The Power (comic story)

The Power was a comic story published in Doctor Who Annual 1979. It featured the Fourth Doctor and Leela.
== Summary ==
On the planet Shem, a mysterious unseen force called "the Power" binds together three diverse sentient humanoid lifeforms; a race with monkey-like faces, a three-armed race called the Monashem, and a race of winged warriors called the Ragashem. The ruler of Shem alone knows the secret of the Power. Azu, Supreme Ruler of all Shem, has died, leaving the crown to his daughter, Princess Azula. The tribes of Shem have gathered for Azula's coronation, but at the coronation the leaders of the other two races, Orga and Zig, make a bid for the Power, and combat breaks out. But one guest is late in arriving - the Doctor. The Fourth Doctor and Leela find themselves thrown into the midst of a conflict. The contestants: Orga, leader of the Monashem, Zig, leader of the Ragashem, and Azula, heir to the throne of Shem. The prize - the Power!
== Plot ==
Conflict breaks out at the coronation of Princess Azula as Supreme Ruler of Shem. The Doctor's TARDIS materialises in the midst of the melee, allowing Zig to slay Orga, leader of the Monashem, and Azula to escape, aided by her champion. When the Fourth Doctor asks what is going on, Zig declares that he is now ruler of all Shem, and that he will put the Doctor and Leela on trial. But this trial is a "nightmarish perversion of justice degdged up from the depths of Zig's power-mad brain." Concluding that the TARDIS is proof that the Doctor has access to the Power, Zig tells the Doctor that unless he divulges the secret of the Power, he will be found guilty, and Leela will be fed to the Porgs - deadly Shemian fighting swine with specially sharpened teeth. The trial itself involves the Doctor being cast into a pit where he faces "the prosecution" - giant savages armed with iron hammers. While there are too many for the Doctor to fight off, he is reminded by Zig's words that he has on his person an anti-gravity belt. Meanwhile, Azula decides that she will return to save the Doctor.
Zig is about the release the Porgs, but just in time, the Doctor flies out of the pit, awkwardly trying to manouever using the anti-gravity belt. Seeing him in flight, Zig takes to the skies with his own wings and has no trouble catching the Doctor, soon getting his sword at the Doctor's neck, but Azula returns in time to distract Zig with a book containing the secrets of the Power, which she declares was of her father to keep it from the people. She will give the secret of the Power to everyone, believing that it is the only way that peace can be brought to the warring tribes of Shem.
Not wanting to share the Power, Zig swoops towards the Princess with his sword upraised to strike her down, but the Doctor diverts the anti-gravity beam of the belt into Zig's flight path, blasting him away from the Princess and into the pit where the "prosecution" are, with Zig swiftly meeting his end. With Zig and Orga dead, the coronation can at last take place, and Azula tells the people, "This book holds the secret, but the Power itself is in each and every one of you. Use the Power wisely, and with love we shall all prosper together. Long live Shem!" The Shemites hail their new ruler.
== Characters ==
* Fourth Doctor
* Leela
* Azula
* Orga
* Zig
== Worldbuilding ==
to be added
== Notes ==
* The Doctor is called "Dr. Who" in a caption when first leaving the TARDIS.
* "The Power" bears more than a passing resemblance to "The Force" as described in the Star Wars films, first released two years prior in in 1977.
* On 1 December 2022 an audio reading of this story was released as part the anthology Dead on Arrival & Other Stories, adapted by Paul Magrs.
== Continuity ==
to be added
Category:Fourth Doctor comic stories
Category:1978 comic stories
Category:DWAN comic stories
Category:One part comics