Master of Spiders (comic story)

Master of Spiders
Doctor:	Second Doctor
Companion(s):	John and Gillian
Main enemy:	Master of Spiders
Main setting:	An unnamed planet
Key crew
Writer:	Roger Noel Cook
Artist:	John Canning
Release details
Number of parts:	4
Printed in:	TV Comic 799-802
Release date:	8 - 29 April 1967
Reprinted in:	DWCC 18
Format:	Comic
TVC comic stories
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Master of Spiders was a TV Comic story featuring the Second Doctor, John and Gillian.

Summary

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Plot

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Characters

• Second Doctor
• John Who
• Gillian Who
• Master of Spiders

References

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Notes

• The Doctor builds a ray gun which he tests and uses to destroy the mechanical spider with the Master of Spiders inside it, presumably killing him. This conflicts with the Doctor's pacifism seen in other stories. Whilst the Doctor engaging in physical violence is far from unheard of, and on the surface of it nothing he does in this story is too far removed from some of the stuff that this same incarnation has been seen doing on television, such as his construction of a solar energy weapon and use of it to kill a number of Ice Warriors in The Seeds of Death, the harder aspect to reconcile with the Doctor's usual characterisation is his attitude towards his own killings in this story, which range from indifference ("incredible! I've destroyed it!") to outright gleeful sadism ("die, hideous creature, die!"). A possible retroactive expiation is provided for this by the later comic story The Land of Happy Endings, which suggests that all the Doctor's adventures with John and Gillian may have been dreams. If we take this view, then this story can be seen merely as the Doctor engaging in fantasy violence as a stress reliever, rather than this behaviour being something he would ever entertain the idea of actually acting upon.
• This story was ridiculed in the Wotcha! column of DWM 453 for its inaccurate portrayal of the Second Doctor, especially the line, "Die, hideous creature. Die!"

Original print details

(Publication with page count and closing captions)

1. TVC 799 (3 pages)
2. TVC 800 (3 pages)
3. TVC 801 (3 pages)
4. TVC 802 (3 pages) In an action-packed new story starting next week, Dr. Who faces the DALEKS!

Publication and reprints

Reprints

1. DWCC 18 Reprinted as originally.

Continuity

• The line "Die, hideous creature, die!" is used again (but not by the Doctor) in COMIC: The Immortal Emperor.