15 Best Doctor Who Villians

Let’s face it: Doctor Who won’t be Doctor Who without the baddies! Over the years the longest-running sci-fi series on the planet has brought us really terrible villains. Check some of them here in this gallery.

Daleks

The Daleks made their first appearance in 1963, in the Doctor Who serial “The Daleks.” Collectively, the Daleks are seen to be one of Doctor Who’s greatest enemies. The Doctor first encountered the Daleks on the planet of Skaro during the final years of their war against the peaceful Thals. The Daleks were created by the scientist Davros, out of the mangled and mutated remains of the Kaled people. The Daleks then invaded Earth while pursuing the Doctor through space and time. They developed the Reality Bomb and tried to put the Doctor into prison in the Pandorica. During The Last Great Time War, they battled with the Time Lords, the Daleks were almost completely annihilated. They are known for the popular catchphrase “Exterminate!”

The Rani

The character of The Rani first appeared in 1985 and was principally portrayed by the late English actress Kate O’Mara. The Rani was a renegade Time Lord and evil scientific genius, a contemporary of the Doctor and the Master. She was forced to leave Gallifrey after some of her experimental lab mice grew in enormous size and even ate the Lord President’s pet cat. The Rani was also known for conducting her own immoral experiments on the subjects of Miasmia Goria, where she was setting up an empire. The Rani also visited Earth to obtain human brain fluid. On one of her visits there, she was stopped by the Doctor and the Master, and later trapped with the latter and a growing Tyrannosaurus Rex embryo in her own TARDIS. But the Rani managed to escape. Eventually, she unveiled a new plan to create the giant brain called the Time Brain, using brilliant minds from across time and space, including that of the Doctor’s. However, her plans were thwarted by the Doctor and the Rani was trapped in her own TARDIS by the Tetraps.

Zygon

The Zygon are extraterrestrial creatures with shape-shifting abilities, therefore allowing them to metamorphose into other living forms. They have deep insect faces and suckers all over their bodies. The Zygon planned to make Earth their new home after their planet was destroyed in a stellar explosion, and their spaceship crashed into Scotland’s Loch Ness. To carry out such plans, the Zygon intended to use a sea monster called the Skarasen, but their plans were thwarted when warlord Broton was shot down by UNIT. The Skarasen then went on to live peacefully in Loch Ness. The Zygon were briefly mentioned (but not seen) on the Eleventh Doctor episode “The Pandorica Opens” where the Eleventh Doctor took Amy and Rory to the Savoy Hotel as a wedding anniversary present. Unfortunately, the Zygon disguised themselves as the hotel staff.

Cybermen

The Cybermen originated from Earth’s twin planet Mondas, and were originally like humans — all flesh and blood — until they replaced parts of their dying bodies with artificial parts in order to survive. This led to their race becoming completely emotionally devoid. The Cybermen are always looking to convert human beings to join (or upgrade) them in their ranks. They can also take orders from their Cyber-Leader whose data can be downloaded from a drone in case he is killed. Since the Cybermen’s first appearance in 1966, there have been various versions of Cybermen but their basic behavior still remains — to eliminate or adapt anyone in their way as a means of preserving their species. All incarnations of the Doctor (except third, eighth, and ninth incarnations) have battled the Cybermen and won on each occasion.

Axos

The Axos was first seen on the Doctor Who serial “The Claws of Axos,” broadcast in 1971. The Axos is a composite creature, a scavenger entity that, supposedly in desperate need for fuel, lands on Earth. But in truth, the Axos’ real interest in coming to Earth was all of its energy, with an ultimate goal to possess the secret of the Doctor’s time travel. This would allow it to broaden its feeding base anywhere in space and time. When the Doctor learns of the Axos’ plans, he then tricks it into linking up its drive unit to his TARDIS, trapping the Axos into a time-loop. After Axos experienced defeat, it returned to attack Earth twice.

The Silence

The Silence is a Doctor Who villain who first appeared on the episode “The Impossible Astronaut” in 2011. The Silence are alien-like humanoids who are one of the most powerful villains the Doctor has faced because when you see the Silence and turn your back on them you immediately forget their presence and history. Thus, your memories of them will be completely erased from your mind. Therefore, the Silence’s peculiar ability will allow them to have a prevalent influence across human history while keeping their presence difficult to locate or repel.

Weeping Angels

The Weeping Angles are one of the most popular and frightening Doctor Who villains. They first appeared on the 2007 episode “Blink” and was based on the Sally Sparrow’s short story entitled What I Did on My Christmas Holidays. They are described by Steven Moffat, the series’ creator, as “the only psychopaths in the universe to kill you nicely” because their victims don’t really die. But they are otherwise zapped into the past to a point before his or her own birth, allowing the Angels to feed off the victims’ “potential energy” which that the victim would have lived in the present. When they are not observed by another being, the Angels can move silently and quickly in a vast distance. However, when being observed by others, the Angels become “quantum-locked,” standing still in one place and becoming a stone.

Pied Piper

The Pied Piper is an energy entity who originated from the Jeggorabax Cluster (a region reputed to house beings feeding on emotions) through a meteorite that crashed onto Earth in 1283. The Pied Piper was bound to that meteorite known as the Weserbergland, so he needed a display of fear in order to free himself of the meteorite. A year later, the Pied Piper finally broke loose from the meteorite by feeding on the inhabitants’ widespread fear of plague. As a gesture of benevolence to the inhabitants of Hamelin, the Pied Piper used his powers to rid them of the rat infestation. However, the townsfolk refused to pay him and as an act of revenge, he used the same powers to lure children away, eliciting fear from the parents.

The Pied Piper took the children to his own world, which included delights like the toffee apple trees and lemonade fountains. However, the children soon grew tired of these and began longing for their parents. In the comic book TV Comic, the First Doctor, John and Gillian joined forces to stop the Pied Piper by freeing the children from the Piper’s hands. TV Comic, by the way, is a now-defunct comic book whose stories were based on the television shows running at the time of publication, such as Doctor Who in its earliest years.

Linx

Linx is a Sonataran Commander in the Fifth Sonataran Army Space Fleet, appearing as a villain in the Doctor Who episode “The Time Warrior.”

While engaging in a battle against the Rutan squadron near the Sol system, Linx was forced to abandon his battle ship and then land on Earth during the 13th century. As Linx took his scout ship to Earth for repairs, he struck an alliance with the robber chieftain named Irongron. Allegedly, Linx came to aid Irongron in his war by supplying the latter advanced weaponry; Irongron exchanged Linx’s help by offering him shelter. However, Linx’s real purpose was to return to the Sonataran Empire. To get his ship repaired, Linx began to abduct 20th century scientists. He later went with Irongron to witness the attack on Edward of Wessex for his own pleasure.

The Third Doctor learned about Linx’s plans and came to thwart them. Following a fist fight between the two, Linx attempted to escape, but was fatally shot in the probic vent. Linx’s ship then exploded, which also destroyed the castle and the weapons he had provided for Irongron.

Davros

Davros is known as The Doctor’s archenemy and the brains behind the Daleks. Davros first appeared in 1975 serial Genesis of the Daleks. Davros was a Chief Scientist of the Kaleds towards the end of the of their thousand years war of attrition with the Thals on the planet Skaro. He was a brilliant scientist, but was also hungry for power and supremacy. As befitting the Daleks’ hints of Nazism, Davros is known to practice eugenic experiments on his own subjects in search of racial perfection and purity, to somewhat compensate for his own physical disfigurement and disability. After years of stories involving death, betrayal by his own people, and the Dalek civil war, Davros was thought to have died during the first year of the Time War between the Daleks and the Time Lords. However, Davros made a return in 2008, only to be defeated by the Doctor’s assistant at that time.

Half Face Man

The Half-Face Man first appeared on the episode “Deep Breath” in August 2014. He used to be the control node aboard the SS Marie Antoinette, a time-traveling ship and the sister ship of the SS Madame de Pompadour. The ship crashed to Earth during the time of the past, which led the humans to perish and the droids to remain on Earth for millions of years, replacing their own parts using both organic and mechanical parts. They did this every now and then as they grew older, until there was almost nothing left of their original selves at all.

Together with the other droids, the Half-Face Man started to harvest human organs in Victorian London; among those he managed to get were the eyes from a man named Alf and the hands of two different humans. They did this in order to repair their ship in their goal to reach the “Promised Land.” The Half-Faced Man, at one time, acquired Mancini’s Family Restaurant whose underground floor he converted into an organ-making factory. He also used an optic nerve he obtained from a T-Rex to make it as one of the parts of his ship.

The (Twelfth) Doctor and his companion Clara, intrigued by the mysterious code left in a newspaper, were finally led to the restaurant. There, they found out that everyone inside (besides themselves) were droids. Then they were taken down to the spaceship and encountered the Half-Face Man who revealed of his plans to reach the “Promised Land.” In the heat of the fight between Clara (with the Paternoster Gang) and the droids, the Half-Face Man deployed in his “escape pod” (actually, a hot-air balloon made of human skin). There, the Doctor managed to convince the Half-Face Man that there was no such thing as the “Promised Land.” At this point the robot fell (or was pushed) to his death, and was then shown to be impaled at the top of the Big Ben.

Dalek Prime Minister

The Prime Minister of the Daleks led the Parliament of Daleks of the new Dalek Paradigm. This certain Dalek didn’t wear any special armor, but was encased inside a clear glass tube. This antagonist appeared on the episode “Asylum of the Daleks.”

The Dalek Prime Minister abducted the Eleventh Doctor as well as his companions Amy and Rory, who were then sent to the Dalek Asylum, a planet where all the insane Daleks were sent. To dismantle the Asylum (as the Prime Minister’s Daleks were scared of the inmates), the Doctor had to deactivate its force field.

Francesco

“Francesco” was actually an alias used by one of Rosanna Calvieri’s sons who escaped from the planet Saturnyne, a race of aquatic creatures with vampire-like disposition and habits.

On the episode “The Vampires of Venice” (aired in May 2010), Francesco wore a perception filter. Together with his mother, they intended to sink Venice into the water, and transform girls into mates for his brothers, thus continuing their race. After Amy escaped from Signora Calvieri’s “school,” Francesco chased her. Amy’s fiancé Rory insulted Signora Calvieri, therefore distracting her son who went to fight Rory. Amy then saved Rory from Francesco when she held up a mirror which reflected the sun’s light onto the latter, therefore revealing his true form and finally killing him.

Ice Governess

The Ice Governess is a Doctor Who villain who made her appearance in the series’ Christmas special “The Snowmen,” which aired in December 2012. She appeared as the reincarnation of the late governess of Digby and Francesca Latimer. Their previous governess had died by drowning in a frozen pond. This particular episode was set in a Victorian era.

A year after the governess’ death, the Ice Governess came to form and was animated on Christmas Eve. This is due to the telepathic “snow” that materialized from Francesca’s own fears and nightmares about her late governess coming back to life to snatch her. The Eleventh Doctor and his companion Clara, who stood as the children’s new governess, investigated the mysterious, sentient snowmen who were  building themselves. It turned out that the Great Intelligence animated these snowmen and wanted to use the old governess’ body as a template to produce an army who would wipe out humanity and take over the Earth.

Abzorbaloff

Abzorbaloff is a Doctor Who monster, out of a winning entry designed by a nine-year-old named William Grantham for a competition called “Design a Doctor Who Monster” on the children’s program Blue Peter.

Abzorbaloff disguised himself in human form using the alias Victor Kennedy. As the name implies, Abzorbaloff can absorb the bodies of his hapless victims into his own with just a simple touch. In doing so, the Abzorbaloff made his victims a part of himself, and even his victims’ memories and consciousness also became a part of his own. This gives the Abzorbaloff a truly horrific appearance as his victims’ faces are visible for at least a few weeks. However, after that period they were completely absorbed into his body.

In order to keep his absorption ability from going out of control, the Abzorbaloff used the “limitation field” (in form of a cane) which inhibited the absorption to physical contact. When the cane was broken, the Abzorbaloff collapsed and the body was absorbed by the ground.