Doctor Who: All 7 Dalek Types, Ranked By Threat Level

The Daleks are undoubtedly Doctor Who‘s most terrifying foes. Hailing from the planet Skaro, the Daleks began as a humanoid race who were subjected to neutronic radiation. Their evolution was guided by Davros, creator of the Daleks, who erased any trace of things like compassion and love. Daleks hate all other races with a fierce passion, a sort of “genetically-imposed xenophobia” that means they want to do only one thing: Exterminate.

The first Dalek mutants sat within the so-called Mark III Travel Machines. According to the BBC’s official Dalek Combat Manual, these are characterized by 360-degree rotating domes, energy weapons, and a range of interchangeable probes that can be replaced by flamethrowers, suction cups, and the like. Dalek shells are made of a rare metal called Dalekanium, and there are many subtle variations – often picked out by Wikis, but functionally irrelevant. So here are all the official Dalek types the Doctor could potentially encounter on a given planet, according to the Dalek Combat Manual, ranked by threat level.

It must be noted that this ranking does not concern itself with the traditional Dalek hierarchies of Black and Gold Daleks. Although these vary in terms of strategic ability, their casings are not known to possess any enhanced weapons, and their designs parallel those of the Daleks accompanying them. It does, however, include the Emperor Dalek – the most powerful Dalek of them all, and thus the most dangerous.

7. The First Basic Daleks

It’s best to group the first four Dalek types together, because the main difference lies in their power systems rather than their offensive capabilities. The very first Daleks were powered by static electricity transmitted through the floors of their city on Skaro, meaning it was impossible for them to leave the Dalek city. The next generation featured a receiver dish allowing for power to be transmitted to them, granting them far greater mobility. The third incarnation featured new solar slats, as well as improvements to the eyepiece. Type IV Daleks only seemed to feature basic changes to the design.

These are undeniably the weakest Daleks, and their eyepieces are especially vulnerable. The first wave of Daleks could be defeated simply by cutting them off from power, but the Daleks became increasingly mobile, meaning each generation was harder to deal with. By Type IV, the power vulnerability had essentially been removed.

6. Imperial Daleks & Type III Daleks

It’s easy to underestimate the Mark V and Imperial Daleks (who are roughly analogous). After all, these particular Daleks once got into trouble when the Doctor Who companion Ace famously attacked them with a baseball bat. But this was no ordinary baseball bat; it was super-charged by the power of the Hand of Omega, an ancient Time Lord weapon, meaning it could do real damage to even Dalek casings. These Daleks were easily able to withstand conventional Earth firepower. They featured more dangerous energy weapons, as well as a range of sensor globes.

In the episode “Remembrance of the Daleks” (considered one of the best Doctor Who stories of all time), Ace successfully damaged one Dalek’s eyepiece – a traditional weakness that undermined all previous incarnations. Strikingly, though, the Dalek was still able to fire with a degree of accuracy; she barely evaded its shots. That was despite the fact the Dalek’s electronic systems were in flux due to the Hand of Omega energy coursing through the casing.

5. Bronze Daleks

Modern Doctor Who viewers will be most familiar with the Bronze Daleks, so-called “Dalek Drones” considered the “Ultimate Warriors” by the Time Lords. Bronze Daleks are mass-produced, and rely on sheer numbers to overwhelm their opponents. They served on the front lines of all the great Dalek conflicts, including the Time War itself; those versions featured an improved Dalekanium alloy that was resistant to temporal energies. These Daleks also had a rotating middle section, allowing them to fire in 360 degrees.

Bronze Daleks had sophisticated defensive countermeasures, as seen in the episode “Dalek,” which were presumably designed to prevent a Dalek ever being captured and studied. The casings could also extract the biomass of anyone who touched the Dalek shell, using it to repair damage; the genetic material of time travelers was particularly effective. This made the Bronze Daleks dangerous even when they’d apparently been defeated, because a single touch could lead to the Dalek becoming active again.

4. The Paradigm Daleks

The so-called “Paradigm Daleks” were introduced in the episode “Victory of the Daleks,” and they featured all the typical offensive and defensive capabilities of the traditional Bronze Daleks. Their back panels contained additional hardware, while organic materials had been implanted into the eye to enhance sensitivity and tracking. The Paradigm Dalek design was eventually ditched, as the Daleks believed the older Bronze Dalek design was more likely to inspire fear in their enemies.

3. Special Weapons Dalek

Created by Davros, the Special Weapons Dalek is essentially the Dalek equivalent of a tank; it’s heavily armored, and features a single energy weapon powerful enough to literally vaporize other Daleks. According to the Time Lords, the Daleks routinely used Special Weapons Daleks to wipe out entire cities; these Daleks are probably short-lived due to radiation emitted by their own weapon, which also secretes a range of dangerous chemicals that can often be seen staining the base. The armor probably means the Daleks can just switch the mutants after one has died of radiation poisoning, recycling the casing and its devastating weapon.

2. Recon Daleks

Introduced in “Revolution of the Daleks,” the Time Lords considered the Recon Scouts to be some of the most dangerous Daleks ever made. These Daleks were a separate evolutionary strain, and could survive without a host, possess other lifeforms, and release electromagnetic charges to disrupt nearby electrical equipment – including TARDISes. The mutants were able to construct Dalek casings out of local materials, and one Recon Dalek was able to start a new offshoot of the race on Earth. These Recon Daleks may lack the kind of firepower seen with the Special Weapons Dalek, but a single Recon can lead to a full-scale invasion.

The Recon Scouts do have one major weakness, however; their casings are constructed of whatever materials happen to be nearby. That makes them terrifyingly dangerous when they land on a planet with an advanced civilization, but they’re vulnerable to more primitive societies. One was defeated on Earth in the 9th century, but the creature was able to restore itself using ultraviolet light after it was recovered in the 21st century. It then used 3D-printing to create an army of Daleks after its own design, albeit with human-based Dalek mutants.

1. Emperor Dalek

There have been three different Dalek Emperors over the millennia. One was actually Davros (in a modified Imperial Dalek casing). The other two seem to be variants on the same theme, and may well be the same Dalek. An Emperor Dalek is typically housed in a unique stationary casing, connected to sophisticated analytical systems allowing it to process data at an unparalleled rate. An Emperor Dalek is not particularly dangerous as an individual – although it possesses sophisticated defenses exceeding the Dalek norm – but it commands vast armies, and can evaluate strategies at unparalleled speed. It is this sheer speed of processing that makes an Emperor the most dangerous of them all.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

Doctor Who Future Gets Major Update (& Those Reboot Rumors Suddenly Sound More Believable)