Doctor Who is Finally Revealing the Fugitive Doctor's Origins
Warning! Spoilers for Doctor Who Origins #1
Soon, Doctor Who will finally begin to reveal the Fugitive Doctor’s origins in a new miniseries from Titan Comics. The upcoming arc begins shortly before Free Comic Book Day on April 13, and continues the following month in Doctor Who Origins.
When the Thirteenth Doctor learned about her forgotten past, she was just as surprised as viewers. Predating the First Doctor, the Fugitive Doctor portrayed by Jo Martin was one regeneration from an unspecified amount of lives. Retroactively, this bizarre reveal caused the Doctor’s numbers to be inaccurate, and made it so that Jodie Whittaker is not the first female regeneration canonically. Potentially due to some backlash from fans, the twist hasn’t been explored much further. However, Doctor Who comics might elaborate on the plot point and expand on the Doctor’s true origins.
The Fugitive Doctor will soon make her comic book debut ahead of Doctor Who Origins. As previously announced, Titan Comics will release a Doctor Who comic for Free Comic Book Day which is setting up a new miniseries. Now, a preview for Doctor Who Origins has been revealed. The four-issue miniseries will begin to tell the story of the mysterious Fugitive Doctor, written by Jody Houser, with art by Roberta Ingranata and Warina Sahadewa. Doctor Who Origins #1 features a cover by Simone Di Meo, with a selection of variant covers, including a Weeping Angel “glow in the dark” cover, a variant by Yoshi Yoshitani, and an additional cover. The first issue is set to release on May 18.
A synopsis for the issue teases that the Fugitive Doctor is working on a mission with dangerous implications for an undisclosed group. Along the way, she earns her name as “the Fugitive Doctor.” Fans had expected for this storyline to continue through the series itself. However, it seems that Titan Comics will have even more creative control with the franchise than usual, regarding the canon-breaking premise. Although it might not drastically impact the series as Russell T. Davies will soon over as show runner, the miniseries will expand the Doctor’s lore.
Similar to the War Doctor, it seems that the Fugitive Doctor will give herself reason to want to forget her time with the alternate title. As she learns how to be a more compassionate, heroic version of the Doctor, she will struggle. Functionally, Doctor Who Origins will serve as the Doctor’s true backstory that has been kept a secret until now.