The X-Men Teamed Up With Doctor Who's Greatest Ally
Doctor Who has never had a crossover with the X-Men - but an unexpected cameo of the Doctor's greatest friends and allies came close after all!
The X-Men once teamed up with Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, the Doctor's longest-running friend and ally in Doctor Who. British TV shows like Doctor Who and The Avengers have actually had a massive impact on Marvel Comics. The X-Men's Hellfire Club was inspired by Britain's Avengers, with legendary comic book writer Chris Claremont loving the idea when he saw it in an episode of the TV series.
Even Doctor Who has a history with Marvel Comics - because Marvel actually acquired the rights to publish comic books starring the enigmatic time traveler for several years. They never quite integrated the Doctor and his enemies into their own universe; the closest they came was a Death's Head series in which the Doctor left the bounty hunter stranded on top of the Baxter Building. But there was actually one subtle cameo in Uncanny X-Men #218.
Written by Claremont and featuring art by Mark Sylvestri and Dan Green, Uncanny X-Men #218 saw the mutants tangle with the Juggernaut in the U.K. As battle raged, the police called on Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - who arrived to help the X-Men clear up the chaos when the battle was over, along with Sergeant-Major Benton. The names will be familiar to any fans of Doctor Who; Lethbridge-Stewart was one of the Doctor's greatest friends and allies, played by Nicholas Courtney. He was in charge of UNIT, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, and Benton was one of his highest-ranking agents. Although colorist Glynis Oliver changed the Brigadier's hair-color, it wasn't hard to get the reference.
The cameo is an amusing one, not least because it's hard to imagine even UNIT having equipment that could hold the Juggernaut securely in custody - although, of course, it's quite possible they could have assigned their Scientific Adviser the task. Various incarnations of the Doctor worked as UNIT's official Scientific Adviser, most notably Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor and Tom Baker's Fourth, but tie-ins have since revealed other time travelers such as Professor River Song signed up as well. It's amusing to imagine the Doctor studying Cain Marko and trying to figure out a way to keep the Juggernaut captive.
Sadly, this is as close as the X-Men ever came to a direct Doctor Who tie-in. No doubt a team-up between the X-Men and the Doctor would be an enjoyable story, not least because the Doctor would find Xavier's Dream quite admirable. But the comic book rights to Doctor Who sit with Titan Comics, so this UNIT Easter egg is all fans of the two franchises are going to get.
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