“ | I apologise for disabling you. Death has more honour, but you are needed for the stratagem. Prepare them for processing. You spoke of promotion. Now you will serve a greater cause. | „ |
~ Staal before abducting Gray and Harris. |
General Staal the Undefeated is the main antagonist of the Doctor Who two-parter episodes "The Sontaran Stratagem" and "The Poison Sky".
He is the leader of the Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet and the mastermind of the Sontaran's plan to conquer Earth and convert it into a cloning facility to continue their war against the Rutans.
He was portrayed by Christopher Kane.
What Makes Him Magnificent?[]
- Unlike most Sontarans, he is a strategist and doesn't immediately resort to brute force to win battles.
- He is totally undefeated in war until "The Poison Sky", showing that his planning was effective.
- Devises the ATMOS Stratagem to wipe out humanity and conquer Earth.
- Manipulates Luke Rattigan into helping him develop ATMOS and install it in every car on Earth to ensure a successful conquest.
- Creates an army of human clones in secret so they can install ATMOS without drawing attention.
- Sets up a cordolaine signal around the ATMOS building to disable UNIT's guns, leaving them helpless in the event of a Sontaran assault.
- Brainwashes privates Harris and Gray into joining his army so that they can capture Martha Jones without suspicion.
- Clones Martha and has the clone infiltrate UNIT to disable their nuclear missiles. The clone is so convincing that nobody except the Doctor (whom Staal could not have predicted would be there) suspects her.
- Arranges the theft of the Doctor's TARDIS, stranding him on Earth so he can't directly confront Staal.
- Is courageous like all Sontarans and disdains anything he regards as cowardice.
- Does not hesitate to resort to a basic military assault as plan B once his original strategy is thwarted.
- Is undeterred by the Doctor's threat to blow up his ship, considering anything that would also kill the Doctor a victory and triumphantly chanting in anticipation of his "glorious" death in combat.
What Makes Him A Baddie?[]
- Plans to wipe out all life on Earth with poison gas and convert the planet into a cloning world.
- Kills 52 people at the same moment as a test of the ATMOS technology.
- Uses ATMOS to take control of Jo Nakashima's car and assassinate her by driving it into a river when she threatens to write an expose on ATMOS.
- Shoots Harris and Gray in the legs to disable them, which he admits is dishonourable but necessary for his plan, before brainwashing them.
- Orders Commander Skorr's assault on UNIT, which kills dozens of soldiers who cannot fight back due to the cordolaine signal.
- Admits that he was going to use Luke Rattigan and his students for target practice once their role in his stratagem was over before trying to execute Luke.
External Links[]
- General Staal at the Villains wiki
- General Staal at the Doctor Who wiki