The Master debuted in 1971, but Doctor Who created the villain during its first and second Doctor eras.

The Master may not have been part Doctor Who from the beginning, but the omens of his arrival were present as early as the era of the First Doctor. Blessed with many great monsters Doctor Who it may be, but few of them can compare to the Master. As an evil Time Lord and the Doctor's personal rival, the Master is arguably - Daleks be damned - Doctor Whois the defining enemy. In official terms, the Master, played by Roger Delgado, first appeared in 1971's “Terror of the Autons”, facing Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor.

It's remarkable, in retrospect, how fully formed the Master was during his debut episode. From the smarmy arrogance to the Doctor's barely concealed envy, Delgado immediately laid the foundations of a character that has since been portrayed by a number of different actors. From Anthony Ainley to Sacha Dhawan, every actor who has played the Master since Delgado has anchored their incarnations in the precedent set by “Terror of the Autons.” Although it is surprising that the Master arrived practically finished in 1971, Doctor Who had been quietly developing the character for six years before that.

The First Doctor-era monk was Doctor Who's first master prototype

The first Evil Time Lord to appear in an episode of Doctor Who

Doctor WhoThe first proto-master of 1965 came in “The Time Meddler”. At this point, Doctor Who was yet to utter the words"Gallifrey" or "Lord of time"but William Hartnell's First Doctor was at least kind enough to reveal that he and the story's eponymous villain, the Monk, belonged to the same race. Played by Peter Butterworth, the Monk also piloted his own TARDIS and was unmarked recorded good manners Doctor WhoThe titular hero was familiar, immediately marking him out as an evil mirror of the Doctor himself.

This premise – two aliens of the same species leaving their home planet – one good, one bad – would later become a vital strand in the Master's DNA, and the similarities went even further. The Monk's plan in "The Time Meddler" involved tampering with another planet's history for his own gain - a typical Master ploy. The false holy man was also adept at disguise, blending seamlessly into 11th century England to implement his scheme. The Master himself is something of a chameleon, often stealing someone else's face or putting on elaborate cosplay to remain hidden.

Furthermore, the Monk carried the same selfish and indifferent air that the Master would later perfecttherefore, although the two characters are clearly not identical, "The Time Meddler" provided the broad strokes of an enemy reminiscent of an early draft of the Master. The Monk seemed a little clumsier, less capable, compared to his eventual successor, but the development of an anti-Doctor had begun.

Warboss brought Doctor Who's master even closer to his final form

I can't believe he's not the master!

Doctor WhoThe next step in the Master's stealth development came via Patrick Troughton's regeneration episode, "The War Games." Echoing "The Time Meddler", this adventure introduced a villain who was of the Doctor's own species and intended to manipulate history for his personal gain. Once again, the Warlord was a darker parallel to the Doctor himself, although with a number of significant differences when compared to the Monk.

The Monk's more earthly, comical features were replaced by an aristocratic aura and a stricter hygiene regime, including facial hair. The Warlord demonstrated a more blatant disregard for life compared to his First Doctor-era predecessor, and hatched a much more elaborate and grandiose master plan. The arrival of the Time Lords also revealed how both the Doctor and the Warchief were seen by their kind as embarrassing bandits who brought Gallifrey shame. With these new qualities, Doctor Who took a big leap forward towards Roger Delgado's Master, which would premiere just two years later.

The Monk and War Chief Are Previous Regenerations of Doctor Who's Master

After all, the master is a character with many faces

The question of whether the Monk, the Warchief, and the Master are all the same person is as ambiguous as it is controversial. In balance, the Monk should probably be considered a separate character. Some wider pieces Doctor Who media - the book The Master: Extracts from CIA Archivesfor example - lists the Monk as a regeneration of the Master, but most releases take the opposite stance, and the Monk has appeared in a selection of audio stories and published works as an individual character.

The War Chief, on the other hand, is more likely a pre-Delgado regeneration. Once again, there are several stories within a broader scope Doctor Who media that presents the Warlord as an independent villain, including the renowned The new adventures of Doctor Who series of books. On the other hand, some crucial examples of Doctor Who fiction strongly implied that the Master and the War Chief are the same. The most notable of these is perhaps Terrance Dicks' novelization of "Terror of the Autons", in which the Third Doctor appears to directly reference "The War Games" upon seeing the Master.

Given the stronger correlation between them and the balance of evidence that weighs in favor of the theory, it makes sense to treat the Warlord as the Master. In fact, a more recent addition to the Doctor Who TV canon may have confirmed this as fact. In December 2024, a colorized and edited version of "The War Games" was released by the BBC, and this updated version of War Chief's debut came with some crucial changes. Most notably, a key scene between the Doctor and the Warlord was updated to include the Master's theme song.

While not exactly concrete, this is the closest Doctor Who it even formally combined War Chief and Master, and can absolutely be interpreted as tacit confirmation from an official source. Canon or not, this modern attempt to further unite the two villainous Time Lords perfectly proves how the Warlord paved the way for the Master's arrival.