The Last Soldier (comic story)

The Last Soldier (comic story)

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The Last Soldier
Doctor:	[[doctor::Tenth Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Martha Jones
Key crew
Publisher:	[[publisher::BBC Magazines]]
Editor:	Moray Laing
Writer:	Martin Day
Artist:	John Ross
Colourist:	Alan Craddock
Release details
Format:	Comic - 2 parter (12 pages)

Summary

Part One

On an unnamed planet far off the beaten track, a planet that appears quieter than Bassingstoke on a Sunday, the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones come across a silvery humanoid figure unconscious near to a city. An inspection with the sonic screwdriver reveals the creature to have been born of living metal. As they attend to the creature, they are met by two more such creatures, this timed armed. The two ‘soldiers’ (Soldier Elphon and Soldier Halber) demand the Doctor and Martha choose sides – for decades they have fought in a great war, all that remain are the last of their kind. Their enemies, lumpen-rock like creatures on tracks and composed of bone (whose numbers have also been depleted), arrive and conflict ensues. The Doctor is caught in a blast …

Part Two

Both sides have continued their war against each other, but with their numbers depleted on both sides they have reached agreement and all shots are set to stun, leaving the 'dead' in a state of suspended animation. Soldier Halber and the other creature are not so lucky and the surviving soldier Elphon, last of his kind runs off to the battle-torn city. Martha and a now recovered Doctor (the weapons being used are only effective against each of the other sides caught in the conflict) follow Elphon and head for the city.
Inside the city the Doctor and Martha find the last surviving soldiers of both sides going head to head. As the long war nears its end Elphon is tempted to break the rules of the conflict and setting his gun to kill, prepares to shoot the last remaining enemy of his people – the age-old General. But the Doctor’s intervention persuades Elphon otherwise, and not wanting to break the rules after all this time, the last two remaining soldiers are made to shake hands. At that same moment, the moment of union between the two sides – not different civilisations but different sexes – a new life-form comes into being. On this world, only the last male and female survivors of the war were able to pass on their genetic material to the next generation. With the cycle of life left to continue the Doctor and Martha leave ….

Named characters

• The Doctor
• Martha Jones
• General
• Soldier Elphon
• Soldier Halber

References

• The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to scan the two lifeforms for their composition (namely metal and bone).

Notes

• The DWA comic strip adventures were very much aimed at a younger audience and the artwork and colours were bold and bright, reflecting the tone of the magazine..
• Self contained one part stories were the norm in the early issues, later being expanded to two-parters for a while before returning to standalone stories.

Original print details

Publication with page count and closing captions

1. DWA 34 (6 pages) NEXT WEEK – WHAT HAPPENS NOW? FIND OUT NEXT ISSUE!
2. DWA 35 (6 pages) NEXT WEEK – A BRAND-NEW ADVENTURE STARTS NEXT ISSUE!

• No reprints to date.

Continuity

• Martha Jones’s nursing career is mentioned at the end with the suggestion of her returning to deliver the new birth, and getting enough fighting with work at the hospital on a Saturday night.

Timeline

• This story takes place after DWA: Minus Seven Wonders
• This story takes place before DWA: Signs of Life