Classic DC Hero Returns in Blue Beetle #9

How many Doctor Fates are there in the DC Universe? That's a question we might see answered in the pages of Blue Beetle.

In last week's Blue Beetle #9, Kent Nelson -- the "classic" Doctor Fate -- was roused from a catatonic state by the Helmet of Nabu, reviving the Justice Society of America's resident mystic on the comic's final page.

The Doctor Fate helmet has been a part of the current Blue Beetle volume from the get-go, but what's interesting about that is, there had been another Doctor Fate in action in the DC Universe for some of that time.

Khalid Nassour was a medical student who came across the helm of Fate and ended up using it for a while in his own series, which launched as part of DC's short-lived DC You! initiative, and was the last surviving remnant of that initiative when it ran for several months after Rebirth began.

Besides Nassour and his helmet, and the one appearing in Blue Beetle, a helmet resembling Fate's was among the artifacts on the Justice League satellite during "The Button," the recently-concluded, four-part crossover between The Flash and Batman.

It is not yet clear whether Nelson's revival will bring memories of the altered DC timeline addressed in "The Button" with it. In DC Universe: Rebirth #1, Johnny Thunder referenced the Justice Society of America, a team that had been absent in its classic form since the end of Flashpoint and the launch of The New 52 in 2011. Nelson's Doctor Fate was a member of that team, and his presence in Blue Beetle may raise more questions than it answers.

Blue Beetle #9 is available in your local comic shop now. You can order a digital copy here, and check out the official solicitation below.

The battle with the evil entity that's been lurking under El Paso for thousands of years reaches its penultimate chapter! Jaime Reyes has wanted nothing more than to rid himself of the scarab on his back. But in order to save his city, his family and his friends, he must decide whether to become Blue Beetle again—only this time, the change will be permanent!