Doctor Who has its fair share of strong characters, especially since they can originate from just about anywhere (and anywhen) in space and time. The show's protagonist Time Lord, the Doctor, shows mental strength as he uses his intelligence and determination to battle foes. The Doctor's companions also have to possess courage and be quick-thinking in the face of danger.

However, the strongest characters in the show vary from the Doctor's companions and allies to, of course, the most fearsome enemies. There are all sorts of factors that go into a character's power. They might be unstoppable, possess a genius intellect, or have unique powers of their own. Whatever makes them strong, there are plenty of creatures with a claim to being the strongest character in Doctor Who.

Updated on 12th January, 2024 by Fawzia Khan: With its sci-fi and fantasy premise, Doctor Who is full of powerful beings who have wild and wonderful strengths. Time Lords, Weeping Angels, and Cybermen are only some of the Doctor Who characters who can achieve the impossible with their abilities. This list has been updated to include even more information about the strongest Doctor Who characters.

15 Sontarans Are Bred To Fight

An army of Sontarans in Doctor Who: Flux.

First Appearance

Strengths

Weakness

Season 11, Episode 1 "The Time Warrior" (1973)

Optimized for war, No fear

Coronic acid, Attack to the vent on the back of the neck

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Sontarans are a cloned race of super-strong soldiers. They exist for no other reason than waging war on the galaxy. Every part of Sontaran culture revolves around honorable and glorious combat. The Sontarans have great weapons, including advanced technology, a love of battle, and almost endless numbers from their cloning-based reproduction.

The Sontarans' skills are best exemplified in Strax, who is a frequent ally of the Doctor. He's survived numerous lethal adventures and faced down many foes. However, he's far from the only dangerous Sontaran. Other members of the race, like General Stahl, have come close to wiping out humanity on numerous occasions.

14 Silurians Are Intelligent And Deadly

Restatic the Silurian pointing a gun in Doctor Who

First Appearance

Strengths

Weakness

Season 7, Episode 5 "Doctor Who and the Silurians" (1970)

Speed, Animal and Plant Control, Intelligence

Humans

Silurians are a resilient reptilian species that predate humanity and have spent eons hibernating under the Earth. They're as intelligent as humans, but they have superior development and technology. In a direct conflict between Earth's two native species, humans rarely come out on top.

Silurians are less omnicidal than many of the Doctor's worst foes. They are capable of compassion and cooperation. However, they have a suspicious culture and a distrust of humans. To make them even more dangerous, they are unstoppable when they think they're under attack. The Silurians are one of the strongest species in Doctor Who thanks to their fierce nature mixed with genuine rationality.

13 Zygons Are Telepathic Shapeshifters

Zygons and clones from Doctor Who

First Appearance

Strengths

Weakness

Season 13, Episode 1 "Terror of the Zygons" (1975)

Replicating the form of other species, Telepathy

Fire, Hypnosis by a clock's pendulum

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Zygons are not only physically strong, but they are shape shifters who can perfectly replicate other species (including humans and animals). They also have large bodies covered in suckers, venomous barbs on their palms, and venom sacs in their tongues. Zygons are the ultimate deceivers, able to use telepathy to steal the physical form of someone from their target's memory.

This telepathy means Zygons can secretly infiltrate human society or pose as influential figures. They've demonstrated this capability several times, such as impersonating Elizabeth I in "The Day of the Doctor". Between their physical prowess and the possibilities posed by perfect infiltration, the Zygons are a clear threat to Earth.

12 The Silence Have The Perfect Defense Mechanism And Can Warp Human Minds

First Appearance

Strengths

Weakness

Season 6, Episode 1 "The Impossible Astronaut" (2011)

Hide in plain sight, Influence

The Doctor

"The Impossible Astronaut" introduces the Silence to Doctor Who, one of the creepiest characters on the show. They're like many of the Doctor's foes, with one key difference: they're not invaders. The Silence have occupied the Earth for thousands of years, living unseen amongst the human population.

A person forgets about the Silence when they look away from one of its members. Even information about them slowly fades from people's minds. This lets them hide in plain sight, but also comes with another benefit. The Silence can implant suggestions that people carry out when they look away. Ultimately, the only way the Doctor can defeat them is to use this ability against them.

11 Jack Harkness Physically Cannot Die

First Appearance

Strengths

Weakness

Season 1, Episode 9 "The Empty Child" (2005)

Immortality

Feels pain, still

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Jack Harkness is introduced in Doctor Who as an ordinary mortal man. He's quick-witted, capable in a fight, and intelligent, but not extraordinary. But when the Bad Wolf brings him back to life, he takes on a distinctly more supernatural quality.

The Bad Wolf overcorrects and makes Jack incapable of dying. Whatever happens to him, he wakes back up a short time after. This makes him an immensely capable hero, but also has some downsides. Jack can still be trapped, and it doesn't completely stop him from aging. He also becomes, in the far future, the Face of Boe.

10 The Doctor-Donna Is Brilliant And Unique

Donna Noble as the Doctor-Donna in Doctor Who

First Appearance

Strengths

Weakness

Season 2, Episode 13 "Doomsday" (2006)

Time Lord intellect

A human body

The Doctor-Donna is a unique being, formed through an unprecedented mixture of a human body and Time Lord intellect. Donna touches the Doctor's severed hand — still filled with regeneration energy — and turns herself into a hybrid of the two races.

The Doctor-Donna is the only being able to stop the Daleks in "Journey's End," mixing Donna's ingenuity with the Doctor's mind. She demonstrates power beyond that, but a human body cannot handle a biological metacrisis with a Time Lord, and the Doctor has to wipe Donna's memory to stop her from burning herself out in a tragic Doctor Who ending.

9 Professor River Song Mixes Brain, Brawn, And Beauty

First Appearance

Strengths

Weakness

Season 4, Episode 8 "Silence in the Library" (2008)

Conceived in the TARDIS, Regenerations

The Doctor

Professor River Song is the complete package: sassy, intelligent, and brave. She demonstrates mental and physical strength as a logical-thinking archeologist with combat and weaponry skills. She's one of the most morally grey of the Doctor's regular companions. She isn't afraid to kill enemies in her path, and she deceives people as easily as she breathes.

River also has unique power due to being conceived in the TARDIS. She's part Time Lord and has many of that race's enhanced abilities. Even when she burns through the rest of her regenerations, she remains the Doctor's most deadly companion and one of Doctor Who's most powerful characters. The way River met the Doctor also proves how precocious she is.

8 The Cybermen Are An Upgraded Version Of Humanity

Cybermen attacking a party in Doctor Who.

First Appearance

Strengths

Weakness

Season 4, Episode 5 "The Tenth Planet" (1966)

Feel no fear or pain

Gold

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The Cybermen are one of the Doctor's most prolific foes. They show up time and time again across countless Doctor Who stories. Their cybernetically "improved" human bodies lack fear or pain and are much stronger and more lethal than humanity.

Cybermen carry a number of innate weapons, ranging from lasers to the ability to electrocute people. They're also immune to bullets and many other types of weapons. However, they're most threatening for their relentless tenacity. The Cybermen have evolved countless times independently, and try to spread across the universe and upgrade all other life every time.

7 The Beast Is An All-Knowing Ancient Demon

The Beast raging in front of the Doctor in Doctor Who

First Appearance

Strengths

Weakness

Season 2, Episode 8 "The Impossible Planet" (2006)

Brainwashing, Possession, Telepathy, Telekinesis, Pyrokinesis, Immortality, Shapeshifting

The Doctor

In "The Impossible Planet," the Doctor comes across a being he can't quite explain. The Beast is an enormous being that claims to predate the universe, trapped underneath a planet orbiting a black hole. It might be the inspiration for the devil figure present in every religion in the universe, and it is able to influence every living being.

However, the Beast's power has limits. It's weak enough to be trapped on Krop Tor by a group known as the Disciples of Light. Furthermore, despite its claims of immense strength, it can be killed. Its body and spirit separately fall into Krop Tor's black hole, which appears to destroy it utterly.

6 The Weeping Angels Are Cruel Survivalists

First Appearance

Strengths

Weakness

Season 3, Episode 10 "Blink" (2007)

Hunt when unseen, Send people back in time, and steal energy

Human sight, Looking at each other

The Weeping Angels have a highly effective defense mechanism: they turn to stone when observed by any living creature. This allows the Weeping Angels to exist almost undetected by other species. They hunt other beings by stalking them unseen. A single touch from a Weeping Angel is enough to send a person back in time and trap them there.

The Weeping Angels have some clear weaknesses. They have no control over turning to stone. When two Weeping Angels look at each other, they trap each other for eternity. However, their natural predatory skills, as well as supernatural powers like creating new Weeping Angels from pictures, make them one of the Doctor's most terrifying foes.

5 The Daleks Are Ruthless And Lack Emotion

First Appearance

Strengths

Weakness

Season 2, Episode 5 "The Daleks" (1964)

Death Ray, Indestructible body

Limited visual field, Delicate inner bodies

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Daleks are the Doctor's greatest foe, apart from The Master. No matter how many times The Doctor defeats them, the Daleks always manage to survive. Their tenacity is matched only by their martial prowess. A Dalek's body is near-indestructible, and their weapons can kill most living creatures in a single hit.

The Daleks' ambition, scale, and advanced technology also amplify how powerful they are. Many of the Doctor's foes are dangerous to just the Doctor, or to Earth. The Daleks, at several points in their timeline, have been an active threat to the entire universe.

4 Rassilon Leads Gallifrey From The Shadows

Rassilon as the leader of Gallifrey in Doctor Who.

First Appearance

Strengths

Weakness

Season 20, Episode 23 The Five Doctors (1983)

Electro-direction (lightning powers), Regeneration, Mind abilities

Poison from the Judas Tree

Rassilon is a key figure in Time Lord history as one of the original architects of their society. He's originally known as the first true Time Lord — although revelations surrounding the Timeless Child cast some doubt on this. Nonetheless, there is no denying Rassilon's immense might.

Rassilon is behind some of the key constructs of Time Lord society, including the Matrix. Even after his death, he's able to exist within the Matrix and guide his people from the shadows. By the Time War, he is resurrected and the open leader of his race. With the Time Lords at his back, Rassilon is one of the most powerful people in Doctor Who. He is even willing to destroy all of time as a contingency plan.

3 The Master Is Cunning And Willing To Use Force

First Appearance

Strengths

Weakness

Season 8, Episode 1 Terror of the Autons (1971)

Time Lord abilities, Extreme cunning

The Doctor

The Master is one of The Doctor's worst enemies. They are essentially a dark mirror of The Doctor's character. As Time Lords, they share high intelligence and understanding of the sciences. However, the Master also has much less in the way of moral standards. They'll do almost anything they want to further their goals.

The Master has many incarnations and has come at the Doctor with weapons, allies, and manipulation tactics. They're consistently one of the most dangerous of the Doctor's opponents and have threatened to create massive destruction multiple times. In classic Doctor Who, the Master even managed to destroy a large amount of the universe — albeit by accident.

2 The Doctor Can't Be Stopped

The Ninth, Eleventh, Thirteenth, Twelfth, and Tenth Doctors in Doctor Who

First Appearance

Strengths

Weakness

Season 1, Episode 1 "An Unearthly Child" (1963)

Time Lord abilities, Regeneration

Earth, Companions, Humans

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The Doctor is a constant presence for good in the universe. However, they are also one of the most powerful and dangerous people within it. They have faced down some of the most dangerous beings in the universe, and they are always the one who walks away.

The Doctor manages to do all this without weapons, armies, or even a plan. They stride into impossible situations, armed with a Sonic Screwdriver and their wits. The Doctor is aware of just how dangerous they are and constantly strives to keep themselves a force for good. The consequences otherwise could be unimaginable.

1 The Bad Wolf Is Almost Omnipotent

Rose Tyler wiping out the Daleks as the Bad Wolf in Doctor Who

First Appearance

Strengths

Weakness

Season 1, Episode 13 "The Parting of the Ways" (2005)

Unlimited power, Turning people immortal

Rose Tyler's human body

The first season of Doctor Who's revival has the words "Bad Wolf" appear throughout time and space. The Doctor notes this coincidence but always has more pressing things to focus on. In the finale, the Bad Wolf is revealed to be the creature Rose Tyler becomes when she looks into and absorbs the Time Vortex.

In the Bad Wolf's brief screentime, it's shown to be almost limitless. It destroys an entire Dalek armada with little more than a thought and turns Jack Harkness into an immortal being by accident. It's too powerful for Rose Tyler's human body, and its might is enough to force the Doctor to regenerate after brief exposure. The Bad Wolf has a reasonable claim to being the single strongest character in Doctor Who.

Doctor Who
Doctor Who

The further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer known as the Doctor and his companions from planet Earth.