The Fate Of NBC’s Constantine

Have no fear.  NBC’s Constantine series is all well and good.  The “fate” I’m talking about is the direction Constantine is taking — and it’s a good one!  Sunday night, NBC debuted a new promo for the highly anticipated fall show.  And I’m willing to bet that at 0:47, fanboys were probably saying, “No way!”

If you thought your eyes were playing tricks on you, here’s a still-frame for you to analyze until your heart’s content:

Doctor Fate!  Constantine is definitely going to have some sort of shared universe with other DC properties.  There are now several questions fans must be asking:

• Will Doctor Fate actually make an appearance in Constantine?  If so, which character will be wearing the Helmet of Nabu?  Are they going with Kent Nelson?  Eric and Linda Strauss?  Inza Nelson?  Jared Stevens?  Hector Hall?  Kent V. Nelson?  Khalid Ben-Hassin?
• Also, if they do choose a character, who will be playing Doctor Fate?
• Will this be a type of backdoor pilot for a Doctor Fate TV series?

For non-fans, Doctor Fate is another superhero who fights against evil supernatural forces.  His character history begins with Kent Nelson.  As a young boy, Kent and his father, an archaeologist, go on a dig in Mesopotamia.  Entering the tomb of an ancient Egyptian wizard, Nabu, a poisonous gas is released and Kent’s father dies as a result.  Feeling sorry for Kent’s loss, Nabu takes Kent under his wing and teaches him wizardry.  Nabu bestows upon Kent a helmet, cloak, and amulet.  Returning to America, Kent uses his newly developed powers and abilities to fight evil.  As time goes on, various people (Eric and Linda Strauss, Inza Nelson, Jared Stevens, Hector Hall, Kent V. Nelson, Khalid Ben-Hassin) inherit the mission of Doctor Fate either by choice or by accident.

Doctor Fate’s last live-action TV appearance was on the CW’s Smallville two-parter, Absolute Justice.  Brent Strait played the Kent Nelson version of Doctor Fate.  Other incarnations were mostly relegated to animation, toys, and video games.

Constantine will premiere on Friday October 24, 2014 at 10:00PM EST.