The grand finale of Doctor Who season 14 saw the return of Sutekh, a God-like monster that the Fifteenth Doctor described as the “greatest monster” he’s ever faced. With this claim, the Time Lord seems to be overwriting 50 years of the show’s history, including all the deadly creatures that have brought him close to death in the past. Sutekh is definitely a dangerous enemy, and one whose return was exciting for the show, but to call him the most fearsome seems like a stretch – especially since the Doctor easily defeats him in the ending of Doctor Who season 14.
The Doctor first encountered Sutekh back in the 1970s, when the titular character was being played by Tom Baker. The popular episode “Pyramids of Mars” saw the God of Death escape from his entrapment by possessing an ambitious archeologist and attempting to destroy his prison on Mars. The Doctor ultimately sent him back into the Time Vortex, where it was revealed he latched onto the TARDIS until the show’s fourteenth season. His return made “The Legend of Ruby Sunday” one of the best episodes of Doctor Who’s fourteenth season, but it’s fair to say that his defeat was easier than expected.
Sutekh Never Felt Like Doctor Who’s “Greatest Monster” Before Season 14’s Return
The Monster Only Appeared In One Story
Although Sutekh was a fan-favorite villain before his return in 2024, nobody ever argued that he was the Doctor’s greatest enemy. The appeal of Sutekh was that he had unique weaknesses of character: he’s exceptionally arrogant and egocentric, which is exactly what the Doctor exploits to defeat him. There are definitely stronger and more frightening villains in the show, but it was the flawed nature of Sutekh that made him so compelling. He was an interesting one-off character that the Doctor managed to defeat, but his return makes it seem like he’s a long-standing enemy that can’t be beaten.
Before his season 14 return, it was only the original series that Sutekh was associated with – he wasn’t one of the big villains that was discussed in the revival like the Daleks or the Cybermen, but rather one that had been left behind in the show’s history. Fans needed to understand that Sutekh was the next big bad, and having the Doctor refer to him as the “greatest monster” he’s ever faced is a clear way of doing so, even if it’s a little overblown.
Which Other Villains Could Be Doctor Who’s Greatest Monster?
Other Monsters Are Deserving Of The Title
The most obvious answer to which of Doctor Who’s monsters is the “greatest” or most dangerous is the Daleks. Not only do they have the longest-standing history with the Doctor, but they’ve also caused him the most pain and suffering. They brought about the destruction of Gallifrey and the Time Lords by fighting in the Time War, and they’ve caused plenty of problems since then – almost killing all of his friends in “Journey’s End,” for a start. However, there are many other creatures throughout time and space that could be deserving of this title.
The Cybermen often go hand-in-hand with the Daleks because of how long they’ve been around in the show, but their impact on the Doctor’s life after the Time War is arguably even more devastating. They killed fan-favorites Bill Potts and Danny Pink, and they’ve also been there every time the Doctor has come close to defeat – the Pandorica, Demons Run, Trenzalore, etc. Even Doctor Who’s classic Cybermen stories are extremely scary, and there’s a reason they were brought back so early into the revival.
The Fifteenth Doctor’s Sutekh Claim Actually Makes Sense
But Not For The Old Version Of Sutekh
However, despite the exaggeration of the statement, there’s actually some truth behind the claim that Sutekh is the Doctor’s biggest enemy – it just took until now for him to reach his true potential. The Sutekh from ‘Pyramids of Mars’ is powerful, but he’s nowhere near as strong as the Sutekh from ‘Empire of Death’. The show doesn’t reveal when Sutekh started hiding in the TARDIS, but he’s clearly been building power for a long time. His powers were restricted in ‘Pyramids of Mars’, which made him seem weaker, but the Doctor clearly recognized his strength.
Additionally, season 14 of Doctor Who has been described as a ‘soft reboot’ of the show, meaning that some things are slightly different. One of these is the Pantheon of Gods, which retcons Sutekh into being the leader of a collective of god-like figures that the Doctor has encountered over the years. This immediately makes him more powerful than the Toymaker, the Trickster, the Mara, and all the other gods that were mentioned. The “greatest monster” claim seems false because that’s not how the audience remembers him, but this new version of Sutekh is a new beast altogether.