Warning: Spoilers ahead forDoctor Whoseason 15, episode 2, “Lux.“Doctor Who’s Pantheon is populated with powerful Gods, and several have crossed paths with the Doctor and fought him onscreen. The Time Lord hasn’t yet metevery member of the Pantheon, but the ones he has encountered have all posed a unique threat that requires an especially creative solution. The Pantheon quickly became a major storyline duringDoctor Who’s Disney era, although returning showrunnerRussell T. Davies also drew upon the show’s rich historywhen building the group of villains.
It’s impossible to provide a full power ranking of the Pantheon, as several Gods have only ever been mentioned by name.Sutekh’s return at the end ofDoctor Whoseason 14reveals that established franchise villains have been retconned into Pantheon membership, but there is no shortage of new Gods who only made their debut during Ncuti Gatwa’s time as the Fifteenth Doctor. That said, Davies ventures beyond the present day intoDoctor Who’s classic era, and even spinoffs, to find suitable Pantheon candidates.
6The Mara, God Of Beasts
This classic-era Doctor Who villain is most commonly associated with its serpentine form
After debuting in 1982’s “Kinda” serial, the Mara continued to return throughout the franchise in audio adventures and other forms of media. Originally an adversary of the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison),the Mara was an incredibly unconventional villainwho craved physical form after existing primarily as a non-corporeal entity. Every story in which the Mara appears is very trippy, but the Doctor has continuously proved superior in their battles.
In the true style ofDoctor Who’s classic era, defeating the Mara often consists of mirrors, crystals, and journeying through the subconscious. Althoughit does pose a threat to the Doctor and his companions, and it’s never a quick encounter when the two cross paths, it’s probably still the least challenging onscreen fight for the Doctor among all the other established members of the Pantheon.
5The Trickster, God Of Traps
This Pantheon God made its debut in a Doctor Who spinoff
Davies delved into the lore of his now-over spinoff,The Sarah Jane Adventures, and came up with the Trickster (Paul Marc Davis).The villain, at the time, belonged to an organization called the “Pantheon of Discord,“but the latter half of the organization’s name has seemingly been retconned since the 2009 story in which he appeared. Although he was in the show for a while, it wasn’t until “The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith” thatDavid Tennant’s Tenth Doctorentered the fray to stop Davis' insidious character.
The Trickster harbors great potential, but the Doctor is more than a match for him.
As implied by his role within the Pantheon,the Trickster is notoriously devious. Deception is his number one tool, although his plan to remove Sarah Jane (Elisabeth Sladen) as Earth’s protector is very complex for something that could be achieved more easily in other ways. This suggests his interactions with the physical world are limited to that of persuasion and influence rather than anything quite so direct. The Trickster harbors great potential, but the Doctor is more than a match for him.
4Maestro, God Of Music
The child of the Toymaker makes a subtle change that proves very destructive
Jinkx Monsoon’s Maestrodebuted inDoctor Whoseason 14, episode 2, “The Devil’s Chord.” Like the other Pantheon Gods, Maestro’s primary goal is specific and ties into the God of Music’s title. In short,Maestro sours the human race’s passion for music, which makes their existence increasingly tense and, eventually, violent. This simple change to Earth’s history causes a nuclear apocalypse, allowing the sound of the devastated planet, aeolian tones, to remain as the only source of music. Maestro wants to repeat this feat throughout the universe, and Fifteen barely manages to prevent it.
A music battle may be an unconventional way to fight aDoctor Whovillain, but the Pantheon Gods aren’t regular antagonists.
A music battle may be an unconventional way to fight aDoctor Whovillain, but the Pantheon Gods aren’t regular antagonists. So, with the help of Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), Fifteen manages to weaken, but not defeat, Maestro using little more than a piano. However, the fact that the Doctor and his companion are ultimately saved by the music genius of John Lennon (Chris Mason) and Paul McCartney (George Caple) meansMaestro is a rare example of a God that the Time Lord was unable to defeat- and a villain the Doctor fails against is rare.
3Lux Imperator, God Of Light
Mr. Ring-a-Ding is more powerful than he looks
Taking the form of Mr. Ring-a-Ding, an in-universe animated character,Alan Cumming’s debut as Lux Imperatorleads to a fourth-wall-shattering journey for Fifteen and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) inDoctor Whoseason 15, episode 2, “Lux.” His ability to manipulate light makes his abilities terrifyingly broad, and ventures into the realm of altering the very fabric of reality.He even brought the Doctor face-to-face withDoctor Whofans, which set a new bar for how meta the show could become.
As with Maestro, the Doctor was rendered helpless by Lux, so it was down to Belinda.
Lux’s most worrying power is the ability to absorb the Doctor’s regeneration energy. If the God of Light had been able to finish the process and create himself a more stable physical body, then he could have left the movie theater and wreaked havoc that maybe even the Doctor wouldn’t have been able to stop. As with Maestro, the Doctor was rendered helpless by Lux, so it was down to Belinda. The God of Light’s biggest “weakness” being too much light is perhaps a little silly, but it makes sense after the Doctor’s comparison to humans drowning in water.
2The Toymaker, God Of Games
2023’s “The Giggle” was this villain’s first TV appearance since 1966
Although he’s most known in the modern day as being portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris,the Toymaker is actually one ofDoctor Who’s oldest villains. He debuted in 1966 as an adversary to the First Doctor in a serial, which is now mostly missing, called “The Celestial Toymaker.” Originally played by Michael Gough, the Toymaker’s fearsome power was evident from the beginning. He can do pretty much anything he wants, as long as it’s in the context of a game.
It took two Doctors to defeat the Toymaker in “The Giggle,” which has never been the case with other members of the Pantheon.
Reality-warping powers aside, he is still bound by the rules of the games with which he’s so obsessed. This could be interpreted as a weakness, which it does ultimately turn out to be in “The Giggle,” but it’s also a strength. The games he plays can require skill, or they can just be based purely on chance. In the former group, he’s very experienced because of how many games he has played in eons-long existence. In the latter, history proves luck is often on his side. Either way,there’s still only one established Pantheon God more powerful than the Toymaker.
1Sutekh, God Of Death
The One Who Waits deceived the Doctor like no villain before or since
Sutekh’s debut came in 1975 as an adversary of Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor in “The Pyramids of Mars.” Although originally an alien inspired by Ancient Egyptian culture, his return inDoctor Whoseason 14 made him the head of the Pantheon. He was referred to as “The One Who Waits” several times before the big reveal.Sutekh seems easily defeated in “The Pyramids of Mars,“although his victory would have brought death to the entire universe. Although he didn’t succeed at the time, he was smart enough to outwit the Doctor for centuries.
Sutekh was able to conceal himself aboard the TARDIS, and his emergence in season 14’s “The Legend of Ruby Sunday” marks Sutekh’s second attempt at the plan Four had foiled centuries earlier. What’s even more worrying is that this time, he succeeded, andhis Death Wave made sure the universe remained a pile of dust for a very long timebefore Fifteen was able to fix things. Although Sutekh is now apparently dead for good,Doctor Whohas already proven he could still return.
Doctor Who
Cast
Doctor Who: Released on June 07, 2025, this series follows the Doctor and their companion as they journey across time and space, encountering a range of extraordinary friends and adversaries, expanding the universe of the long-running British science fiction series.
An alien from the planet Gallifrey travels through time and space to explore, solve problems and fight injustice while also making friends with human beings. His spaceship, called TARDIS, resembles a police box, but it is much more than it appears to be.
Doctor Who: Doctor Who is a British sci-fi television series debuting in 1963, following The Doctor, a time-traveling alien Time Lord. The Doctor explores the universe in the TARDIS, accompanied by companions, confronting various adversaries and striving to save civilizations while addressing injustices.
