The Threat from Beneath ( comic story ) In its original version , it was the " big story " of " TVA " # 112 . That meant it got pride of place on the issue ' s cover and was the longest story in the issue . It was one of the few " Doctor Who " stories to depict a nuclear explosion on Earth . Moreover , it may be the " only " story where the Doctor " orders " a nuclear weapon detonated in Earth ' s atmosphere . Summary . The Dalek s destroy several Earth ' s satellites scanning for extraterrestrial life some time in the Cold War . As the Dalek Saucer Commander predicts , the human s react by squabbling amongst themselves . The Soviets think it ' s the American s who ' ve taken out the satellites , while the Americans believe the reverse . As both sides look for a terrestrial explanation , the Dalek saucer slips into an Earth ocean , and settles unseen on the floor . The Doctor is called to an urgent meeting at Whitehall . In a secret facility beneath the city streets , he examines data on the exploded satellites . Admiral Dunsford claims the Soviets have nuclear - armed satellites . The Doctor pushes this theory aside brusquely . The data , he insists , support only the theory that the satellites weren ' t just destroyed — they were atomised . That means that Britain and the world are threatened by extraterrestrials . Later , the Doctor — and the rest of the people who had gathered in Whitehall — receive new intelligence . An object came down somewhere off the Pacific coast of South America . The Doctor suggests it must have been a controlled spacecraft of some kind , else its impact would have created a tidal wave . This , however , the admiral and his cronies cannot accept . The Doctor fails to convince Britain ' s top military leaders . He leaves Whitehall , convinced it ' s up to him alone to stop the world ' s superpowers from destroying each other . He ' s wrong , however . Even as he prepares the TARDIS for travel , the Admiralty have sent orders to one of their submarines in the Pacific , the HMS " Pandora " , to look for " green - eyed Martians " beneath the sea . The Doctor finds them first . The TARDIS lands in a quiet area of the Dalek saucer , allowing him to sneak up on the Dalek control room . He sees that the Daleks have noticed the approach of the " Pandora " and are taking action against it . They don ' t destroy it . Instead , they turn its crew into a form of Roboman . They command the crew to report " negative findings " to the Admiralty . The Doctor , by now , is crawling around in the power conduits of the Dalek saucer . He creates a distraction by starting an electrical fire with a lot of smoke , thanks to the chemical composition of the Dalek wiring insulation . He drops down to the Dalek communication panel , where he tries to communicate with the " Pandora " . At first he seems unsuccessful , but he gives the " Pandora " new orders on the proper Dalek control frequency : they are to send a Polaris missile at a 90 - degree angle , then run like hell before it comes down . The Daleks find the Doctor in the smoke and fire at him , but their aim is impaired . The Doctor runs for the TARDIS , hoping he ' ll get there before the missile comes down . It hits the Dalek saucer precisely . The Dalek threat ends under a huge mushroom cloud over the South Pacific . When the Doctor returns to the Admiralty , Dunsford is in a self - congratulatory mood . The Royal Navy have saved the day ! The only problem , the Doctor points out , is that he knows the Admiralty didn ' t send the order to activate Polaris . So if not they , who was in control of one of Britain ' s nuclear weapons ?