Born on the planet Mondas, the Cybermen were created by the Mondasians as a way of replacing their dying bodies with plastic and steel. After adding emotional inhibitors, the Cybermen became emotionless humanoids with one major mission: to add to their number by turning humans into members of their warring race.
In this list, we include the Doctor Who stories in which the Cybermen have played a major part. We haven’t included the episodes where they make a cameo or those storylines in which they are only mentioned by name by the Doctor.
Do you have a favourite Doctor Who story featuring the Cybermen? Let us know in the comments below.
The Tenth Planet
UK Broadcast Date: 8 October 1966
The Doctor: William Hartnell
Companions: Polly, Ben
Synopsis:
Many years ago, Earth’s twin planet, Mondas, drifted away to the edge of space. Its inhabitants grew weak, so their scientists created spare parts for their bodies. Limbs and organs were slowly replaced by metal and plastic. Emotions were removed. The Cybermen were born.
The Doctor’s TARDIS lands at the Snowcap space tracking station in Antarctica in December 1986. A routine space mission starts going wrong. When the base personnel’s suspicions are roused, the Doctor informs them that the space capsule is being affected by the gravitational pull of another planet — a tenth planet in the Solar system.
The loss of a routine space mission and the appearance of that planet in the sky herald the arrival of the Cybermen, who are intent on the destruction of the Earth and the conversion of all humans into Cybermen. Ben and Polly fight to save the world, but it is a battle that may be the Doctor’s very last. (source)
The Moonbase
UK Broadcast Date: 11 February 1967
The Doctor: Patrick Troughton
Companions: Polly, Ben, Jamie
Synopsis:
The TARDIS arrives in 2070 on the Moon, where a weather control station under the command of a man named Hobson is in the grip of a plague epidemic — in reality the result of an alien poison planted by the Cybermen. Jamie is knocked unconscious and lapses into a delirium, leaving the Second Doctor, Ben, and Polly to fight off a massive Cyberman attack. (source)
The Tomb of the Cybermen
UK Broadcast Date: 2 September 1967
The Doctor: Patrick Troughton
Companions: Jamie, Victoria
Synopsis:
The TARDIS arrives on the planet Telos, where an Earth archaeological expedition led by Professor Parry is trying to uncover the lost tombs of the Cybermen. With a lot of help from the Doctor, the archaeologists enter the tombs. There, one of the party, Klieg, reveals himself and his business partner, Kaftan, to be planning to revive the Cybermen.
He wants to use their strength, allied with the intelligence of his own Brotherhood of Logicians, to create an invincible force for conquest. It transpires, however, that the tomb is actually a giant trap designed to lure humans suitable for conversion into Cybermen — a fate that almost befalls Kaftan’s assistant Toberman.
After fending off an attack by Cybermats — small but dangerous cybernetic creatures — the Doctor destroys the Controller, defeats the revived Cybermen and reseals the tombs. (source)
The Wheel in Space
UK Broadcast Date: 27 April 1968
The Doctor: Patrick Troughton
Companions: Jamie, Zoe
Synopsis:
The TARDIS materialises on board a spaceship, the Silver Carrier, where the Second Doctor and Jamie are attacked by a servo robot. Jamie contacts a nearby space station known as the Wheel and they are rescued. Meanwhile, the Silver Carrier discharges Cybermats, which also travel to and enter the station. These pave the way for the invasion of the station by Cybermen, who intend to use its direct radio link with Earth as a beacon for their invasion fleet.
The Doctor sends Jamie and a young woman named Zoe Heriot over to the Silver Carrier to fetch the TARDIS’ vector generator rod. Meanwhile, he frees the Wheel’s crew from the Cybermen’s hypnotic control and aims to destroy all the Cybermen on the station.
When Jamie and Zoe return, the Doctor installs the rod in the station’s X-ray laser, making it powerful enough to destroy the Cyber-fleet. An approaching force of space-walking Cybermen is also vanquished. (source)
The Invasion
UK Broadcast Date: 2 November 1968
The Doctor: Patrick Troughton
Companions: Jamie, Zoe
Synopsis:
The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe return to Earth and meet up with an old friend, former Colonel and now Brigadier, Lethbridge-Stewart – now in charge of the newly formed UNIT who are investigating electronics manufacturer International Electromatics. IE’s managing director, Tobias Vaughn, is working with the Cybermen. He is planning to transmit a hypnotic signal through IE’s products, leaving the Earth paralysed and allowing the Cybermen to emerge from the London sewers and take over… (source)
Revenge of the Cybermen
UK Broadcast Date: 19 April 1975
The Doctor: Tom Baker
Companions: Sarah, Harry
Synopsis:
Arriving on Space Station Nerva in its distant past, the Doctor, Sarah and Harry find its crew threatened by a mysterious plague. Discovering that things are not as they seem, they stumble upon a plan to commit genocide, devised by the Doctor’s old enemies, the Cybermen. (source)
Earthshock
UK Broadcast Date: 8 March 1982
The Doctor: Peter Davison
Companions: Adric, Tegan, Nyssa
Synopsis:
A conference to unite military powers against the Cybermen is taking place and the Cybermen plot to destroy the Earth by crashing a space freighter into it. The Doctor must stop them, whatever the cost… (source)
The Five Doctors
UK Broadcast Date: 23 November 1983
The Doctor: Richard Hurndall, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison
Companions: Tegan, Turlough, Susan, Sarah, Brigadier, Romana, Jamie, Zoe, K9, Liz
Synopsis:
The Doctor’s past incarnations are being snatched out of time and transported to the Death Zone on Gallifrey, where they are reunited with some old friends and pitted against their deadliest enemies in the Game of Rassilon. Someone is manipulating the Doctor and his companions in order to claim the most ancient and powerful secret of the Time Lords… but can they survive the challenges and uncover the traitor before it is too late? (source)
Attack of the Cybermen
UK Broadcast Date: 5 January 1985
The Doctor: Colin Baker
Companions: Peri
Synopsis:
While trying to fix the TARDIS’s chameleon circuit, the Sixth Doctor returns to Foreman’s Yard on Totter’s Lane in 1985, where he meets his old enemies the Cybermen. They have come from the future to change history by sending Halley’s Comet crashing into Earth. Gustave Lytton, last seen working for the Daleks, is involved in the Cybermen’s plot. Is Lytton working for the Cybermen, himself or someone else? (source)
Silver Nemesis
UK Broadcast Date: 23 November 1988
The Doctor: Sylvester McCoy
Companions: Ace
Synopsis:
The arrival of a mysterious comet heralds impending danger from enemies both old and new. As Ace helps the Doctor defend Earth, she is confronted with a dangerous question… “Doctor Who?” (source)
Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel
UK Broadcast Date: 13 May 2006/ 20 May 2006
The Doctor: David Tennant
Companions: Rose, Mickey
Synopsis:
Episode 1
Upon landing on an alternate version of the Earth, the Doctor, Rose and Mickey learn that Peter Tyler is apparently alive and well. Lurking in the shadows are creatures made to destroy – one of the Doctor’s greatest fears have come true… the Cybermen are reborn. (source)
Episode 2
In the parallel universe, Lumic’s insanity has reached its crescendo. The unwilling populace is being converted into Cybermen, the madman’s twisted vision of perfecting humanity. Will the Doctor help prevent this Earth from falling to the Cybermen? (source)
Army of Ghosts/Doomsday
UK Broadcast Date: 1 July 2006/ 8 July 2006
The Doctor: David Tennant
Companions: Rose, Jackie
Synopsis:
Episode 1
Rose and the Tenth Doctor return to modern-day London to find a mysterious epidemic of ghosts all over the world. As the Doctor searches Torchwood Tower to find answers, something sinister lurks in the building. (source)
Episode 2
A secret order of Daleks emerge and the Cybermen from Pete’s World make their way to Torchwood Tower. As the two deadly forces fight over Earth, the Tenth Doctor realises that in order to stop the threat, sacrifices will be made. (source)
The Next Doctor
UK Broadcast Date: 25 December 2008
The Doctor: David Tennant
Companions: Jackson, Rosita
Synopsis:
Christmas 1851, and Cybermen stalk Victorian London. The Tenth Doctor discovers a spate of mysterious deaths, and he’s surprised to meet another Doctor! Are two Doctors enough to stop the rise of the CyberKing? (source)
The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang
UK Broadcast Date: 19 June 2010/ 26 June 2010
The Doctor: Matt Smith
Companions: Amy, Rory, River
Synopsis:
Episode 1
A Van Gogh painting ferried across thousands of years offering a terrifying prophecy, a message on the oldest cliff-face in the universe and a love that lasts a thousand years: in 102 AD England, Romans receive a surprise visit from Cleopatra. Nearby, Stonehenge hides a legendary prison-box. As it slowly unlocks from the inside, terrible forces gather in the heavens. The fates are closing around the TARDIS. The Pandorica, which contains the most dangerous threat in the Universe, is opening. Only one thing is certain: “The Pandorica will open… Silence will fall”. (source)
Episode 2
The Alliance has trapped the Eleventh Doctor in the Pandorica, the TARDIS has exploded with River inside, Rory has shot Amy and the cracks have swallowed everything but the Earth and Moon.
The fate of all existence lies in the hands of a little girl who still believes in stars. (source)
A Good Man Goes To War
UK Broadcast Date: 4 June 2011
The Doctor: Matt Smith
Companions: Amy, Rory, River
Synopsis:
On the asteroid Demon’s Run, Amy Pond has given birth. But the villainous Madame Kovarian and the religious order of the silence are waiting to make a collection that tears Amy’s world apart. Across the galaxy, the Eleventh Doctor and Rory Williams are assembling an army to fight the battle that lies ahead, whilst in Stormcage, River Song prepares to escape for what may be the last time. For this is the battle of Demon’s Run. On this day, the Doctor will rise higher than ever and fall so much further, and finally, this is the day he discovers who River Song is… (source)
Closing Time
UK Broadcast Date: 24 September 2011
The Doctor: Matt Smith
Companions: Craig
Synopsis:
Craig Owens is having enough trouble trying to care for his child; the last thing he needs is the return of his old friend, the Doctor. But, as ever, trouble seems to have followed the Doctor, this time with a silvery shine. (source)
Nightmare in Silver
UK Broadcast Date: 11 May 2013
The Doctor: Matt Smith
Companions: Clara
Synopsis:
The Eleventh Doctor takes his companion, Clara Oswald, and her wards, Angie and Artie, to the biggest amusement park in the galaxy, Hedgewick’s World of Wonders. However, the theme park is empty, occupied only by a “punishment platoon” and a lone impresario with empty Cyberman shells as exhibits… or so it seems. When the Doctor decides to stay a while to investigate strange insect creatures that are roaming the park, he soon discovers that these insects are really machines seeking to convert the life forms on Hedgewick’s World into the newest generation of the ever-upgrading menace… (source)
The Time of the Doctor
UK Broadcast Date: 25 December 2013
The Doctor: Matt Smith
Companions: Clara, Handles
Synopsis:
Orbiting a quiet backwater planet, the massed forces of the universe’s deadliest species gather, drawn to a mysterious message that echoes out to the stars – among them, the Eleventh Doctor. Rescuing Clara from a family Christmas dinner, the Time Lord and his companion must learn what this enigmatic signal means for his own fate and that of the universe. (source)
Dark Water/ Death in Heaven
UK Broadcast Date: 1 November 2014/ 8 November 2014
The Doctor: Peter Capaldi
Companions: Clara
Synopsis:
Episode 1
In the mysterious world of the Nethersphere, plans have been drawn up. Missy is about to come face to face with the Doctor, and an impossible choice is looming.
“Death is not an end,” promises the sinister organisation known only as 3W – but, as the Doctor and Clara discover, you might wish it was. (source)
Episode 2
With Cybermen on the streets of London, old friends unite against old enemies and the Doctor takes to the air in a startling new role. Can the mighty UNIT contain Missy? As the Doctor faces his greatest challenge, sacrifices must be made before the day is won. (source)
World Enough and Time/ The Doctor Falls
UK Broadcast Date: 24 June 2017/ 1 July 2017
The Doctor: Peter Capaldi
Companions: Bill, Nardole
Synopsis:
Episode 1
The Doctor decides to test how good Missy has become by sending her on a trial run with Bill and Nardole. However, when things go wrong, the Doctor takes over. With Bill trapped in a different time zone, can the Doctor make it to her before it is too late, and who are all those people getting cured? (source)
Episode 2
As he struggles to resist regenerating, the Twelfth Doctor prepares to make a last stand against the ever-growing army of Cybermen. However, with Bill still a Cyberman, and Missy gradually turning to her old wicked ways as the Saxon Master reminds her of who she used to be, can the Doctor convince his old friend to finally be good before he falls? (source)
The Haunting of Villa Diodati
UK Broadcast Date: 16 February 2020
The Doctor: Jodie Whittaker
Companions: Graham, Yaz, Ryan
Synopsis:
The Doctor and her companions visit Mary Shelley on a fateful night in 1816 when she creates Frankenstein but all is not as it seems. The rooms of Villa Diodati keep shifting around and ghosts are stalking the halls. And the group soon remember a familiar warning: “Beware the Lone Cyberman. Do not let it have what it wants”. But why is Percy Shelley not where he should be according to history? (source)
Ascension of the Cybermen/ The Timeless Children
UK Broadcast Date: 23 February 2020/ 1 March 2020
The Doctor: Jodie Whittaker
Companions: Graham, Yaz, Ryan
Synopsis:
Episode 1
In a galaxy still dealing with the aftermath of the deadly Cyber-Wars, the Thirteenth Doctor and her companions are separated both from each other and from the TARDIS. Banding together with the last dredges of humanity, they must all attempt to find Ko Sharmus and the Boundary before Ashad, or any other remaining Cyberman forces, can locate them. And who is Brendan, the abandoned baby? (source)
Episode 2
Gallifrey is dead, the Spy Master is in control of an army of Cybermen ready to take over the universe, and Graham, Ryan, and Yaz are trapped, being hunted down with the last remnants of humanity. But for the Doctor, one question remains… Who is the Timeless Child? (source)
Once, Upon Time
UK Broadcast Date: 14 November 2021
The Doctor: Jodie Whittaker
Companions: Yaz, Dan
Synopsis:
Atropos has fallen, once again. The Doctor has thrown herself into a time storm in a desperate bid to save her friends. As Time itself comes apart, she finds much more than she bargained for.
All four are lost, together, in memories: past, present, future. So many roles they play. So many choices they have endured. And now, what happened once has come again. (source)
The Vanquishers
UK Broadcast Date: 5 December 2021
The Doctor: Jodie Whittaker
Companions: Yaz, Dan
Synopsis:
Split across three realities, the Thirteenth Doctor has more than one problem to solve. The Division’s base, way out in the Void, has been taken. Some unlikely allies have joined together, hoping to find victory in Earth’s final hour. The Grand Serpent has been making plans, and the Doctor’s oldest enemies hold the key to the Doctor’s past, poised on handing her their final retribution.
Tunnels beneath the Earth lead to all kinds of places in space and time. As the final Flux event approaches, which door leads to victory? Last call before the end. It’s time for contact. (source)
The Power of the Doctor
UK Broadcast Date: 23 October 2022
The Doctor: Jodie Whittaker
Companions: Yaz, Ace, Tegan, Graham, Dan, Ian, Mel, Jo
Synopsis:
Famous paintings have been mysteriously defaced around Earth, seismologists have gone missing, there is strange activity occurring in volcanoes and across the stars a bullet train is pursued by CyberMasters. The Doctor doesn’t understand how it all connects. All she has is a message from an old enemy – “this is the day you die”… (source)
Which is your favourite Cybermen story? Let us know in the comments below.