Time of the Cybermen (comic story)

Time of the Cybermen
Doctor:	[[doctor::Tenth Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Jayne Kadett
Main enemy:	Cybermen
Main setting:	Centuria Central, Planet Centuria
Key crew
Publisher:	[[publisher::GE Fabbri Ltd]]
Editor:	Ben Robinson
Writer:	Steve Cook
Artist:	Lee Sullivan
Colourist:	Alan Craddock
Release details
Format:	Comic - Part 4 of 4 (4 pages)

Opening narration box

Cybermen have been using upgraded humans on Centuria to mine special gems called Hargstones. But what is their plan?

Summary

The TARDIS lands in Centuria Central and in a temporal stasis field. Kadett is caught in the frozen moment but the Doctor, being a Time Lord, can resist the field. Cybermen in a patrol aircar spot him moving around and pursue. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to bring the aircar crashing down, drawing the attention of other Cybermen, who arrive to salvage parts and take them back to base. The Doctor smuggles himself into the base with the salvage. The base is the Triplanetary base which the Doctor suspects has been robbed of its Hargstone reserves to enable the Cybermen to maintain a stasis machine. The Doctor learns from the Cybermen that they built the stasis machine from Torchwood files and used the device to subdue overwhelming opposition. Choosing the most secure place for the machine, the Doctor escapes and heads for the bank's vault, but it is made of titanium and is protected by laser-proof glass and destructor rays. When the Doctor can't get in he uses the sonic screwdriver to turn the destructor rays inwards, destroying the stasis machine. The Cybermen have a mental link with the machine that enables them to move around inside the stasis field, so when the machine is destroyed the temporal feedback overloads their circuits. With the Cybermen now no more than ghosts and the stasis field gone, the Doctor says goodbye to Kadett, warning her to keep her eyes peeled. In the shadows, the eyes of Cybermen glow red.

Characters

• Tenth Doctor
• Jayne Kadett – investigator who teamed up with the Doctor after tracking an info-thief who had stolen Torchwood files on Cyber conversion.
• Cybermen – upgraded human lifeforms housed in a cybernetic shell, devoid of emotion, intent on upgrading (converting) others.

Original print details

Installment, publication title with page count and closing caption.

• 4/4 Doctor Who: Battles in Time Issue 11 (4 pages) TO BE CONTINUED!!!
• No reprints to date.

Notes

• Supporting the series of collectable Doctor Who trading cards, the magazine title, carried a regular 4 page, individually titled comic strip series of the Tenth Doctor’s adventures.
• Style wise, the artwork and colours were bold and bright reflecting the tone of the magazine and, as with Doctor Who Adventures, it reflected the appeal to younger readers than that catered for by Doctor Who Magazine.
• The Cybermen featured in this story were those from a parallel Earth.

References

• The Battles in Time comic strip often sought to reinforce the Doctor character with that as seen on screen by utilising various ‘props’ used in the TV series. Namely; blue/brown suit, intelligent-looking glasses, sonic screwdriver and psychic paper.

Continuity

to be added

Timeline

• This story takes place after DWBIT: Enemy Mine
• This story takes place before DWBIT: Beneath the Skin

External links

• Doctor Who: Battles in Time official website, with magazine and trading cards details
• Time of the Cybermen at the Doctor Who Reference Guide