Nelsons resulted in the couple's death and the return of their souls to the amulet.^[50]

Jared was killed at the hands of Mordru as part of the latter's attempt to claim the mantle and artifacts of Doctor Fate for himself.^[13]

Hector Hall[link]

Main article: Hector Hall

Nabu, aware of Mordru's ambitions, had planned ahead to ensure that the helm and the mantle of Doctor Fate would pass to a reincarnated Hector Hall. This plan coincided with the rebirth of the Justice Society, which acted to protect the newly reborn Hector.^[51]

Hector's new body was the son of Hank Hall and Dawn Granger, agents of both Chaos and Order once known as Hawk and Dove, which made Hector an agent of balance instead of one side or the other.^[52]

Later the Spectre, attempting to expunge evil by extinguishing magic, confronted Hector. This resulted in Hector and his wife's banishment to a snowy mountain landscape, where he would be forced to spend eternity. The two later joined their son in the Dreaming, giving up the mortal world forever.^[53]

Nabu[link]

Unaware of the reasons behind Hector's disappearance, his teammates in the Justice Society traveled to the Tower of Fate, hoping to use his services to travel to the Fifth Dimension and find Jakeem Thunder. At the Tower they found the raiments of Fate, but not Hector. Sand used the raiments to speak to Nabu.^[54] However, Mordru returned and removed the helmet from Sand, causing Nabu to manifest through the raiments without using a host body.^[55] After confronting Mordru, the Justice Society offered Nabu membership, but he sensed that a crisis was coming and that his presence would be required elsewhere, and disappeared.^[56]

During the last hours of the Ninth Age of Magic, Nabu called together Earth's remaining magicians to deal with the Spectre and the destruction of the Rock of Eternity. Nabu personally confronted and goaded the Spectre, whose anger grew so great that he fatally wounded Nabu.^[1] This caused the Presence to take notice and send the Spectre to his new host. As a result of Nabu's impending death, the Ninth Age of Magic ended and the birth of the Tenth Age began.

Before his death, Nabu gave the helmet to Detective Chimp to pass on to the Doctor Fate of the new Age, telling him that the helmet will still have certain abilities, even though Nabu's spirit would no longer be contained within it. After Detective Chimp found that the helmet would not fit him, he asked Captain Marvel to throw the helmet randomly into space, allowing the helmet to find its own new owner. After traveling an unknown yet vast distance, the rigors of space warped the helmet to resemble Kent Nelson's half-face helmet from the 1940s before plummeting back to Earth.^[57]

[edit] 52

Felix Faust disguised himself as the Helm of Nabu and Nabu within it in an attempt to trick Ralph Dibny into trading his soul for Faust's freedom from Neron by telling Dibny how to resurrect his dead wife, Sue.^[58] In his masquerade, Faust killed Tim Trench and fooled the Shadowpact.^[59] Dibny discovered Faust, and bound Faust and Neron to the Tower of Fate, resulting in his own death.^[58]

Helm of Nabu[link]

The helmet resurfaced a year after the events of Infinite Crisis, now resembling the half-helm that Kent Nelson used during the 1940s, and crossing paths with various heroes (Detective Chimp,^[60] Ibis the Invincible,^[61] Sargon the Sorcerer,^[62] Black Alice,^[63] and Zauriel),^[64] before ultimately falling into the hands of Doctor Kent V. Nelson, grandnephew of the original Kent Nelson, who became the new Doctor Fate.^[1]

Kent V. Nelson[link]

Doctor Kent V. Nelson, a divorced and out of work psychologist, finds the Helm of Nabu after being thrown into a dumpster and putting it on. After encountering a demon named Negal, Kent uses the Helm’s magic for gambling, meeting an occult bookstore owner named Maddy and a comic book writer named Inza Fox. Inza is later killed by turning into water after taking a shower. Kent turns to alcoholism to cope and gives the Helm to Maddy, only to then be captured by Negal along with Maddy. Kent manages to overcome his depression, helping Maddy with her despair and restoring Inza to life, defeating Negal with his new found optimism.^[65]

Kent later helps a group of magic-using heroes escape from Hell^[66] and helps the Justice Society fight of a supervillain attack, joining the team soon afterwards.^[67] Kent's magic saves Mister Terrific's life after his stabbing by Kid Karnevil.^[68] Kent remains a member of the JSA after the team is split into two and is briefly possessed by Mordru before leaving Earth to hone his spellcasting abilities.^[69] Kent later returns to help the team take down Scythe in Monument Point,^[70] and severs Lightning's soul from her body to save her from an implanted micro-bomb.^[71] Kent then reappears with an ankh mark burned on his face,^[72] but recovers in time to help restore Lightning's soul to her body^[73] and help the team take down D'arken.^[74]

Powers and abilities[link]

All versions of Doctor Fate use the Helm of Nabu^[26] (which allows Nabu's spirit to possess or advise the wearer),^[26] the Amulet of Anubis^[75] (which contains a pocket dimension that housed the souls of previous Doctor Fates),^[76] and the Cloak of Destiny.^[26] For a time, Kent Nelson gave up the Helm when he felt Nabu's spirit take control of him, forcing him to switch to a half-face helmet.^[5] The loss of the Helm left Kent without most of his powers, except for his flight, super-strength, and invulnerability.^[1]

The various Doctor Fates are sorcerers with a wide range of powers and abilities, including flight,^[2] invulnerability,^[2] super-strength,^[2] fire blasts,^[2][77] lightning blasts,^{[2][77][78][79][80][81]} telekinesis,^[2] spell-casting,^[2] telepathy,^[2] energy blasts,^[2] creating solid objects,^[79][81] visions of people's fates,^[82][83] and visions of current events with the use of a crystal ball and magic ring.^[2] However, the various Doctor Fates are unable to counteract spells that have already been cast and in effect.^[81]

Other versions[link]

Pre-Crisis[link]

Doctor Chaos (Earth-One)[link]

In New Adventures of Superboy #25 (Jan. 1982), Professor Lewis Lang and his assistant Burt Belker discovered a helmet in the Valley of Ur identical to the one given to Kent Nelson by Nabu on Earth-Two. This helmet contained a Lord of Chaos, which went on to possess Burt and turn him into Doctor Chaos, whose agenda differed from the Earth-Two Doctor Fate's. Doctor Chaos' costume mirrors Doctor Fate's, with an inverted color scheme. Superboy confronts him and is able to remove the helmet from Belker and jettison it into space. There have been no further appearances of the helmet.

Post-Crisis[link]

[edit] Future (Books of Magic)

Kent Nelson and the Helm both appear in the Books of Magic limited series. In the beginning, Timothy Hunter and the Phantom Stranger observe Kent, though he is unaware of their presence,^[84] and some time later, Mister E shows a future version of the Helm to Hunter which resembles a human skull, kills any of its worshippers who wear it, and has given up on the war between Order & Chaos and life itself. Mister E reveals that he planned to kill Doctor Fate in the past and destroy the Helm but was stopped by the Justice League.^[85]

Earth-2[link]

The final issue of 52 revealed the existence of a new Multiverse, consisting of fifty-two identical realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated Earth-2. As a result of Mister Mind "eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-Two, such as the Justice Society of America being this world's premier superteam. The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the panel in which they appear, but the Doctor Fate that is shown is visually similar to the Nelson and Strauss versions of the character.^[86]

Based on comments by Grant Morrison, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-Two.^[87]

This version of Doctor Fate (based upon the Kent Nelson version of the character) later appeared in Justice Society of America Annual #1. Doctor Fate, along with the Spectre, suspected something awry with Power Girl's mysterious reappearance.^[88]

Earth-20[link]

In Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1, the heroes pass through Earth-20 briefly. While there, they are seen by Doc Fate, a hero described by writer Grant Morrison as 'a cross between Doctor Fate and Doc Savage'. Doc Fate is based in a windowless Manhattan skyscraper and is the leader of the Society of Super-Heroes, a group of 'pulp'-style mystery men consisting of Immortal Man, the Mighty Atom, Lady Blackhawk, the Green Lantern, and the Bat-Man.^[89]

[edit] Earth-22 (Kingdom Come)

The Kingdom Come limited series featured a version of Nabu, similar to his later appearance before his death, who was able to channel his consciousness through the helm and cloak without the need for a host body. This version of Fate sided with Batman's group during the series, and was amongst the survivors at the end of the story.

Doctor Strangefate[link]

Doctor Strangefate is a sorcerer from the Amalgam Comics universe; he is an amalgamation of Doctor Fate and Marvel Comics's Doctor Strange & Charles Xavier.^[90]

[edit] Flashpoint

In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson), works as a fortune teller in Haley's Circus. Kent tells his co-worker, trapeze artist Boston Brand, of his vision of the acrobat Dick Grayson's death.^[82] Haley's Circus is then attacked by the Amazons looking to steal the Helm of Nabu. However, Kent is impaled and killed by an Amazon before the circus workers manage to escape with the Helm with the help of Resistance member Vertigo.^[91] Dick escapes the Amazons' slaughter of the circus workers with Boston's help and meets up with the Resistance, using the Helm as the new Doctor Fate.^[92]

Awards[link]

Both the character and the comics of the same name have received recognition, including:

• 1963 Alley Award for Strip Favored for Revival
• 1965 Alley Award for Best Revived Hero

In other media[link]

Television[link]

• DC animated universe:
  • The Kent Nelson version of Doctor Fate appeared in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "The Hand of Fate", with Kent voiced by George Del Hoyo and Inza was voiced by Jennifer Lien. Superman seeks Fate's help when a supernatural threat named Karkull (whom Fate has defeated previously) seizes the Daily Planet. Fate, depicted as middle-aged, refuses to get involved because he is tired of the eternal struggle between "good" and "evil". Superman's insistence on returning to fight on his own, despite his success being unlikely, inspires Fate to join the "good fight" again.
  • Doctor Fate and Inza re-appeared in the Justice League episode "The Terror Beyond", with Kent now voiced by Oded Fehr and Inza now voiced by Jennifer Hale. Doctor Fate and Aquaman help Solomon Grundy escape from the authorities so they can enact an age-old spell to save this dimension from an invasion by the Old Ones, creatures based on the writings of H. P. Lovecraft.^[93] They are stopped by the League and end up fighting the Old Ones leader Ichthultu (a variant of Cthulhu) in their own dimension.
  • Oded Fehr and Jennifer Hale reprised their roles as Doctor Fate and Inza in Justice League Unlimited. Fate maintained a loose relationship with his fellow superheroes (lack of prior communication being the reason for the struggles between him and the League in "Terror"), including joining the expanded League. However, he maintains his own team within the League, consisting of himself, Aquaman and Ivo's android Amazo (whom Doctor Fate prevented the Green Lantern Corps from vanquishing as seen in "The Return").
    • The Earth of this Doctor Fate is Earth-12 in the DC Multiverse.^[94]
• Doctor Fate appeared in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "The Eyes of Despero!", voiced by Greg Ellis. He teams up with Batman to stop Wotan from robbing the Library of Infinity. Prior to the mission, Batman gave Doctor Fate boxing lessons to defend himself should he lose his powers. This comes in handy when Wotan removes Doctor Fate's helmet and ends up getting knocked out by Doctor Fate. In "The Fate of Equinox," Doctor Fate investigates universal disturbances caused by Equinox and helps Batman defeat him by absorbing the powers of other heroes and passing them on to Batman, later assisting in the final fight. A younger version of Doctor Fate also appears in a small cameo role in "The Siege of Starro" Pt. 1 where he is shown battling Per Degaton alongside the JSA in the 1940s. In this appearance, Fate is shown sporting his short-lived half-helmet.
  • The Earth of this Doctor Fate is Earth-23 within the DC Multiverse.^[95]
• File:Smallville-Brent Stait as Doctor Fate.jpg

  Brent Stait as Doctor Fate on Smallville.
  Actor Brent Stait played Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate in the Smallville two-part episode "Absolute Justice" on February 5, 2010.^[96] This was the first live action appearance of the character. In the episode, Fate is a member of the JSA who has the ability to teleport himself & others and can see the "fates" of everyone except himself. However, Kent claimed that he saw too much and that the knowledge drove him insane. After the group disbanded due to the actions of the government agency Checkmate, Kent spent his time "scrounging around the streets, looking for the secrets of the universe in trash cans" carrying the Helmet of Nabu in a bag. Years later, after several members of the JSA were targeted and killed by Icicle, he was brought back to their old headquarters by their leader, Carter Hall, who convinced him to don the Helmet one more time and become Doctor Fate. He later revealed to Clark that his destiny is far more important than any, revealing that he will lead the new generation of heroes as Hawkman did his. After searching for Icicle with John Jones, Fate was able to sympathize with the Martian for he too had a family. Fate managed to restore John's powers just moments before he was killed by Icicle. His helmet was stolen by Icicle but the JSA managed to retrieve it, waiting for a successor. Actress Erica Carroll played Inza. The Helmet of Nabu reappears in season 10 when Chloe Sullivan uses it in order to track down the whereabouts of the missing Oliver Queen.^[97]
• Doctor Fate appears in the Young Justice animated series. He first appears in the episode "Denial", with Kent Nelson voiced by Edward Asner and Nabu voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson and is described by Red Tornado as being 106-years old & a founding member of the Justice Society of America. In the episode, Kent is kidnapped by Klarion the Witch Boy and Abra Kadabra (both of whom seek to steal the Helmet of Fate). While using the helmet's powers to protect himself, Kent tells Wally to believe in magic before he passes away. After Nelson's death, Wally West briefly dons the helmet and becomes Doctor Fate, his consciousness watching from inside the helmet along with Kent's, while Nabu possesses his body to defeat Klarion and Abra Kadabra. Though Kent states that he wishes to ascend to Heaven in order to be with his deceased wife Inza, he ultimately chooses to remain inside the helmet until Wally can find a worthy successor host for Nabu. Also in the episode, as an in-joke, Aqualad refers to Doctor Fate as "Earth's Sorcerer Supreme", a title traditionally attributed to Marvel Comics's resident sorcerer, Doctor Strange. In "Revelation", Aqualad puts on the Helmet of Fate as a last resort to defeat the Injustice League. Nabu then fights Wotan, Doctor Fate's traditional archenemy, before the arrival of the Justice League puts an end to the battle once and for all. Though Wally fears that Nabu will force him to be his host forever, Aqualad is released shortly thereafter, crediting Kent Nelson with convincing Nabu to let him go (just as he did for Wally in "Denial"). In the episode "Misplaced," Klarion, with the help of a team of evil sorcerers, splits the Earth into two dimensions; one containing adults and the other children. Zatanna is forced to don the Helmet in order to defeat Klarion. However, once the two worlds merge back together, Zatara then offers to become Nabu's new host in order to free his daughter, becoming the new Doctor Fate. Nabu reveals that he has released Kent's spirit and as such, he will no longer intervene for those trapped in the helmet. In "Agendas," Doctor Fate is seen with the Justice League while they discuss adding new members to the team and opposes Zatanna's admittance to the League. Wonder Woman then claims that Zatara is influencing Nabu from within the Helm. In "Ususual Suspects", Doctor Fate is shown at a press conference with the Justice League, where he formally joins the team.
  • The Earth of this Doctor Fate is Earth-16 within the DC Multiverse.^[98]
• Doctor Fate will appear in a series of animated shorts as part of the DC Nation block on Cartoon Network.^[99]

Film[link]

• Doctor Fate appears as a member of the JSA in the opening credits of the Justice League: The New Frontier animated film.

• An evil Doctor Fate from a parallel Earth appears briefly in the Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths animated film as part of Superwoman's group of underlings.

Video games[link]

• Doctor Fate has a prominent role in the DC Universe Online online game. He acts as a boss fight and Bounty for the villains and helps the Hero character to prevent Brother Blood from raising Trigon in midtown Metropolis. In the game, Fate is aligned with Wonder Woman and is a member of the Sentinels of Magic alongside Zatanna and Raven. He also gives the Hero character the mission to free the Spectre from Eclipso's control.

Merchandising[link]

• To date, six versions of Doctor Fate have been made available in action figure form, with all versions being the Kent Nelson incarnation of the character.
  • The first Doctor Fate toy was released in 1985 under the second wave of Kenner's Super Powers Collection. The Super Powers Collection version also included a mini-comic book. In the book, Doctor Fate was forced to fight Superman and the Martian Manhunter who had fallen under control of Darkseid and were sent by him to collect Doctor Fate's artifacts.
  • DC Direct released the second version in 2000 as part of the Mystics, Mages and Magicians collection.
  • The third was released with the Justice League Unlimited series several times as a single figure and as part of three-pack collections. Also, Minimates has released a two-pack featuring Doctor Fate and Power Girl.
  • DC Direct released the fourth version in December 2007 with its second wave of DC: The New Frontier action figures.
  • DC Universe Classics released two Doctor Fate toys in Series 8 - Giganta series,^[100] Classic Kent Nelson version, with regular yellow armor, and a "Chase" variant Modern Hector Hall version, with gold accent armor and helm. This series was released April 2009.
  • A "Dr. Fate versus Wotan" two-pack set was released in December 2009 as part of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold toyline.
• DC Direct announced at the 2004 San Diego Comic-Con International that it would release a full-size replica helmet and amulet in 2005.^[101] By May 2006, DC Vice President for Design and DC Direct Creative Georg Brewer reported that "in order to fulfill the creative goals for the piece and keep it affordable, we had to pull it to work through some production issues".^{[102][dead link]} In September 2006, the DC website wrote that DC Direct "hope(s) to have this great replica ready in 2007",^{[103][dead link]} and the helmet was displayed with upcoming items during the February 2007 Toy Fair.^[104] Currently (Spring 2011), the replica is still not yet available for purchase.

References[link]

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (March 2012)

• Doctor Fate at the DC Database
• JSA Fact File: Doctor Fate
• Earth-2 Doctor Fate Index
• Interview: Meeting the Doctor with Steve Gerber (9-17-2007) retrieved from Wayback Archive.
• Cosmic Teams: Doctor Fate
• DCU Guide: Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson)
• DCU Guide: Doctor Fate (Hector Hall)
• Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson) at the Comic Book DB
• Doctor Fate (Eric & Linda Strauss) at the Comic Book DB
• Doctor Fate (Inza Nelson) at the Comic Book DB
• Doctor Fate (Hector Hall) at the Comic Book DB
• Doctor Fate (Kent V. Nelson) at the Comic Book DB
• The Helmet of Fate at the Comic Book DB
• Grand Comics Database: Doctor Fate entries
• Toonopedia: Doctor Fate
• Doctor Fate at the Internet Movie Database

This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (March 2012)

The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics.

First appearing in The Brave and the Bold #28 (February/March 1960), the Justice League originally appeared with the line-up of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter. The team roster has been rotated throughout the years with characters such as Green Arrow, Captain Marvel, Black Canary, the Atom, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Plastic Man, Red Tornado, Firestorm, Zatanna, other Green Lanterns, and dozens of others. The team received its own comic book title in October 1960, when the first issue was published, and would continue to #261 in April 1987, which was the final issue. Throughout the years, various incarnations or subsections of the team have operated as Justice League America, Justice League Europe, Justice League International, Justice League Task Force, Justice League Elite, and Extreme Justice.

Various comic book series featuring the Justice League have remained generally popular with fans since inception and in most incarnations, its roster includes DC's most popular characters. The Justice League concept has also been adapted into various other entertainment media, including the classic Saturday morning Super Friends animated series (1973–1986), an unproduced Justice League of America live-action series, and most recently the animated series Justice League (2001–2004) and Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006). A live-action film was in the works in 2008 before being shelved.

Publication history[link]

[edit] Silver and Bronze Age / Justice League of America

Having successfully reintroduced a number of their Golden Age superhero characters (Flash, Green Lantern, etc.) during the late 1950s, editor Julius Schwartz asked writer Gardner Fox to reintroduce the Justice Society of America. Schwartz, influenced by the popularity of Major League Baseball's National League and American League, decided to change the name of the team from Justice Society to Justice League.^[1] The Justice League of America debuted in The Brave and the Bold #28 (February–March 1960),^[2] and after two further appearances in that title, got their own series which quickly became one of the company's best-selling titles. Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky were the creative team for the title's first eight years. Sekowsky's last issue was #63 (June 1968) and Fox departed with #65 (September 1968). Schwartz was the new title's editor and would oversee it until 1979.^[3]

The initial Justice League lineup included seven of the DC superheroes being published regularly at that time:Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Wonder Woman. Superman and Batman barely featured in most of the stories, not even appearing on the cover most of the time. Three of DC's other surviving or revived characters, Green Arrow,^[4] the Atom,^[5] and Hawkman^[6] were added to the roster over the next four years. The title's early success was indirectly responsible for the creation of the Fantastic Four. In his autobiography Stan Lee relates how, during a round of golf, DC publisher Jack Liebowitz mentioned to Marvel-Timely owner Martin Goodman how well DC's new book (Justice League) was selling. Later that day Goodman told Lee to come up with a team of superheroes for Marvel; Lee and Jack Kirby produced the Fantastic Four.^[7][8]

The Justice League operated from a secret cave outside of the small town of Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. A teenager named Lucas "Snapper" Carr tagged along on missions, and he became both the team's mascot and an official member. Snapper, noted for speaking in beatnik dialect and snapping his fingers, helped the group defeat the giant space starfish Starro the Conqueror in the team's first appearance. The supervillain Doctor Light first battle the team in issue #12 (June 1962).^[9] Justice League of America #21 and #22 (August–September 1963) saw the first team-up of the Justice League and the Justice Society of America as well as the first use of the term "Crisis" in reference to a crossover between characters.^[10] The folowing year's team-up with the Justice Society introduced the threat of the Crime Syndicate of America of Earth-Three.^[11] The character Metamorpho was offered membership in the Justice League but declined.^[12] Following the departures of Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky, writer Denny O'Neil and artist Dick Dillin became the new creative team. Dillin would draw the title from issue #64 (August 1968) through #183 (October 1980)^[13]

O'Neil reshaped the Justice League's membership by removing Wonder Woman in issue #69 and the Martian Manhunter in issue #71.^[14] Following the JLA-JSA team-up in issues #73-74 and the death of her husband, the Black Canary decides to move to Earth-One to make a fresh start, where she joins the Justice League.^[15] The following issue saw the character develop the superpower known as her "canary cry".^[16] In issue #77 (December 1969), Snapper Carr is tricked into betraying the cave headquarters' secret location to the Joker, resulting in his resignation from the team as well.^[17]

Satellite years[link]

In need of a new secure headquarters, the Justice League moved into an orbiting satellite headquarters in Justice League of America #78 (February 1970).^[18] The Elongated Man,^[19] the Red Tornado,^[20] Hawkwoman,^[21] Zatanna,^[22] and Firestorm^[23] joined the team during this period, and Wonder Woman returned.

Len Wein wrote issues #100–114 wherein he and Dillin re-introduced the Seven Soldiers of Victory in issues #100-102^[24] and the Freedom Fighters in issues #107-108.^[25] In the fall of 1972, Wein and writers Gerry Conway and Steve Englehart crafted a metafictional unofficial crossover spanning titles from both major comics companies. Each comic featured Englehart, Conway, and Wein, as well as Wein's first wife Glynis, interacting with Marvel or DC characters at the Rutland Halloween Parade in Rutland, Vermont. Beginning in Amazing Adventures #16 (by Englehart with art by Bob Brown and Frank McLaughlin), the story continued in Justice League of America #103 (by Wein, Dillin and Dick Giordano), and concluded in Thor #207 (by Conway and penciler John Buscema). As Englehart explained in 2010, "It certainly seemed like a radical concept and we knew that we had to be subtle (laughs) and each story had to stand on its own, but we really worked it out. It's really worthwhile to read those stories back to back to back — it didn't matter to us that one was at DC and two were at Marvel — I think it was us being creative, thinking what would be really cool to do."^[26][27][28] Libra, a supervillain created by Wein and Dillin in Justice League of America #111 (May–June 1974),^[29] would play a leading role in Grant Morrison's Final Crisis storyline in 2008.

Writers Cary Bates and Elliot S. Maggin wrote themselves into the 1975 JLA-JSA crossover in issues #123 and 124 with Bates becoming a supervillain.^[30][31]

Wonder Woman rejoined the team following a major two-year story arc largely written by Martin Pasko. To prove her worthiness to rejoin the JLA, Wonder Woman voluntarily underwent twelve trials analogous to the labors of Hercules, each of which was monitored in secret by a member of the JLA.^[32] After the conclusion of the storyline in Wonder Woman #222, the character's return to the JLA occurred in a two-part story in Justice League of America #128-129 (March–April 1976).^[33]

Steve Englehart wrote the series beginning with issue #139 and provided another unofficial crossover with Marvel Comics in issue #142 by reworking his character Mantis into the DC Universe as a character named "Willow".^[34] Englehart left the title with issue #150.

Writer Gerry Conway had a lengthy association with the title as well. His first JLA story appeared in issue #125 (December 1975) and he became the series' regular writer with issue #151 (February 1978). With a few exceptions, Conway would write the team's adventures until issue #255 (October 1986).^[35] Julius Schwartz, who had edited the title since the first issue, left the series as of issue #165 (April 1979).^[3] The 1979 crossover with the Justice Society in issues #171 and 172 saw the death of the original Mister Terrific.^[36] After Dick Dillin's death, George Pérez, Don Heck, and Rich Buckler would rotate as artist on the title. The double-sized anniversary issue #200 (March 1982) was a "jam" featuring a story written by Conway, a framing sequence drawn by Pérez, and chapters drawn by Pat Broderick, Jim Aparo, Dick Giordano, Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino, Brian Bolland, and Joe Kubert. Bolland's chapter gave the artist his "first stab at drawing Batman."^[37] Pérez would leave the title as of issue #200^[38] to concentrate on The New Teen Titans although he would contribute covers to the JLA through issue #220 (November 1983). The 1982 team-up with the Justice Society in issues #207-209 crossed over with All-Star Squadron #14-15.^[39][40]

Detroit[link]

Seeking to capitalize on the popularity of their other team books, which focused upon heroes in their late teens/early 20s, Gerry Conway and artist Chuck Patton revamped the Justice League series. After most of the original heroes failed to arrive in order to help the team fend off an invasion of Martians, Aquaman dissolved the League and reformatted its charter to only allow heroes who would devote their full time to the roster.^[41] The new team initially consisted of Aquaman, Zatanna, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, the Vixen, and a trio of teenage heroes Gypsy, Steel, and Vibe.^[42] Aquaman would leave the team after a year and was replaced as leader by the Martian Manhunter. Because of his own edict of only wanting full-time heroes in the League, Aquaman's estranged wife Mera gave him an ultimatum to stay with either the group or with her to salvage their marriage.

Fan response to the series' new direction was largely negative and even the return of Batman to the team in Justice League of America #250 could not halt the decline of the series. Reader sentiment regarding this incarnation of the Justice League has since been metatextually reflected in the comics themselves. In volume 2 issue #31 (May 2009), Zatanna says, "With our current line-up we couldn't beat Justice League Detroit!" to which Dr. Light responds, "Don't be ridiculous. Everybody can beat Detroit!" The final storyline for the original Justice League of America series (#258-261) by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Luke McDonnell,^[43] culminated a story-arc involving long-time Justice League enemy Professor Ivo's murders of Vibe and Steel and the resignations of Vixen, Gypsy, and the Elongated Man during the events of DC's Legends mini-series, which saw the team disband.

Modern incarnations[link]

[edit] Justice League International

The 1986 company-wide crossover "Legends" concluded with the formation of a new Justice League. The new team was dubbed "Justice League" then "Justice League International" (JLI) and was given a mandate with less of an American focus. The new series, written by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis with art by Kevin Maguire^[44] (and later Adam Hughes), added quirky humor to the team's stories. In this incarnation, the membership consisted partly of heroes from Earths that, prior to their merging in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, were separate. The initial team included Batman, Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Captain Marvel, Doctor Light (a new Japanese female character, emerging from the Crisis of Infinite Earths, not the supervillain who had appeared previously), Doctor Fate, Martian Manhunter, Mister Miracle, and Guy Gardner; and soon after inception, added Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Fire (then known as the Global Guardians' Green Flame), Ice (then known as the Global Guardians' Icemaiden), and two Rocket Reds (one was a Manhunter spy, and one was Dimitri Pushkin). The Giffen/DeMatteis team worked on Justice League for five years and closed out their run with the "Breakdowns" storyline in 1991 and 1992.^[45] The series' humorous tone and high level of characterization proved very popular.

After Giffen and DeMatteis' departure, new writers gave the storylines a more serious tone. Though initially showing enough promise that DC created numerous spin-off titles, in the long run these incarnations of the League proved much less popular than the Giffen/DeMatteis era had. In 1996, the series was canceled, along with spinoffs Justice League Europe, Extreme Justice, and Justice League Task Force.

[edit] JLA

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010)

The low sales of the various Justice League spinoff books prompted DC to revamp the League as a single team (all the various branch teams were disbanded) on a single title. A Justice League of America formed in the September 1996 limited series Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare by Mark Waid and Fabian Nicieza, which reunited the "Original Seven" of the League for the first time since Crisis on Infinite Earths. In 1997, DC Comics launched a new Justice League series titled JLA, written by Grant Morrison with art by Howard Porter and inker John Dell.^[46]

This series, in an attempt at a "back-to-basics" approach, used as its core the team's original seven members (or their successors): Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash (Wally West), Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), and the Martian Manhunter. Additionally, the team received a new headquarters, the "Watchtower", based on the Moon. JLA quickly became DC's best-selling title,^[47] a position it enjoyed off and on for several years. ^[48]

Morrison introduced the idea of the JLA allegorically representing a pantheon of gods, with their different powers and personalities, incorporating such characters as Zauriel, Big Barda, Orion, Huntress, Barbara Gordon (Oracle), Steel (John Henry Irons), and Plastic Man. He also had temporaries as Aztek, Tomorrow Woman, and Green Arrow (Connor Hawke).

Under Morrison, the series pitted the League against a variety of enemies. These included White Martians, renegade angels, a new incarnation of the Injustice Gang led by Lex Luthor, and the Key. Other foes were the new villain Prometheus, the existing JLA villain Starro the Conqueror, "The Ultra-Marines", and a futuristic Darkseid. Morrison's run culminated in an arc title "World War III" which involves the New Gods preparing the Earth for battle against a creature known as "Maggedon", a super-sentient weapon of mass destruction.

Morrison departed with issue #41, after which the book saw runs by Mark Waid and Joe Kelly. Subsequent to this, the series switched to a series of rotating writers with issue #91 while Kelly (via JLA #100) was given a the mini-series Justice League Elite, which featured Green Arrow, Flash, and several other characters. The new format saw stories by John Byrne, Chuck Austen, and Kurt Busiek. Geoff Johns and Allan Heinberg would take over the book with #115, which saw a multi-part storyline that dealt with the aftermath of Identity Crisis, and served as a lead-in to the events of "Infinite Crisis", as Superboy-Prime destroyed the Watchtower at the end of issue #119. Bob Harras would ultimately write the book's final storyline (JLA #120-125) as Green Arrow struggled in vain to keep the League afloat.

[edit] 52

In 52 Week 24, Firestorm recruits a group to reform the Justice League. It consists of Firehawk, Super-Chief, Bulleteer, and Ambush Bug. They fight a deranged Skeets who takes Super-Chief's powers and kills him as well as numerous people given powers by Lex Luthor's Everyman Project. Afterward, Firestorm breaks up the team.

Also in the series, Luthor's new Infinity, Inc. was informally referred to as a "Justice League" in solicitations and on covers.

[edit] Justice League of America (vol. 2)

One year after the events of Infinite Crisis, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman reunite in the Batcave to re-form the League in Justice League of America #0, the kick-off for a new series by Brad Meltzer and Ed Benes.^[49] The series featured a roster which included Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Black Canary, Red Arrow (Green Arrow's former sidekick), Red Tornado, Vixen, Black Lightning, and Hawkgirl. The first arc of the series focused upon Red Tornado and pitted the team against a new intelligent incarnation of Solomon Grundy and the rebuilt Amazo. The new incarnation of the team has two main headquarters, linked by a transporter. The first site is The Hall, which in mainstream DC Universe is a refurnished version of the Justice Society of America and the All-Star Squadron's former headquarters located in Washington, D.C. Black Canary is elected as the first official Chairperson after the fight against Amazo and Solomon Grundy, and led both the Justice League and Justice Society in a complex quest to reunite time-lost members of the pre-Crisis Legion of Super-Heroes, who had been sent back in time to free both Bart Allen and Flash from the other dimensional realm of the Speed Force. Meltzer left the series at the end of issue #12, with one of his subplots (Per Degaton, a pre-nuclear fire mutation version of Despero, and a circa 1948 version of the Ultra-Humanite gathering for an unknown plot) resolved in the pages of Booster Gold.

Dwayne McDuffie took over the writing job with the Justice League Anniversary Special and the main book with issue #13. Due to DC Comics seeking to launch a spin-off Justice League book led by Hal Jordan, the character was removed from the main League series and replaced by John Stewart. Firestorm also joined the roster, with the series entering into a series of tie-in storylines towards Countdown to Final Crisis, with the arrest of a large number of supervillains (gathered by Lex Luthor and Deathstroke to attack the League on the eve of the wedding of Black Canary and Green Arrow) setting up the Salvation Run tie-in miniseries. Also, roster members Red Tornado and Geo-Force were written out. McDuffie's initial issues received mixed reviews and experienced minor conroversy due to fan favorite Hal Jordan's removal in favor of Stewart. Jordan ended up being restored to the roster by issue #19 of the series, only to be removed once again by issue #31 once Justice League: Cry for Justice was completed and ready to be shipped.

Issue #21 saw the return of Libra and the Human Flame, setting up their appearances in Final Crisis. Later issues would resolve issues involving Vixen's power level increase and see the integration of the Milestone Comics characters the Shadow Cabinet and Icon, who fought the Justice League over the remains of the villainous Doctor Light. The group suffered greater losses during Final Crisis with the deaths of Martian Manhunter and Batman, as well as the resignations of Superman and Wonder Woman, who could no longer devote themselves full-time to the League due to the events of the New Krypton and Rise of the Olympian storylines in their respective titles. Hal Jordan would also resign as well, clearing the way for John Stewart's return to the team. Black Canary found herself declaring the League no more, though the group would continue with Canary taking a secondary role in the group. Her last act as leader would be assigning John Stewart and Firestorm the task of hunting down the Human Flame, for his part in the murder of Martian Manhunter, as seen in the Final Crisis Aftermath: Run! miniseries.

Vixen would take over the team, with Plastic Man rejoining the group. Len Wein wrote a three-part fill-in story for Justice League of America^[50] that ran from #35 to #37. McDuffie was fired from the title before he could return, after discussion postings to the DC Comics message board, detailing behind-the-scenes creative decisions on his run, were republished in the rumor column "Lying In The Gutter".^[51] James Robinson was announced as the new Justice League of America writer.^[52]

Wein's fill-in run would be published as Justice League: Cry For Justice neared its conclusion, as Vixen and Black Canary's group (sans John Stewart) would confront Hal Jordan and Green Arrow's makeshift Justice League group, which had stumbled upon a plot by the villain Prometheus that had resulted in much death and carnage. During the confrontation over Jordan's group using torture to extract information from the villains being blackmailed into carrying out Prometheus' plan, both Roy Harper and Supergirl would discover that one of Jordan's heroes, Captain Marvel Jr., was really Prometheus in disguise. In the ensuing battle, the League would suffer horrible losses: Roy Harper was maimed and his daughter Lian and hundreds of thousands of people in Star City would be killed by a doomsday device Prometheus activated. Vixen would have her leg broken and Plastic Man would have his powers permanently scrambled, making him a slowly disintegrating puddle creature. To save other cities from being destroyed like Star City, the League reluctantly allowed Prometheus to go free. Green Arrow (with help from the Shade) would track down and kill Prometheus.

Following the events of "Blackest Night", Hal Jordan and Donna Troy begin the task of rebuilding the League, with Green Arrow, the Atom, Batman, Mon-El, Donna, Cyborg, Doctor Light, Starfire, Congorilla, and the Guardian.

At the end of issue #43, the majority of the new members leave for various reasons. Mon-El and the Guardian leave after Mon-El returns to the future, Black Canary returns to the Birds of Prey, Starfire leaves to join the R.E.B.E.L.S., Green Lantern leaves to locate the other Lantern Corps Entities, and Green Arrow is forced to leave due to his fugitive status. James Robinson revealed this was due having second thoughts about his decision to use so many characters, and revealed that the team would have a different roster in the coming months.^[53] To replace the departed members, Jade and Jesse Quick were added to the team. Cyborg remained with the team in a reduced capacity, and was eventually given his own co-feature storyline for issues 48–50.^[54]

DC announced that Saint Walker of the Blue Lantern Corps would be joining the Justice League during a tie-in to the Reign of Doomsday crossover, but the character did not become a full member due to the cancellation of the title.^[55]

The series ended with issue #60 (October 2011), with the title being one of the numerous DC books cancelled after the Flashpoint crossover. The issue saw Batman disbanding the League due to most of the individual members becoming preoccupied with personal commitments.

The New 52[link]

In September 2011, following the conclusion of the Flashpoint miniseries, all DC titles were canceled and relaunched from issue #1, with DC continuity being rebooted again. Justice League of America was relaunched as Justice League, written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Jim Lee, and was the first of the new titles released, coming out the same day as the final issue of Flashpoint.^[56] The first six issues were set five years in the past and featured a brand new origin for the team,^[57] while issue 7 and beyond will take place in the present day.^[58]

The starting line-up of the team consists of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, the Flash (Barry Allen), and Cyborg,^[59][60] while the Atom (Ryan Choi), Hawkman (Carter Hall), Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond), Green Arrow (Oliver Queen), Aquaman's wife Mera, Deadman, recently created character Element Woman,^[61] and Lady Luck, a revamp of the Golden Age character, are set to join as additional members in the future.^[62]

In addition to this series, two other Justice League-related titles were launched during the same month: a new Justice League International; written by Dan Jurgens and drawn by Aaron Lopresti;^[63] featuring an initial roster of Batman, Booster Gold, Rocket Red (Gavril Ivanovich), Vixen, Green Lantern (Guy Gardner), Fire, Ice, August General in Iron,^[64] and Godiva, and Justice League Dark; written by Peter Milligan and drawn by Mikel Janin; featuring a roster consisting of John Constantine, Shade, the Changing Man, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Zatanna, and the new character Mindwarp.^[65]

Various origins of the Justice League[link]

In a story told in flashback in Justice League of America #9 (February 1962), Earth was infiltrated by the Appelaxians.^[66] Competing alien warriors were sent to see who could conquer Earth first to determine who will become the new ruler of their home planet. The aliens' attacks drew the attentions of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter. While the superheroes individually defeated most of the invaders, the heroes fell prey to a single competitor's attack; only by working together were they able to defeat the competitor. For many years, the heroes heralded this adventure as the event that prompted them to agree to pool resources when confronted with similar menaces.

In Justice League of America #144 (July 1977), Green Arrow uncovered inconsistencies in the team's records^[67] and extracted admissions from his colleagues that the seven founders had actually formed the League after the Martian Manhunter was rescued from Martian forces by the other six founders, along with several other heroes including Robin, Robotman, Congo Bill/Congorilla, Rex the Wonder Dog, and even Lois Lane. Green Lantern participated in this first adventure solely as Hal Jordan, due to the fact that he had yet to become the costumed hero at that time (the biggest inconsistency Arrow found, as they celebrated the earlier incident's date, while recounting only the later one's events). When the group formalized their agreement, they suppressed news of it because of anti-Martian hysteria. Because the heroes had not revealed their identities to each other at the time, they did not realize that Jordan and Green Lantern were one and the same when he turned up in costume during the event described in #9. While most subsequent accounts of the League have made little mention of this first adventure, the animated Justice League series adapted this tale as the origin of the Justice League as well.

Secret Origins (vol. 2) #32 (November 1988) updated Justice League of America #9's origin for post-Crisis continuity. Differences included the inclusion of the original Black Canary as a founding member and the absence of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. The JLA: Year One limited series, by Mark Waid, Brian Augustyn, and Barry Kitson, further expanded upon the Secret Origins depiction.^[68]

In Justice League Task Force #16 (Sept. 1994), during Zero Hour, an unknown superhuman named Triumph appeared. Triumph was revealed to have been a founding member of the Justice League and was their leader. On his first mission with the fledgling Justice League Triumph seemingly "saved the world" but was teleported into a dimensional limbo that also affected the timestream, resulting in no one having any memory of him.

In Infinite Crisis #7 (June 2006), the formation of "New Earth" (the new name for the post-Crisis Earth) restored Wonder Woman as a founding member of the Justice League. In Brad Meltzer's Justice League of America (vol. 2) #0 (September 2006), it was revealed that Superman and Batman were again founding members as well. 52 #51 (June 2007) confirmed that the 1989 Secret Origins and JLA: Year One origins were still in continuity at that time, with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman joining the team with founding members' status shortly after the group's formation with Aquaman, Black Canary, Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter.^[69] In Justice League of America #12 (October 2007), the founding members of the Justice League were shown to be Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Flash (Barry Allen), Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter.

With DC's history rewritten due to the Flashpoint limited series, an entirely new origin for the Justice League was introduced in the subsequent Justice League series which debuted with an October 2011 cover date as part of the company-wide event, The New 52. Issue #1 portrayed the first meeting between Batman and Hal Jordan, with the two encountering each other during a battle against a Parademon in Gotham City. After realizing the creature is extraterrestrial in origin, the two heroes head to Metropolis to seek out Superman and are attacked by him.^[70] Later, after a brief fight in which the Flash arrives and Batman convinces Superman they are on the same side, they move to an abandoned building to work on analyzing a mysterious alien box, when it suddenly activates and more Parademons arrive.^[71] While fighting the Parademons, Aquaman and Wonder Woman appear and join forces with the other heroes.^[72] The mysterious box leads to Darkseid's arrival on Earth, and the heroes come together, along with newcomer Cyborg, to defeat him. The public are enamoured with the heroes, and a writer dubs the group the 'Justice League', following the Flash's suggestion of 'Super Seven'.^[73]

Related series[link]

[edit] Formerly Known as the Justice League

In 2003, Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire returned with a separate limited series called Formerly Known as the Justice League^[74] with the same humor as their Justice League run, and featuring some of the same characters in a team called the "Super Buddies" (a parody of the Super Friends). A follow-up limited series, entitled I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League, soon was prepared, although it was delayed due to the events shown in the Identity Crisis limited series, but was eventually released as the second arc in JLA: Classified. The Super Buddies consisted of Blue Beetle; Booster Gold; Captain Atom, Fire; Mary Marvel; the Elongated Man with his wife, Sue Dibny; Maxwell Lord; and L-Ron. The second story arc of JLA: Classified focuses on the Super Buddies in a humorous story that features Power Girl, Guy Gardner, and Doctor Fate.

[edit] JLA/Avengers

In 2003-2004, George Pérez and Kurt Busiek produced a JLA/Avengers crossover,^[75] an idea that had been delayed for 20 years for various reasons. In this limited series, the Justice League and the Avengers were forced to find key artifacts in one another's universe, as well as deal with the threats of villains Krona and the Grandmaster.

[edit] JLA: Classified

In 2004, DC began an anthology series titled JLA: Classified, which would feature rotating writers and artists producing self-contained story-arcs and aborted mini-series projects that were reappropriated for publication within the pages of the series, starring the JLA. While the bulk of the stories took place within the continuity of the series (circa JLA #76–113) some of the stories take place outside of regular DC Universe canon. The series was canceled as of issue #54 (May 2008).

[edit] Justice

In October 2005, DC began publishing the 12-issue miniseries Justice by writer Jim Krueger, writer/illustrator Alex Ross, and artist Doug Braithwaite. The story, which takes place outside regular DC continuity, has Lex Luthor assembling the Legion of Doom after he and several other villains begin to have nightmares about the end of the world and the failures of the Justice League to prevent said apocalypse. As the Legion begins engaging in unprecedented humanitarian deeds throughout the world, they also launch a series of attacks on the Justice League and their families. The threat that the Legion was warned about destroying the Earth turns out to be caused by Brainiac, who seeks to destroy Earth during the chaos.

[edit] Justice League: Cry for Justice

Originally a planned ongoing title, Justice League: Cry For Justice is a mini-series written by James Robinson and drawn by Mauro Cascioli. The mini-series, set after the events of Final Crisis, has Hal Jordan leaving the League following the deaths of Batman and Martian Manhunter, as their deaths have caused Hal to seek out a more proactive manner of dealing with super-villains. Hal, along with Green Arrow and later Supergirl, Captain Marvel Jr., and Batwoman are then recruited by Ray Palmer to investigate a murder of a former colleague carried out on orders from Prometheus. This ties into another string of murders, bringing Starman Mikaal Tomas and Congorilla together as their investigation of the murders of several European super-heroes are also revealed to be the work of Prometheus.

With help from the Hawkman villain I.Q., Prometheus plans on creating the ultimate weapon in mass murder, a massive doomsday device which he plans on using to destroy entire cities, as part of his revenge scheme against the JLA for lobotomizing him. Disguised as Captain Marvel Jr., Prometheus maims Roy Harper and brutally injuring JLA members Dr. Light II, Vixen, and Plastic Man while using the JLA Satellite to activate his doomsday device, which destroys Star City, killing 90,000 innocent civilians, including Roy Harper's young daughter Lian. Prometheus ultimately extorts his freedom from the League in exchange for the codes to shut down his weapon, much to the horror of the JLA members. Green Arrow (with help from reformed villain the Shade), tracks Prometheus down and kills him by firing an arrow into his head.

The mini-series leads directly into the formation of a brand new JLA roster with Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Donna Troy, Dick Grayson as Batman, Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi), Mon-El, Cyborg, Starfire, Congorilla, Guardian, and Mikaal Tomas.

[edit] JLA/The 99

Launching in October 2010, JLA/The 99 was a crossover mini-series featuring the Justice League teaming up with the heroes of Teshkeel Comics' The 99 series. The JLA consisted of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (John Stewart), the Flash (Barry Allen), the Atom (Ray Palmer), Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi), Hawkman, and Firestorm (Jason Rusch).

Awards[link]

The original Justice League of America series has won:

• 1961 Alley Awards for Best Comic Book
• 1961 Alley Awards for Best Adventure-Hero Group
• 1963 Alley Awards for Favorite Novel ("Crisis on Earth-One/Crisis on Earth-Two" in Justice League of America #21-22 by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky)
• 1963 Alley Awards for Strip that Should Be Improved
• 1963 Alley Awards for Artist Preferred on Justice League of America (Murphy Anderson)
• 1973 Shazam Awards for Best Inker (Dramatic Division) (Dick Giordano)

Collected editions[link]

[edit] Silver Age Justice League of America

This series has been collected in the following:

*omitted issues featured reprints of material from earlier Archives.

[edit] Justice League/Justice League International/Justice League America (1987–1996)

This series has been collected in the following hardcover collections:

[edit] JLA (January 1997 – February 2006)

This series has been collected in the following trade paperbacks:

This series has been collected in the following hardcover collections:

[edit] Justice League of America (vol. 2) (August 2006 – August 2011)

This series has been collected in the following hardcover collections:

Miscellaneous reprints[link]

These trades don't reprint the series in a coherent fashion, but reprint themed issues.

In other media[link]

See also[link]

Comics portal

• Justice Society of America

Spin-off groups[link]

• Extreme Justice
• Justice Leagues
• Justice League Antarctica
• Justice League Elite
• Justice League Europe
• Justice League International
• Justice League Task Force
• Super Buddies

Theme Park Ride[link]

• Justice League: Alien Invasion 3D

References[link]

External links[link]

• Justice League at DC Comics.com
• Justice League of America at Don Markstein's Toonopedia WebCitation Archive
• The Justice League Library
• Justice League: Mortal at the Internet Movie Database

Dr. Dean Ornish 2007

Dean Michael Ornish, M.D., (born July 16, 1953) is president and founder of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, as well as Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.^[1]