Doctor Who: 10 Greatest Villains From The Moffat Era So Far
8. Solomon The Trader (Dinosaurs On A Spaceship)
Sometimes a great villain comes along who isnt multi-faceted, who manages to be a good antagonist by being simply reprehensible. Thats certainly the case with Solomon the Trader from the Series 7 Dinosaurs on a Spaceship episode. His despicable nature oozes from his every pore, ensuring that fans loved to hate him from the off. Like Rosanna, a key part of what makes Solomon so vile is that he doesnt really view people as people, but commodities for him to sell. Hes perfectly fine with mass-murder, having killed the Silurians in their sleep to get hold of their dinosaur cargo, and he is only interested in turning every situation to his profit. Hes OK with inflicting pain on others if it leads to him getting his own way. He even tries to get hold of Queen Nefertiti to sell with a turn of sadistic pleasure at the prospect of breaking her in as merchandise. Which just serves to make him that bit more detestable. The most striking and memorable aspect of Dinosaurs on a Spaceship are the interactions he has with the Doctor. For once, the Doctor escapes being revealed as the last of his species and Solomon views him as having no value, leading to a tense but electric conversation as the Doctor tries to heal the trader against his better judgment. The second confrontation sees the Doctor resort to murdering Solomon in cold blood, having realised just how evil he is. Any villain that pushes the Doctor to such extremes is worthy of inclusion. Solomon even had a bearing on the Doctors character arc, showing the slightly darker side of the Time Lord that comes to the fore when he has to travel alone. He was such a key part - in terms of what the act of killing him represented - that the Great Intelligence referenced it in the finale.
