The Shape Shifter ( comic story ) The Shape Shifter was the first Sixth Doctor comic strip published in " Doctor Who Magazine " . It introduced the shape shifting Frobisher , a new companion , and also show the return of Josiah W . Dogbolter . Summary . Frobisher , detective extraordinaire , finds himself on his biggest case yet , pursuing the bounty on a man known as the Doctor . . . Plot . Part one . Late at night , a clerk is working in his office . He does not know his phone is a Whifferdill spying on him . He calls his wife to tell her he ' ll be working late at the office . In truth , he ' s going out with another woman . The Whifferdill transforms into a pigeon to go to his office and inform his client . He flies over the city but is attacked by an owl and makes a crash landing in a garbage can . The Whifferdill becomes a hamburger and is picked up by a homeless man , who takes a bite out of him . The Whifferdill , now a hamburger with eye s , leg s and arm s , flees . The Whifferdill is Avan Tarklu , a private investigator and now back to his original state . He arrives at his office to check his messages . He sees a wanted message for the Sixth Doctor for 250 , 000 mazuma s . He disguises himself as a barfly , flying through bars . After four nights he finds the Doctor and flies in his glass of chocolate soda to slip him a mickey . The waiter notices Avan Tarklu as a fly and takes the glass while the Doctor leaves . The waiter empties the glass into the sink , while the Whifferdill transforms himself into a fish and gets outside , into an alley , back in his original shape . The Doctor goes to his TARDIS , where he ' s attacked by two men with vibroknives . The Doctor handles one attacker , but the second pulls out a gun . The Whifferdill attacks . His right hand becomes a boxing glove and knocks the second attacker unconscious . The Doctor , unaware of the Whifferdill , goes into his TARDIS and sets the co - ordinates to Greenback Bay , Venus . Avan Tarklu sneaks on board , transforms himself over the TARDIS ' time rotor and hijacks the ship . Part two . The TARDIS has been hijacked by Avan Tarklu , a Whifferdill private investigator . He demands the Doctor fly the TARDIS to Venus . Otherwise , he will suffer " sandwich es that bite back , terror at bath - time , shoe s that fly away with you " . The Doctor , miffed , says he was planning to go to Venus . If the Whifferdill wanted a lift , he just has to ask . The Whifferdil , however , says that rather than wanting a lift , he wishes to turn the Doctor in for 250 , 000 mazumas . On Venus , near the building of Intra - Venus , Inc . , the TARDIS materialises and security goes into action , surrounding it . Dogbolter , thinking it a trap , gives the order to " knock it off , but evacuate the building first " . A spaceship flies to the building , shoots it with rockets , leaving the building in ruins , but without a scratch on the TARDIS . A white flag appears from within the TARDIS with a paper plane . The plane , a list of demands , is brought to Dogbolter and read by his robot . The Whifferdill will exchange the Doctor for 250 , 000 mazumas and the TARDIS for 500 , 000 . Dogbolter agrees to the first , so the Doctor is exchanged by a bearded old man , armed with a bazooka and wearing an Australia n hat ( with corks hanging from the brim ) that covers his eyes . The old man takes the money , goes back in the TARDIS and dematerialises . Meanwhile , the Doctor is brought to a cell with two security guards . One opens the cell , but when he turns around , he sees that the Doctor is gone and that there is another guard . The guards conclude that one of them is a fake . One of the guards shoots at another one , to be sure it ' s not the Doctor . The other flees in terror . The guard who shot turns out to be the Whifferdill , who was the Doctor and a guard . The TARDIS materialises and the old man steps out . He is the real Doctor . The Whifferdill hops on board . The money will be split 50 / 50 . As the TARDIS dematerialises , the Whifferdill decides to stick around , leaving the Doctor with no choice but to let him stay .