1st Issue Special #9
December 1975 (September 18, 1975) $.25


Cover Art: Joe Kubert (signed)

“The Mummy That Time Forgot” (title on cover only) 18 pages

Gerry Conway (Editor), Martin Pasko (Writer), Walt Simonson (Art), no lettering or coloring credits

FC: Doctor Fate
SC: Inza Nelson
SA: Amon-Ra, Anubis
Reintro: Nabu the Wise, in flashback
Intro: Khalis

Synopsis

Alerted by the Crystal Orb of Nabu that a dreadful prophecy is about to be fulfilled, Doctor Fate flies from his Salem tower to the Boston Museum of Egyptology. He finds the curator and another man murdered, “stark terror etched on their white faces!” Attacked by Khalis, a ghastly living mummy wielding mighty magical energies, Fate fights back valiantly but in vain. Siphoning the power of the Wonder Wizard's mystic amulet, Khalis steals the talisman and lurches off into the night, shouting that “from this night forward, I control man's destiny… for I control… the power!”

Regaining consciousness hours later, Fate makes his way home with the last of his strength and collapses in his wife's arms. Inza bandages his wounds, complaining all the while of the strain his life as Fate ― who she regards as another person ― puts on their marriage. When he falls asleep mid-tirade, she tearfully storms out of the house.

After a brief rest, Fate begins going through his library, searching for information about his foe. In the year 2030 BC, a megalomaniacal worshipper of Anubis used black magic to destroy a temple dedicated to the goddess Bast. As a reward, the god of death gave Khalis a talisman of great mystical potency. Using its power, the priest made himself absolute ruler of the city of Bubastis until overthrown by Nabu, the powerful wizard who would one day transform Kent Nelson into Doctor Fate… and who would also pass Khalis' talisman, the Amulet of Anubis, on to his protégé. Though Khalis was punished for his crimes by being mummified alive, Anubis granted him “life-in-death” until such time as he can recover the amulet.

Armed with this data, Fate renews his assault on Khalis, drawing on Boston's power grid to bathe the servant of darkness in light, blacking the city out in the process. Though rocked by this assault, Khalis' power continues to grow under the amulet's influence. Inza arrives with a fragment of Khalis' sarcophagus bearing his “magical name,” knowledge which may prove crucial in the coming clash. When the lights come back on, Bostonians are astonished to see a gigantic Egyptian temple complex in the heart of the city. Within the temple, the undead priest calls on Anubis to witness what has been accomplished in his name. The jackal-headed deity no longer remembers Khalis but agrees to increase his power if he will destroy Doctor Fate. Fate is not so easily gotten rid of. Using the mummy's magical name to invoke the power of Amon-Ra, god of light, the Mystic Mage destroys Khalis, reverses the effects of his sinister magic and regains possession of the amulet.

Recognizing that Fate would've lost without her help, Inza decides to give their marriage another try.

Cosmology

This is the first appearance of the Earth-Two versions of Amon-Ra and Anubis and the first indication that, like the Greco-Roman pantheon seen in “Wonder Woman” stories, the gods of ancient Egyptian mythology are real in the Earth-Two dimension.

Continuity

The flashback in this issue retells the “Doctor Fate” origin story from More Fun Comics #67 (May 1941) but with several notable differences:
● In the original, Nabu telepathically commanded Kent Nelson to release the wizard from his tomb; here, Kent does so by accident.
● In the original, Kent Nelson grew to adulthood naturally and was given the name and costume of Doctor Fate only after years of training in the mystic arts; here, Nabu immediately transforms the boy into the adult Fate after magically erasing Kent's grief and anger over his father's death.
● In the original, Doctor Fate began his super-heroic career in 1940; here, only fifteen years have passed since 12-year-old Kent Nelson assumed the Fate identity.
Because of these discrepancies (the last of which obviously cannot be reconciled with Earth-Two continuity) and because Earth-Two is not mentioned in the story, some have suggested that this is the first and only appearance of the Earth-One Doctor Fate. Nonetheless, because so many details of characterization and backstory established here are referenced in later Fate appearances indisputably set on Earth-Two, this guide will treat the story as canonical.

The Good Guys

Nabu the Wise was last seen in the “Doctor Fate” story in More Fun Comics #67. This is the first time that the wizard is portrayed as Egyptian rather than Mesopotamian.

Nabu and Doctor Fate are said to serve the “Lords of Life,” their mission to preserve “the natural order,” for the first time.

Doctor Fate and Kent Nelson are portrayed as two distinct personalities, Nelson becoming Fate whenever he dons the Helmet of Nabu, for the first time.

The ankh effect associated with Doctor Fate's magic appears for the first time.

This is the first time the amulet Doctor Fate wears is called the Amulet of Anubis.

Inza Nelson undergoes a drastic change in characterization with this issue. In Golden Age continuity, Inza became involved with Doctor Fate long before learning his true identity and seemed quite comfortable within his world of weird.

The Bad Guys

Anubis should not be confused with his Earth-One costumed criminal of the same name introduced in Detective Comics #262 (December 1958).

Points to Ponder

Although the connection has never been made explicit, it is possible that Nabu the Wise is, in fact, the being of the same name worshipped as the Sumerian god of wisdom.

The Immortal Dr. Fate is a collected edition that comes out early next year.

It's contents...

1ST ISSUE SPECIAL #9, stories from THE FLASH #306-313, THE IMMORTAL DOCTOR FATE #1-3, DR. FATE #1-4 and DC CHALLENGE #11.

This is also a bit late a reply to your post of the Cary Bates JLA/JSA team up, however Jm Corrigan is later shown as having survived on Earth-Two and is handling a crisis in All-Star Comics #70-71 involving the Strike Force gang. And a later crossover verifies via Sargon that this is the same Spectre.