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{{ImageLink}}
{{Infobox Individual
{{Infobox Individual
|image = [[Image:Morbius and his brain.jpg|300px]]
|image             = Morbius the Monster.jpg
|individual name = Morbius
|alias             =  
|alias = The Imperator
|species          = Time Lord
|race = [[Gallifreyan]] ([[Time Lord]])
|job              =  
|home planet = [[Gallifrey]]
|origin            = [[Gallifrey]]
|home era = [[Rassilon Era]]
|first cs          = The Brain of Morbius (TV story)
|appearances = [[DW]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]''<br>[[PDA]]: ''[[Warmonger]]''<br>[[BFA]]: ''[[The Vengeance of Morbius]]''<br>[[FP]]: ''[[The Book of the War]]''<br>
|appearances      = {{Appears|Morbius}}
|mentions = [[EDA]]: ''[[Scarlet Empress]]''
|actor            = Stuart Fell
|actor = <ul><li>[[Michael Spice]] (voice)</li><li>[[Stuart Fell]] (monster)</li><li>[[Samuel West]] (audio plays)</li></ul>
|voice actor       = Michael Spice
|clip              =
}}
}}
Morbius of [[House Dvora]] was a high-ranking [[Time Lord]] whose career was the first in millennia 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]]''). The [[Fifth Doctor|Doctor]] became embroiled in the chaos that resulted ([[PDA]]: ''[[Warmonger]]).''
{{incarnations of Morbius}}
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 encountered the [[Fourth Doctor|fourth incarnation]] of the Doctor. ([[DW]]:''[[The Brain 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]].


==Biography==
== Biography ==
=== The Imperator Crisis ===
=== Creation ===
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 ([[DW]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]''), demanding the [[Laws of Time]] and the [[Spiral Politic]] to be redrawn to better suit Gallifrey's needs ([[FP]]: ''[[The Book of the War]]'').
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]].  


While still based on Gallifrey he formed a personal army composed of both dedicated followers and mercenaries from other species. He promised these followers the secrets of [[time travel]] and immortality ([[DW]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'') although withheld from them true admission into his House ([[FP]]: ''[[The Book of the War]]''). During his search for immortality he utilised both the [[time scoop]] and the [[Death Zone]] drawing seven incarnations of [[Iris Wildthyme]] to play the [[Game of Rassilon|Games of Rassilon]] in an attempt to gain [[Rassilon]]'s gift of immortality, though this attempt was ultimately thwarted. ([[EDA]]: ''[[The Scarlet Empress]]'')
[[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.


When the Time Lords, spurred by the [[Order of the Weal]] ([[FP]]: ''[[The Book of the War]]''), eventually denounced him, he and his followers abandoned Gallifrey and began an assault on the cultures of the external universe ([[DW]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'').
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)}})


As Gallifrey's society struggled to understand these inconceivable events, the long-term cultural changes brought about would include the increased influence of the [[Celestial Intervention Agency]] and the founding of [[Faction Paradox|House Paradox]] ([[FP]]: ''[[The Book of the War]]'').
=== 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.


=== War with The Alliance ===
[[File:Long way down.jpg|left|thumb|Morbius falls from a cliff. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Brain of Morbius (TV story)}})]]
[[Image:Morbiushead.jpg|150px|thumb|left|The Doctor sits next to a clay sculpture of the head of Morbius. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'')]]
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)}})
Unsure how to respond to the physical campaign of conquest Morbius was waging against the universe ([[FP]]: ''[[The Book of the War]]'') the Time Lords eventually chose to fight the war by proxy.


[[Fifth Doctor|The fifth incarnation]] of the 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, [[Cybermen]], [[Ogron]]s, [[Ice Warrior]]s and [[Sontaran]]s against Morbius.
=== Reduced to a brain once more ===
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.)


Planets involved in the conflict included [[Fangoria]], [[Romark]], [[Darkeen]], [[Martak]] and [[Freedonia]] which provided troops for Morbius, and [[Sylvana]], [[Zandir]], [[Tanith]] and [[Electra]] which fell to him.
[[Cyberman|Cybermen]] recovered the brain and made it into a powerful [[Cyber-Controller]] known as [[Cyber-Morbius]]. ([[GAME]]: {{cs|The Brain of Morbius (game)}})


The Alliance eventually defeated Morbius on [[Karn]] with the assistance of the [[Sisterhood of Karn|Sisterhood]] and brought to trial, although the verdict had been decided in advance. ([[PDA]]: ''[[Warmonger]]'') The sentence of death by public and ceremonial disintegration was partly a panicked attempt by the Time Lords to caution the universe at large against opposing them ([[FP]]: ''[[The Book of the War]]'').
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)}})


His body was indeed destroyed, with Sisterhood leader [[Maren]] among those attending. However, Morbius escaped death when one of his followers, the [[human]] surgeon Doctor [[Mehendri Solon]], secretly removed the Gallifreyan criminal's [[brain]] before his disintegration.
=== 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)}})


Taking the brain, Solon went into hiding on [[Karn]], where he began planning to build a new body for Morbius. The Sisterhood's means of defending the [[Elixir of Life]] was to cause nearby spacecraft to crash, which provided a regular supply of corpses from which Solon scavenged body parts for this project ([[DW]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'').
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)}})


=== Morbius' Brain===
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)}})
[[Image:St--4k13.jpg|150px|thumb|right|The corpse-created body built to house the disembodied brain of Morbius. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'')]]
Over the years, Solon had acquired a great many body parts, which he used to create Morbius's new body. These included lungs from a [[Birastrop]], a left hand from Solon's unknowing assistant [[Condo]], and a giant lobster-like right hand. This plan to create a new body for Morbius was nearing completion, when the [[Fourth Doctor|Fourth Doctor]] and his companion, [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah Jane]], arrived at his castle, upon the planet [[Karn]].


However, this haphazardly constructed body lacked a head to house the brain of Morbius, and after Morbius's brain was damaged during a fall, Solon was forced to resort to using a plastic brain case.
== Appearance ==
Morbius was unable to speak for some time due to the damage sustained when his brain was dropped. Eventually Solon was able to repair this, but was killed soon afterwards, when the Doctor poisoned him with cyanide gas. Morbius then staged a mind-bending contest against the Doctor.
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)}})
[[File:Long way down.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Morbius falls from a cliff. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'')]]
After the duel, Morbius was in a dazed, animalistic state. He did not speak again, only groaning in agony. Upon leaving Solon's castle, he was chased by the [[Sisterhood of Karn]], surrounded and forced over a cliff, apparently falling to his death. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'')


===Vengeance===
== Personality ==
[[Cristophe Zarodnix]] later became the leader of the [[Cult of Morbius]] and bought the planet Karn, forcing the sisterhood off world. There he found a fragment of Morbius' brain and began to look for a Time Lord, so he could extract their DNA to fuse with what was left of Morbius' in order to bring about his resurrection. ([[BFA]]: ''[[The Vengeance of Morbius]]'')
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==
== Behind the scenes ==
*Morbius was named after a character from the [[1956]] film, [[wikipedia:Forbidden Planet|Forbidden Planet]].
*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]]''.


{{Start box}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{Succession box
|title=[[Lord President]] of [[Gallifrey]]
|current=Morbius
|before=[[Pandora]]
|before-story=
|after=[[Saran]]
|after-story=
}}
{{End box}}


{{Time Lords}}
[[Category:Incarnations of Morbius]]
{{season 13 aliens}}
[[Category:Renegade Time Lords]]
[[Category:Renegade Time Lords]]
[[Category:Time Lord Presidents]]
[[Category:Fourth Doctor enemies]]
[[Category:Eighth Doctor enemies]]
[[Category:Cult leaders]]
[[Category:Cult leaders]]
[[Category:Individuals with psychic powers]]
[[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]]

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