Doctor Who’s New Big Bad Is Already the Franchise’s Most Nightmarish Villain

Summary

• The Doctor faces a new, terrifying foe in
  Free Comic Book Day: Doctor Who
  that harvests the screams of its victims.
• The Doctor and Ruby Sunday encounter the notorious highwayman, Dick Turpin, working for a mysterious “god.”
• Fans are left in terror over the Doctor’s new enemy, possibly the scariest yet in the 61-year history of Doctor Who.

Warning: contains spoilers for Free Comic Book Day: Doctor Who!

The Doctor Who franchise is full of nightmarish villains, but a new foe has emerged, one who may be the scariest yet. In their day, the Doctor has faced down some terrifying monsters, such as the Weeping Angels and the Silence. Now, in Free Comic Book Day: Doctor Who, the Doctor and their new companion Ruby Sunday are facing an evil creature who inflicts a terrible fate upon his victims.

Free Comic Book Day: Doctor Who is written by Dan Watters and drawn by Kelsey Ramsay. The TARDIS deposits the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday in York in the 18th century. They arrive just in time to witness the capture and execution of notorious highwayman Dick Turpin. Turpin boasts a Cyber-blaster, an out-of-place artifact in this time.

It is revealed that Turpin is working for someone else, someone he calls a “god.” As Turpin dies and realizes he has been tricked, his screams are bottled by a nightmarish entity–who harvests the screams of its victims.

The Doctor Has Met The Universe’s Worst

His New Foe Might Be The Scariest Yet

The issue ends there, leaving fans in terror and awe over the Doctor’s new and terrifying foe. For 61 years, Doctor Who has featured some of the scariest villains in pop culture. Beginning with the Daleks in the early 1960s, the Doctor has fought some of the universe’s worst, and prevailed every time. The Cybermen, the Weeping Angels, the Silence and others, species who have unleashed so much misery on the universe, tremble when they learn the Doctor is coming. Generations of children around the world have hidden behind the sofa in fear watching Doctor Who.

While details about the Doctor’s new foe, such as its name, are scant, it is definitely in the mold of some of the show’s most notorious villains. In addition to entire species, the Doctor has tangled with solo villains over the years as well. Cosmic entities such as the Black Guardian, the Valeyard and the Celestial Toymaker have menaced the universe over the years. The Doctor narrowly defeats each of them. Yet their new foe could be the most grotesque of them all, from its frightening appearance to harvesting the screams of its victims.

The Doctor’s New Foe Wants Something Personal From Them

Why Does It Want the Doctor’s Screams?

Free Comic Book Day: Doctor Who does not make it clear what happens when the creature harvests a scream, but judging from Turpin’s face in this issue, it is not pleasant. In his final moments, Turpin reveals his “god” is seeking the Doctor’s scream. The Doctor is the last of the Time Lords, and their scream would make an excellent prize for their new foe. The Doctor will have their work cut out for them as they and Ruby Sunday face the franchise’s most terrifying foe.

Free Comic Book Day: Doctor Who is available now from Titan Books!