Creation

Khalid Nassour was created by Paul Levitz and Sonny Liew in Doctor Fate #1 - Blood of the Pharaohs as part of DC DCYou initiative.

Note: In the DC Sneak Peek that marked his debut, Khalid and his father's last name was given as Nassour. However, in the first issue of his new series, their last name was changed to Nelson. The 2nd issue changed their last name back to Nassour.

Biography

Khalid Nassour is an Egyptian-American, descendant of ancient Egyptian pharaohs, and the great nephew of Kent Nelson. He was selected by Bastet, the Egyptian God to bear the helm of Thoth to stop Anubis. After defeating Anubis Khalid became the apprentice of Kent Nelson, the original Doctor Fate, and adopted the codename synonymously.

Some time after being Doctor Fate, he continued his studies with Kent and Nabu, the latter the sole Doctor Fate. When the latter went on a campaign to later wipe out all magic in order to prevent the rise of the Otherkind, Khalid was soon transformed into a vase and left in the Tower of Fate until he was saved by the unlikely Man-Bat of the Justice League Dark. First released temporary upon being knocked over, he warns Man-Bat and Detective Chimp of Nabu having hijacked Nelson before being re-sealed. Man-Bat then learned the necessary magic to release him. Alongside other noted sorcerers and magcians, Khalid helped defeat Nabu and the other Lords of Order who joined his campaign.

The Official Eighth Doctor Fate

When Circe and her newly created Injustice League Dark launched an offensively the Justice League Dark, downing Swamp Thing and backed the team into a corner, Khalid manages to convince Nabu to cede and trust him with his power, donning the Helmet of Fate and officially succeeding Kent Nelson as Doctor Fate. He would turn the tide and help the team prevail against Circe and her team, later restore order and balance between all the Parliaments, and played a substantial role in fighting the Upside-Down Man. Although Zatanna would find the power and opportunity to best him, Khalid held his old with the entity for a time and Kent Nelson sacrificed his life to deal a critical blow.

Now the sole living Doctor Fate and without Nabu, Khalid later learns the helm is now inhabited by Hauhet, whose agenda remains mysterious. At some point, he adopts non-binary Stitch as his apprentice and child.

He also helps the team and Atlantis as a evil Merlin attempts to control all of magic, the Tower of Fate now sighted as a eventual target and resurrecting Arion in order to control Darkworkd's magic. Although the team is defeated and Merlin and Arion escapes, Khalid helps save Atlantis from a resurging Upside-Down Man inside Zatanna and is present with Zatanna when she receives a way to defeat him in the future by Mister E.

Doctor Fate is later defeated by Nezha, allowing him to temporarily gain the Helmet of Fate and imprisons him in his own subconscious mind until he is rescued by Dreamer. Although Nezha's Lazarus Planet event awakens metahumans and incurs the attention of gods alike while Khalid is absent, Nezha is eventually stopped by Batman, Damian Wayne, and other heroes before the helm is returned to him although the event results in the creation of the Helmet of Hate.

A New Golden Age

After graduating medical school, getting his own apartment, and enlisting as a intern physician, Detective Chimp aides the young hero as he continues his duties as the big-time Doctor Fate, although this includes impersonating the young physician and making him quit. He becomes involved in a time travel dilemma when future teammate Helena Wayne arrives while hunted by Per Degaton, who uses a magic ritual created by a Lord of Chaos known as Salem, to work to alter time and history to prevent the formation of the Justice Society. While doubtful of his skills, he helps the team ultimately prevail by reuniting the Justice Society from across time at the moment before their shared deaths although Helena's future is erased in the process due to her machinations involving altering her father's death in history.

Khalid alongside the JSA learn of proteges of select members from the early-mid 1900s whose existence and memories were erased across time, including Kent's own, Salem, whose original destiny was to be a adversary although is adverted. Displeased with learning Kent having no memories of her and the passing of Doctor Fate's legacy to Khalid, the pair develop a adversarial relationship which forces Khalid to bar her from the Tower and places her into the JSA's custody until they can repair their relationship. Khalid is then approached by the League of Substitute Heroes, time-travelling to the distant future and disappearing for months as he helps them uncover Eclipso, a mole in the JSA who subtly pits the JSA and Legion of Super-Heroes against one another. Salem is impressed and the pair reconcile while she ventures to Limbo Town to discover how to remove her curse.

Khalid is later among the heroes captured by Amanda Waller's Amazao robots who depower metahuman heroes and imprisons them. Two months after being freed and Waller's ultimate defeat, he is invited as a member of the Justice League Unlimited, a program which includes a much larger roster, a larger focus on the superhero community working with one another, and dedicating heroes towards their specialized situations. Khalid helps Zatanna and other magic users as the Justice League fights Darkseid, whom has merged with Spectre thanks to a Miracle Machine. Although he is defeated, this event leads to his negative influence on the Absolute Universe, in which changes the course of the universe.

Sometime afterward, the JSA is ambushed by the newly formed Injustice Society whose goal is unknown although they first target the Helmet of Fate. As Khalid attempts to teleport his teammates to safety, the Tower of Fate is displaced to Hell, whose demonic forces are under Wotan's control.

Characteristics

• Eyes: Brown
• Hair: Brown
• Identity: Secret
• Citizenship: American
• Marital Status: Single
• Occupation: Agent of Order, Sorcerer, former Intern Doctor, Medical student

• Relatives: Elizabeth Nassour (Mother), Muhammad Nassour (Father), Kent Nelson (Great Uncle), Stitch (Child; Apprentice)

Powers

Magic: Due to his pharaoh lineage, Khalid has magical abilities even without the artifacts. After being under Kent Nelson's tutelage for years, Khalid is considered one of the most powerful magicians on Earth and is the successor to Kent Nelson as Doctor Fate.

• Cosmic Awareness: Khalid is one of the few people aware of the Fourth Wall concept. He can also use his magic to open other people's inner eyes to see the fourth wall. Khalid can visually see the magic happening around him and is knowledgeable in the workings of the universe.
• Eldritch Blast: Khalid can release blasts of magical energy powerful enough to incinerate two vampires with a single shot.
  • Photokinesis: Can create blinding lights.
• Telekinesis: Shown to move objects by will.
  • Flight
• Time Magic: Khalid learned how to manipulate time to various degrees without relying on the Helm's power.
• Telepathy: Khalid can wipe the minds of others, including White Martians.

Abilities

Medical Knowledge: Khalid was a certified emergency medical technician and later completed medical school, earning a medical doctorate degree.

Occultism: As the apprentice of Kent Nelson, the original Doctor Fate, Khalid learned much about the world of magic, spellcasting, mystic artifacts, mystic realms, etc. His knowledge is suitable enough to have his own apprentice, Stitch.

Multilingual: Khalid is able to speak English, Mandarin Chinese and Egyptian.

Equipment

Helmet of Fate: Granted by Bastet, the Helmet previously belonged to Nabu who was a scholar of Thoth and one of the original Lords of Order (among the most powerful sorcerers of history). The Helmet contains the will, personality, power and knowledge of Nabu, and thanks to the artifact the wearer can communicate with Nabu himself. The Helmet also grants the wearer various skills:

• Banishment
• Cosmic Awareness
• Dimensional Travel
• Elemental Control
• Energy Manipulation
• Phasing
• Regeneration
• Summoning
• Telekinesis
• Time Manipulation

Staff of Power: A powerful magical object given to him by Thoth to stop Anubis.

• Energy Absorption
• Energy Manipulation
• Energy Projection
• Energy Shields

In other Media

Young Justice

Khalid made his animated debut in the season 4 of Young Justice voiced by Usman Ally. Alongside Traci 13 and Mary Marvel, Khalid is one of the apprentices of Zatanna as part of the Sentinels of Magic.