Jingo Linx
Linx of the Jingo clan was a Sontaran commander in the Fifth Sontaran Army Space Fleet.
Biography
In the 13th century, Linx was forced to make an emergency landing on Earth while on reconnaissance when his ship was attacked by a squadron of Rutan fighters. Linx claimed Earth, along with its moons and satellites, in the name of the Sontaran Empire, before joining with Irongron, who offered him shelter in exchange for advanced weaponry which would help Irongron become king, and in turn change history.
Linx abducted scientists from the 20th century to help him repair his ship. He went with Irongron to watch the attack upon Edward of Wessex for his own amusement.
Linx was intolerant of any interruptions from Irongron, who pestered him for weaponry. Irongron also regularly mocked the Sontaran, making Linx threaten him in return. Linx did eventually supply Irongron with the guns he so desired. After a fist fight with the Third Doctor, Linx killed Irongron and tried to launch his ship, but he died when Hal the Archer shot an arrow in his probic vent, and his ship exploded upon launch, having been sabotaged by the Doctor. (TV: The Time Warrior)
Legacy
After Linx's death, Edward of Wessex mentioned "Irongron's Troll" in some of his writing and he became a medieval myth. Some speculated he was a Saracen, while others claimed he fell from the sky in a star. The mythical troll was written about in modern times by Angus Heatherington in the book A History of Medieval Myth and Legend, which included an artist's impression of what the creature may have looked like. Irongron's Troll was also mentioned in leaked UNIT files. These writings were compiled in the book The Secret Lives of Monsters. (PROSE: The Secret Lives of Monsters)
After meeting Field Major Styre, another member of the Sontaran race, Sarah Jane Smith briefly thought he was Linx, until Styre explained that he and Linx were identical because Sontarans are clones. (TV: The Sontaran Experiment) Sarah Jane later thought of Linx, as well as Styre, during her confrontation with Commander Kaagh. (PROSE: The Last Sontaran)
While participating in the Crimean War, Commander Skaak told the Thirteenth Doctor that the Sontarans were asserting the claim to Earth that "the great Commander Linx" had made. (TV: War of the Sontarans)
Personality
Linx was an extremely intelligent Sontaran and was a possessor of several advanced forms of technology. He was also a very sophisticated example of his species, and honourably declared the Earth as property of the Sontaran empire. Linx was extremely cynical, and freely admitted how the human face looked displeasing and ugly to him. Linx showed considerable cunning for his race, appealing to Irongron as a warrior who needed weapons to win ahead, in exchange for getting what he needed to repair his ship. Like many of his race, he deemed humans as insolent primitives, and admitted that he would have killed Irongron if he hadn't needed the man's help. He thought nothing of the damage to history he was causing by introducing firearms to medieval knights. (TV: The Time Warrior)
Skills and equipment
Linx's vehicle was a standard-issue Sontaran space pod. He possessed a hand-held device that could hypnotise other life forms, disarm an opponent or destroy their weaponry completely. Also, Linx carried a device that could enable him to translate his voice to any language that existed. (TV: The Time Warrior)
Behind the scenes
- Linx's full name was first given in the novelisation of his debut story. The Jingo clan and Linx class cruisers were introduced in the novel Lords of the Storm.
- Although played by the same actor, Linx and Styre weren't identical to the television audience. Linx had three digits per hand, a differently shaped head, and darker skin than Styre. In Lords of the Storm, the "rotten-wood shade" is cited as a feature of the Jingo clan.
- Commander Linx and his campaign in Medieval England is mentioned by Commander Strax in the fourth-wall-breaking cinema intro for The Day of the Doctor. He is disappointed to learn that the anniversary feature is about the Doctor as opposed to a Sontaran historical drama featuring heroic accounts of their various military campaigns which he was anticipating with his clone batch.
- In WC: Strax Field Report: The Doctors, Strax recalls that Linx faced a worthy opponent in the Third Doctor.
