| The following article is written from an In Universe perspective. |
The Ice Warriors and Ice Lords were a race of reptilian humanoids from the planet Mars.
Characteristics
Biology
Adult, fully armoured Ice Warriors were large, imposing reptilian humanoids, up to seven feet tall. Unarmoured, they had flattened, scaly faces with sharp fangs and thin green tongues. (DW: The Ice Warriors, Legacy)
Females were built more slightly than males, and had spiny dorsal crests. (DW: GodEngine)
Ice Warriors perpetually wheezed and tended to move slowly, (DW: The Seeds of Death) though they could move fast when needed. (DW: Legacy, Cold Star) They spoke in a drawn-out hiss. (DW: The Ice Warriors)
The typical lifespan of an Ice Warrior was three hundred Earth years. They had a complicated genetic structure and were herbivores. (DW: GodEngine)
Society and Culture
The planetary identification glyph of the Martians was a triangle overlaid with a lightning bolt with an artificial burning sun at its centre. (DW: GodEngine)
Honour
Ice Warriors had a strong sense of personal honour. After the Third Doctor saved the life of the Ice Lord Izlyr, he felt obligated to help the Doctor escape. (DW: The Curse of Peladon) Ice Warriors disliked lying, though they would do so when necessary. (DW: Legacy) When challenged to a ritual blood duel, an Ice Warrior would spit at an opponent's face. Terrorism was anathema. (DW: GodEngine)
Religion
The Ice Warriors also worshiped Tuburr, who was thought to be the one who made the Ice Warriors into warriors. In the early years of Ice Warrior civilisation, the young would be sent to the surface as a ritual trial of endurance. If they survived, they took the oath of Tuburr and tried to pull the Sword of Tuburr from a brazier, after which they were considered adults. (DW: Legacy) Martian law forbade any forging of copies of the holy Sword. (DW: GodEngine)
Martian tombs, pyramids and burial of the dead was similar to Egyptian civilisation, suggesting that both were influenced by the Osiran race. During funeral rites, the deceased wore metallic clothes known as warding shrouds to protect them before the cremation. (DW: GodEngine)
Society
Advancement in the hierarchy was decided on merit and skill. (DW: Legacy) The skill of cooking was highly prized. (DW: GodEngine) This feudal way of life continued until the era of the Galactic Federation. (DW: The Curse of Peladon)
When a marriage bond was broken, it was called Fass-jul-Aqq. (DW: GodEngine)
Titles
- Supreme Lord - a high ranking position. (DW: Legacy)
- Grand Marshall - the staff of a Grand Marshal was an important relic. (DW: Legacy)
- Marshal - wore decorative helmets with jewels. (DW: The Seeds of Death, Legacy)
- Shsurr - a title that roughly translated to mean M'lady. (DW: Legacy)
- Scholastor - this position was one held by scholars and scientists. (DW: GodEngine)
- Abbot - a title held by religious figures. (DW: GodEngine)
Technology
Armour
Ice Warrior armour augmented their already considerable strength. This included a half-face helmet and a red blast-screen over each eye. Ice Warrior nobility ("Ice Lords") wore light armour with sleek, bullet-shaped, metallic helmets, a simple breastplate and a cape. (DW: The Seeds of Death) An Ice Marshall's helmet contained circuitry beneath its surface and acted as an additional nervous system for its wearer after it bonded with the cranium. (DW: Ice Time) Common warriors had much heavier and bulkier, intricately patterned full-body armour, and stubby helmets (some designs of which also placed blast screens over the ears). (DW: The Curse of Peladon)
Their exoskeletal armour melded with the body of their wearer and an Ice Warrior was described as being one with their armour. (DW: Ice Time) This armour consisted of carapaces and helmets grown in nutrient tanks and cybernetically augmented to provide the wearer with increased strength, reaction time, spectral sensitivity and biological efficiency. It also gave them a direct link to the Martian battle net. Finally, it boosted the efficiency of their waste management systems. (DW: GodEngine) The armour technology included locked-sequence communicators and induced muscular hydraulics. (DW: Ice Time)
Weapons
Ice Warriors had small sonic weapons in the wrist of their armour as a personal defence weapon, (DW: The Ice Warriors)
They also made use of sonic grenades that operated by emitting a sonic impulse which caused fried the brain cells of anyone within the vicinity of the blast radius. (DW: Ice Time)
They also used genetically-engineered weapons, such as a bacteriological weapon based on Martian sleeping fever. (DW: GodEngine)
During the 22nd century Dalek invasion, the Ice Warriors had a superweapon named the GodEngine, built from technology left over by the Osirans, god-like visitors to Mars long before. The GodEngine could destroy a star by making it go supernova; its deployment was prevented by the Ninth Doctor. (DW: GodEngine)
Terraforming
The Ice Warriors could deploy seeds on a planet which altered the environment and made it an icy world. (DW: The Seeds of Death, Operation Salvation)
Transportation
Ice Warriors had access to Spacecrafts. (DW: Ice Time)
Other
A notable interrogation tool designed specifically for use on humans was the brain-rack. It created artificial neural pathways in the human mind which dominated the existing thought processes and ultimately ensured obedience in the subject. These machines were said to have no harmful side effects and the process wore off after a week or so when the artificial engrammes began to decay and the natural pathways reasserted themselves. Seen as a potential brainwashing tool, the brain-rack also increased learning rates by three hundred percent. (DW: GodEngine)
History
Early History
Some exploration of other planets was attempted. Varga went to Earth, but his ship was trapped in a glacier for thousands of years. Some time after this, the Ice Warrior's civilisation went into decline as Mars became more inhospitable. (DW: The Ice Warriors, Legacy)
10th century
The Ice Lord Sezhyr was laid to rest with his relics. (DW: Ice Time)
20th century
At some point, a revolution took place on Mars and the Ice Warriors split into different factions with one side wishing to abandon the old ways. A group of Ice Warriors led by the Ice Lord Hhessh were exiled from Mars, but took Sezhyr's relics in the hopes of somehow resurrecting him. They soon arrived on Earth in 1933, but the ship containing the relics crashed into the River Thames. The remaining Ice Warrior ship was placed into a cold storage unit, where they were allowed to hibernate by Walters. (DW: Ice Time)
In 1967, Walters woke most of the Ice Warriors up so that he could set up a mission to retrieve the relics of the Ice Lord Sezhyr from the Tower of London in Moscow. Hhessh was transported to Moscow before being revived and was aided by the Seventh Doctor, Ace, Sam Tollinger and Anna Carlton. Once Sezhyr was resurrected through Anna, she attempted to lead an invasion force on Earth, but these plans were thwarted by Ace. (DW: Ice Time)
21st century
Another invasion and terraforming was attempted in the mid-21st century, when the Ice Warriors, led by Slaar, invaded the central T-Mat base on the Moon which regulated global T-Mat operations. He attempted to use a fungus, which would turn the Earth into a more hospitable planet for them. The Second Doctor and his companions stopped him. (DW: The Seeds of Death)
22nd century
26th century
33rd century
In 3256 an Ice Warrior named Skalron represented Mars in that year's Intergalactic Song Contest. He sang the song Sand Sssstorm and eventually came in 8th place, tying with Tellermso from the planet Pixos. (DW: The Food of Love)
39th century
The Ice Lord Izlyr represented the Ice Warriors when the members of the Galactic Federation met to discuss wether Peladon should join the Federation. (DW: The Curse of Peladon)
40th century
By the late 40th century, the Ice Warriors (still in the Galactic Federation) had, for the most part, renounced their war-like ways. (DW: The Curse of Peladon, The Monster of Peladon)
In 3935 a faction of Ice Warriors led by the Ice Lord Azaxyr were working for Galaxy 5 who were at war with the Galactic Federation. These Ice Warriors desired to return to the Ice Warriors former ways of military conquest. Azaxyr and his troops helped take over the Trisilicate Mines while making out that they'd been sent by the Federation to keep the miners under control. The Third Doctor and Sarah Jane eventually defeated them. (DW: The Monster of Peladon)
42nd century
By 4127, tensions between the Ice Warriors and the Earth government had flared up due to Earth wanting to leave the Galactic Federation, but the human colonists didn’t want to leave Mars, angering the Ice Warriors. A Chief Ice Warrior was an Earth-bigot who wanted the humans gone and so with help from the Master, he caused a rise in tensions by exposing the human colonists to Mars' atmosphere, killing them. Peace was later made between the humans and Ice Warriors after some negotiations and the Chief Ice Warrior was killed when Daniel Bevin sacrificed himself. A new Chief Ice Warrior was appointed and he allowed the humans to stay on Mars. (DW: The Martian Equinox)
51st century
Circa 5000, during an Ice Age on Earth, Varga and his crew were finally revived and decided to take over first Brittanicus Base and then the world. (DW: The Ice Warriors)
Legacy
While on trial for breaking the Time Lords non-interference policy, the Second Doctor used a Thought Channel to show them some of the evils he'd fought against, one of which was an Ice Warrior. (DW: The War Games)
While under attack from the Keller Machine, the Third Doctor saw an illusion of an Ice Warrior. (DW: The Mind of Evil)
Undated events
To be added. (DW: The Lords of Time)
Alternate Timelines
To be added. (DW: Vengeance of the Nimon)
To be added (DW: Storm Warning)
To be added. (DW: In Thy Image)
To be added. (DW: Burning Books)
To be added. (DW: Operation Salvation)
Behind the Scenes
- Strictly speaking, according to their debut story, the Ice Warriors never had that name until Walters gave it to them and Victoria Waterfield carried Walters' description back to the Second Doctor. Subsequent stories would forget this, and have the Ice Warriors use this name to refer to themselves.
List of Appearances
Doctor WhoSeason 5 (1967-1968)Season 6 (1968-1969)
Season 8 (1971)
Season 9 (1972)Season 11 (1973-1974)Season 27 (1990)30th Anniversary Special (1993)Season 31 (1994)Season 35 (1998-1999)Season 45 (2008)
Season 49 (2014-2015)
2017 Christmas Special |
The ElysiumSeason 4 (2018)
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