Here's What Pierce Brosnan Could Look Like As Dr. Fate
DC fans are eagerly awaiting the next installment of the New Line series of supers. Following the runaway success of Shazam!, the studio announced that Dwayne Johnson would be playing Shazam's archnemesis (and occasional buddy, comics are weird like that) Black Adam. Details have been scant but extremely intriguing. When Johnson shared the first pages of the Black Adam script, the internet lost its mind. And when it was announced that Pierce Brosnan, one of the most iconic James Bonds to ever also star in multiple ABBA musicals, would play the ancient and mysterious Doctor Fate, speculation ran wild.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Brosnan is playing the Kent Nelson version of the character, "aka the good Dr. Fate." Kent is the son of famed archaeologist Sven Nelson. While visiting his father's excavation site in the Sumerian valley of Ur, he opens the tomb of the wizard Nabu the Wise. Perhaps entombed a little hastily, Nabu is actually in a state of suspended animation. Nelson awakens the ancient wizard, who trains him in the spooky arts and gives him the helmet of Doctor Fate.
Setting up the Justice Society of America
With the inclusion of Doctor Fate, it looks like New Line has everything they need to create their own JSA franchise. If you're tired of the Knightmare Timeline discourse, then travel back to the past, when superheroes formed the Justice League's spiritual predecessor, the Justice Society of America. Black Adam will feature JSA founding member Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), as well as Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), the granddaughter of JSA founder Red Tornado. Of course, JSA founding member Doctor Fate, as portrayed by Pierce Brosnan, will appear as well.
Digital artist ApexForm has created concept art of what Brosnan could look like as Doctor Fate. Fate is depicted in a body armor-ified version of his New 52 costume. The glowing ankh on his chestplate, as well as the scarab on his belt, allude to Nabu's time as a corporeal being in ancient Egypt.
Fate's powers come from his helmet, which channels the spirit of the wizard Nabu. Through this helm, Doctor Fate is a Lord of Order. He imposes order on this chaotic world through spellcasting, force fields, telekinesis, and even the ability to heal people or resurrect the dead.
Doctor Fate in the comics
Doctor Fate has been through it in the comics, being one of the oldest characters in the DC roster. Created in 1940 by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman, Fate's helmet has been worn by nine hosts over 80+ years. Within the fiction of the DC universe, Nabu is at least a billion years old. He is one of the Lords of Order, seemingly eternal beings that fight the Lords of Chaos for control of the cosmos.
Doctor Fate's helmet-based powers are a double-edged sword within the comics. Like Shazam/Billy Batson, Kent Nelson's powers come from semi-possession by an ancient wizard. But Nabu has been shown to have much more control over his subjects than the Wizard Shazam. He's the bad boyfriend of immortal wizards, controlling and domineering. Some Doctors Fate have gone absolutely bonkers from the helmet. Neil Gaiman's Books of Magic even showed a possible future world where the helmet insta-kills anyone who wears it. A movie starring Black Adam in anti-hero mode and including the sometimes villainous Doctor Fate would truly blur the lines between good and evil in the DC universe.