The Weeping Angels of Mons (comic story)

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The Weeping Angels of Mons was the third story of the Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor comic strip series published in 2015.

Summary

When Gabby and the Doctor arrive by accident in No Man's Land in July, 1916, they're met by Corporal Jamie Colquhoun — a soldier who knows from bitter experience that there are worse things than the Jerries out in the rat-strewn trenches.

Things that drift through the smoke of a thousand cannon shells, and move only when you look away. Shadows that flit over artillery-blasted field hospitals and throw their terrifying wings over the living. Statues that steal your life in an instant.

The Weeping Angels.

But in a conflict where the life of young men is cheap, and thousands die every day — are the Angels actually offering salvation?

Trapped in the midst of a flock of starving Angels, the Doctor faces his most challenging and terrifying moral dilemma yet!

Plot

Part one

21st August 1914: Jamie Colquhoun and Harry, both members of the Scottish regiment, have only been in the war for three weeks, but have recently been moved to Mons, Belgium, and are on a reconnaisance mission. Jamie writes a letter to his sister Jeanie, who Harry wants to propose to. Turning away to look at a photograph of her, he suddenly notices movement, and aims his gun towards a statue and fires. He moves his head around to warn Jamie, only to then be killed by the Weeping Angel.

July 1916: The TARDIS materialises in No Man's Land on the Western Front in Germany. Gabby is taken aback because it is not beautiful history as she imagined, only desolation. Uncovering a gas mask, the Doctor realises that it is the First World War. Gabby and the Doctor run back to the TARDIS as mines go off. However, the TARDIS is caught in the blast — along with the Doctor, who is knocked out.

In the trenches, Jamie, now a corporal, is writing to Jeanie about the war. Captain Fairbairn has recently arrived, whilst the soldiers are preparing for the Big Push into the Somme. Jamie's faith has been crushed by war, seeing not Heaven but Hell. The regiment are surprised to find Gabby and the Doctor in the trench, and, although believing them to be spies, take the Doctor to a field hospital be looked over by a military chaplain who is surprised to learn he has two hearts. Suddenly, a soldier blinded during the battle awakens and screams, "Don't blink!" He rips the bandages off to reveal eyelids forcefully sewn open, likely by the patient himself.

Big Wullie Cairns and another soldier smoke a cigarette outside besides a statue and discuss how the war has affected them. Walking away from the statue, they turn to find the statue has moved and is lurching towards them...

Part two

The two soldiers find themselves inside a train carriage. Walking through the train, they find some passengers and ask them where the train is heading. A male passenger says the train is headed to Dundee. Relieved, the soldiers sit down but the passenger asks them if they are back from South Africa. Confused, Wullie notices the date on a newspaper - 28 December, 1879. Shocked, they look out the window and notice the bridge collapsing, killing every passenger on board the train.

The soldier with his eyelids sewn open continues to rant about not blinking. Monaghan tells the Doctor about rumours of angels. Jamie arrives and asks the Doctor and Gabby to come with him to see the Captain. On the way, Gabby and Jamie chat.

In Fairbairn's office, the Doctor sits down on a chair and retrieves his sonic screwdriver. Fairbairn pulls his gun on the Doctor but Gabby attempts to say they are innocent. Fairbairn tries to call the British headquarters to confirm her cover story, but the telephone line is dead. He sends McHugh to fix it. Outside, McHugh notices the telephone wire is cut in half. Following it, he sees an Angel. Thinking it's a joke, he accuses Wullie. He is then touched by the Angel.

Fairbairn hears the yell and assumes it's a German attack. The Doctor disagrees, stating they've got a new enemy now. Fairbairn tries to pull out his gun, but it has been stolen by the Doctor. He opens the door to find an Angel. Shutting it again, they run to find another exit. The Doctor tells Gabby and Jamie about the Weeping Angels as it chases them. Jamie tries to shoot it, but it does nothing. He tells the Doctor and Gabby to run while he attempts to hold it back. As they run, they find another Angel. The Doctor smashes a window with his sonic screwdriver and they escape out of it.

In the hospital, the Doctor tries to think of a plan. Meanwhile, in Rome, 97 AD, a soldier finds himself in the Colosseum in the middle of a gladiator fight. Another is tied to a stake in 1535, being accused of witchcraft. In the basement of the hospital, the lights flicker. Gabby and Jamie get attacked by an Angel.

Part three

New York, 1892: A woman is attacked by two men. Manny saves the woman by knocking the two men unconscious. She asks him who is he and he says he was sent by an Angel. His entire life is seen passing, ending with him dying of shock after reading that thousands died in the war.

The Doctor tries to get some light in the room. Gabby attempts to hold off an Angel, but has to blink. She opens her eyes and sees Jamie, also looking at the Angel. Jamie asks Gabby where Manny is, and she says the Angel got him. Jamie puts a grenade in the Angel's hand and they both run. The Angel survived the explosion and continues to attack. They run back upstairs, where the Doctor regrets taking Gabby for an extra trip. He tells the soldiers that they have to make it through the night, suggesting a guard system to Fairbairn.

The sun rises and the Doctor goes to open the door, but they are interrupted by an artillery bombardment, hitting the city. The Angels close in, using the smoke as cover. Fairbairn holds off the Angels, telling everyone else to run. The Angels circle him as the rest of the group encounter more Angels. A tank suddenly drives through a wall, with Shuggy inside. He says the Angel sent him back in time, a few miles up the road. He married a woman named Brigitte and worked on a farm, waiting until the right time to return.

As they approach a German trench, they see figures in the smoke. Assuming it's the soldiers, they look closer and realise that the figures are actually Weeping Angels. The Doctor deduces the angels are starving - that's why they're hunting in the open. He also deduces that since they could understand the German patient, the TARDIS must be around still.

Gabby and Jamie find Shuggy is holding a picture of his family. Jamie offers him coffee, but they realise he died of old age. Jamie reminisces about the times before the war. Gabby and Jamie almost kiss, but they are interrupted by the Doctor, who asks if they have chewing gum. Using it to stick a machine together, he uses it to pinpoint the location of the TARDIS - in some old tunnels which were filled with explosives. The Doctor then realises that the TARDIS is moving, as some Weeping Angels begin to carry it away.

Part four

In the tunnels, the Doctor, Gabby, Jamie and Monaghan are in a lift. They hear a thumping noise and the lift shakes. Three Angels are on top of the lift. They walk out of the lift and explore the tunnels, arriving at a two-way fork. Before the Doctor can say which path to take, Angels begin to cave-in the tunnels. A pile of rocks block off the tunnel, separating Gabby and Jamie. Monaghan says they are most likely dead, but the Doctor refuses the thought.

Gabby and Jamie are alive, and they discovered the explosives. Angels chase the Doctor, and Monaghan says he'll stay and watch them for as long as he can. He says if they are really Angels, all his faith is a lie and he has to know the truth. He holds up his cross and recites a prayer.

The Doctor finds the TARDIS, surrounded by angels. He starts to walk forward. Meanwhile, Jamie finds the detonator to the explosives, saying that the other half of the plan was to detonate the explosives and escape in the TARDIS. Since the Doctor was not with them, Jamie plans to detonate them himself.

The Doctor sneaks past the angels, telling himself not to blink. He realises that instead of blinking, he can wink so that he can still see the Angels. Unlocking the TARDIS, he shuts the door while winking.

Monaghan opens his eyes in Scotland, 1896. A woman opens the door and asks him for help as a baby's just been born. He walks inside and asks what the name of the baby is - it's Jamie Colquhoun.

Jamie and Gabby both press the detonator. The tunnels explode, seemingly killing them. As they kiss they realise they aren't dead. They open their eyes and discover they're in the TARDIS. Confused, Jamie asks what happened. The Doctor explains he shielded them with the TARDIS. He materialises the TARDIS on the surface and Gabby says goodbye to Jamie.

St. Michel War Cemetery, 2007: A family walks down a path, wheeling an old man in a wheelchair. The old man is revealed to be Jamie - he survived. He looks around, noticing the TARDIS, the Doctor and Gabby. They leave, and Jamie and his family leave. Jamie's great-granddaughter, Gabriella, trips over something, saying it must have been a rock. However, an Angel's hand sticks out of the ground.

Characters

References

Notes

  • The C cover of 10D 6, depicting the silhouette of a Weeping Angel, a soldier and the TARDIS, is an homage to the covers to the graphic novels for Charley's War, a 1970s/80s comic series about the First World War by Pat Mills. The name of the soldier, Jamie Colquhoun, alludes to the artist Joe Colqhoun, who drew the series.
  • The final scene set in the past, which depicts the war-torn fields fading into a field of flowers slowly, is reminiscent of the final scene from Blackadder.
  • The Doctor is wearing black converses. Conventionally, he wears red or blue converses.
  • The Doctor realises he can avoid the Weeping Angels by winking rather than forcing his eyes open or blinking.

Original print details

to be added

Continuity

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