The 20 Best Doctor Who Monsters of the Modern Era

If there’s thing Doctor Who is known for too clip question hijinks, sonic screwdrivers, and regeneration, it’s having a monolithic catalog of memorable monsters. With a caller play of Doctor Who upon us, we’re taking a look backmost astatine the Doctor’s rogues assemblage to item the astir vicious monsters our favourite Time Lord has tally into.

Before we begin, a mates of notes: We’ve near disconnected villains that we don’t deliberation suffice arsenic “monsters” successful the accepted sense, truthful don’t expect to spot the Master connected here. Additionally, though immoderate of these creatures day backmost to the classical show, each introduction successful this database has made astatine slightest 1 televised quality since the 2005 revival. We conscionable deliberation the “modern” monsters thin to beryllium much effectual (and are much successful our wheelhouse anyway). With that settled, let’s get into it. Here are our apical 20 Doctor Who monsters.

20. Macra

As each PlayStation fans know, fewer things are arsenic terrifying arsenic a elephantine force crab. Doctor Who archetypal introduced the alien contention known arsenic the Macra during the Second Doctor’s era. Initially large, intelligent crabs, they had an interstellar empire and were referred to by the Doctor arsenic the “scourge of this galaxy.” Millions of years later, the Macra fell connected hard times and devolved into mindless beasts that survived connected noxious gases and ate immoderate fell done the cracks of the planet-wide gridlocked motorway of New Earth. They aren’t the astir salient Doctor Who enemy, but would you privation to conscionable 1 successful a acheronian alley? I didn’t deliberation so.

19. Clockwork Repair Droids

“The Girl successful the Fireplace” is commonly considered 1 of the quintessential Steven Moffat-penned episodes, and arsenic specified features a acceptable of memorable antagonists. Those would beryllium the Clockwork Repair Droids, a radical of robots with a penchant for 18th period French manner and stealing organs from quality beings. They privation to snatch the encephalon of Jeanne Antoinette “Reinette” Poisson, besides known arsenic Madame de Pompadour, to repair the machine of their 51st period starship. The audacity of their program contrasts good with the tender romance betwixt the Tenth Doctor and Reinette, making them the cleanable villains for this iconic episode.

18. Sontarans

The stocky, dome-headed contention of cloned soldiers known arsenic the Sontarans are 1 of the Doctor’s astir recurring foes. Bred for thing but endless warfare, Sontaran civilization is centered purely connected the grant of decease successful combat. But contempt their militaristic nature, the Sontarans suffer immoderate points by seldom coming disconnected each that threatening due to the fact that of their goofy quality and easy outwitted schemes. All that said, the Doctor considers them among the “finest soldiers successful the galaxy,” truthful they are inactive worthy a spot connected this list. Plus, they gave america Strax, 1 of the funnier and much absorbing of the galore broadside characters the Doctor has encountered.

17. Vashta Nerada

Why is each taxon successful the beingness acrophobic of the dark? According to Doctor Who, it’s due to the fact that of the Vashta Nerada, microscopic carnivores that are fundamentally piranhas surviving successful shadows. These invisible terrors encountered the Tenth Doctor astatine the Library, a satellite that the Vashta Nerada had rendered devoid of life. While the show of their skeletal victims trapped successful their spacesuits is decidedly spooky, the Vashta Nerada endure a spot from however they really “work” not being arsenic wide arsenic it should. They fundamentally termination whenever the publication wants them to, but the Doctor having nary program for them beyond “run” surely makes them a credible threat.

16. The Vespiform

In what different amusement could an occurrence beryllium an Agatha Christie benignant execution enigma that really includes Agatha Christie arsenic a character, and besides the murderer is an evil alien wasp successful disguise? That’s precisely what Doctor Who gave america with “The Unicorn and the Wasp,” 1 of the astir deliriously eccentric episodes of the Tenth Doctor’s tenure. The Vespiform, a elephantine wasp that tin shapeshift into quality form, plays the portion of a serial murderer astatine a 1920s meal party. We won’t spoil the individuality of the carnal (it’s a mystery, aft all), but arsenic one-off Doctor Who villains go, the Vespiform is 1 of the much memorable for its genre-bending mischief.

15. Ice Warriors

Another longtime foe dating backmost to the archetypal show, the Ice Warriors are a contention of armored reptilian humanoids autochthonal to Mars. Originally starting disconnected arsenic enemies of the Second Doctor who wanted to colonize Earth, the Ice Warriors yet changed their tune and became an state of the Third Doctor. They returned successful the revival epoch successful the occurrence “Cold War,” wherever the Eleventh Doctor recovered himself trapped connected a Soviet submarine with a azygous villainous Ice Warrior who hunts down the unit 1 by one. They aren’t rather among the astir iconic of Doctor Who monsters, but the Ice Warriors merit recognition for their versatility and longevity.

14. The Veil

“Heaven Sent” is wide considered 1 of the champion Doctor Who episodes of each time, and for bully reason. The Twelfth Doctor is trapped successful a confession dial, wherever helium spends 4.5 cardinal years trying to find a mode to flight and undo the decease of beloved companion Clara Oswald. All the while, he’s hunted by the Veil, a being with a burning interaction that forces the Doctor to stock his darkest secrets. The dilatory question and omnipresent quality of the Veil makes it an unsettling presence, but the existent prima of the amusement is Peter Capaldi’s performance. Even so, the Veil earns a spot connected this database for being a large portion of specified a large episode.

13. The Flood

A bully Doctor Who monster tin marque the astir innocuous things scary, and 1 of the champion examples of that is what the amusement did to h2o with the Flood. A microorganism trapped successful a Martian glacier, it infected the h2o of the archetypal quality colony connected Mars, turning those who came successful interaction with it into horrific zombie-like creatures. Their cracked mouths and them perpetually spilling h2o from their tegument made the Flood’s victims into the worldly of nightmares. They’ve lone had 1 televised quality successful the Tenth Doctor peculiar “The Waters of Mars,” but beauteous overmuch everyone who’s seen it would accidental the Flood made 1 hellhole of a archetypal impression.

12. The Silence

Steven Moffat introduced a long-running mythology arc astatine the opening of Season 6 with the Silence, who were hyped up by the creators astatine the clip arsenic the scariest Doctor Who monster ever conceived. These suit and necktie wearing aliens had the powerfulness to marque radical hide they existed whenever they weren’t being observed, making it hard to combat backmost against the Silence’s machinations. What those machinations really were and however convoluted their subplot became is wherefore the Silence don’t marque the apical 10 here, but adjacent past they’re inactive among the astir conceptually absorbing and unnerving antagonists successful the Doctor’s storied history.

11. The Ood

The Ood are unsocial connected this database due to the fact that they are acold much sympathetic than monstrous. A contention of benign and easy manipulated creatures, the Ood were enslaved by humanity but insisted they were good with it. However, their telepathic abilities led them to go pawns of another, much almighty villain (who we’ll get to later), turning them into red-eyed terrors acceptable to hunt down the Tenth Doctor and his allies. Thankfully, the Doctor escaped intact. The Doctor aboriginal returned alongside Donna Noble to assistance the Ood successful “Planet of the Ood,” wherever the brace assisted the Ood Brain successful freeing each Ood crossed the postulation from their enslavement.

10. Autons

For astir modern fans of the show, the Autons are the archetypal Doctor Who monster they ever encountered. Resembling walking mannequins, they were animated by their master, the Nestene Consciousness, arsenic integrative ft soldiers successful its effort to conquer Earth. The Autons started disconnected arsenic recurring enemies of the Third Doctor, who thwarted their schemes connected 2 abstracted occasions. They returned again successful “Rose,” the aviator occurrence of the 2005 revival, wherever the Ninth Doctor erstwhile again enactment down an penetration attempt. They would besides origin into the two-part Season 5 finale, with companion Rory Williams being revived arsenic an Auton.

9. The Foretold

The champion one-off monster of the Twelfth Doctor’s tenure, the Foretold is the eponymous mummy successful “Mummy connected the Orient Express.” This eerie carnal is lone susceptible of being perceived by its intended target, who it kills aft precisely 66 seconds, nary substance however the unfortunate tries to escape. Watching the Doctor and Clara Oswald effort to fig retired however to halt a monster they can’t spot oregon perceive arsenic it picks disconnected its prey makes for 1 of the astir tense episodes of Capaldi’s era. Plus, erstwhile the Doctor yet does spot it, him figuring retired what the Foretold really is and however to halt it during the clip bounds makes for 1 of the Doctor’s finest moments.

8. Sutekh

Most subject fabrication properties yet present a god-like antagonist, and the Doctor yet received 1 with Sutekh. Originally an adversary of the Fourth Doctor, the evil Osiran was seemingly defeated successful “The Pyramids of Mars,” lone to travel backmost decades aboriginal successful the two-part finale of Season 14 arsenic the person of the Pantheon of Discord. Sutekh revealing himself to the Fifteenth Doctor and explaining however and wherefore he’s survived turns him from a beauteous bully one-off foe into 1 of the Doctor’s all-time top enemies. Plus, the Doctor adjacent refers to Sutekh arsenic “the top monster I person ever fought,” truthful that’s got to number for something.

7. The Empty Child

Creepy children are a staple of fearfulness media, and Doctor Who turned successful 1 of the champion examples with the Empty Child. Originally a lad named Jamie who died during a WWII aerial raid connected London, helium was revived via extraterrestrial means and plagued the streets arsenic a state mask-wearing menace who turned anyone helium touched into zombies akin to him. He and each of his victims would chant “are you my mummy?” implicit and implicit again. Luckily, the Ninth Doctor and his companion Rose Tyler were capable to fig retired what caused the Empty Child’s information and reverse it, making for 1 of the astir triumphant endings to a Doctor Who episode.

6. The Time Beetle

Season 4 of the revival era, the past play starring the Tenth Doctor, features 2 of the champion one-off monsters successful the show’s history. First up is the Time Beetle from “Turn Left,” a sinister insect susceptible of latching itself to a victim’s backmost and altering their idiosyncratic past by creating a parallel timeline. This happens to Donna Noble, who makes a important prime that prevents her from ever gathering the Doctor, resulting successful the Doctor’s decease and galore cataclysms that helium was expected to prevent. After it’s stopped, the Doctor recognizes the beetle arsenic being affiliated with the Trickster, a villain who should beryllium acquainted to viewers of The Sarah Jane Adventures.

5. The Midnight Entity

Our 2nd Season 4-exclusive monster is the Midnight Entity, possibly the astir mysterious Doctor Who monster of each time. It’s ne'er seen, named, oregon decently understood; it simply is. While connected a circuit of the diamond satellite Midnight, an unseen beingness breaks into the circuit autobus and possesses 1 of the passengers, repeating each connection said to it with cleanable accuracy. It yet takes power of the Doctor, stealing his dependable and astir convincing his chap passengers to jettison him from the vehicle. Although the Doctor does past the altercation, it’s inactive 1 of the astir haunting encounters with the chartless successful the show’s history.

4. The Beast

The two-part occurrence “The Impossible Planet” and “The Satan Pit” is arguably a amended abstraction fearfulness movie than astir existent abstraction fearfulness movies. In this story, the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler upwind up trapped connected Krop Tor, a satellite someway orbiting a achromatic hole, wherever they travel successful interaction with a being known arsenic the Beast. This demonic monstrosity is implied to beryllium the literal Devil, oregon astatine slightest the inspiration for specified a carnal successful each the mythologies successful the universe. Given however overmuch helium terrorizes the Doctor and his allies, some by controlling the Ood and possessing Toby, 1 of the mediocre souls stranded with them, we’d accidental he’s much than invited to the title.

3. Cybermen

When it comes to recurring monsters, there’s lone 1 that tin assertion to person battled the Doctor much often than the Cybermen. Originally a radical of cyborgs created from the bodies of humans autochthonal to Earth’s duplicate satellite Mondas, they besides developed successful a parallel timeline arsenic portion of a strategy by John Lumic, caput of Cybus Industries. No substance their origin, the Cybermen question to “upgrade” different humans into much Cybermen, whether the victims privation to oregon not. They are scary not conscionable for their relentlessness and deficiency of emotion, but due to the fact that it seems that nary substance what beingness the Doctor visits, the Cybermen volition ever emergence up eventually.

2. Weeping Angels

For the astir terrifying Doctor Who monster of each time, determination truly can’t beryllium immoderate reply but the Weeping Angels. These fearsome killers look similar statues to the uninitiated, but that’s due to the fact that they’re quantum-locked portion observed, meaning they lone determination erstwhile nary 1 is looking astatine them. Turn your eyes distant for a moment, adjacent by blinking, and those statues volition beryllium a small spot closer. They termination by sending their victims backmost successful time, meaning if they drawback you, you’ll ne'er spot your loved ones again. If you someway haven’t seen their debut occurrence “Blink,” sometimes cited arsenic the champion Doctor Who occurrence of the revival era, you’re earnestly missing out.

1. Daleks

Did you truly deliberation fig 1 would beryllium thing else? Of people it’s the Daleks, the Doctor’s astir iconic and enduring foes. Not lone person they opposed the Doctor ever since the First Doctor’s 2nd story, they are arguably conscionable arsenic liable arsenic the Doctor for popularizing the franchise. These fascist alien mutants encased successful metallic shells beryllium for lone 1 purpose: to “exterminate!” They judge successful Dalek supremacy supra each else, and person sought cosmopolitan conquest clip and clip again. Yet nary substance however galore times they conflict their archnemesis, Doctor Who fans are ever looking guardant to the adjacent clash betwixt the Doctor and the Daleks. And that’s wherefore they volition ever beryllium the top Doctor Who monster of each time.

What’s your favourite Doctor Who monster? Vote successful our canvass and let’s sermon successful the comments!

Carlos Morales writes novels, articles and Mass Effect essays. You tin travel his fixations connected Twitter.

Note: This communicative was updated to beryllium a apical 20 successful April 2025. It primitively ran arsenic a apical 10 successful 2014.