Doctor Who: EVERY Version Of The Cybermen Explained

One of the most unique Cybermen ever never actually made it to screen.

This design was developed for Doctor Who’s abandoned 30th anniversary special, The Dark Dimension, which revolved around an alternate universe where the Fourth Doctor never regenerated.

Although the story’s main villain was a new creation named Hawkspur, it was also going to feature new versions of some classic monsters, including the Cybermen, who were going to be led by a powerful new unit described in the script as the Cyber-Commander.

The Cyber-Commander was a big departure from the Cyber designs that had come before, looking particularly formidable and monstrous. It had a skeletal body complete with rib-like grooves, while the helmet incorporated a very human-looking face and the hands had sharp, claw-like fingers.

It looked like a cross between a Xenomorph and Wolverine, and in fact it was designed with some Wolverine-style protracting claws, as described by The Dark Dimension writer Adrian Rigelsford:

"There was a specific Cyberman who was being made by the people at Henson's Creature Workshop. It had holes in its knuckles and there was a point where it held up its hand, made a fist, and six-inch blades shot out of its knuckles! It was like Wolverine out of the X-Men comics. Cyberrine!"

To this day, the only visual reference we have for the Cyber-Commander is a few prototype images. Hopefully one day the design will finally make it to a story in full!