War Doctor

Originally young and robust, the ninth known incarnation of the Doctor, christened the War Doctor by Alice Obiefune and the Curator, set upon the warrior path in the Last Great Time War for which he had been intended. Though the Time Lords and Daleks continued to refer to him as such, he disavowed the name of "the Doctor", believing he had broken the promise it represented, instead opting not to have a name at all, though he was also referred to as "the Renegade", "the Warrior", the "Doctor of War", and "the Butcher of Skull Moon".
== Biography ==
After emerging from his previous incarnation's decision to regenerate into a warrior with the Elixir of Life after he failed to save Cass Fermazzi on Karn, (TV: ) the Doctor set about joining the Time War as an independent agent, due to his disagreement on how the Time Lords were handling the conflict, (AUDIO: ) believing he could end the Time War by himself, until he was awoken to the severity of the conflict by the losses of Fey Truscott-Sade (COMIC: ) and Davros. (PROSE: ) When he decided to fight alongside the Time Lords, (COMIC: ) he quickly became regarded as a war hero who commanded a great deal of respect from the Time Lord military. Gastron stated that, during the Time War, the "Doctor of War" was known for going into battle unarmed, but winning nonetheless, with his unarmed state being the last thing his enemies saw before their deaths. (TV: )
As early as his beginnings, (AUDIO: ) the Doctor had decided not to allow himself companions to ensure he was not responsible for the safety of another, (PROSE: ) but did find recurring comrades-in-arms in the Eleventh General, (PROSE: ) Commander Veklin (AUDIO: ) and the berserker-class cyborg Case (AUDIO: ) as he fought the monsters forged in the fires of the battlegrounds, (AUDIO: , , , ) and also found himself pestered by the political machinations of the Sixth Tamasan (AUDIO: ) and the War Ollistra. (AUDIO: ) As he faced threats from the Barber-Surgeon (AUDIO: ) and the Volatix Cabal, the Doctor was forced to ally himself with the Child Master (COMIC: ) until he found a way to escape the Time War. (COMIC: )
Following a brief respite on Keska, (AUDIO: ) the Doctor found himself drawn more into Cardinal Ollistra's unscrupulous machinations, (AUDIO: ) such as trying to weaponise the Neverwhen, (AUDIO: ) and then rescuing her from the Sontarans (AUDIO: ) while also fending off the masterplan of the Dalek Time Strategist to utilise the Enigma and remove the Time Lord from history with temporal dissolution. (AUDIO: ) Even when reunited with Leela, (AUDIO: ) the Doctor became so disillusioned with the war that he concluded it could only end when both the Time Lords and the Daleks were destroyed. (AUDIO: ) He was ultimately driven to end the war absolutely when a mission against the Eternity Circle in the Tantalus Eye resulted in the deaths of his companion, Cinder, and his mentor, Borusa, by the hands of the Time Lords. (PROSE: )
When faced with 's Ultimate Sanction, the Doctor prepared to use the Moment to end the Time War by committing genocide against both the Daleks and the Time Lords. (TV: ) However, the Moment's sentient interface led him down a different path by letting him view his future first-hand. By teaming up with his future incarnations, the Doctor's mind was opened to a peaceful way to end the Time War in lieu of the deadly alternative he was going to enact. Teaming up with past and future incarnations, the War Doctor helped to save Gallifrey from the Dalek Fleet by placing it in a pocket dimension. After departing from his future incarnations' company, and once again embracing the name of "the Doctor", the War Doctor regenerated into a younger body due to his advanced age. Unfortunately, due to his timeline being taken out of sync by the presence of his future incarnations, the Doctor would not remember saving Gallifrey, and his next incarnations were lead to believe they had destroyed Gallifrey instead of saving it until they experienced the events as the Eleventh Doctor, (TV: ) with the memory of the War Doctor being vilified and banished (TV: ) until he was vindicated. (TV: )
== Other realities ==
=== Alternate timelines ===
In a timeline briefly envisioned by a continuity bomb, the Doctor fell into the hands of the Daleks and was converted into a Dalek spy. (COMIC: Four Doctors)
In an alternate timeline where gave the Cybermen the means to conquer all of time and space, (COMIC: Supremacy of the Cybermen) the War Doctor fought in an alternative version of the Last Great Time War, with the Cybermen replacing the Daleks (COMIC: Prologue: the War Doctor) after the Cybermen erased the Daleks from existence. (COMIC: Supremacy of the Cybermen) In this timeline, the Doctor detonated the Moment inside the barn as it was surrounded by Cybermen. (COMIC: Prologue: the War Doctor) This timeline was eventually unwritten by Rassilon and the Twelfth Doctor. (COMIC: Supremacy of the Cybermen)
== Psychological profile ==
=== Personality ===
Full of self-doubt and self-loathing, the War Doctor not only thought himself unworthy of the name of "the Doctor", (TV: The Day of the Doctor) dispatching the moniker with the "philosophies and ideals" shared with it (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor) in favour of the title of "Warrior", (PROSE: The Stranger) but also of any identity at all, eventually leaving it to others to choose how they wished to address him, (PROSE: Engines of War) as he did not carry a name "as a rule". (AUDIO: The Eternity Cage) He would show great irritation, and even extreme bouts of anger, with anyone who addressed him as "Doctor", especially if they did so after he committed what he considered to be an atrocity. (AUDIO: The Innocent, The Thousand Worlds, The Neverwhen, Eye of Harmony, The Enigma Dimension; COMIC: Kill God, Physician, Heal Thyself, The Clockwise War; PROSE: The Third Wise Man)
Rather than a "good man", the War Doctor saw himself as a "lost cause" that did what was necessary to end a "sorry chapter of cosmic history", as it was his "reason for being." (AUDIO: The Innocent) His inability to find an alternative to end the Time War consumed him with so much guilt he considered it easier to view himself as a different man to the Doctor. (AUDIO: The Neverwhen) He even made himself believe that he had killed "the Doctor" on Karn. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor) He did not see himself as a "hero", (AUDIO: Pretty Lies) instead thinking himself as a "monster" that was "steeped in the blood of war", (AUDIO: The Innocent) becoming "the stuff of nightmares" and "a demon let loose on the time streams". (AUDIO: Pretty Lies) However, he would immediately turn apologetic when he realised that he had stepped out of place, (AUDIO: The Innocent) and considered himself on the side of the collateral in the war, with the idea of having to sacrifice innocents weighing heavily on him, (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost) and also believed that he fought for the sake of the other Time Lord soldiers, particularly the ones that looked to him for inspiration. (PROSE: Decoy)
During his first years fighting in the Time War, the Doctor saw the conflict as "a challenge to overcome", and showcased an arrogant and egotistical persona, not unlike his sixth incarnation. He made puns in the face of the Morlontoa, and viewed himself as "handsome", "brilliant", and "modest", though Fey Truscott-Sade instead described him as "irritating". Following the loss of Fey, the Doctor came to see the war as a "tragedy to face". (COMIC: The Clockwise War) 
As he grew older, the Doctor wanted the war to end, but felt it was his duty to continue to fight and play his part. (AUDIO: The Innocent) Despite wanting to see the hostilities end, he did not believe peace with the Daleks would ever be possible, (AUDIO: The Heart of the Battle) and would be genuinely surprised when arriving somewhere that hadn't been touched by the fighting. (AUDIO: The Innocent) He instead took peace in the certainty of death being the one dependable constant. (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost) For a while, he wished for his own death, so that he would no longer have to face such choices. (AUDIO: The Innocent, The Heart of the Battle)
The War Doctor could be cagey and cranky, but would return the kind treatment he received from those who did not antagonise him if he was in a good enough mood. (TV: The Day of the Doctor; AUDIO: The Innocent, The Eternity Cage) He was overjoyed to be reunited with Leela, (AUDIO: The Lady of Obsidian) and the two quickly regained their old rhythm of teamwork. (AUDIO: The Enigma Dimension) He also made a point to be nice to fellow soldiers so as to inspire them to continue to survive and fight. (AUDIO: The Neverwhen) While he did not accept acts of gratitude for his actions, he would ask for peace and quiet as a reward when the opportunity presented itself. (AUDIO: The Innocent)
He acknowledged that the Time War had changed him, (PROSE: The Stranger; AUDIO: A Thing of Guile) making him renounce offering chances to his enemies, (COMIC: Kill God) and unable to make the same promises his previous incarnations could, (COMIC: Four Doctors) recognising that his previous selves would hate what he had become, (AUDIO: The Neverwhen) and also reflected how he was a lesser man than his successors, having become great men from the guilt they suffered from his actions. On meeting his future selves, the War Doctor viewed it as his privilege to "light the flame" that would forge their greatness. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
He would also state the facts without thought for niceties or the fear he was spreading. (PROSE: Engines of War; AUDIO: The Innocent, The Eternity Cage, Pretty Lies) He could also be stern, as indicated by his dislike for childlike vocabulary, considering the fact that the Eleventh Doctor used such words as a proof that he was "ashamed of being a grown-up". He berated his future selves for pointing their sonic screwdrivers as weapons, calling the screwdriver a "scientific instrument, not [a] water pistol", though later found himself wielding his screwdriver in a similar fashion against an attacking Dalek. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
The Doctor was tired of the suffering and anarchy the Time War had caused, having lost the will to survive beyond the war and his self-beliefs, but still maintained a whimsical charm, (TV: The Day of the Doctor) being very attached to his TARDIS and overjoyed when reunited with it after an extended period of time separated from his ship. (AUDIO: The Lady of Obsidian) He also addressed the TARDIS as "old girl", did not wish to get his boots dirty in case he made a mess when he stepped in the TARDIS, (PROSE: Engines of War) and reassured Siatak that he would act as an intermediary between the Time Lords and the Voord when the war ended. (COMIC: Four Doctors)
Though the Time War caused the War Doctor to be saddled with much regret, sadness and weighted guilt, he also managed to be cheerful and compassionate with a few moments of witty humour and sarcasm, such as throwing Veklin's rude comments back at her with a laugh, (AUDIO: The Innocent) refusing to identify himself after his interrogator demanded his silence, (AUDIO: The Thousand Worlds) wryly replying that he felt "terrific" when questioned by Jarad, (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost) mocking Kruger's attempt to intimidate him during an interrogation, (AUDIO: The Shadow Vortex) laughing at jokes he accidentally made, (PROSE: The Stranger) telling Cinder they had "places to go, [and] people to see" while joyfully sneaking into Andor, joking that the Eternity Circle of Daleks weren't a circle while drawing an imaginary circle in the air with his finger to demonstrate his point, (PROSE: Engines of War) quipping that it was Lord Bentham's "lucky day" for unknowingly stumbling upon three incarnations of the Doctor at once when Bentham threatened the Doctor for apparently bewitching the Queen, (TV: The Day of the Doctor) and pretending not to know which TARDIS was his as a joke for his successors. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor)
The War Doctor liked cats, (WC: Doctors Assemble!) and books, and also enjoyed with the view from the banks of the Rhine, the ash oceans of Astragard and the pleasure of Cleopatra's court. He found the Tantalus Eye to be breathtakingly beautiful, (PROSE: Engines of War) had fond memories of Marinus as a "lush world of many ecosystems", (COMIC: Four Doctors) and also maintained his old fondness for Earth, (AUDIO: The Innocent) and had good memories of Vildar. He held a great respect for artists and intellectuals, calling the Vildarans "beautiful". (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost)
He would get short-tempered with those he thought were taking too long to think, (PROSE: The Third Wise Man) and also disliked not having the last word in a negotiation. (AUDIO: Eye of Harmony) He also would not stand for being patronised, (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost) and, due to his belief that the dead should stay dead, was horrified to find that the Time Lords had been reviving soldiers to serve as "cannon fodder". (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost)
He enjoyed the fruit juice of Keska, (AUDIO: The Innocent) a good cup of tea, (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost) bananas, (COMIC: The Whole Thing's Bananas) and also considered marshmallows and Earl Grey tea specifically to be amongst the "finer things in life". (PROSE: Engines of War)
Being open-minded, (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost) the War Doctor believed in keeping his word, (AUDIO: The Heart of the Battle) and second chances. (PROSE: Engines of War) While he stood by the right for others to possess free will, (AUDIO: A Thing of Guile) he was willing to strip it away if it meant peace. (AUDIO: The Neverwhen) He also thought that those "who would seek the Godhead must first walk with angels", (COMIC: The Organ Grinder) and countered that "fools seldom differ[ed]" when he heard that "great minds [thought] alike". (COMIC: The Lost Dimension)
Similar to his seventh incarnation, the War Doctor was aware of the need to see the "bigger picture". He knew it would be selfish to undo Cinder's death instead of stopping the Daleks, (PROSE: Engines of War) and that it was entirely proper to sacrifice his people if it would save the universe. (TV: The Day of the Doctor) When his eleventh incarnation questioned him in their time stream on the actions that he had to make during the war, the War Doctor responded by defending those actions as being done "without choice" and "in the name of peace and sanity." (TV: The Name of the Doctor)
Convincing himself to believe he was a different man with different ideals to his predecessors, (AUDIO: A Thing of Guile) the War Doctor was prone to bouts of anger and rage, especially when democracy prevented him from taking action to save lives. (AUDIO: Pretty Lies) He roared in grief for Cinder and the Fifth Time Lord Battle Fleet, and hoisted Karlax by the throat in the air when provoked. (PROSE: Engines of War) He sometimes heard a voice in his head that represented "the Doctor" trying to convince him away from violence, but he forced himself to shut the voice behind a door in his mind. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor)
Unlike his other incarnations, the War Doctor endorsed the use of weapons, holding Dorium Maldovar at gunpoint to coerce his cooperation, (COMIC: The Whole Thing's Bananas) allowing Cinder to bring her gun aboard the TARDIS, using a Temporal Cannon to defend himself from a Dalek, (PROSE: Engines of War) and wielding a gun during the Fall of Arcadia to carve an inscription on a wall. (TV: The Day of the Doctor) He even commented that a gun fitted his hand better than psychic paper did. (COMIC: The Organ Grinder) However, he was known to enter battles unarmed in the Time War, (TV: Hell Bent) expressed dismay at using "doomsday weapons", (COMIC: The Organ Grinder) berated Cinder for pointing her gun at him when he showed no hostilities, (PROSE: Engines of War) and had a reluctance to have weapons aboard the TARDIS, owing to the fact "she [did]n't like them". (TV: The Day of the Doctor; PROSE: Engines of War)
The Doctor could react mercilessly to a situation, such as showing delight at the sight of Daleks being killed by a chronic tripwire, (COMIC: Four Doctors) killing Lara Zannis by un-writing her existence, (AUDIO: The Shadow Vortex) boiling Kaled mutants alive, attempting to subject a Dalek to a Temporal Cannon, leaving Karlax to his own death after Cinder's murder, (PROSE: Engines of War) and unceremoniously mowing down attacking Daleks with his TARDIS. (TV: The Day of the Doctor) He was also willing to abandon others if they provided no tactful advantage, almost leaving Dalek prisoners to their fates until Cinder convinced him to liberate them. (PROSE: Engines of War) While he still felt grief for the pain he inflicted and guilt for the lives he had to take, the Doctor did not allow his feelings to deter him from his objective to end the war, (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor) and felt despair when he found out the consequences of his hard decisions were undone. (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost, The Enigma Dimension)
However, he believed that mercy was a strength and valued life above all else. (PROSE: Engines of War) He vehemently opposed the murder of any sentient being, (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost) apart from the Daleks, (AUDIO: The Heart of the Battle) arguing at length with about closing the Tantalus Eye, as the result would be genocide on the lives within the Tantalus Spiral in the ensuing destruction. (PROSE: Engines of War) He also hesitated to destroy Gallifrey when forced to think of the innocent children he would kill as a result. (TV: The Day of the Doctor) He refused to kill Project K006 out of pity, (AUDIO: A Thing of Guile) and was unwilling to follow a plan that would have resulted in the Daleks wiping out the Sontarans. (AUDIO: The Eternity Cage)
Despite focusing on the grand scale, the Doctor still had his limits, and would try to employ less "extreme" and more "harmless" measures whenever he could, aiming to allow himself to be the sole casualty of his plans, (AUDIO: A Thing of Guile; COMIC: The Organ Grinder, The Whole Thing's Bananas) and constantly tried to have the Time Lords avoid using dubious and lunatic tactics to win the War. (AUDIO: The Heart of the Battle, Legion of the Lost; COMIC: The Bidding War) He was appalled by the depths Rassilon and the High Council had sunk to in the Time War, and was both outraged and disgusted when he found out Rassilon had retro-evolved Borusa into a possibility engine. (PROSE: Engines of War)
As he continued to try and minimise the damage caused by the crossfires of the Time War, the Doctor would work to save as many lives as he could, (AUDIO: A Thing of Guile, The Neverwhen, The Eternity Cage; COMIC: Kill God) while ensuring that no one sacrificed their lives in vain. (AUDIO: The Innocent, The Heart of the Battle, Legion of the Lost; PROSE: Decoy)
Due to the horrors he had seen, the Doctor would often speak in a monotone voice when dealing with individuals he had no interest in, (PROSE: The Third Wise Man) even forgetting people with "forgettable face[s]" when they were stood in front of him. He was accustomed to people looking upon him with terror, (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor) and accepted that the Daleks' schemes for victory would become more hideous and overblown with each attempt. (AUDIO: The Thousand Worlds)
The Doctor also displayed a confident recklessness, as he considered politely asking a Dalek to take him and Cinder prisoner to infiltrate Andor, approached a Dalek flying saucer with the intention of walking on board instead of sneaking on, decided his way around the Dalek saucer with "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe", and confidently walked out to meet the Eternity Circle after asking some Dalek soldiers to "take [him] to [their] leader". (PROSE: Engines of War)
Despite being more concerned with the Time War than defending the rest of the universe, the War Doctor still cared and was willing to help out when necessary. He aided his other incarnations in stopping the Type 1 TARDIS from consuming the universe, (COMIC: The Lost Dimension) and helped his tenth and eleventh incarnations in defeating a Zygon plot, coming up with the idea that let them get into the TARDIS-proofed Tower of London and helping them wipe everyone's memories to ensure peace. He was also shown to be pleased that the outcome of the situation was diplomacy rather than destruction. Upon learning that he had a chance to save Gallifrey rather than destroy it, the War Doctor became elated, blowing a joyful kiss to the Moment, and took solace in restoring his right to be called the Doctor. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
While he enjoyed watching them "[work] together to solve a problem", (WC: Doctors Assemble!) the War Doctor did not reflect fondly on his predecessors, believing them to be "posturing, prancing fool[s]" who "lived for the thrill of stepping through a door and seeing all [the] faces turn towards [them] in hope and wonder". (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor) He especially demonised his fourth incarnation for not having "the guts to do what was necessary" when his hesitation to destroy them ensured the creation of the Daleks, (PROSE: Engines of War) but praised his sixth incarnation for his cleverness. (WC: Doctors Assemble!)
Seeing him as "foolish", (AUDIO: Light the Flame) the War Doctor had a low opinion of his eighth incarnation, viewing him as a "romantic idiot", (COMIC: The Lost Dimension) who had the arrogance to "[mistake] himself for a hero" and make jokes at often inappropriate times, (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor) though he did admire him for being a "romantic hero with hope." (AUDIO: Light the Flame)
The War Doctor was critical at first of his tenth and eleventh incarnations, finding them to be very childish and ashamed to be grownups, and branding them a "midlife crisis". (TV: The Day of the Doctor) As a consequence of their youthful appearance, the War Doctor had at first believed them to be children playing dress up, and their sonic screwdrivers to be magic wands. He also had difficulty telling the two apart. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor) He was particularly critical of the Eleventh Doctor, disliking his use of the phrase "timey wimey" and his inability to talk without flapping his hands around, while also criticising the Tenth Doctor's footwear and the Eleventh Doctor's bow tie. (TV: The Day of the Doctor) He was particularly annoyed by the apparent lack of dignity and wisdom they showed, likening them both to presenters of Blue Peter. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor) However, after watching them use their guilt from the Time War to broker peace between UNIT and the Zygons, his opinion of them changed for the better, as he described them as "extraordinary men" to the Moment. When leaving for his own time stream, he considered meeting his future selves "an honour and a privilege", a compliment they returned to him. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
While the Eleventh Doctor tried to remember his war incarnation as "the slaughterer of billions", when standing before him, he reflected that the War Doctor was "kind, and brave, and hurt", and had never been "a warrior in his hearts". (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor)
Contrary to his other incarnations, the War Doctor did not take on companions unless it was absolutely necessary, or they proved to be capable of defending themselves, instead taking comfort in the sound of the TARDIS control console. (PROSE: Engines of War) He claimed to Rejoice that he also chose not to take on companions due to his dislike of them asking questions. (AUDIO: The Innocent)
Despite having a rocky start to their relationship, the Doctor grew to genuinely care for Cinder and tried to force her away from him, worried that he wouldn't be able to protect her from the Time War. When she did indeed meet her demise while protecting him, the Doctor became tempted to use a possibility engine to undo her death, but instead decided to honour her sacrifice by using the engine to destroy the Daleks. He later hunted down her home to give her a proper burial with her family. Cinder's death proved to be the last straw for the Doctor, who swore he would end the Time War in her memory. (PROSE: Engines of War)
While he was willing to frighten them to ensure they understood the severity of the war, the Doctor was highly protective of young children. He encouraged Gahnna by telling him that his fear pushed him to achieve, (PROSE: The Stranger) and hesitated to use the Moment when it pointed out that he would also slaughter the children on Gallifrey. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
The Doctor was afraid of the powers and capabilities of the Daleks, and the possibility that the Time War would continue after the defeat of the Daleks, with the Time Lords becoming warlike enough to find a different enemy to fight in the Daleks' place. (AUDIO: The Enigma Dimension) He also believed the Daleks to be even more arrogant than the Time Lords. (PROSE: Engines of War)
He voiced a continual dislike for working for the Time Lords, claiming he preferred to fight the war on his own terms, (AUDIO: The Innocent, The Thousand Worlds, A Thing of Guile, The Neverwhen) and believed that their dedication to order and discipline made them no different than the Daleks, (AUDIO: The Thousand Worlds) especially when they tried to justify the killing of "lesser beings" in the crossfires of the war. (PROSE: Engines of War; AUDIO: The Heart of the Battle) He was particularly "disgusted" to be on "the same side" as Ollistra (AUDIO: The Heart of the Battle) and . (PROSE: Engines of War)
While the Eleventh General considered him a "mad fool", Clara Oswald, when distinguishing him from the Doctor's other incarnations, described the War Doctor as "the warrior". (TV: The Day of the Doctor) The Squire recalled how the War Doctor carried "pathos" with him, (COMIC: The Then and the Now) but noted that he was still a "noble warrior". (COMIC: Outrun) Ollistra, however, believed that, instead of being a "man of war", the War Doctor sometimes allowed himself to think of himself as a "compassionate man with high moral standards", (AUDIO: The Heart of the Battle) though the War Master commentated how the War Doctor's "morals [were] entreatingly fluid". (COMIC: The One) Co-ordinator Jarad considered the Doctor a "wily old fox" who could out-think everyone. (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost)
Rojan, after seeing the War Doctor's elderly face, felt that he "wasn't a man who found much joy in life." (PROSE: The Stranger) Artarix, when gazing at the Doctor's Auton duplicate, felt that he "bore the weight of regret" of being "a man who had been forced to become the very thing he despised". (PROSE:Decoy)
Due to the severity of the war, the Doctor was convinced there was no future beyond the conflict, (TV: The Day of the Doctor; COMIC: The Organ Grinder) and did not mind if he died whilst fighting in the Time War, (COMIC: Kill God) having resigned himself to death "the moment [he] entered [the] war", (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost) and would put himself in situations that he had a low chance of surviving in, (AUDIO: The Innocent) with the mind-set that he would "[go] out fighting". (PROSE: Engines of War) However, he stated he had a reluctance to die at Collis's hand, (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost) and that he did not wish to become a martyr. (AUDIO: Eye of Harmony) He claimed that the only thing that was worth living for was the thought of the lives he had saved. (AUDIO: Pretty Lies)
Upon noticing his regeneration starting, the War Doctor showed no fear of the change, (TV: The Day of the Doctor) despite once describing regeneration as a "trauma", (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost) due to having held back the process for "years". (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor) Instead, he noted how old he had grown, hoping his successor's ears would be "less conspicuous", and facing the end with an immense grin on his face in his last moments. However, due to the timelines not being synchronised, the Doctor believed he had destroyed Gallifrey, committing genocide against the Time Lords and the Daleks. (TV: The Day of the Doctor) As such, the War Doctor's memory was known to stare sombrely in the Doctor's time stream, (TV: The Name of the Doctor) not even defending his action to Es'Cartrss in the T'keyn Nexus, (COMIC: Dead's Man Hand) until the true outcome of the Time War was revealed to the Eleventh Doctor, allowing the memory of the War Doctor to stand proudly with his other incarnations. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
=== Habits and quirks ===
The War Doctor made a habit of incorporating "no more" into his dialogue and thought process, (TV: The Night of the Doctor, The Day of the Doctor; PROSE: Engines of War, The Day of the Doctor; AUDIO: The Eternity Cage; COMIC: Ambush) and justifying his actions as being done in "the name of peace and sanity." (TV: The Name of the Doctor; COMIC: First Rule, Kill God, Fast Asleep) 
He also made a habit of uttering "damn", usually as a sign of frustration or when things did not meet his satisfaction. (PROSE: Engines of War; AUDIO: The Innocent, The Thousand Worlds, The Heart of the Battle, A Thing of Guile, The Neverwhen, Eye of Harmony, Pretty Lies, The Enigma Dimension, Light the Flame)
Much to the confusion of his fellow Time Lords, the Doctor was prone to referring to Earth idioms and phrases. (PROSE: Engines of War; AUDIO: The Innocent, The Thousand Worlds, A Thing of Guile, The Neverwhen, Pretty Lies, The Enigma Dimension)
The War Doctor would often stand with his arms folded behind his back. (TV: The Day of the Doctor; PROSE: Engines of War; COMIC: The Organ Grinder) When standing between two people engaging in conversation, such as his tenth and eleventh incarnations, the War Doctor would turn his head to face the one that was speaking, even if it meant turning his head back-and-forth continuously. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
=== Skills ===
The War Doctor had a strong knowledge of warfare tactics, (AUDIO: The Innocent, The Neverwhen, The Eternity Cage, Pretty Lies) and could deduce a person's history from sheer observation. (AUDIO: The Shadow Vortex) He could also deduce the height and weight of people and locations on sight, (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor ) and had a keen grasp on his surroundings, enough to know when he was being observed from behind. (AUDIO: The Innocent; PROSE: The Day of the Doctor)
The Doctor had a knack for gaining authority over others, being able to gain entry into secure locations by acting as if he was in charge, (AUDIO: The Shadow Vortex) and securing his entrance into Time Vault Zero by barking orders about a break-in at the guard until she was convinced to let him in. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor) Even so, he favoured direct action over feigning authority. (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost)
Though he told Cinder he "was not good with long-term plans", and preferred "winging it", (PROSE: Engines of War) the Doctor was able to think of effective stratagems in preparation for battle, (AUDIO: The Eternity Cage) sometimes seeing a hidden solution after he paced his thinking. (TV: The Day of the Doctor) with the Squire remembering him as "always [having] a plan". (COMIC: The One) Indeed, the Doctor had the foresight on one occasion to surrender to the Daleks, knowing that they would bring him where he wanted to go instead of exterminating him on the spot. He also put a fail-safe on the TARDIS control console that caused his ship to materialise around him in the event that Karlax attempted to hijack it after his regeneration. (PROSE: Engines of War)
Even in his last years, the War Doctor was spritely athletic, being able to outrun a squadron of Daleks ahead of Cinder, and immediately start a daunting climb up a wall afterwards, as well as being capable of dodging a Dalek gunstick at close range. He was also stronger than he appeared, hoisting Karlax in the air by his throat in retaliation for using the mind probe on Cinder and knocked out a Battle TARDIS pilot with a single right hook punch. (PROSE: Engines of War)
The Doctor was also an impressive marksman, able to inscribe "NO MORE" onto a wall with a fusion blaster, and keep his aim despite a battle taking place around him, (TV: The Day of the Doctor) and wield a Temporal Cannon against a Dalek. (PROSE: Engines of War) He was even able to quickly review the effectiveness of a firearm after close examination. (AUDIO: Pretty Lies) However, like his predecessors, the War Doctor was better known for his ability to defeat enemies without employing weapons, though, rather than show his enemies mercy, he would kill them outright, as indicated by Gastron. (TV: Hell Bent)
He was skilled at hacking into the Daleks' databanks, (PROSE: Engines of War) as well as the Technomancer equivalent of a computer. (AUDIO: Legion of the Lost)
He was also able to determine the way casualties on a battlefield were killed by studying their corpses. (COMIC: The Organ Grinder)
He could detect nitrogen in the air by scent. (AUDIO: A Thing of Guile)
Due to his third incarnation watching stunt pilots with the Brigadier, the War Doctor was able to pilot his TARDIS through a series of manoeuvres with ease. (PROSE: Engines of War)
He could understand Dalek writing "to a degree". (PROSE: Engines of War)
The War Doctor could judge a person's character quickly, almost instinctively knowing who he should ally himself with, (AUDIO: The Shadow Vortex; PROSE: The Day of the Doctor) and recognising when someone wasn't a murderer (PROSE: Engines of War) or was acting out of fear instead of malice. (AUDIO: The Shadow Vortex)
He could assess his surroundings with ease, easily determining that the power pack of Cinder's makeshift gun was empty and the weapon useless, (PROSE: Engines of War) knowing the equipment others had on them by observing their use of technology, (AUDIO: The Innocent) ruling out the Moment's interface as a hologram by observing their surroundings, and determining the year as the 1560s by studying his location. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor)
The War Doctor was capable of resisting a regeneration from old age for several years through willpower alone. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor)
== Appearance ==
At the start of his life, the War Doctor had a stern and determined face, green-brown eyes and messy brown hair. Though he started off clean shaven, (TV: The Night of the Doctor) he let his stubble grow (COMIC: Ambush) until he grew a full brown Van Dyke beard. (COMIC: The Lost Dimension)
Ultimately, after spending "a very long time" fighting in the Time War, (TV: The Day of the Doctor) he became jaded and tired, his beard and hair having turned a haunting silver-grey, and with pronounced wrinkles on his craggy, careworn face, (TV: The Name of the Doctor) making him resemble a man in his seventies. (PROSE: Engines of War) However, Clara Oswald noticed his eyes were younger than those of his future selves, in that they were more hopeful. (TV: The Day of the Doctor) He slicked up his hair in peaks at the top of his head, (TV: The Name of the Doctor) and his deep, distinctive voice became well-known amongst the people aware of the Time War, (AUDIO: Pretty Lies) with the Tenth Doctor noting how it was "posh, [and] gravelly". (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
The War Doctor thought his ears to be "conspicuous", voicing to himself his hope that those of his next incarnation would be less so as his regeneration approached. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
Rojan felt the War Doctor looked like he "had been living rough for a long time", (PROSE: The Stranger) and Clara observed that he "seemed to carry the smoke of battle with him". (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor)
In his "twilight years", the War Doctor was observed by the Tenth Doctor as looking "small and frail, and afraid", as opposed to "someone to inspire dread", with the Eleventh Doctor seeing him as "broken, and humble." (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor) The War Doctor's aged appearance led his eleventh incarnation to jokingly codename him "Granddad." (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
=== Clothing ===
==== Main attire ====
The War Doctor wore some double-breasted trenchcoats of leather with peaked lapels done in coal black, (AUDIO: Lion Hearts) walnut brown, (COMIC: The Clockwise War) wood brown, (COMIC: Ambush) cinnamon brown, (COMIC: The Lost Dimension) ebony black, (COMIC: The Whole Thing's Bananas) chestnut brown, (COMIC: Four Doctors) caramel brown, (COMIC: First Rule), or chocolate brown. (PROSE: Engines of War) With each he wore a double breasted moleskin waistcoat with a shawl collar in either ginger, (COMIC: The Clockwise War) mustard yellow, (COMIC: Fast Asleep) caramel brown, (COMIC: The Whole Thing's Bananas) dark copper, (COMIC: Four Doctors) or dark maroon; (TV: The Name of the Doctor) each with 10 brass buttons and a double fob chain of bronze attached to it. Under each he wore a shirt done in plain khaki, (COMIC: The Clockwise War) or bone pinstripe. (TV: The Name of the Doctor) He also wore dark tan corduroy trousers, a box-frame belt with several fastener pins and studded pinholes, and black or brown combat boots adorned with gaiters, which had a few buttons missing, coloured in gingerbread brown, (COMIC: The Clockwise War), taupe, (COMIC: Ambush) charcoal grey, (COMIC: The Organ Grinder) ash grey. (COMIC: Four Doctors) or army green. 
For neckwear, the Doctor wore a scarf with either a vermillion and alabaster ikat style, (AUDIO: Lion Hearts), a beige design, (COMIC: The Clockwise War) a crimson colouring, (COMIC: Ambush) shaded in eggplant purple, (COMIC: The Lost Dimension) long and white, (COMIC: The Whole Thing's Bananas) bronze brown, (COMIC: Four Doctors) plain scarlet, or knitted in a burgundy and ivory herringbone pattern. (TV: The Name of the Doctor)
His oldest article of dress was a bandolier of dark brown leather with brass plating across his left shoulder, taken from the body of Cass Fermazzi immediately after he came into being. (TV: The Night of the Doctor) He housed his sonic screwdriver in the bandolier, securing it in a pocket that rested on the far left side of his chest. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
The chocolate brown trenchcoat, the maroon waistcoat, the bone pinstripe shirt, the burgundy and ivory herringbone scarf, and the army green gaiters were among the clothes the War Doctor wore in the Battle for the Tantalus Eye, (PROSE: Engines of War) and right up to his death after the 1562/2013 Zygon Invasion of Earth and the Fall of Gallifrey. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
==== Other clothes ====
During a rescue mission to Rovidia, the Doctor adopted a robed appearance to blend in with the Rovidians, justifying the simplicity of the disguise due to the Rovidians being "simple people". (AUDIO: The Eternity Cage)
== Behind the scenes ==
=== Information from invalid sources ===
* The War Doctor was described as having "the look of a battle-hardened warrior" by Strax in Strax Field Report: The Doctor's Greatest Secret, which is not accepted as a valid source for in-universe articles on this wiki.
=== John Hurt's age ===
* John Hurt, aged 73 when he first appeared on-screen in The Name of the Doctor, is the oldest actor to portray the Doctor upon their debut appearance. The second oldest are First Doctor actor William Hartnell and Twelfth Doctor actor Peter Capaldi, who were both 55-years-old when they made their debut appearances, with Capaldi being several months older than Hartnell. Additionally, Richard Hurndall and David Bradley were 73 and 75, respectively, when they played the First Doctor on television. Unlike Hurt, however, they were playing an incarnation whose portrayal had already been established by another actor, namely Hartnell.
* Though John Hurt was 73 when he debuted as the War Doctor, special effects were used to blend archive material of Hurt from earlier in his life to depict the War Doctor in a reflection after the Eighth Doctor's regeneration. The archive image for the young War Doctor was from the BBC's 1979 TV series Crime and Punishment, episode one, in which a 39-year-old John Hurt played Rodion Raskolnikov. (REF: DWMSE 38) The BBC itself later revealed which shot it was.BBC page about Russian novel adaptationsJohn Hurt (1940 - 2017)
** According to Emma Campbell-Joneshttp://twitter.com/ohmissjones/status/447565901265924096, Eighth Doctor actor Paul McGann played the newly regenerated War Doctor in the scene where he takes Cass's bandolier after the regeneration. This makes McGann the second actor to play two incarnations of the Doctor since Seventh Doctor actor Sylvester McCoy briefly played the Sixth Doctor for the regeneration sequence in Time and the Rani after Colin Baker refused to take part.
* The War Doctor bears the distinction of being the Doctor whose actor passed away in the shortest amount of time after his debut, as John Hurt incurred an on-and-off bout with pancreatic cancer in the years to follow his appearances in the television series and audio stories, succumbing to it in early 2017. This does not include Richard Hurndall, who passed away just four months after stepping into the role of the already existing First Doctor in The Five Doctors.
=== Place in the line-up ===
* The War Doctor's existence and numberless designation was a workaround to Ninth Doctor actor Christopher Eccleston's decline to participate in The Day of the Doctor. Since the Eighth Doctor had not been shown regenerating into the Ninth Doctor, it left the door open for another incarnation of the Doctor to theoretically exist between the two. As such, Steven Moffat appealed to John Hurt to take up the role because of his famous reputation among British actors, and he also liked the concept of a "mayfly Doctor". This caused a permanent disruption in the numbering of the Doctor's incarnations and ultimately accelerated the timetable on his regeneration cycle to be dealt with when Matt Smith left the series in The Time of the Doctor.
* Excluding the pre-existing "Morbius" and "Merlin" Doctors, the War Doctor was the first incarnation of the Doctor to be introduced retroactively, initially existing to serve as a supporting character.
* The time period between the broadcasts of the War Doctor's incoming and outgoing regeneration scenes is the shortest of all the Doctor's incarnations. His regeneration from the Eighth Doctor in The Night of the Doctor and his regeneration into the Ninth Doctor in The Day of the Doctor were broadcast just nine days apart.
* In the short story Doctor Who and the Time War, written by Russell T Davies, originally scheduled for release in 2013 but ultimately released in 2020 as a prequel to television story Rose as part of the Doctor Who: Lockdown! watch-along series due to worldwide outbreak of COVID-19, completely ignored the existence of the War Doctor due to Davies having had no knowledge of neither the war incarnation, nor the television story The Night of the Doctor, at the time it was written. As such, the Eighth Doctor regenerated directly into the Ninth Doctor in that story, with Davies offering the explanation on Instagram that the story is a "glimpse of parallel events"https://www.instagram.com/p/B-M0Y2ynZIR/ and stating on the author's commentary of the story's original upload on the BBC website that "all stories are true".
=== Other matters ===
* The Doctor is never named during The Night of the Doctor itself, but is described as the "War Doctor" in the end credits and on the official BBC website. John Hurt is listed as one of the actors playing "The Doctor" in the end credits of The Day of the Doctor and is billed as "The Other Doctor" in Radio Times and the scripts. (DWMSE 38) His Character Options action figure is labelled "The Other Doctor," and his Character Options sonic screwdriver toy is labelled "the Other Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver", while the subtitles on The Day of the Doctor refer to him as the "Old Doctor". In a complete Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special draft, the War Doctor calls himself "the Renegade."
* When the War Doctor's costume was initially added to the display of Doctor outfits in The Doctor Who Experience, the bandoleer was incorrectly displayed over the right shoulder instead of the left.
* The War Doctor was the first of the incarnations of the Doctor introduced in the BBC Wales-produced series of Doctor Who to appear in Big Finish Productions.
== External links ==
== Footnotes ==
cs:Válečný Doktor
cy:Doctor Rhyfel
de:Kriegs-Doctor
es:Doctor Guerrero
fr:Docteur de la Guerre
he:דוקטור המלחמה
it:Dottore Guerriero
pl:Doktor Wojny
pt:Doctor da Guerra
ru:Доктор-Воин
 
Category:Warriors
Category:Individual Time Lords
Category:Incarnations of the Doctor
Category:War veterans
Category:Biologically modified individuals
Category:Combatants in the Last Great Time War
Category:Renegade Time Lords
Category:Thieves
Category:Prisoners
Category:War criminals
Category:Time Lords who have witnessed regeneration
Category:Murderers
Category:Individual time travellers
Category:Doctors who regenerated without companions