Linda Strauss (New Earth)

Doctor Fate
Mainstream Universe‎, 1986‎-2011‎
Gallery
Real Name	Linda Strauss
Main Alias	Doctor Fate
Relatives	Eric Strauss (step-son), Henry Strauss (husband, deceased)
Affiliation	Formerly Justice League International Lords of Order
Status
Alignment	Good
Identity	Secret Identity
Citizenship	American
Marital Status	Widowed
Occupation	Agent of Order
Characteristics
Gender	Female
Hair	Blond
Origin
Universe	New Earth
Creators	J.M. DeMatteis · Keith Giffen
First Appearance	Doctor Fate #1 (July, 1987)

I am DOCTOR FATE-- and my life is my own!

— Linda Strauss

Linda Strauss was one of the two people chosen by Kent Nelson as his successor. Together with her stepson Eric, she is Doctor Fate.

History

Linda Strauss was a young woman who married Henry Strauss, a wealthy man much older than her. After the passing of her husband, Linda became the guardian of Henry's only son, Eric Strauss, unaware that the kid was chosen by Nabu to become the next Doctor Fate.

Eric was aged to adulthood thanks to the magic of Nabu and eventually, Linda understood that her strange attraction to Eric was in fact the result of a mystical bond between them, which allowed them to merge together and become the new Doctor Fate without the presence of Nabu in their conscience. After the passing of Nabu's first human host, Kent Nelson, Nabu took over his body and assisted Linda and Eric in their quests as Doctor Fate.

Eric and Linda remained under constant training by Nabu, who occupied the body of Kent Nelson. During one of their missions, Nabu formed an alliance with Typhon, the Lord of Chaos. This caused Eric to lose control of himself, allowing Linda to take control of Doctor Fate. After preventing the destruction of the universe, Eric fell very ill and couldn't perform as Doctor Fate in any capacity, leaving Linda to become Fate all by herself. After teaming up with Deadman to stop a universal threat, Linda was forced to become Doctor Fate again in order to save Eric, who was kidnapped by Darkseid. Although Linda managed to overcome most of Darkseid's forces, she couldn't save Eric from a lethal sickness, which consumed him earlier than expected due to the encounter with Darkseid.

Linda struggled with the fact that Eric had died and it affected her performance as Doctor Fate. When Dr. Benjamin Stoner became the Anti-Fate once again, Linda was forced to merge with Nabu in order to stop him. Although they succeeded, Linda was deadly affected by the encounter. She died shortly afterwards, but her soul was allowed to remain on earth in the body of another woman. There, she learned that the soul of Eric had also been allowed to remain on Earth and now they were both married in their new bodies. Both souls were allowed to remain on Earth to protect a cosmically important girl thanks to the interference of The Phantom Stranger.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Bio-Fusion
• Magic

Abilities

• Occultism
  

Paraphernalia

Equipment

• Helmet of Fate (Formerly)
• Amulet of Anubis (Formerly)
• Cloak of Destiny (Formerly)

Trivia

• Linda Strauss was 28 years old when she chosen to be Doctor Fate.
• Linda Strauss's tenure as Dr. Fate, alongside with Eric, lasted roughly two years.

Related

• 52 Appearances of Linda Strauss (New Earth)
• 35 Images featuring Linda Strauss (New Earth)
• 2 Quotations by or about Linda Strauss (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Linda Strauss (New Earth)

Footnotes

Justice League member This character has been a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from the clutches of both interstellar and domestic threats. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice League of America members" category.