Dreadnought (comic story)

Dreadnought
Doctor:	Eighth Doctor
Companion(s):	Stacy
Main enemy:	Cyber-Leader
Main setting:	Dreadnought, 2246
Key crew
Publisher:	BBC Magazines
Writer:	Gary Russell
Artist:	Lee Sullivan
Colourist:	Alan Craddock
Letterer:	Elitta Fell
Release details
Number of parts:	10
Printed in:	RT 3775 - RT 3784
Cover date:	1 June - 3 August 1996
Format:	Comic
Radio Times comic stories
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You may wish to consult Dreadnought for other, similarly-named pages.

Dreadnought is an Eighth Doctor comic story originally printed in Radio Times.

Summary

The Eighth Doctor arrives on a space vessel called the Dreadnought, where he meets Stacy Townsend, who is running from the Cybermen. They capture the Doctor and Stacy, who finds out that her fiancé, Bill, has become a Cyberman. The Cybermen tried to force the Doctor into revealing the secrets of time travel, but, as he refused to do so, they threatened to kill Stacy. In order to prevent Stacy's death, the Doctor led the Cybermen into his TARDIS. Once inside the TARDIS, the Doctor tries to make contact with the cyber-converted Bill, who then attacks him. When Stacy makes him remember their relationship, he makes the ultimate sacrifice, killing himself to stop the Cybermen. After this the Doctor and Stacy depart in the TARDIS.

Characters

• Eighth Doctor
• Stacy Townsend
• Bill
• Cybermen
• Cyber-Leader

Worldbuilding

• Cybermen eyes are capable of infra-red scans.
• The Cybermen attempt to convert the Doctor into the first of a new breed of Cybermen that will conquer all of time and space, giving them the secrets of the Time Lords.
• The Dreadnought is a deep space haulage ship. The Cybermen attack it in deep space.
• The Doctor describes the Cybermen as "evil, rapacious creatures."
• Bill and Stacy planned to get married at St. Christopher's Church in Norfolk after their tour of duty.
• Reversing the polarity of the TARDIS's neutron flow makes the Cybermen magnetically repellent to the TARDIS, the Dreadnought, and each other, pulling everything apart and magnetically disassembling the Cybermen and the Dreadnought.

Notes

• Dreadnought featured a new, sleeker version of the Cybermen design, later adapted for the Cybermen that appeared in the Real Time webcast and the Prologue: The Eighth Doctor comic, possibly due to both using artist Lee Sullivan.
• Dreadnought was the comic debut of the Eighth Doctor. He was the first incarnation since the Fourth Doctor to make his comic debut outside Doctor Who Magazine.

Continuity

• The Doctor is still getting used to his new head. (TV: Doctor Who)
• The Cybermen try to get the secrets of time travel from the Doctor, just as Axos attempted. (TV: The Claws of Axos)
• The Cyber-Leader notes how they've threatened the Doctor's friends before. (TV: Earthshock)
• Cybermen have entered the Doctor's TARDIS before. (TV: Earthshock, Attack of the Cybermen)
• Bill attacks the Cyber-Leader and is called a "rogue Cyberman." (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)
• The Doctor reverses the polarity of the TARDIS's neutron flow. (TV: The Sea Devils, Castrovalva, Mawdryn Undead, The Five Doctors)
• The Doctor intends to take Stacy home, something he previously tried with Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright, and Tegan Jovanka. (TV: The Reign of Terror', The Visitation)

External links

• Dreadnought at the Doctor Who Reference Guide