The Stockbridge Showdown (comic story): Difference between revisions

{{Infobox Story

|companions        =[[Maxwell Edison]]

|featuring        = [[Destrii]], [[Frobisher]], [[Sharon Davies]], [[Izzy Sinclair]], [[Majenta Pryce]]

|year              = {{il|[[Stockbridge]], [[Autumn]] [[2016]]|[[Intra-Venus, Inc.|Intra-Venus Inc]]}}

|writer            = [[Scott Gray]]

|inker            = [[David A Roach]]<ref name="roach">Roach is credited simply for the art on pages 18 and 19, and for the inks of [[Mike Collins]] and [[Martin Geraghty]]'s pencil art on pages 12, 13, 16, 17 and 20.</ref>

|artist            = [[Dave Gibbons]], [[Roger Langridge]], [[Adrian Salmon]], [[Dan McDaid]], [[John Ross]], [[John Ridgway]], [[Martin Geraghty]], [[David A Roach]]<ref name="roach"/>

|release date      = [[26 May]] [[2016 (releases)|2016]]

|cover date        = [[July (releases)|July]] [[2016 (releases)|2016]]

|format            = Comic

|next              = TBA

'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was a comic story published in the [[DWM 500|500th issue]] of ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]''. It featured the return of all major companions original to the ''DWM'' comic strip, along with [[Josiah W. Dogbolter]], [[Stockbridge]] and a cameo appearance of [[Cornucopia]]. Also returning to the ''DWM'' comic strip were various comic strip artists, alongside mainstays [[Mike Collins]], [[Martin Geraghty]] and [[David A Roach]], and ''[[The Time Team]]'' illustrator [[Adrian Salmon]].  

It was also the first DWM comic strip to be set after [[Hell Bent (TV story)|Clara's departure]]. Coincidentally, [[Titan Publishing Group]] released [[The Twist (comic story)|its first monthly comic set after Clara's departure]] just one day before ''The Stockbridge Showdown'' released.

After a day of searching for [[crop circle]]s, [[Maxwell Edison]] is driving his [[motorbike]] back to [[Stockbridge]] on a still [[Autumn]] night. Today is Maxwell's 60th [[birthday]]. As he drives past a gate, [[The Doctor's TARDIS|a familiar blue box]] materializes on the road behind Maxwell.  

The [[Twelfth Doctor]] jumps out of the TARDIS with a look of joy on his face. After a moment of being surprised that the Doctor has changed his face again, Maxwell is hugged by the Doctor. The Doctor explains that he has visited Stockbridge because he detected temporal distortions coming from the area. Maxwell is briefly disappointed as he had assumed the Doctor had came to celebrate Maxwell's birthday. The two then head towards Stockbridge to investigate the distortions.  

They enter Stockbridge to find that the villagers have been frozen in time. The Doctor examines a woman and finds that she has been "slightly phased outside this continuum". He declares that everyone has been trapped between nanoseconds, and that whoever did it must have been a genius. Meanwhile, a floating camera drone watches the Doctor and Maxwell from the sky.  

Many years later, someone else is celebrating their birthday. [[Josiah W. Dogbolter]] is holding a service for his 500th birthday at the headquarters of [[Intra-Venus, Inc.]]. Watching over the party, Dogbolter asks [[Hob]] why his daughter, [[Berakka Dogbolter]], isn't there. Hob replies that she mentioned something about an emergency board meeting.  

[[File:Sharon Allen.jpg|thumb|left|[[Sharon Davies|Sharon Allen]]]]

[[Sharon Davies|Sharon Allen]], a former companion of the [[Fourth Doctor]] who is now a [[journalist]] for the [[Galactic Broadcasting Corporation]], confronts Dogbolter. She tells him that there have been many men throughout history as powerful as Dogbolter is now, and that eventually all their empires fell. Before Dogbolter can reply, he recieves a notification on his [[mobile phone]] that pleases him immensely. He tells Sharon, "See you later Miss Allen... or earlier!".

Dogbolter enters a dark basement where he greets the person who sent him the notification: [[Frobisher|Chiyoko]]! Chiyoko tells Dogbolter that she has achieved harmonic alignment with Stockbridge in [[2016]] and created a crude [[Time corridor|time tunnel]] leading to the village. She explains that she froze Stockbridge's citizens to lure the Doctor to the village and that the Doctor fell for the trap.

Back in Stockbridge, the Doctor and Maxwell encounter [[Gol Clutha]] and her group of mercenaries. Dogbolter has hired her to escort the Doctor and Maxwell to [[St Justinian's Church]], where Dogbolter and Chiyoko are waiting. The Doctor uses the city's temporally frozen nature to escape: he throws a [[cricket ball]] at a nearby [[fountain]], disrupting the static [[atom]]s of the water, causing it to explode. Maxwell and the Doctor use the distraction to run away.  

Meanwhile in the future, the Intra-Venus Inc. major shareholders hold an emergency meeting. [[Groblux|Mr Groblux]] brings to attention the fact that nobody knows who called this meeting together. [[Majenta Pryce]] enters the room and declares that she did. This causes uproar as Majenta, a junior shareholder, had no right to do so. Majenta tells the shareholders that soon she will no longer be a minor player, as she will soon buy all of their shares for 12 [[Mazuma]]s each, which is only 0.0000001% of their real value. She begins threatening the shareholders by listing the several illegal activities committed by various shareholders, and then lowers her offer to 10 Mazumas per share.

[[File:Berraka Dogbolter.jpg|thumb|right|Josiah W Dogbolter's daughter: [[Berakka Dogbolter]].]]

Berakka Dogbolter bursts into the room and and hysterically announces that she will give "her daddy" an extra present for his birthday: Majenta's head in a box. As she lunges towards Majenta with a sword, Majenta presses a button on her glove and a figure with a sword jumps through a circular window to rescue Majenta. That figure is [[Destrii]]!

Back in 2016, Gol Clutha catches up with the Doctor and Maxwell and traps Max in a [[tangle web]]. She threatens to shoot Maxwell if the Doctor doesn't come with her to [[St Justinian's Church]], forcing the doctor to comply.  

The Doctor and Maxwell enter the church to see Dogbolter and Chiyoko waiting for them, behind them covered in orange wrapping paper and a blue bow is the ultimate birthday gift: the Doctor's TARDIS. Dogbolter forces the Doctor and Maxwell to kneel before him as he explains that with a time machine he can "destroy [his] competitors before they're born" and "play the [[stock market]] and always win", letting him become the wealthiest man in all of time.  

At this point the Doctor asks Dogbolter if he remembers hiring an assassin to kill [[Angus Goodman]]. Dogbolter tells the Doctor that he's killed thousands of "nobodies" to get his way and Angus was not more significant than any of the others. Dogbolter then proclaims that the Doctor is a dead loss and orders Clutha kill him.

Chiyoko suddenly says: "Hold the phone Josiah, this guy could still be useful... Y'know?". Chiyoko doesn't talk like this. The fact that she is an imposter revealed, she begins changing into a small penguin. He then uses his flipper to smack Clutha and says "The name's [[Frobisher]]". He then transforms into a large brown figure with [[hammer]]s for arms and knocks out the rest of Clutha's team. Dogbolter then says that unlike Gus, he remembers Frobisher and had made preparations should they ever meet again. He then commands [[Hob]] to activate the [[null-beam]], which reverts Frobisher to his penguin form.

Frustrated with the Doctor, Dogbolter knocks him to the ground and points a gun at him. Before Dogbolter can fire, Maxwell jumps onto him, knocking him off balance. As Dogbolter recovers from the blow, a heavy gift hits his head, knocking him unconscious. The person that threw that parcel was [[Izzy Sinclair]]! She hugs the Doctor, then uses her medical skills to make sure that Dogbolter wasn't hurt.  

[[File:Dogbolter is ruined.jpg|thumb|right|[[Josiah W. Dogbolter]]'s savageness is exposed to the galaxy.]]  

Dogbolter wakes up and screams: "I'LL KILL '''ALL''' OF YOUR FRIENDS!". Sharon Allen, who was hiding behind the TARDIS emerges from the shadow with several of the floating cameras which were seen watching the Doctor. She reveals that the entire confrontation has been broadcast back in Dogbolter's century. Dogbolter counters by explaining that he'll get his [[lawyer]]s to say that everything was faked, but the Doctor strikes the final blow by saying that thanks to Majenta Pryce he'll be getting "serious cash-flow problems" and won't be able afford a good legal team. The Doctor then reveals that it was not Dogbolter who organized the events of this evening, but himself.  

In Dogbolter's century, Josiah W. Dogbolter is arrested on [[Venus]] by [[Intersol]] officers and Majenta Pryce has become the new CEO of Intra-Venus.

In 2016; the Doctor, Izzy and Maxwell slowly walk through Stockbridge towards the TARDIS. The Doctor explains that he froze the villagers to keep them safe from the conflict. The Doctor then tells Maxwell he's arranged a birthday party for him and they enter the TARDIS and leave Earth, although not before Maxwell says, "Oh! You've redecorated... I love it!".

The Doctor, Izzy Sinclair, Destrii, Sharon Allen, Frobisher and Majenta Pryce then have a party on a summer evening in the golden city of [[Cornucopia]]. They don't slow down until dawn.

* [[Frobisher]]

* [[Josiah W. Dogbolter]]

* [[Berakka Dogbolter]]

* [[Gol Clutha]]

== References ==

* The guests at the party include: four [[Mobox]], a [[Skith]], a [[Werelok]], and [[Cazkelf]].

* The [[Twelfth Doctor]], [[Maxwell Edison|Max]], [[Sharon Davies|Sharon]], [[Frobisher]], [[Majenta Pryce|Majenta]], [[Izzy Sinclair|Izzy]] and [[Destrii]] have a party in the city of [[Cornucopia]].

* Max and Izzy incapaciate [[Josiah W. Dogbolter]], saving the Doctor's life, inside [[St Justinian's Church]].

* Dogbolter has been responsible for the deaths of 125,890 people.

* This is the first reappearance of Destrii after her comic book adventures with the [[Eighth Doctor]] were dropped in the midst of retooling ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' when ''Doctor Who'' returned to television featuring [[Christopher Eccleston]] as the [[Ninth Doctor|new Doctor]] at the time, with her last appearance being in [[COMIC]]: ''[[The Flood (comic story)|The Flood]]'', as the writers refused to kill off her character and left her adventures with the Doctor open-ended. This story confirms that she is alive and left the TARDIS at some point, but does not give a reason why or when, leaving the matter unresolved.

* Frobisher masquerades as [[Chiyoko]] wanting revenge for her previous defeat at the hands of the [[Eleventh Doctor]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Child of Time (comic story)|The Child of Time]]'')

* The Eleventh Doctor faced [[Gol Clutha]] in [[COMIC]]: ''[[Hunters of the Burning Stone (comic story)|Hunters of the Burning Stone]]''.

* Izzy and Destrii are chatting amiably at the party, having settled their differences in [[COMIC]]: ''[[Oblivion (comic story)|Oblivion]].''

* The [[Werelok|Werelox]] first appeared in [[COMIC]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Dogs of Doom (comic story)|Doctor Who and the Dogs of Doom]]''

* The [[Mobox]] first appeared in [[COMIC]]: ''[[Ophidius (comic story)|Ophidius]]''.

* [[Cazkelf]] appeared in [[COMIC]]: ''[[Art Attack (comic story)|Art Attack]]''.

* The [[Skith]] first appeared in [[COMIC]]: ''[[The First (comic story)|The First]]''.

 

[[Category:Stories set on Venus]]