10 Doctor Who Villains Who Actually Won

The Time Lord Victorious doesn't always come out on top.

Doctor Who Amy's Choice Toby Jones as the Dream Lord
BBC Studios

Despite being completely insane, quite rude in places, and a bit inept at times, the Doctor almost always gets the job done when it comes to fighting bad guys.

The Time Lord wouldn't be nearly as revered in their own universe (or as popular in ours) if they didn't have a decent hit ratio when stopping evildoers. However, nobody bats a thousand, and the Doctor is no exception.

Over the years, the time traveller has suffered some pretty harsh defeats, those very rare occasions where the bad guys actually come away with a victory.

Now, "victory" doesn't necessarily mean that everyone dies and the universe is over. It doesn't have to be a big thing - not being late to work is a victory when you've got a hangover - just as long as the villain's goals have been met.

With that in mind, let's take a look at those Doctor Who opponents who actually got one over on the Gallifreyan, from dreamy tricksters, to little blobs of fat. Yeah, that second one was definitely a strange day at the office.

10. The Cybermen (The Age Of Steel)

Doctor Who Amy's Choice Toby Jones as the Dream Lord
BBC Studios

The Cybermen have been a thorn in the Doctor's side since the early days of the show. In fact, they were the reason he undertook his first regeneration.

The Doctor must've been thrilled to see the back of them after the classic series, but this joy was short-lived when they turned up in an alternate universe.

The brainchild of mad scientist John Lumic, these new Cybermen are metal shells created to house an inhibited human brain. They're sleek, shiny, and deadly, plus they have neat little handles on their heads so you can take them anywhere you like.

While the second half of this two-parter ends with the Doctor defeating Lumic and freeing London from Cyber-control, there's still the small matter of the rest of the world.

Lumic's plan to upgrade the human race wasn't just taking place in the English capital - he had conversion factories across the globe.

The fact that the Cybermen returned at all could be seen as a victory, as they always find a way to escape their would-be-doom. Them conquering the entire world was just the robotic cherry on the emotionless cake.

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Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.