The Iron Legion

From TARDIS Index File, the free Doctor Who reference.

For the graphic novel, see The Iron Legion (graphic novel).

The Iron Legion
Series:	Doctor Who - Fourth Doctor comic strip stories
Doctor:	Fourth Doctor
Companions:	None
Enemy:	Malevilus
Setting:	Alternate Rome (c.1970s) MMMXXI R.I. (Regency of Ironicus)
Author:	Pat Mills John Wagner
Editor:	Dez Skinn
Artist:	Dave Gibbons
Colourist:
Lettering:
Published In:	Doctor Who Weekly 1 - 8
Publication:	17th October - 5th December 1979
Publisher:	Marvel Comics
Format:	Comic - 8 parts (34 pages)
Previous Story:
Following Story:	City of the Damned

Contents 1 Summary 2 Characters 3 References 3.1 Species 3.2 Locations 4 Notes 5 Publication and Reprints 5.1 Original Print Details 5.2 Reprints 6 Continuity 7 Timeline 8 External Links

[edit] Summary

A robot legionnaire attacks a small English town of the 1970s. Following them back to their origin, The Doctor arrives on another Earth in which the Roman Empire went on to conquer the galaxy with their Iron Legion of robots commanded by General Ironicus, a servant of what he calls the gods. Escaping from the General and from the Ectoslime in the Arena where the boy Emperor, Adolphus Caesar and his mother Juno watch, the Doctor is forced to work as a slave onboard a slave ship travelling home. Joining forces with escapee Morris and Vesuvius (one of the oldest robots left), the Doctor discovers the Gods of Rome are the evil Malevilus, five winged demonic creatures who feed off death. The Doctor awakens the Bestiarus (unsuccessful genetically engineered soldiers kept in storage) to create maximum disruption in the city. Magog (Adolphus's 'mother') is unhappy to see the Doctor and ultimately kills the General. As Magog changes shape to kill the Doctor the whole of Rome watches on vidscreens, and they revolt. Taking the Doctor back to the TARDIS, Magog is tricked into being expelled from the craft into an empty dimension. She vows to return. The other Malevilus are attacked by the Bestiarus in their temple, a spaceship which explodes and kills them all. The citizens make Vesuvius the new Emperor and the Doctor suggests a boarding school for Adolphus.

[edit] Characters

• The Doctor
  • The Doctor makes his entrance in a characteristically breezy fashion, stepping into a local corner shop to stock up on provisions and jelly babies!
  • In the first scenes it is established that the Doctor is not Human and has two hearts, a fact that confuses a robot soldier of Ironicus' army, and helps the Doctor to escape.
  • The Doctor mentions "abominable snowmen", Autons, Axos, Dæmons, Daleks and dinosaurs when going through a list of creatures that he has encountered.
• Adolphus Caesar
• Barbarius
• Babiyon, Abiss, Epok, Nekros and Magog
• General Ironicus
• Maximus Bilious
• Morris
• Vesuvius

[edit] References

[edit] Species

• Bestiarus
• Ectoslime
• Malevilus
• Kronk
• Zark

[edit] Locations

• Zaggar Six
• Benidorm
• Crab Nebula
• Cryos Four

[edit] Notes

• The first appearance of the Fourth Doctor in the new Doctor Who Weekly title marked a radical change from what had gone before. Brilliantly capturing both the look and feel of the Fourth Doctor, The Iron Legion is considered to be one of the most popular and memorable comic strip stories ever printed. As a focal feature of the newly launched title it dared to take the Doctor on adventures worthy of the television story if only there was a big enough budget.
• Although Pat Mills and John Wagner although jointly credited took turns to write the scripts. The Iron Legion was written by Pat Mills.
• The Iron Legion was submitted as a television story but rejected.

[edit] Publication and Reprints

[edit] Original Print Details

(Publication with page count and closing captions)

1. DWM Issue 1 (5 pages) Next week: Into the Dimension Duct!
2. DWM Issue 2 (4 pages) Next Week: Enter the Ecto-Slime!
3. DWM Issue 3 (4 pages) Next Week: Temple of the Gods!
4. DWM Issue 4 (4 pages) Next Issue: Against the Gods!
5. DWM Issue 5 (5 pages) Next Week: Death in the Air!
6. DWM Issue 6 (4 pages) Next Week: The Beast-Men Awake!
7. DWM Issue 7 (4 pages) Next: The Final Battle!
8. DWM Issue 8 (4 pages) Next Issue: Join the Doctor in City of the Damned!

[edit] Reprints

1. DWMS Summer 1980 Reprinted complete in black and white.
2. Marvel Premiere Issues 57 and 58 Reprinted in colour.
3. DWMS Summer 1985
4. The Iron Legion (graphic novel) Reprinted as originally, in black and white
5. Doctor Who Classics Recoloured for this 2007 American title issues Issue 1 and Issue 2.

[edit] Continuity

• K-9's absence in this and the following story is explained in K-9's Finest Hour.
• While not explicitly stated, this story most likely takes place between DW: The Invasion of Time and DW: The Ribos Operation.

[edit] Timeline

• This story occurs after: DWM: Stowaway
• This story occurs before: DWM: City of the Damned

[edit] External Links

to be added

view edit	> Early Fourth Doctor comics in Doctor Who Weekly/Monthly
issues	1 - 8	9 - 16	17 - 18	19 - 26	27 - 34	35 - 38	39 - 45	46	47 - 48
Stories	The Iron Legion	City of the Damned	Timeslip	The Star Beast	The Dogs of Doom	The Time Witch	Dragon's Claw	The Collector	Dreamers of Death
Companion(s)	-		K-9 Mark II	K-9 Mark II & Sharon