Morbius Monster: Difference between revisions

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
No edit summary
No edit summary
 
(318 intermediate revisions by 89 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox Individual|
{{ImageLink}}
individual name= Morbius |
{{Infobox Individual
image= [[Image:St--4k08.jpg|250px]]|
|image            = Morbius the Monster.jpg
race= [[Gallifreyan]] ([[Time Lord]]) |
|alias            =
home planet=[[Gallifrey]] |
|species          = Time Lord
home era= [[Rassilon Era]]|
|job              =
appearances= [[The Brain of Morbius]], [[Warmonger]] |
|origin            = [[Gallifrey]]
actor= [[Michael Spice]], [[Stuart Fell]] |}}
|first cs          = The Brain of Morbius (TV story)
|appearances      = {{Appears|Morbius}}
|actor            = Stuart Fell
|voice actor      = Michael Spice
|clip              =
}}
{{incarnations of Morbius}}
The '''second incarnation''' of the [[Time Lord]] criminal '''[[Morbius]]''' was an artificial, monstrous form created for him by the scientist [[Mehendri Solon]], referred to in some accounts as "the '''Morbius Monster'''". ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius (novelisation)}}, {{cs|Monsters and Villains (reference book)}}) Following his botched execution, Morbius was reduced to a disembodied brain, the '''Brain of Morbius''', ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Universal Databank (reference book)}}) which Solon installed in a monstrous new patchwork body. Although not the product of [[regeneration]], the Monster was considered distinguishable enough from Morbius' [[First Morbius|original incarnation]] to appear separately from it as one of the faces in his [[mindbending]] duel with the [[Fourth Doctor]].


Morbius of [[House Dvora]] was a high-ranking [[Time Lord]] whose career was the first in milennia to dramatically alter [[Gallifrey]]'s relationship to the wider universe, briefly moving the world's policy away from observation and manipulation of external affairs and instead towards brutal restructuring of the universe to suit Gallifrey's best interests ([[DW]]:''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'', [[FP]]:''[[The Book of the War]]'').
== Biography ==
=== Creation ===
His career ended in ignominy and destruction, and he escaped a sentence of death only by means of a secret brain transplant, subsequent to which he was opposed by the [[Fourth Doctor|Fourth]] ([[DW]]:''[[The Brain of Morbius]]) and [[Fifth Doctor|Fifth]] ([[PDA]]:''[[Warmonger]]) Doctors.  
After the execution of his [[First Morbius|original incarnation]], Morbius's follower [[Mehendri Solon]] absconded with his still-living [[brain]], which he kept alive in his secret laboratory on [[Karn]].  


[[File:Morbius the monster.jpg|right|thumb|The body crafted for Morbius by [[Mehendri Solon|Solon]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Brain of Morbius (TV story)}})]]
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.


== Life and career ==
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]]: {{cs|The Brain of Morbius (TV story)}})


Morbius' ambition led him to become the head of the High Council, where his warlike nature led him to urge the Time Lords toward a policy of conquest. When the Time Lords rejected him, he formed an army of his own composed of both dedicated followers and mercenaries.  He promised his followers the secrets of [[time travel]] and immortality. He sent them into battle across many worlds, including the planet [[Karn]], where he hoped to seize the secret of the [[Elixir of Life]] guarded by the [[Sisterhood of Karn]]. He was captured with the assistance of the Sisterhood and brought to trial on Karn. He was sentenced to be executed by disintegration for his crimes, and his body was indeed destroyed, with Sisterhood leader [[Maren]] in attendance. However, Morbius escaped death when one of his followers, the [[human]] surgeon Dr. [[Mehendri Solon]] secretly removed the Gallifreyan criminal's [[brain]] before his disintegration. Solon took the brain and went into hiding on [[Karn]], where he began planning to build a new body for Morbius out of parts salvaged from corpses found in the wreckage of spacecraft which the Sisterhood had caused to crash on the planet as their way of protecting the Elixir.
=== A new body ===
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.


== The Brain of Morbius ==
[[File:Long way down.jpg|left|thumb|Morbius falls from a cliff. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Brain of Morbius (TV story)}})]]
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]]: {{cs|The Brain of Morbius (TV story)}})


{| align="left"
=== Reduced to a brain once more ===
| align="center" |
After the Doctor left Karn, the Sisterhood went to the bottom of the cliff and recovered what was left of Morbius's "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]]: {{cs|Verdigris (novel)}}) [[The gathering of the Irises in the Death Zone|This adventure]] would be often alluded to by Iris. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Scarlet Empress (novel)}}, {{cs|The Blue Angel (novel)}}, {{cs|Bafflement and Devotion (short story)}}, etc.)
|-
[[Image:St--4k13.jpg|250px|thumb|The corpse-created body built to house the disembodied brain of Morbius.]]
|-
[[Image:Morbiushead.jpg|250px|thumb|The Doctor sits next to a clay sculpture of the head of Morbius.]]
|-
|}
The Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith landed on Karn and stumbled upon Solon's castle just as Solon was completing Morbius' new body, leading them to discover Morbius. Although the Doctor had not previously met Morbius in person, he did recognize Morbius' telepathic brain pattern.  


Morbius's new body was horrifyingly grotesque, leading [[the Doctor]] to mock him as "Chop Suey, the Galactic Emperor!" But Solon's ability to merge alien tissues together did give Morbius at least a few advantages over his previous biological form, including lungs from a [[Birastrop]] capable of withstanding [[cyanide]]. Other parts of Morbius' body included a human left hand which came from Solon's unknowing assistant [[Condo]], a giant lobster-like right hand, and a humanoid torso. The body Solon had built lacked one important element, namely a head suitable for storing the unique and delicate properties of a Time Lord brain. Solon required the head of another Time Lord in order to safely house Morbius' brain, but when plans to use the Doctor's head failed and the container holding the brain was spilled, he resorted to an unproven, experimental braincase which included two stalklike eyes.
[[Cyberman|Cybermen]] recovered the brain and made it into a powerful [[Cyber-Controller]] known as [[Cyber-Morbius]]. ([[GAME]]: {{cs|The Brain of Morbius (game)}})


This braincase was prone to developing a static charge, a weakness exploited by the Doctor by challenging Morbius to a Time Lord [[mindbending]] contest. It is not at all clear who won the contest, but it was costly for both Gallifreyans. The Doctor collapsed from the strain, and Morbius' brain appeared to be damaged by a static shock. During the contest, images of the Doctor's previous three incarnations appeared in the air above them, as well as a number of images of others whose identity is disputed. It is possible that the unknown faces belong to previous and otherwise unexplained incarnations of the Doctor, suggesting that the incarnation known as the [[First Doctor]] was not, in fact, his first incarnation. However, it is also possible that the faces belong to previous [[regeneration]]s of Morbius -- or that they are memories of entirely different people drawn from the minds of either the Doctor or Morbius.
Morbius cultists would later acquire fragments of Morbius's brain and use them to resurrect him in a [[Third Morbius|new and more humanoid, though unstable, body]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Vengeance of Morbius (audio story)}})


After the battle, Morbius appeared to be left in a dazed, animalistic state. He did not speak again during the story, and only uttered seemingly agonized sounds of anger and pain. Leaving Solon's castle, he was chased by the Sisterhood over a cliff, where he was apparently killed.
=== Legacy ===
[[File:Morbius DWM illustration.jpg|thumb|right|The Fourth Doctor summons the Morbius Monster. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Morbius (audio story)}})]]
In a battle with another resurrected aspect of Morbius, that of the ''mind'' of Morbius, a [[matrix projection]] of the [[Fourth Doctor]] summoned a [[hard light]] projection of the Morbius Monster to fight on his behalf. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Morbius (audio story)}})


{{oou}}
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]]: {{cs|Happy Deathday (comic story)}})
{{Cleanup}}
 
{{wikipedia|List_of_Doctor_Who_villains#M}}
The TV show ''[[Doctor Who (in-universe)|Doctor Who]]'', which existed as a popular work of [[fiction]] on [[Earth]], had featured "the Brain of Morbius" as an antagonist by [[1981]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Fanboys (short story)}})
 
== Appearance ==
The body built for Morbius by Solon was a lumbering, asymmetrical creature, ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Brain of Morbius (TV story)}}) a "hideous hybrid of alien life forms", made up of "bits of other creatures; (...) fur, scales and even feathers were jumbled together in a ghastly parody of life". ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius (novelisation)}}) His left arm was human, having been taken from Solon's assistant [[Condo]] while the right was an enormous, crab-like [[claw]]. With Solon unable to graft an organic head quickly enough to satisfy his master's wishes, the finished product utilised a clear glass brain-case to contain Morbius's original Gallifreyan brain, with two trumpet-like "horns" jutting out of it. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Brain of Morbius (TV story)}})
 
== Personality ==
Following his long years of being trapped in a tank as a disembodied brain, the Morbius Monster was a combination of depressed and vengeful, resenting the universe for what had happened to him. He retained his former arrogance, however, claiming that he was still "a Time Lord of the [[First Rank]]" (something which the [[Fourth Doctor]] doubted). ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Brain of Morbius (TV story)}})
 
== Behind the scenes ==
*In ''The Brain of Morbius'', the Monster was referred to simply as "Morbius". He was first given the name "Morbius Monster" in [[Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius (novelisation)|the novelisation]] and later in [[Justin Richards]]'s 2005 reference book [[PROSE]]: ''[[Monsters and Villains (reference book)|Monsters and Villains]]''.
 
{{TitleSort}}
 
[[Category:Incarnations of Morbius]]
[[Category:Renegade Time Lords]]
[[Category:Renegade Time Lords]]
[[Category:Fourth Doctor enemies]]
[[Category:Cult leaders]]
[[Category:Individual leaders]]
[[Category:Individuals with psychic powers]]
[[Category:Individual Time Lords]]
[[Category:Murderers]]
[[Category:Biologically modified individuals]]
[[Category:Time Lords who have been to Maruthea]]
[[Category:Criminals]]
[[Category:Patrexes]]

Latest revision as of 19:09, 21 September 2024

The second incarnation of the Time Lord criminal Morbius was an artificial, monstrous form created for him by the scientist Mehendri Solon, referred to in some accounts as "the Morbius Monster". (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius [+]Loading...["Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius (novelisation)"], Monsters and Villains [+]Loading...["Monsters and Villains (reference book)"]) Following his botched execution, Morbius was reduced to a disembodied brain, the Brain of Morbius, (PROSE: The Universal Databank [+]Loading...["The Universal Databank (reference book)"]) which Solon installed in a monstrous new patchwork body. Although not the product of regeneration, the Monster was considered distinguishable enough from Morbius' original incarnation to appear separately from it as one of the faces in his mindbending duel with the Fourth Doctor.

Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]

Creation[[edit] | [edit source]]

After the execution of his original incarnation, Morbius's follower Mehendri Solon absconded with his still-living brain, which he kept alive in his secret laboratory on Karn.

The body crafted for Morbius by Solon. (TV: The Brain of Morbius [+]Loading...["The Brain of Morbius (TV story)"])

Over the years, Solon acquired a great many body parts, which he used to create Morbius's new body. These included lungs 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.

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 [+]Loading...["The Brain of Morbius (TV story)"])

A new body[[edit] | [edit source]]

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.

Morbius falls from a cliff. (TV: The Brain of Morbius [+]Loading...["The Brain of Morbius (TV story)"])

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 [+]Loading...["The Brain of Morbius (TV story)"])

Reduced to a brain once more[[edit] | [edit source]]

After the Doctor left Karn, the Sisterhood went to the bottom of the cliff and recovered what was left of Morbius's "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 Warriors, Ogrons, Sea Devils, Zarbi, Mechanoids and Quarks that Ohica time scooped to the Death Zone and defeated Morbius before he gained immortality. (PROSE: Verdigris [+]Loading...["Verdigris (novel)"]) This adventure would be often alluded to by Iris. (PROSE: The Scarlet Empress [+]Loading...["The Scarlet Empress (novel)"], The Blue Angel [+]Loading...["The Blue Angel (novel)"], Bafflement and Devotion [+]Loading...["Bafflement and Devotion (short story)"], etc.)

Cybermen recovered the brain and made it into a powerful Cyber-Controller known as Cyber-Morbius. (GAME: The Brain of Morbius [+]Loading...["The Brain of Morbius (game)"])

Morbius cultists would later acquire fragments of Morbius's brain and use them to resurrect him in a new and more humanoid, though unstable, body. (AUDIO: The Vengeance of Morbius [+]Loading...["The Vengeance of Morbius (audio story)"])

Legacy[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Fourth Doctor summons the Morbius Monster. (AUDIO: Morbius [+]Loading...["Morbius (audio story)"])

In a battle with another resurrected aspect of Morbius, that of the mind of Morbius, a matrix projection of the Fourth Doctor summoned a hard light projection of the Morbius Monster to fight on his behalf. (AUDIO: Morbius [+]Loading...["Morbius (audio story)"])

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 defeated, who were assembled by the Beige Guardian and pitted against the Doctor's first eight incarnations. (COMIC: Happy Deathday [+]Loading...["Happy Deathday (comic story)"])

The TV show 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 [+]Loading...["Fanboys (short story)"])

Appearance[[edit] | [edit source]]

The body built for Morbius by Solon was a lumbering, asymmetrical creature, (TV: The Brain of Morbius [+]Loading...["The Brain of Morbius (TV story)"]) a "hideous hybrid of alien life forms", made up of "bits of other creatures; (...) fur, scales and even feathers were jumbled together in a ghastly parody of life". (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius [+]Loading...["Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius (novelisation)"]) His left arm was human, having been taken from Solon's assistant Condo while the right was an enormous, crab-like claw. With Solon unable to graft an organic head quickly enough to satisfy his master's wishes, the finished product utilised a clear glass brain-case to contain Morbius's original Gallifreyan brain, with two trumpet-like "horns" jutting out of it. (TV: The Brain of Morbius [+]Loading...["The Brain of Morbius (TV story)"])

Personality[[edit] | [edit source]]

Following his long years of being trapped in a tank as a disembodied brain, the Morbius Monster was a combination of depressed and vengeful, resenting the universe for what had happened to him. He retained his former arrogance, however, claiming that he was still "a Time Lord of the First Rank" (something which the Fourth Doctor doubted). (TV: The Brain of Morbius [+]Loading...["The Brain of Morbius (TV story)"])

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Retrieved from "https://tardis.wiki/w/index.php?title=Morbius_Monster&oldid=3856837"