The ending of Insomnia’s global nightmare may have freed the planet from his machinations, but it has also set up DC’s next big villain. The ending of Knight Terrors: Night’s End #1 (by Joshua Williamson, Howard Porter, Guiseppe Camuncoli, Steffano Nesi, Trevor Hairsine, Rain Beredo, Troy Peteri) saw Amanda Waller acquire not only the Nightmare Stone, a powerful tool that bridges the waking and dreaming worlds but also a new artifact: the Helmet of Hate, a dark mirror to the Helmet of Fate. What’s even more disturbing is the way she gifted both to an unknown figure who merged them to become DC’s new villain, Doctor Hate.
Fans don’t know much about Doctor Hate just yet, but it is clear that he is just as determined to rid the world of metahumans as Amanda Waller and the Light are. This still leaves a lot of open questions about the Doctor’s identity. Context clues given by Waller indicate he is not a new character, but someone known to DC fans, creating a mystery for them to ponder as he makes future appearances. With what DC’s given them, though, the fandom can make some educated guesses about the face behind the helmet.
The Clues Surrounding Doctor Hate
First and foremost, whoever Doctor Hate is, they have some knowledge of magic. Both the Nightmare Stone and the Helmet of Hate are powerful magical items that can only be properly wielded by someone with at least some arcane knowledge. However, whoever put on the helm isn’t a master of mysticism, as they seemed shocked when they realized that putting on both the helmet and the stone would hurt them.
Beyond Doctor Hate’s debatable magical knowledge, DC gave fans one other major clue: He has a family that will be disappointed that he chose this path. This suggests that Doctor Hate is part of, or at least is associated with, a group of heroes who would be hurt to learn he’s joined forces with Amanda Waller in her pursuit of the destruction of all metahumans.
There’s also what Doctor Hate said before he merged the helmet and stone. He claims that his family can’t use “smiles to solve all their problems” and that “That isn’t real.” This is the biggest indicator of where he came from, as it implies his family tries to make peace whenever they can, and are generally happy people. While this isn’t a lot to go on, it’s better than nothing and does present some interesting possibilities.
The Candidates For Doctor Hate
Examining both Doctor Hate’s passing familiarity with magic and the positive family dynamic they described, it’s possible that a member of the Shazam Family has chosen to join Amanda Waller. Most of the family no longer possess their magic and they resent this fact, so this might be their attempt to regain the power they lost, and possibly even punish the family who tried to help them adjust to life without power. That being said, while Amanda Waller is not above using children to serve her needs, this mission seems too important to leave in the hands of a child. More to the point, Doctor Hate at least looks like a grown man, so that rules out all the Shazam Family members unless the magic of the helmet aged them up as well.
The next possible candidate is Jason Todd, which would mean a return to villain for the beloved and theoretically reformed Red Hood. As a member of the Bat-Family, Todd would be more inclined to view metahumans as a threat, and he does have some affinity for magic thanks to his adventures with the Outlaws. On the other hand, the Bat-Family doesn’t solve all their problems with smiles, so he doesn’t fit into the missing pieces in this puzzle.
However, the Superman Family might have given birth to this traitor. They fit the description of a family that tries to solve things with smiles better than any other group in the DCU, and they have plenty of jilted family members who might try to inhabit this role and might be surprised that anything could hurt them. For example, Conner Kent has been having a hard time adjusting to the world after rejoining it and still feels out of place. This might inspire a desire for revenge against the metahumans who still have a home on DC’s Earth. Still, it’s hard to imagine any member of the Superman Family betraying their own, especially when DC seems so determined to give each of them their own time in the spotlight lately.
Doctor Hate Is Going to Break Someone’s Heart
Whoever is behind the helmet of Doctor Hate, he’s on a mission to wound the superhero community. Waller has mentioned friends and family, so Doctor Hate clearly has deep connections to those on the side of good. What’s even more disturbing is the fact that Doctor Hate could use these connections to his advantage. No one else knows about him yet. If he truly is part of a major superhero team, then he could act as a hidden spy under his more well-known persona, while operating as Amanda Waller’s agent when it would be most damaging.
Each of the suspects listed above could be the true culprit, but since he is scheduled to make an appearance in November’s “Beast World” event, it’s likely DC will be dropping more clues about this mysterious villain’s identity. Fans can take heart, knowing that DC rarely presents them with an impossible mystery, and eagle-eyed readers will likely be spotting clues in every appearance Doctor Fate’s dark counterpart makes.