10 Deadliest Doctor Who Villains

There's a reason the Daleks say "EXTERMINATE" all the time — they're really good at it.

Menagerie of Doctor Who Villains
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Doctor Who has been around since 1963, and there are so many episodes of the hit series, many have been lost! With more than 860 episodes, there have been a plethora of unique and interesting villains for the Doctor to go up against, but some are deadlier than others.

After all, one of them has a catchphrase, where all they say is "EXTERMINATE!" When you have villains like that, odds are, it's not over a trivial disagreement about where you parked your TARDIS. The Doctor is well known for his friends, but the enemies are the characters who truly define the Doctor's character.

You can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep, as well as the company they choose not to. The Doctor certainly has a massive amount of both types, and when you're dealing with a near-immortal being who has command over all of time and space, the stakes get pretty high.

Determining which enemy is the deadliest requires an analysis of their entire existence in the Doctor Who universe, and there's a lot to go over. These ten are easily the deadliest Doctor Who villains, and while their body count may eventually surpass others, they're plenty deadly as it is.

10. The Silence

Menagerie of Doctor Who Villains
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The Silence was a religious order made up of beings whose goal was to kill the Doctor so that a prophecy wouldn't come to fruition. The prophecy stated that "On the fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the eleventh, when no living creature can speak falsely or fail to answer, a Question will be asked, a question that must never, ever be answered."

The more dangerous members of the Silence were a group of genetically engineered priests called the Silents. They could use post-hypnotic suggestions to make people do their bidding. This could result in all manner of death and destruction, should the Silence wish it.

More than that, they had the ability to erase all memory of their existence from a person's mind once they look away from them, which made them particularly good at espionage and infiltration. The Silence was responsible for the Battle of Demons Run and the Siege of Trenzalore, which resulted in its creation.

More than that, the Silence was used to kidnap Melody Pond and subsequently brainwash her to become none other than the murderous River Song. The Silence was responsible for many of the events that occurred throughout the 11th Doctor's life, and the death and destruction that grew around those events were largely the result of the Silence's actions.

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Jonathan is a graphic artist, illustrator, writer, and game designer. Jonathan retired from the U.S. Army in 2017 and enjoys researching and writing about history, science, theology, and many other subjects. He writes for ScreenRant, CBR, NerdBastards, Listverse, Ranker, WhatCulture, and many other sites online. You can check out his latest on Twitter: @TalkingBull or on his blog: jonathanhkantor.com