Tony Black reviews Doctor Who: Supremacy of the Cybermen #4…
Things get worse for the Doctor – across four separate time zones! The Ninth Doctor gets too close to the enemy. The Tenth Doctor’s companions offer a terrifying sacrifice. The Eleventh Doctor digs deep and gives back with interest… and the Twelfth Doctor is faced with the most momentous choice of his life!
The penultimate issue of the mega crossover Doctor Who: Supremacy of the Cybermen does exactly as you would expect from a major episode of Who, and builds everything to a crescendo you cannot possibly imagine the Doctor (or in this case Doctors) can find his way back from. Cavan Scott & George Mann have enjoyed across this series of issues escalating and escalating the story threads for the four Doctors and their companions and by the end of this part, they’re all reaching a devastating point of no return. This is the issue where the Doctor gets angry – very, very angry.
In London of the present day, the Ninth Doctor is reeling from the conversion of Rose Tyler into a Cyberwoman while apologising to her mother Jackie for letting it happen – it feels for a time like even he’s given up, and it’s only Jackie’s feisty will which drives him to figure out a way back from where they’ve headed. Out in Sontaran space, the Tenth Doctor himself is channelling that classic Tennant angst as his companions Gabby & Cindy launch an audacious plan that goes very wrong, while back in ancient Silurian Earth, the Eleventh Doctor finds himself becoming a Cyber-sacrifice in order to protect his running companion Alice and, equally, channeling his own dark side. As throughout the run however, it’s the Twelfth Doctor’s machinations on Gallifrey which hold the most interest, as he finally understands the heart of Rassilon’s evil plan before showing him there’s a major flaw in his logic.
With the same glowing and bright artwork which has characterised the apocalyptic nature of the entire story, Supremacy of the Cybermen ramps up to odds that are near impossible to overcome, but the beauty of Doctor Who is knowing our hero will find a way. Let’s look forward to a barn storming conclusion of an epic, enjoyably overblown series.
Rating: 7/10
Tony Black
Originally published November 14, 2016. Updated April 16, 2018.
