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{{Infobox Individual
{{Infobox Individual
|image = Morbius and his brain.jpg
|image             = Morbius the Monster.jpg
|name = Morbius
|alias            =  
|species = Time Lord
|species           = Time Lord
|origin = [[Gallifrey]]
|job              =
|first = The Brain of Morbius (TV story)
|origin           = [[Gallifrey]]
|appearances = [[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]''<br />[[GAME]]: ''[[Destiny of the Doctors]]'' (stock image; illusion)<br />[[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger]]''<br />[[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Vengeance of Morbius]]''
|first cs          = The Brain of Morbius (TV story)
|actor = Stuart Fell
|appearances       = {{Appears|Morbius}}
|other actor = [[Michael Spice]]
|actor             = Stuart Fell
|voice actor= Samuel West
|voice actor       = Michael Spice
|clip              =  
}}
}}
 
{{incarnations of Morbius}}
'''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, but was exiled and eventually executed, only to survive, saved by [[Cult of Morbius|his following]].
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 ==
=== Reign, conquest and fall ===
=== Creation ===
Morbius's ambition led him to become the head of the [[High Council]] of Time Lords. His warlike nature led him to urge the Time Lords toward a policy of conquest. 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]]'')
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]].  


In his search for immortality, he used the [[time scoop]] and the [[Death Zone]]. He drew seven incarnations of [[Iris Wildthyme]] to play the [[Game of Rassilon|Games of Rassilon]] in an effort to gain [[Rassilon]]'s gift of immortality. This attempt was ultimately thwarted. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[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 finally denounced him, he and his followers abandoned Gallifrey and attacked the cultures of the outside universe. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger (novel)|Warmonger]]'') 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]]'')
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)}})


=== War with the Alliance ===
=== A new body ===
[[File:Morbiushead.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Fourth Doctor]] sits next to a clay bust of Morbius. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'')]]
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.
Uncomfortable with being seen to act directly in the universe, the Time Lord High Council eventually chose to fight the war by proxy. 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. [[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]]'')


With the help of the [[Sisterhood of Karn|the Sisterhood]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger]]'') who had originated on Gallifrey itself, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible]]'') the Alliance at long last defeated Morbius on the Sisterhood's planet [[Karn]].
[[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)}})


[[File:Morbius the monster.jpg|right|thumb|The body crafted for Morbius by [[Mehendri Solon|Solon]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'')]]
=== Reduced to a brain once more ===
Although the verdict had been decided in advance, the Sisterhood still put Morbius [[Trial of Morbius|on trial]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger]]'') The Sisterhood's leader [[Maren]] attended the execution where Morbius was placed in a [[dispersal chamber]] and atomised to the nine corners of the universe. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'')
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.)


Morbius escaped death when one of his followers, the [[human]] surgeon [[Mehendri Solon]], secretly removed Morbius' [[brain]] prior to his disintegration. Solon was secretly aided by the Fifth Doctor, who knew that Morbius's brain had to survive in order to keep history on track. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Warmonger]]'') Solon went into hiding on [[Karn]], where he began planning to build a new body for Morbius. The Sisterhood began to defend the [[Elixir of Life]] by causing nearby spacecraft 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]]'')
[[Cyberman|Cybermen]] recovered the brain and made it into a powerful [[Cyber-Controller]] known as [[Cyber-Morbius]]. ([[GAME]]: {{cs|The Brain of Morbius (game)}})


=== Morbius' brain ===
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)}})
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 hand from Solon's unknowing assistant [[Condo]], and a claw for his right. This plan to create a new body for Morbius was nearing completion when the [[Fourth Doctor]] and his [[companion]] [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah Jane]] arrived at his castle upon the planet Karn.


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 brain case. He had not used this before as there was the danger of a static build-up. Morbius was unable to speak for some time due to the damage sustained. Eventually Solon was able to repair this, but was killed soon afterward when the Doctor poisoned him with [[cyanide]] gas. Morbius was challenged to a mind-bending contest by the Doctor and agreed.
=== Legacy ===
[[File:Long way down.jpg|left|thumb|Morbius falls from a cliff. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'')]]
[[File:Morbius DWM illustration.jpg|thumb|right|The Fourth Doctor summons the Morbius Monster. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Morbius (audio 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]]'')
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)}})


=== Vengeance ===
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)}})
[[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]] 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 and spent a decade conquering over ten thousand worlds, but his body was unstable and required frequent gene-splicings (called "feedings") from Straxus.


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]]'')
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)}})


== Behind the scenes ==
== Appearance ==
* Morbius was named after a character from the [[1956]] film {{wi|Forbidden Planet}}. ([[INFO]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'')
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)}})
* A different account of Morbius's presidency and its aftermath is given, with slight changes for the sake of copyright, in the ''Faction Paradox'' book ''{{fp|The Book of the War}}'', which is [[Tardis:Valid sources|outside the scope of this wiki]]. In ''The Book of the War'', Morbius is referred to as "{{fp|Imperator|the Imperator}}".
* One theory regarding the faces seen during Morbius' battle with the Doctor is that they are in fact Morbius' previous incarnations.


== External link ==
== Personality ==
{{fpx|Imperator|Imperator}}
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)}})


{{Presidency}}
== Behind the scenes ==
{{Time Lords}}
*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]]''.


{{NameSort}}
{{TitleSort}}


[[Category:Individual Time Lords]]
[[Category:Incarnations of Morbius]]
[[Category:Renegade Time Lords]]
[[Category:Renegade Time Lords]]
[[Category:Time Lord Presidents]]
[[Category:Cult leaders]]
[[Category:Cult leaders]]
[[Category:Individuals with psychic powers]]
[[Category:Individuals with psychic powers]]
[[Category:Murderers]]
[[Category:Murderers]]
[[Category:Residents of Gallifrey]]
[[Category:Biologically modified individuals]]
[[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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