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| {{Infobox Individual | | {{Infobox Individual |
| |image = Morbius in Junior Novelisation.jpg | | |image = Morbius.jpg |
| |species = Time Lord | | |alias = |
| |job = Lord President | | |species = Time Lord |
| |affiliation = High Council
| | |job = |
| |origin = [[Gallifrey]] | | |origin = [[Gallifrey]] |
| |first = The Brain of Morbius (TV story) | | |first cs = The Vengeance of Morbius (audio story) |
| |appearances = [[Morbius - list of appearances|'''''see list''''']] | | |appearances = |
| |actor = Stuart Fell
| | |voice actor = Samuel West |
| |voice actor = Michael Spice | | |clip = |
| |other voice actor = [[Samuel West]]
| | }}{{incarnations of Morbius}} |
| |bts = Restoring Classic Monsters - Doctor Who The Fan Show | | After the death of his [[Second Morbius|artificial body]] built by [[Mehendri Solon]], the [[Time Lord]] criminal [[Morbius]] was resurrected in a '''new body''', his third after his [[First Morbius|original body]] and the artificial one. He attempted to wreak his revenge on [[Gallifrey]] and resume his dreams of galactic conquest, but was defeated when the entire timeline in which his resurrection had occurred was [[aborted timeline|aborted]], with only [[Straxus (Human Resources)|Straxus]] and [[Lucie Miller]] remembering it. |
| }} | | |
| '''Morbius''' was a notorious and malevolent [[renegade Time Lord]]. His career was the first in millennia to dramatically alter [[Gallifrey]]'s relations with the wider [[universe]]. He attempted to overturn Gallifrey's [[non-interference policy]] in favour of [[military]] conquest, a controversial move which sparked the Time Lords' first and greatest [[Civil War]]. He failed, was [[exile]]d and eventually executed, only to survive, saved by [[Cult of Morbius|his followers]].
| | Although this account implied that Morbius's new body was a new appearance distinct from his original body, with the Doctor remaking that his old robes now fit him badly, ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Vengeance of Morbius (audio story)}}) a later account depicted [[Morbius (Morbius)|an alternative resurrected form of Morbius]] with the same appearance only for [[Argento]] to recognise him on sight, suggesting this appearance matched his [[First Morbius|original incarnation]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Morbius (audio story)|part=2}}) |
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| == Biography == | | == Biography == |
| === Early life === | | === Resurrection === |
| Morbius was born to the [[Patrex Chapter]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Legacy of Gallifrey (short story)|The Legacy of Gallifrey]]'') Like all [[Time Lord]]s, Morbius was taken from his family at the age of eight for the selection process in the [[Drylands]]. Staring into the [[Untempered Schism]] as part of a [[Time Lord initiation rite]], Morbius was said by [[Boy (Heaven Sent)|one Time Lord historian]] to have been driven mad by what he saw in the Schism. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Brief History of Time Lords (novel)|A Brief History of Time Lords]]'')
| | After [[Karn]] was bought by the leader of the [[Cult of Morbius]], [[Cristophe Zarodnix]], the [[Sisterhood of Karn]] were forced off-world before Zarodnix travelled there and found a fragment of Morbius' brain and began to look for a Time Lord, so he could extract [[DNA]] to fuse with what was left of Morbius in order to effect his resurrection. Zarodnix used DNA from the Time Lord agent [[Straxus (Human Resources)|Straxus]] to effect a new [[regeneration]] for Morbius. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Vengeance of Morbius (audio story)|The Vengeance of Morbius]]'') |
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| === Political career ===
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| Following [[Rassilon]]'s abdication from the head of the [[Lord President|Presidency]], the nature of the [[High Council]]'s membership was refined and codified with Rassilon's former [[Lord Cardinal|Cardinal]] and fellow [[Prydonian Chapter|Prydonian]], [[Pandad]], as the first regular Lord President. The Council would now include four [[Councillor]]s, and the charismatic Morbius was one of those four.
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| However, unlike his fellow members of the High Council, Morbius disapproved of much of Rassilon's new order, wanting a more equalitarian Gallifreyan society. He argued that all [[Chapter]]s should be represented on the Council equally, and also that the [[Eye of Harmony]] should be unlocked so that all remaining [[Gallifreyan]]s could be given the ability to [[regeneration|regenerate]], rather than it remaining a privilege of the bloodlines which Rassilon had personally favoured. Almost despite himself, Morbius became a sort of populist cult-leader as he continued defending these policies, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Legacy of Gallifrey (short story)|The Legacy of Gallifrey]]'') a dogma to which, over time, a belief that Time Lords should take advantage of their power to conquer the [[universe]] was appended. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'')
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| Though he might have considered granting Morbius his earliest demands for better Chapter representation and the spreading of regeneration, Lord President Pandad could not condone Morbius's eventual demand for the Presidency itself. Pandad ordered him exiled, alongside some of his more vocal supporters, hoping that this show of force would quench the brewing rebellion. According to one account, Pandad was successful, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Legacy of Gallifrey (short story)|The Legacy of Gallifrey]]'') but in another account, Morbius succeeded in becoming head of the High Council, with one [[Saran]] as his [[Vice President of the High Council|Vice President]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger (novel)|Warmonger]]'')
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| [[File:Morbiushead.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Fourth Doctor]] sits next to a clay bust of Morbius. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'')]]
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| While based on Gallifrey, Morbius formed a personal army of [[Mercenary|mercenaries]], bought by his promises of [[time travel]] and [[immortality]]. His following came to be known as the [[Cult of Morbius]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger (novel)|Warmonger]]'')
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| Gallifreyan society struggled to deal with these inconceivable events. The long-term cultural changes brought about included the increased influence of the [[Celestial Intervention Agency]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger (novel)|Warmonger]]'')
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| === The Civil War ===
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| According to one account, President Morbius's own High Council, disapproving of the path he had taken, decided to betray him and attempted to have him exiled. In return, he and his followers abandoned Gallifrey and attacked the cultures of the outside universe with renewed fervour. Gallifrey knew that he must be stopped, but, uncomfortable with being seen to act directly in the universe, the Time Lord High Council eventually chose to fight this war by proxy.
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| The [[Fifth Doctor]], who had travelled into Gallifrey's past, was appointed "Supreme Coordinator of the Alliance Battle Fleet" and directed an unlikely army of [[human]]s, [[Draconian]]s, [[Cyberman|Cybermen]], [[Ogron]]s, [[Ice Warrior]]s and [[Sontaran]]s against Morbius, with the Time Lords providing the Doctor with financial support and a flagship. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger (novel)|Warmonger]]'')
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| According to the [[Scrolls of Gallifrey]], Morbius had been [[exile]]d by [[Lord President]] [[Pandad]] as soon as he had made his bid for the Presidency, though he then claimed the title of President-in-exile. Escaping his exile, Morbius and his Cult assembled an "army of evil" with which to take the [[Capitol]] by force and returned to Gallifrey ready to attack, starting the Time Lords' great [[Civil War]]. Pandad took the lead of Gallifrey's armies against Morbius's own force, which mostly comprised alien lifeforms.
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| The war dragged on for many [[year]]s and claimed the lives of untold numbers of Time Lords, Gallifreyans, and other sentients. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Legacy of Gallifrey (short story)|The Legacy of Gallifrey]]'') [[Planet]]s involved in the conflict included [[Fangoria]], [[Romark]], [[Darkeen]], [[Martak]] and [[Freedonia (planet)|Freedonia]], which provided troops for Morbius, and [[Sylvana]], [[Zandir]], [[Tanith]] and [[Electra]], which fell to him. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger (novel)|Warmonger]]'')
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| In the end, the last of Morbius's forces were forced by the last of Pandad's to the planet [[Karn]] for a final clash during which the better part of both armies died, as did [[Masters of Karn|Karn's native population]]. The only local institution or population to survive the clash of Time Lords was the [[Sisterhood of Karn]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Legacy of Gallifrey (short story)|The Legacy of Gallifrey]]'') who had originated on Gallifrey itself, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible (novel)|Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible]]'') and helped the Alliance defeat Morbius, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger (novel)|Warmonger]]'') who throughout all these events was still in his first [[incarnation]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'')
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| === Trial and execution ===
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| Although the [[death sentence|grisly verdict]] had been decided in advance, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger (novel)|Warmonger]]'') Morbius was still put [[Trial of Morbius|on trial]], by the Sisterhood of Karn, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger (novel)|Warmonger]]'') with the Sisterhood's leader [[Maren]] attending the execution personally. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'') The sentence of death by public and ceremonial [[molecular dispersal|disintegration]] was in part a panicked attempt by the Time Lords to caution the [[universe]] at large against ever opposing them. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]'')
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| Morbius was already encased in a [[dispersal chamber]] when [[Pandad]] climbed atop one of Karn's cliffs to grandiosely deliver the verdict in a public address. Before he could do so, Pandad, lost in the momentousness of what he had to say, misjudged his footing and plummeted to his death. Pandemonium erupted, but Cardinal [[Helron]], one of Pandad's High Council, seemed to manage to action the execution machine before Morbius could take advantage of the confusion to escape; ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Legacy of Gallifrey (short story)|The Legacy of Gallifrey]]'') Morbius's body was publically atomised to the nine corners of the universe. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'')
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| [[File:First face seen in the mindbending contest.jpg|thumb|left|Morbius' original [[incarnation]], as seen in his [[mindbending]] contest with [[the Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'')]]
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| However, Morbius had actually escaped death: one of his followers, the [[human]] surgeon [[Mehendri Solon]], secretly removed Morbius' [[brain]] prior to his disintegration. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger (novel)|Warmonger]]'') Solon had secretly been aided by the Fifth Doctor, who knew that Morbius's brain had to survive in order to keep history on track. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger (novel)|Warmonger]]'') Solon stayed on [[Karn]] in hiding, where he began planning to build a new body for Morbius. The Sisterhood took to defending the [[Elixir of Life]] by causing passing spacecrafts to crash; these space travellers provided a regular supply of corpses from which Solon scavenged body parts for his project. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'')
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| === The fate of Morbius' brain ===
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| ==== In hiding ====
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| [[File:Morbius the monster.jpg|right|thumb|The body crafted for Morbius by [[Mehendri Solon|Solon]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'')]]Over the years, Solon acquired a great many body parts, which he used to create Morbius's new body. These included [[lung]]s from a [[Birastrop]], a left arm from Solon's unknowing assistant [[Condo]] and a claw for his right arm. During this time, Morbius hid his presence from the Sisterhood by placing a barrier around his mind, and his hatred for them had increased. This plan to create a new body for Morbius and wreak vengeance was nearing completion when the [[Fourth Doctor]] and his [[companion]] [[Sarah Jane Smith]] arrived at his [[castle]] on Karn.
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| By this point, Morbius had become increasingly antagonistic towards Solon, frustrated by the [[scientist]]'s never-ending promises. He didn't care about what he looked like in his new body, he only wished to walk, to feel and to see again. He likened himself to "a [[sponge]] beneath the [[sea]]" though he noted that a sponge had more life than what he was going through. He pitied his fate, which he saw as tragic, mourning that when he led the High Council on Gallifrey, he had "dreamed the greatest dreams of history". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'')
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| ==== A new body… at last? ====
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| The haphazardly-assembled body lacked a head to hold the brain of Morbius, so Solon planned to use the Doctor's head. After Morbius's brain was damaged during a fall when Condo fought with Solon on discovering his arm was being used, Solon was forced to use a [[plastic]] braincase. He had not used this before as there was the danger of a [[static electricity]] build-up which would probably damage the brain. Morbius was unable to speak for some time due to the damage sustained. Eventually, Solon was able to repair this but was killed soon afterwards when the Doctor poisoned him with [[cyanide]] [[gas]]. As Morbius proclaimed his return to power, he was challenged to a [[mindbending]] contest by the Doctor, who informed him that he doubted Morbius's power after his brain had spent so long trapped in the tank, and agreed.
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| [[File:Long way down.jpg|left|thumb|Morbius falls from a cliff. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'')]]
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| Morbius was apparently winning the contest, but the static build-up left him in a dazed, animalistic state. He didn't speak again, only groaning in agony. Upon leaving Solon's castle, he was chased by the [[Sisterhood of Karn]], surrounded and forced over the edge of a high cliff, apparently falling to his death. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'')
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| ==== Saved by Ohica ====
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| After the Doctor left Karn, the Sisterhood went to the bottom of the cliff and recovered what was left of Morbius' "not entirely destroyed" brain. [[Ohica]] led the wounded Morbius to the [[Death Zone]] to use the remains of Rassilon to give Morbius immortality. Ohica discovered that [[Iris Wildthyme]] had infiltrated the Sisterhood and used the [[Time Scoop]] to bring seven of Iris' own incarnations to Death Zone. The Irises were able to get past the [[Ice Warrior]]s, [[Ogron]]s, [[Sea Devil]]s, [[Zarbi]], [[Mechanoid]]s and [[Quark]]s that Ohica time scooped to the Death Zone and defeated Morbius before he gained immortality. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Verdigris (novel)|Verdigris]]'')
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| === Vengeance ===
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| [[File:Morbius.jpg|thumb|right|The return of Morbius. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Vengeance of Morbius (audio story)|The Vengeance of Morbius]]'')]]
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| [[Cristophe Zarodnix]] later became the leader of the [[Cult of Morbius]] and bought the planet Karn, forcing the Sisterhood off-world. On Karn, he found a fragment of Morbius' brain and began to look for a Time Lord, so he could extract [[DNA]] to fuse with what was left of Morbius, in order to effect his resurrection. Zarodnix used DNA from the Time Lord agent [[Straxus (Human Resources)|Straxus]] to effect a new [[regeneration]] for Morbius. In his new form, Morbius used a [[stellar manipulator]] to suck the power of the [[Eye of Harmony]], making the Time Lords powerless to stop his conquest. Morbius rebuilt his military forces, including mind-controlled [[Trell]], and spent a decade conquering over ten thousand worlds, but his body was unstable and required frequent gene-splicings (called "feedings") from Straxus.
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| The [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Lucie Miller]], who had barely escaped from Gallifrey before Morbius used the stellar manipulator, arrived and worked with Straxus and the cybernetically augmented Trell policeman [[Rosto]] to steal the remote control for Morbius' stellar manipulator. The Doctor succeeded in taking the control and releasing the Time Lords, who promptly broke the [[Laws of Time]] to prevent Zarodnix's purchase of Karn and Morbius' resurrection; however, at the moment before the [[Timeline]] was rewritten, Morbius and the Doctor fell from the balcony of Morbius' palace. The Time Lords believed the Doctor to be dead, but he was actually transported by the Sisterhood to the planet [[Orbis]]. The timeline in which Morbius had been brought back to life was unmade, with only Lucie Miller and Straxus remembering it. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Vengeance of Morbius (audio story)|The Vengeance of Morbius]]'')
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| === Legacy ===
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| Morbius was known to the [[Fourth Doctor]] as "one of the most despicable criminally minded wretches that ever lived", though [[Mehendri Solon|Solon]] noted that members of the surviving [[Cult of Morbius]] obviously begged to differ. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'')
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| ''[[The Book of the War]]'' documented an unprecedented event in Time Lord history it dubbed the "Imperator presidency" wherein which "[[the Imperator]]" had seized power on Gallifrey and attempted to wage war on the universe, only to eventually be betrayed by the Time Lords and hurriedly executed by molecular disintegration. The ''Book'' described the Imperator as one of the original [[Renegade Time Lord|Renegade]]s, of the same generation as [[the War King]] and [[Grandfather Paradox]], but also as a member of [[House Dvora]], a [[newblood]] house. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]'')
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| In the [[video game]] ''[[Happy Deathday]]'', played by [[Izzy Sinclair]] on the [[Time-Space Visualiser]], Morbius was among a host of "every single [[enemy]]" that [[the Doctor]] had ever [[defeat]]ed, who were assembled by the [[Beige Guardian]] and pitted against the Doctor's first eight [[incarnation]]s. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Happy Deathday (comic story)|Happy Deathday]]'')
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| The black, friable spires of [[Yarvelling's Church]] from [[Skaro]] were a fragment of the [[Last Great Time War]]. According to one account, the [[Eighth Doctor]] saw the Cathedral fused with fragments of Morbius' [[Red Capitol]] in the backwater where he triggered [[the Moment]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Time War (short story)|Doctor Who and the Time War]]'')
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| The TV show ''[[Doctor Who (N-Space)|Doctor Who]]'', which existed as a popular work of [[fiction]] on [[Earth]], had featured "the Brain of Morbius" as an antagonist by [[1981]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Fanboys (short story)|Fanboys]]'')
| | === A new lease of life === |
| | In his new form, Morbius used a [[stellar manipulator]] to suck the power of the [[Eye of Harmony]], making the Time Lords powerless to stop his conquest. Morbius rebuilt his military forces, including mind-controlled [[Trell]], and spent a decade conquering over ten thousand worlds, but his body was unstable and required frequent gene-splicings (called "feedings") from Straxus. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Vengeance of Morbius (audio story)|The Vengeance of Morbius]]'') |
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| == Behind the scenes == | | === Defeat and unmaking === |
| * [[The Imperator]] as featured or mentioned the [[Faction Paradox (series)|''Faction Paradox'' series]] fills the same place in Time Lord history as Morbius, and the authorial intent is clearly that "the Imperator" be read as a title or alias of Morbius. However, as none of the stories featuring the Imperator held the licence to the character or name of Morbius, this Wiki does not acknowledge them to be the same individual. Interestingly, the Imperator's contemporary in ''Faction Paradox'', [[the War King]], is for his part implied to be a future version of [[the Master]]; this would, logically, mean that "Morbius" was a contemporary of [[the Doctor]] themselves.
| | [[File:Morbius with Doctor and Lucie 2024.jpg|thumb|left|Morbius with the [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Lucie Miller]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Vengeance of Morbius (audio story)|precisecite=Artwork for ''[[The Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller (audio series)|The Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller: Series Three]]''.}})]]The [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Lucie Miller]], who had barely escaped from Gallifrey before Morbius used the stellar manipulator, arrived and worked with Straxus and the cybernetically augmented Trell policeman [[Rosto]] to steal the remote control for Morbius' stellar manipulator. The Doctor succeeded in taking the control and releasing the Time Lords, who promptly broke the [[Laws of Time]] to prevent Zarodnix's purchase of Karn and Morbius' resurrection; however, at the moment before the [[Timeline]] was rewritten, Morbius and the Doctor fell from the balcony of Morbius' palace. The Time Lords believed the Doctor to be dead, but he was actually transported by the Sisterhood to the planet [[Orbis]]. The timeline in which Morbius had been brought back to life was unmade, with only Lucie Miller and Straxus remembering it. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Vengeance of Morbius (audio story)|The Vengeance of Morbius]]'') All the same, during the [[Last Great Time War]], the [[War Doctor]] was able vaguely recall the rise and fall of an empire and a battle with Morbius. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Morbius the Mighty (audio story)}}) |
| * Morbius was named after Dr Edward Morbius from the 1956 film {{wi|Forbidden Planet}}. ([[INFO]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'')
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| * Morbius was referenced in [[Craig Hinton]] and Chris McKeon's ''Time's Champion'', a sequel to Hinton's ''[[Millennial Rites (novel)|Millennial Rites]]'' and ''[[The Quantum Archangel (novel)|The Quantum Archangel]]''. It was revealed Morbius fathered twin children, the Children of Contempt, with an unknown renegade Time Lady.
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| == External links ==
| | {{TitleSort}} |
| {{fpx|Imperator|Imperator}} | | [[Category:Alternate timeline individuals]] |
| {{Presidency}}
| | [[Category:Incarnations of Morbius]] |
| {{Maruthea}}
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| {{NameSort}}
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| [[Category:Individual Time Lords]] | |
| [[Category:Renegade Time Lords]] | | [[Category:Renegade Time Lords]] |
| [[Category:Time Lord Presidents]] | | [[Category:Time Lord Presidents]] |
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| [[Category:Murderers]] | | [[Category:Murderers]] |
| [[Category:Residents of Gallifrey]] | | [[Category:Residents of Gallifrey]] |
| [[Category:Biologically modified individuals]]
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| [[Category:Time Lords who have been to Maruthea]]
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| [[Category:Resurrected individuals]]
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| [[Category:Military officers]]
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| [[Category:Criminals]] | | [[Category:Criminals]] |
| [[Category:Patrexes]] | | [[Category:Patrexes]] |
