Drones of Doom was a comic story published in Doctor Who: Battles in Time. It was written by Steve Cook.
Opening narration box
After destroying the Cyber-factory on Centuria, the Doctor and Kadett were tracking down more of the metal menaces...
Summary
The Doctor and Kadett follow the Cyberman's signal, taking a robot-run airship across the now-deserted continent of Azlon on the planet Centuria. Before arriving at the airbus terminal (a Cyber-conversion factory), the conductor / law enforcer becomes influenced by the Cybermen's hypnotic signal, which is being used to subjugate the arriving humans. The Doctor, Kadett and a reprogrammed robot conductor pretend to be hypnotised and follow the other arrivals.
Seizing the right moment, the Doctor disrupts the hypnotic signal and the conductor robot attacks the Cybermen. A stray shot from the conductor ruptures the fuel banks, causing a huge explosion which kills most of the newly converted Cyber-drones (basic work units) as their humanity starts to become more dominant.
As the Doctor and Kadett flee the explosion, they find a bit of a map in a Cyberman's hand — a map that might lead them to finding out what the Cybermen are up to on Centuria.
Characters
Notes
- Supporting the series of collectible Doctor Who trading cards, the magazine carried a regular four page, individually titled comic strip of the Tenth Doctor's adventures.
- The artwork and colours were bold and bright, reflecting the tone of the magazine and, as did Doctor Who Adventures, reflected the appeal to readers younger than those catered to by Doctor Who Magazine.
- The Cybermen featured in this story were those from a parallel Earth. The instruments for Cyber-conversion and the airships are both reminiscent of the TV episodes Army of Ghosts and Doomsday.
- The Doctor in this story has been redressed in his brown suit as opposed to his holiday wear last strip.
- Until the release of Assimilation² in 2012, these Battles in Time comic strips were the only comic story set during the new series to feature the Cybermen. Whether or not they were the only comics to feature the Pete's World Cybermen is unknown, however, as the exact origin of the Cybermen in Assimilation² is not made terribly clear.
- The Battles in Time comic strip sought to associate its Doctor character with the one seen on screen by using "props" from the TV series: blue/brown suit, intelligent-looking glasses, sonic screwdriver and psychic paper.
Original print details
- 2/4 DWBIT 9 (4 pages) TO BE CONTINUED!!!
- No reprints to date.
References
to be added
Continuity
- A robotic ticket conductor was also featured in TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.
