History
The Doctor came from the planet Gallifrey, in the constellation of Kasterborous, home of the Time Lords.[3][4][5] Details of his early life are unknown, but he attended the Time Lord Academy, where his best friend was the man who was destined to become his greatest nemesis, the Master. The Doctor eventually stole an obsolete type 40 TARDIS and fled Gallifrey in it, apparently accompanied by his granddaughter in order to experience the universe for himself.[6]
Over the years he traveled the universe with numerous companions including his other grandchildren John and Gillian,[7][8] K9, Sarah Jane Smith, Sharon Davies,[9] and Ace, meeting allies like the shadow man Shayde, Death's Head, Kroton, Ivan Asimoff, the Freefall Warriors, Max Edison and Abslom Daak, Dalek Killer, and battling powerful monsters and villains such as the Daleks,[10] Cybermen, the Master, Beep the Meep,[11] the Time Witch,[12] the Malevilus,[13] the demon Melanicus, and countless others.[14] Although he was eventually captured by the Time Lords and exiled to Earth in the 20th Century for a time,[15] where he found employment with the paramilitary organization UNIT, he was later given his freedom by the Time Lords after assisting them against their insane former hero, Omega.[16] The Doctor continues to explore and defend the universe across time and space.
The Doctor has extensive knowledge and experience in the fields of science, history, medicine, technology, and many others.[17] He knows how to hypnotize normal humans, is a skilled swordsman and marksman, and has limited telepathic abilities.Attributes
Powers
- Near-Immortality: As a Time Lord, the Doctor has a radically slowed ageing process and can potentially live for hundreds or even thousands of years before needing to regenerate into a new body. In the most current accounts, the Doctor is more than 900 years old. Despite this, he (usually) has the appearance and physical ability of a man in his prime.[18][19][20] The Doctor can live indefinitely in one form [citation needed] but has noted he will not always be immune to the effects of ageing, such as senility, if he does so.[14]
- Regeneration: The Doctor's most famous power is his ability to regenerate into a new body upon sustaining a mortal injury[21][19][22][20] or reaching advanced age.[23] While the physical appearance and personality is changed completely, his memories remain mostly (but not completely) intact.[24] This allows the Doctor to live almost indefinitely. The standard number of regenerations a Time Lord can use is twelve although that can be changed.[25][14] The early stages of Regeneration also allows Time Lords to regrow severed limbs.[26] Regeneration also allows Time Lords to use powerful energy as a concussive force capable of incapacitating, or even destroying,[14] multiple foes.
- Accelerated Healing Factor: The Doctor often shows impressive healing abilities. While not on par with someone like Wolverine, Time Lords can heal from broken bones in a few days,[citation needed] non-lethal bullet wounds in a day,[citation needed] survive falls from great heights,[24] and even regrow one of their hearts in a few months. [citation needed] As noted, a Time Lord soon after regeneration is able to regrow severed limbs,[26] or even survive otherwise-lethal gunshot wounds.[27] Time Lords often slip into comas to recover from extreme damage that made them appear dead. [citation needed]
- Telepathy: The Doctor possesses limited telepathic abilities and is a skilled hypnotist. This is a trait shared by all Time Lords and which allows them to communicate and rapidly share information and the Doctor is also able to confer this ability to humans temporarily as well as share information quickly.[28]
- Time Lord Physiology: The Doctor's enhanced physiology allows him to survive on less oxygen than a human requires, to the point of possessing a 'respiratory bypass', have an increased resistance to poisons and toxins, and possess radically enhanced senses compared to humans. He can even briefly endure the hard vacuum of space due to the above mentioned respiratory bypass system.[3]
- Enhanced Senses: Time Lords possess all of the senses of a human being to a heightened level. Their eyes can see in the dark better than humans and see objects hundred of yards away with nearly perfect clarity,[citation needed] they can also hear across large distances,[citation needed]
- Super-Genius Level Intellect: Time Lords are among the smartest species in the Universe[citation needed] and the Doctor shows extensive knowledge of many areas, such as human and alien sciences, technology, history, medicine, mechanics, and engineering, etc. to the point of literally beyond comprehension of what humans and many other aliens are capable of.[citation needed] The Doctor is also an excellent tactician and has taken down many powerful enemies using his cunning.[citation needed]
Abilities
- Master Swordsman: The Doctor is an expert swordsman, having been trained by some of the best fencing experts in the universe. He has shown amazing skill with a blade on multiple occasions.[29]
- Olympic Level Athlete: The Doctor is an outstanding athlete, being able to sprint great distances, and even once cleared a fence.[32]
- Exceptional hand-to-hand combatant: When in his third incarnation, the Doctor stated he practiced a form of martial arts known as Venusian Aikido.[33]
- Fourth Doctor: In his fourth incarnation, The Doctor was able to deliver one punch to himself from a previous time, to knock himself out.[34]
- Sixth Doctor: The Doctor's sixth incarnation was also shown to be quite skilled in hand-to-hand combat, being able to disarm, and take down an armed assassin in an alley.[35]
Weaknesses
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Sonic screwdriver: This innocent-looking device is the Doctor's favorite tool. The Doctor can reprogram it to manipulate sound and matter in nearly infinite combinations. Early versions were mainly used for opening doors and undoing screws.
Weapons
Few to none. The Doctor prefers using brain instead of brawn, but he has only been witnessed wielding guns on exceedingly rare occasions, sometimes using them as lethal force,[40][41][42][43][38] sometimes not.[20]. If he needs to use a gun, he will commandeer it, such as in The Forgotten, where his sixth incarnation used it to demonstrate the gun's capability to fire intangible bullets that pass through obstacles on its way to its target. However, as mentioned above, he is an expert swordsman.
Enemies[]
- The Master: The Doctor's arch enemy, a rival Time Lord and a master hypnotist.[20] His super-genius level intellect combined with his charisma and his insanity makes him one of the universe's greatest threats.[44]
- Josiah W. Dogbolter: Dogbolter is half-man, half-frog, and the president of Intra-Venus, Inc. in the 82nd century.[45] A ruthless businessman, Dogbolter has on multiple occasions tried to capture the Doctor and his TARDIS, including hiring Frobisher[35] and Death's Head.[46]
Companions[]
The Doctor rarely travels alone, preferring to share his adventures with the company of others. In his long life, he has travelled with many humans, fellow Time Lords, robots and other aliens. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
First Doctor[]
- Susan Foreman[37][6] (his granddaughter and first companion)
- Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright[37][47]
- Vicki Pallister[48]
- Steven Taylor[48]
- Ben Jackson[49]
- Polly Wright[49]
Second Doctor[]
Third Doctor[]
Fourth Doctor[]
- Sarah Jane Smith[54][55]
- Harry Sullivan[54]
- Leela[47]
- K9[56]
- Romana[57][58]
- Sharon Davies[59][60]
- Maxwell Edison[61]
Fifth Doctor[]
Sixth Doctor[]
Seventh Doctor[]
Eighth Doctor[]
Future Doctor[]
Transportation
- Type 40[20] TARDIS: A name short for Time And Relative Dimension In Space,[37][20], though "Dimensions" is sometimes used, [citation needed] TARDIS refers to several models of space-time vessels, capable of travelling to any place or time (although the term "TARDIS" has also been identified a nickname Susan came up with specifically for the Doctor's space-time ship).[37] The interior is an extradimensional space that can be much larger than the exterior, usually with cabins, recreational areas, and a control room.[37] It often has a chameleon circuit, which allows the user to change its outward appearance to blend in with the scenery (in keeping with the Time Lords' non-intervention policy).[37] The Doctor's TARDIS, for instance, took on the appearance of a London police call box when he visited Earth in the 1960s, but when the chameleon circuit malfunctioned, it remained in that shape permanently, only ever changing slightly or temporarily.[37][38][20] The TARDIS is a sentient machine-like lifeform capable of expressing emotion. [39][21][20] It holds stated affection for the Doctor. The source of its power is the 'Heart of the TARDIS', connected to the Time Vortex.
Notes
- Although the title of both the TV series and one of the Marvel comic series is Doctor Who, the lead character is rarely known as anything but "The Doctor." His real name is a closely guarded secret, that is generally left mysterious, though a few attempts have been made to reveal it. The phrase "Doctor Who?" has been described as a universe-ending question.[14]
- Marvel Comics first obtained the comic strip/book rights to the Doctor in 1979. Prior to this, several British publishers held the rights for a series of comic strips that ran from 1964 to 1979. There was also a separate comic strip devoted to the Daleks that was published for several years in the late 1960s before merging with the main Doctor Who strip. Marvel primarily published original adventures as a serialized strip in Doctor Who Weekly, later renamed Doctor Who Monthly and Doctor Who Magazine. This strip was later reprinted for North American distribution in several issues of Marvel Premiere and again in a monthly Doctor Who title that ran for several years in the early 1980s. The only non-DWM-related comic material published by Marvel was a one-off miniseries titled The Age of Chaos (written by Sixth Doctor actor Colin Baker), and it also reprinted excerpts from the 1964-1979 comic strip era in DWM and a spin-off magazine titled Doctor Who Classic Comics.
- Marvel Comics ceased to hold the license for the Doctor's comic book adventures in 1999, and consequently some information on the Doctor (specifically, anything relating to Doctors introduced from 2005 onwards) can not be added to this page as it was not revealed until after he ceased to be a Marvel character, and thus may not necessarily be relevant to the Doctor of Marvel's Earth-5556. The image on this main page depicts the Eighth Doctor, the last to appear in titles carrying the Marvel UK banner on the cover. Marvel, in one form or another, depicted the adventures of the first eight Doctors in the Doctor Who Weekly/Doctor Who Monthly/Doctor Who Magazine comic strip. The comic strip established by Marvel in October 1979 continues to be published as of 2020 by current license holder Panini, who published on behalf of Marvel between 1996 and 1999. A separate North American-based comic book line was established by IDW Publishing between 2007 and 2013, with Titan Comics taking over this range as of 2014.
- The Doctor first appeared on the BBC Television (later known as BBC1) TV series Doctor Who. His first televised appearance was in the four-part 1963 serial An Unearthly Child in November and December 1963; the original version of Doctor Who ran until December 1989, and the Doctor appeared in all except one of the original series' serials, and all but a handful of the series' episodes. Afterwards, the Doctor appeared in the American made-for-TV film on Fox Doctor Who in May 1996, and then the series was revived in March 2005 for BBC1 (by then called BBC One), still featuring the same character, and continues to air as of 2018; it marked its 50th anniversary in November 2013. All three productions are considered part of the same continuity. Two motion pictures starring Peter Cushing as "Dr. Who" were produced in the 1960s; these were remakes of TV stories and don't exactly fit into the "continuity" of most licensed Doctor Who stories, though some spin-off media have attempted to reconcile their existence and the current production team of the TV series confirmed that the 50th anniversary special at one point was to have established that they exist as movies in the "Whoniverse."
- So far, dozens of different actors have played the Doctor on an ongoing basis in Doctor Who, with far too many too list here entirely. Only the first Eight have any connection to Marvel.
- William Hartnell (1963-66); after Hartnell's death, the First Doctor was portrayed by Richard Hurndall (1983) and David Bradley (2017-2022)
- Patrick Troughton (1966-69);
- Jon Pertwee (1970-74);
- Tom Baker (1974-81);
- Peter Davison (1981-84);
- Colin Baker (1984-86 and a 2003 animated serial);
- Sylvester McCoy (1987-89, the 1996 TV movie, and a 2003 animated serial);
- Paul McGann (1996 TV movie, 2003 animated serial, and later audio adventures);
- John Hurt (retroactive intermediate Time War Doctor)
- Christopher Eccleston (2005);
- David Tennant (2005-2010);
- Matt Smith (2010-13);
- Peter Capaldi (2013-17)
- Jodie Whittaker (2018-22)
- Jo Martin (2020-22; pre-First Doctor incarnation)
- David Tennant (2022-23) (series producers confirmed Tennant is playing the 14th Doctor, despite having previously portrayed the 10th as well)
- Ncuti Gatwa (2023-, forthcoming; officially designated the Fifteenth Doctor)
- Additionally, Peter Cushing played a reimagined version of the character, Dr. Who, in two 1960s-era films (one of which, Dr. Who and the Daleks, was adapted as a comic book by Dell Comics).
- Eccleston would go on to portray Malekith in Thor: The Dark World; Tennant would portray Purple Man in Marvel's Jessica Jones in-between his two tenures as Doctor; Bradley appeared as an unnamed character in the opening sequence of Captain America: The First Avenger before taking over the role of the First Doctor on screen and in audio dramas; Bradley also portrayed William Hartnell in the 2013 TV movie, An Adventure in Space in Time; and Smith appeared as Milo, a variant of Loxias Crown, in Morbius.
- Several characters from the Marvel-era comic strips have since been featured in officially licensed Doctor Who audio dramas by Big Finish Productions, most notably Izzy Sinclair, Frobisher, and Maxwell Edison.
- Two spin-off TV series have been produced by the BBC: Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures; as well as the non-BBC spin-offs K9 and P.R.O.B.E.. No spin-offs have as yet been adapted as full-length comic books by Marvel, although Torchwood was adapted as a comic strip by Titan Publishing for Torchwood Magazine, which later was reprinted by Titan in a monthly comic title for North American distribution; the two publications were discontinued in 2011.
- The Doctor's exact age is unclear. In the 1963-89 TV series his stated age ranged from 450 in the serial The Tomb of the Cybermen (September 1967) to 953 in the serial Time and the Rani (September 1987). In the 2005-present revival, various episodes (such as "Aliens of London" from April 2005) reset the Ninth Doctor's age to 900 for reasons unknown, and as of the episode "The Time of the Doctor" (December 2013), he is now estimated to be at least 1,500 years of age. In the novels, however, [citation needed] the Doctor was already well past his 1,000th year by the end of the Eighth Doctor era. Current showrunner Steven Moffat has stated that the Doctor simply doesn't know his age any more and that he lies about it constantly which accounts for the wildly different and contradicting ages he's given throughout the years. The 2014 season has the Twelfth Doctor claiming that he is now more than 2,000 years old. Some sources now state that the Doctor has lost track of their age.
- Before the current TV series, the Doctor became involved in the Last Great Time War, in which he was apparently responsible for the destruction of both his own race and the Dalek race. He has "regenerated" thirteen times so far; a process in which a Time Lord can change his physical appearance and cheat death (though in the episode "Journey's End", the Tenth Doctor was able to heal his injuries without changing his appearance). Time Lords can normally only regenerate a maximum of 12 times; however, it's possible for the Time Lords to grant one of their number a new regenerative cycle. This happened to the Doctor in the TV episode "The Time of the Doctor", which aired in December 2013, and allowed him the ability to regenerate for the thirteenth time (although this body is nominally referred to as the "Twelfth Doctor" by official sources, not the Fourteenth) when the Time Lords were able to contact the Eleventh Doctor from a pocket universe the Doctor safely placed them in on the final day of the Time War in the episode The Day of the Doctor.
- Sydney Newman, one of the show's creators, previously created spy series The Avengers for the BBC's rival network ITV, a show with a cultural impact so great it caused Marvel's The Avengers to be renamed Avengers Assemble for UK release (however, any comics featuring characters from the TV series that are published in the US must use alternate titles, such as Steed and Mrs. Peel, due to Marvel's rights to the Avengers title stateside).
- Over the years, numerous performers from the TV series have appeared in various Marvel-related productions. Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), who plays Nebula, is arguably the most prominent as of 2022, though her time on the series post-dated the Marvel connection to the franchise; Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald), who plays Connie in Captain America: The First Avenger, did appear in an episode interacting with each of the first eight (Marvel-associated) Doctors.
- In October 2022 it was announced that future seasons of Doctor Who (specifically those to be released in 2023 and later) will be released on Disney+ outside of the UK (where it will remain a BBC One exclusive). Although initial media reports indicated it was a distribution deal, subsequent news reports indicated that Disney will have some degree of budgetary input into the series; as Disney is also the owner of Marvel, this marks the first time the series has fallen under the Marvel umbrella since the company sold Doctor Who Magazine.
Recommended readings[]
- About Time, volumes 1-8, by Lawrence Miles, Tat Wood and Dorothy Ail, Mad Norwegian Press
- The Comic Strip Companion 1964-79 by Paul Scoones
Trivia
- The Doctor was exiled at least once.
See Also
- 316 appearance(s) of The Doctor (Earth-5556)
- 1 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of The Doctor (Earth-5556)
- 11 mention(s) of The Doctor (Earth-5556)
- 1 mention(s) in handbook(s) of The Doctor (Earth-5556)
- 362 image(s) of The Doctor (Earth-5556)
- 23 quotation(s) by or about The Doctor (Earth-5556)
Links and References
- The Doctor on Wikipedia.org
- The Doctor's Chronology (in Marvel publications)
- Whoniverse
- Doctor Who Reference Guide
- Doctor Who Wiki
- The Doctor on Tardis Wiki
References
- ↑ Marvel Premiere #57
- ↑ Dragon's Claws #5
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Harris, S. (writer); Russell, P. (director) (1975). Pyramids of Mars. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ Davies, R. (writer); Strong, J. (director) (2007 Christmas special). "Voyage of the Damned". Doctor Who. Series 4. BBC. BBC One.
- ↑ Moffat, S. (writer); Hurran, N. (director) (2013; 50th anniversary special). "The Day of the Doctor". Doctor Who. BBC. BBC One.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Doctor Who Magazine #207
- ↑ Doctor Who Classic Comics #2
- ↑ Incomplete Death's Head #5
- ↑ Doctor Who Weekly #27
- ↑ Doctor Who Weekly #31–34
- ↑ Doctor Who Weekly #24–26
- ↑ Doctor Who Weekly #37–38
- ↑ Doctor Who Weekly #5–8
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Doctor Who Monthly #61–67
- ↑ Hulke, M.; Dicks, T. (writers); Maloney, D. (director) (1969). The War Games. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ Baker, B.; Martin, D. (writers); Mayne, L. (director) (1972–1973). The Three Doctors. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ Holmes, R. (writer); Bennett, R. (director) (1975). The Ark in Space. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ Dicks, T. (writer); Barry, C. (director) (1974–1975). Robot. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Bidmead, C. (writer); Grimwade, P. (director) (1981). Logopolis. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6 20.7 20.8 Jacobs, M. (writer); Sax, G. (director) (1996). Doctor Who. Fox.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Sloman, R. (writer); Letts, B. (director) (1974). Planet of the Spiders. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ Holmes, R. (writer); Harper, G. (director) (1984). The Caves of Androzani. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Pedler, K.; Davis, G. (writers); Martinus, D. (director) (1966). The Tenth Planet. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Davis, R.; Moffat, S. (writers); Lyn, E. (director) (2009). The End of Time. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC One.
- ↑ Dicks, T. (writer); Moffatt, P. (director) (1983; 20th anniversary special). The Five Doctors. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC One.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Davies, R. (writer); Hawes, J. (director) (2005; Christmas special). The Christmas Invasion. Doctor Who. PBS.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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- ↑ Season 1, Episode 33; Season 10, Episode 1; Season 15, Episode 6; Season 28, Episode 5; Season 29, Episode 2; Season 31, Episode 11. BBC. BBC One.
- ↑ Key to Time, Time & Time Again
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Doctor Who Monthly #61
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #99
- ↑ Doctor Who #20
- ↑ Houghton, D. (writer); Combe, T. (director) (1971). The Mind of Evil, et al. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ Doctor Who Monthly #46
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 Doctor Who Magazine #88
- ↑ Houghton, D. (writer); Combe, T. (director) (1971). The Mind of Evil. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 37.4 37.5 37.6 Coburn, A. (writer); Hussein, W. (director) (1963). An Unearthly Child. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC tv.
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 Moore, P. (writer); Robinson, M. (director) (1985). Attack of the Cybermen. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ Whitaker, D. (writer); Martin, R.; Cox, F. (directors) (1964). The Edge of Destruction. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC tv.
- ↑ Hayles, B. (writer); Ferguson, M. (director) (1969). The Seeds of Death. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ Marks, L. (writer); Bernard, P. (director) (1972). Day of the Daleks. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ Saward, E. (writer); Grimwade, P. (director) (1982). Earthshock. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ Saward, E. (writer); Robinson, M. (director) (1984). Resurrection of the Daleks. Doctor Who. BBC. BBC1.
- ↑ 44.0 44.1 Doctor Who Special #18
- ↑ Doctor Who Monthly #84
- ↑ Death's Head #8
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 Doctor Who Yearbook #3
- ↑ 48.0 48.1 48.2 Doctor Who Special #23
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 Doctor Who Magazine #218
- ↑ 50.0 50.1 Doctor Who Special #21
- ↑ 51.0 51.1 Doctor Who Magazine #204
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 Doctor Who Magazine #221
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 Doctor Who Magazine #234
- ↑ 54.0 54.1 Doctor Who Magazine #235
- ↑ 55.0 55.1 Doctor Who Yearbook #4
- ↑ Doctor Who Weekly #12
- ↑ Doctor Who Special #25
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #212
- ↑ Doctor Who Weekly #17
- ↑ Doctor Who Monthly #51
- ↑ Doctor Who Monthly #68
- ↑ 62.0 62.1 Doctor Who Magazine #215
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #87
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #228
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #104
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #202
- ↑ Doctor Who: The Age of Chaos #1
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #129
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #127
- ↑ Doctor Who Special #24
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #130
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #159
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #164
- ↑ 74.0 74.1 Doctor Who Magazine #173
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #242
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #196
- ↑ Doctor Who Special #20
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #244
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #285
- ↑ Doctor Who Magazine #273