With Knight Terrors on the horizon, now is the perfect time for these 10 DC supernatural heroes to make their comeback.
The supernatural corner of the DC Universe is one of its richest – full of dark and compelling characters. Some of them, such as Zatanna and John Constantine, are among the publisher’s most popular characters, regularly appearing throughout the line and occasionally headlining their own books. However, there are characters who are just as rich, but who don’t get the same amount of attention.
For every Doctor Fate and Swamp Thing, there are countless other characters just as powerful who deserve their turn in the spotlight. Some of these characters appeared in the New 52 era, and still others during Rebirth, but most have been MIA for a number of years. The upcoming Knight Terrors event will see DC heroes facing supernatural threats in the Nightmare Realm, providing the perfect opportunity to give some of the names below a starring role.
10Zatara
The father of Zatanna, and a powerful sorcerer in his own right, Zatara traces his roots back to comics’ Golden Age, first appearing in the landmark Action Comics #1. Like his more famous daughter, Zatara casts his spells by speaking them backwards. After a long and distinguished career – which included attempting to teach Bruce Wayne mysticism – Zatara perished fighting the Great Darkness in Swamp Thing #50, sacrificing himself so Zatanna could live. While his ghost has appeared to Zatanna on occasion, and he was briefly resurrected as a Black Lantern, Zatara remains dead. However, his return could set up some interesting story possibilities. How would Zatanna react to seeing her father alive after all these years, and what secrets still hide in his heroic past?
9Pandora
One of the architects of the New 52, Pandora is a member of the Trinity of Sin, which also includes the Phantom Stranger as well as a still unexplained supernatural version of the Question. She starred in her own short-lived title, but just as her arrival heralded the beginning of the New 52, her death at the hands of Doctor Manhattan in Rebirth #1 signaled its end. Her book teased a complex and fascinating backstory that was never followed up on, and with many characters returning post-Infinite Frontier, her storyline could finally be resolved.
8Fate
In 1994’s Zero Hour event, Doctor Fate fell victim to Extant and in the aftermath, Fate’s helmet was passed to mercenary Jared Stevens. Stevens refashioned the helmet into a variety of mystical weapons, taking on the name ‘Fate.’ Fate represented an attempt to bring the Doctor Fate concept into the “extreme” 1990s. Stevens starred in not one but two different titles: Fate and its follow-up The Book of Fate before meeting his death at the hands of the evil wizard Mordru in 1999’s JSA #1. The mantle of Doctor Fate has passed on to others since then, but DC has a long history of redeeming excessive ’90s antiheroes as either complex heroes or full-on villains. Given that the forces behind the Helmet of Fate don’t always act in humanity’s best interests, Fate could be a fascinating mystic wild card should he return – not to mention one who deals with outright offense over carefully crafted spellcasting.
7Hitman
Hitman, AKA Tommy Monaghan, was perhaps the only character debuting during the Bloodlines event to have any degree of success. While working as a mob enforcer, Tommy was attacked by aliens, and in the aftermath, gained X-Ray vision and telepathy – understated abilities which are nevertheless effective in the hands of a trained killer. Hitman headlined his own critically acclaimed title in the late 1990s, from John McCrea and The Boys creator Garth Ennis. Like The Boys, Hitman’s stories often poked fun at superhero excess – something audiences clearly have an appetite for in 2023, given the success of Amazon’s TV adaptation of Ennis’ work.
6Nightshade
The inspiration for Watchmen’s Silk Spectre, Nightshade’s character was completely repurposed when she made her DC Universe debut in 1987’s Suicide Squad #1. Originally just a teleporter, Nightshade, aka Eve Eden, was reimagined as an extra-dimensional refugee. She served as a member of both the Suicide Squad and the Shadowpact. Once a staple of DC’s supernatural books, Nightshade was sidelined during the New 52; indeed, she did not return until well into the Rebirth era. Her powers of darkness would have made her a shoo-in for the recently concluded Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, and yet despite her storied history, she remains on the bench.
5Shade the Changing Man
There are two versions of Shade the Changing Man, and while both share the same DNA, they are radically different. The first was created in the 1970s by the legendary Steve Ditko and this version later inspired Peter Milligan and Chris Bachalo’s 1990 series, which became one of the founding titles of the Vertigo imprint. Hailing from “Dimension M,” Rac Shade came to our world from the American Scream, the USA’s dark cosmic shadow.
This incarnation of Shade appeared in the opening arc of Justice League Dark at the dawn of the New 52, but faded into obscurity shortly thereafter. Another version, called Shade the Changing Girl, appeared as part of DC’s Young Animal imprint, but Rac Shade remains MIA. Shade the Changing Man was one of DC’s most experimental and challenging characters, often serving a unique purpose few others could understand – the exact reason why DC needs this unpredictable hero back in operation.
4Baron Winters
In the 1970s, writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan set the gold standard for horror titles with Tomb of Dracula, and they recreated this magic in the series Night Force for DC Comics in the early 1980s. Central to Night Force was Baron Winters, a mysterious sorcerer who lived in a mansion in a cul-de-sac in Georgetown; Winters was unable to leave said mansion and thus relied on intermediaries (the titular Night Force) to carry out his agenda. There have been three different Night Force books over the years, with the last appearing during the New 52. This uniquely intriguing premise is ripe for reimagining, and Baron Winters would make the perfect repeat consultant for heroes dealing with mystic threats.
3Doctor Thirteen, the Ghost Breaker
Every character needs a foil, and Doctor Thirteen acts as that for the entire supernatural corner of the DC Universe. A scientist and a skeptic, he has made a career out of debunking the supernatural. Given the abundance of such characters in the DC Universe, Doctor Thirteen has his work cut out for him. The character received a feature in the mid-2000s that showed his potential, but it was never followed up on. Bringing back Doctor Thirteen could create some potentially great stories, as he struggles to maintain his skepticism in the face of all the supernatural shenanigans going on in the DC Universe. And as a bonus, Doctor Thirteen’s daughter Traci is a sorcerer herself, which opens up even more story possibilities.
2Tim Hunter
Created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton, Tim Hunter is prophesied to become one of the most powerful magicians in DC history – but it’s still up in the air whether he’ll use that power for good or evil. After being shown glimpses of the world of magic by the likes of John Constantine and the Phantom Stranger, Tim decided to follow in their footsteps. His adventures learning the ropes of magic were the central theme of The Books of Magic, which was a Vertigo staple in the 1990s. Hunter has starred in several follow-up books, but has not interacted with the mainstream DC Universe in a number of years – despite the fact his decisions will decide the final fate of all reality.
1Doctor Occult
Technically the first DC character, Doctor Occult first appeared in 1935’s New Fun Comics #6, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Despite all of this, the character remains criminally underdeveloped. Usually depicted as a hard-boiled, noir-style detective, Doctor Occult has a twin sister, Rose Psychic, who he shares a body with. The character’s appearances have been few and far between, and Neil Gaiman’s Books of Magic miniseries remains the character’s defining moment. He was seemingly killed off during the New 52, but was recently name-checked in the recently concluded Lazarus Planet event.
This summer, DC will release Knight Terrors, a horror-themed event that will see the heroes of the DC Universe take on their worst fears, and this book would serve as the perfect launching pad for these characters. DC has a number of criminally overlooked supernatural characters, and now is the perfect time for them to make comebacks.
