If Doctor Who really has entered a new wilderness era, then stories like Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker #1 are just what the franchise needs. Relaunched in 2005, Doctor Who is now on the brink of yet another regeneration – not just a new form for the Doctor, but for the entire show. The BBC has put Doctor Who out for tender, while the shock regeneration at the end of Season 15 – with the Doctor apparently regenerating into the likeness of Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler – leaves tie-in media unsure what to do next. The solution lies in the past, with Jo Martin’s mysterious Fugitive Doctor.
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That’s the premise behind “Circuit Breaker,” the latest Doctor Who transmedia event that began today on the Doctor Who and UNIT websites. In this story, the Fugitive Doctor is recruited by UNIT to return items that have been scattered through time. Titan Comics’ Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker #1 – Adversary of the Daleks (written by Dulce Montoya and Dan Watters, featuring art by Roberta Ingranata) brings this story to the comics, and it uses the Doctor’s first encounter with the Daleks to ask a question raised 21 years ago. ComicBook is proud to present an exclusive review and first look:
Rating: 4 out of 5
| PROS | CONS |
| Offers fascinating insight into the Fugitive Doctor, with a deep look at her character. | The themes feel like they’re resolved a little too neatly, meaning I’d like to see this developed further. |
| More than justifies itself on a thematic level, daring to face one of the franchise’s biggest questions. |
Circuit Breaker Nails the Doctor’s Character Growth
Introduced in the 2020 episode “Fugitive of the Judoon,” the so-called Fugitive Doctor is a somewhat enigmatic version of the iconic Time Lord. Played by Jo Martin, the character was fully retconned into Doctor Who history by the so-called “Timeless Child” reveal, which revealed she was a pre-Hartnell version of the Doctor who once worked for an interventionist Time Lord faction called the Doctor. The Fugitive Doctor’s character is a retrograde step from Hartnell (who, lest viewers forget, was often portrayed as quite a selfish and even violent man; in “An Unearthly Child,” he appeared to contemplate murder to save his own life).
Circuit Breaker #1 – Adversary of the Daleks captures that fairly well. This is the Doctor before she becomes the Doctor; yet to develop real affection for humans, and still struggling to exhibit compassion. And yet, reading through this story, it’s pretty clear this is all just a front; the real Doctor lurks beneath the surface, concealed beneath a harsh veneer. While that feels a little too comfortable to me, it also makes sense; it means the Fugitive Doctor still feels like the Doctor, for all her protests. The simple concept allows Circuit Breaker #1 to feel like a Doctor Who story.
Doctor Who Confronts the Biggest Dalek Question Of All
The Daleks are the most iconic Doctor Who villains of all, and it was frankly inevitable we’d get a Dalek story in “Circuit Breaker” as an event. That said, Circuit Breaker #1 justifies itself as more than a gimmick by asking the same question raised by the 2005 episode “Dalek” – would the Doctor really make a good Dalek? Or, to put it another way, what is the difference between the Doctor and the Daleks? The Fugitive Doctor is perfect here, because this is an incarnation who’s yet to embrace the importance of compassion. We’ve got a much more raw, sharp-edged version of the Doctor, giving this story its heart.
And yet, in thematic terms, Circuit Breaker #1 ducks back from the real challenge. I won’t go into detail here – the fun comes from reading, after all – but the resolution feels a little too convenient for my liking, rather too neat and tidy (even if it is an answer I appreciate). All in all, while this more than justifies itself as an enjoyable Doctor Who adventure with a solid purpose behind it, I’d like to see something meatier. This feels more foundational than anything else, when I’d enjoy seeing the theme – this contrast between the Fugitive Doctor and the Daleks – put under the microscope.
Circuit Breaker’s Excellent Art Makes this Doctor Who Story Pop
Circuit Breaker #1 puts Roberta Ingranata through her paces, simply because there are so many different ideas in play. The story spans everything from Olympian gods to Daleks, from UNIT to ancient Greece, and even riffs on this year’s blockbuster The Odyssey in a rather entertaining way. I’m very much impressed by Ingranata’s work here, shifting between genres at impressive speed. All in all, then, I’d strongly recommend Circuit Breaker #1 – Adversary of the Daleks for anyone wanting to enjoy more Doctor Who during these Wilderness Years.
Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker #1 – Adversary of the Daleks releases July 8.
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