Review: Doctor Fate Vol. 3- Fateful Threads
Quick Summary
Pros: Each chapter contains moments of fun action and shows off Khalid as a character. The volume’s artwork is mostly positive.
Cons: The stories here bring up intense issues yet fail to explore them. The relationships between characters feel underdeveloped.
Overall: The final volume in the Doctor Fate series is just as mixed as the volumes preceding it. On one hand, it tells decently entertaining stories about a cool, new superhero. On the other hand, these stories never feel as meaningful as they could be and also leave much of their potential unused. This final volume isn’t downright bad and may still be worthwhile for those simply looking to finish the series, but it is a disappointment that this series has closed without ever producing something seriously noteworthy.
Story
Doctor Fate Vol. 3: Fateful Threads, by Paul Levitz, continues the general level of quality found throughout this series, without either improving on it or damaging it. This means that the book succeeds in telling a variety of moderately fun adventures starring enjoyable characters. However, it also means that the book does little to provide these stories with the depth they clearly desire and that many of the volume’s personal issues are left underdeveloped. Unfortunately, this brings this iteration of the Doctor Fate series to a pretty mediocre conclusion.
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Fateful Threads essentially provides readers with the same mix of positives that every prior volume has provided. Each chapter sees Khalid take on a mostly independent threat that is then dealt with over the course of that chapter, with one or two threats dealt with over two. Over the course of the encounter, there are fun moments of action and satisfying moments where Khalid has a chance to prove his capacity for heroics.
Alongside this, Fateful Threads provides readers with a chance to reunite with Kent Nelson, the original Doctor Fate. Kent’s inclusion as a role model for Khalid is a wonderful way to bring back this classic character without outshining Khalid.
However, like previous collections, Fateful Threads fails to do anything significant beyond providing bits of fun action. The narratives here briefly touch on intense issues like politics, religion, and philosophy yet never explores any of these concepts beyond the surface level. Even simpler issues, like Khalid’s love for his parents or his relationship struggles with Shaya and Akila, are left relatively untouched in this volume. The final two chapters, which center around a philosophical look into the clash between fate and free-will, are the comic’s most successful attempt at doing something deeper but, unfortunately, this is way too little and way too late.
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Art
The artwork in Fatefull Threads is mostly positive and fairs a bit better than the story. Ibrahim Moustafa gets things started with one of the most impressive chapters yet, providing great depictions of the main cast and the magic that always surrounds them. However, the rest of the volume fails to seriously impress. Chapters from Sonny Liew have a charming and unique style to them yet don’t have the “wow” moments that made Liew’s artwork noteworthy in past volumes. In addition, Brendan McCarthy’s work suits the chapters it depicts, by providing some seriously trippy visuals, but the layouts are lackluster. Overall, the artwork in this collection suits it well but isn’t enough to save the book as a whole.
Continuity
Doctor Fate Vol. 3: Fateful Threads continues the story from Doctor Fate Vol. 2: Prisoners of the Past (Review).
The Doctor Fate series ends with this volume and the story does not continue in any specific comic. The Kent Nelson Doctor Fate returns in the Dark Nights: Metal (Review) (Reading Order) event and the Khalid Nassour Doctor Fate returns in Justice League Dark Vol. 2: Lords of Order (Review).