The Widow's Curse (comic story)

"Welcome humans to the Church of the Sycorax!"

- Sycorax Shaman

"The Widow's Curse" was a 2008 comic strip story featuring the Tenth Doctor. It was significant for being the first Doctor Who Magazine comic strip to feature Donna Noble, though it was not her comic strip debut. It also marked the second occasion on which author Rob Davis had introduced a televised companion to the pages of Doctor Who Magazine.

Synopsis
The Doctor and Donna Noble travel to an Island that doesn't exist where an old enemy is waiting in Westminster Abbey...

Part One
A group of zombies are walking about under the sea. On a boat a group of people are talking about where they have been. They ask Donna Noble who tells them all the places she has been by herself or with the Doctor. The people introduce themselves to Donna as Norah, Jean and Harry. They ask Donna where she is staying and she says the TARDIS. The others just believe that it is some fancy hotel. Donna corrects them. Harry tries to talk to the Doctor who is standing next to Donna. He is looking through binoculars at Shadow Cay. The Doctor tells them all there is no such place as Shadow Cay. The Doctor introduces himself and explains his theory that it can't exist because the Doctor has never met someone who's been there. Harry reads the island's history from a book in order to try and prove it is real. Jean tells the Doctor he has a crooked aura, he replies saying he had a nasty fall as a child. On a beach on Shadow Cay, two people have discovered a spiky object, they think it it a sea creature. Suddenly a group of zombies attack them and take away the object. The boat arrives at Shadow Cay. The Doctor and Donna discover a model hand stuck in a wall. They then see a building that looks just like Westminster Abbey. The Doctor tells them all it is Westminster Abbey. The group from the boat prepare to enter the abbey but the Doctor is grabbed from behind. Two men then close the doors trapping the others inside. When a man protests a skull on a rope swings out and catches him on the neck, and he collapses. Then the Sycorax reveal themselves telling the group that they are in the church of the Sycorax.

Part Two
The man who grabbed the Doctor did so in order to keep him from being discovered by the Sycorax - who the Doctor recognises as female. Inside the church, the Sycorax attack the humans, binding them with ropes, but Donna manages to escape with Norah. As they escape, they run into another Sycorax, but Donna sprays her with perfume to escape. Donna and Norah try to find out where the Sycorax are taking people, the Sycorax discuss their plans with the leader - the Haxan Craw. Some zombies bring in a spherical object - which she reacts with joy to - as the now shall have the truth. The Doctor relises that the "locals" are actually all zombies, as is the man who rescued him - the Sycorax are controlling them via remote control. The man introduces himself as Lee Deverill. The Doctor notes that he is different, but is puzzled because zombie control doesn't allow for individuallity. They decide to head into the Sycorax ship. In the church, some of the humans recognise the Sycorax as the christmas aliens on television - but the Sycorax tell them not to speak in front of the Haxan Craw. Donna and Norah watch from behind some rocks, as the Haxan Craw brings in the stone. She orders the killing of the humans - but Donna protests. The Sycroax put the stone ball into a screen - which shows them what happened to their husbands. Donna relises that it is like a Black Box recorder. The Sycorax watch the clip, which shows the Sycorax being targeted by the humans - saying they have been betrayed. The Doctor and Lee come across a beach area which is filled with the heads of zombies - the Doctor notes that they have no existence. Lee tells the Doctor that a 747 has gone missing - and notes that the Sycorax seem to have hypnotised the entire world. They set off an alarm and are chased by Sycorax riders. Back in the church, Donna looks on in horror as the Sycorax widows watch the clip of their husbands being destroyed over and over again.

Part Three
The Doctor and Lee are run from the Sycorax riders. Lee is captured but the Doctor escapes by using the Sycorax ropes to pull them off their mounts and then steals one to get away. Haxan Craw, inside the Shrine watches images of how her husband, the Sycorax leader Fadros Pallujikaa, met his death. The images show the swordfight between the Doctor and the Sycorax, as Haxan Craw identifies a part the leader's bone jewellery as her rib; a marriage bond he wears. Haxan screams at the sight of her husband's death, draws her sword and stabs Harry through his chest. Jean tries to remove the Torkfish but Haxan reveals they only let go when the victim dies. Meanwhile, Lee is taken to Gilfane Craw. The Doctor also arrives and is slapped for commenting on Sycorax rites. The Doctor uses his Sonic screwdriver to threaten the Sycorax whle he backs away to a man strapped to the mainframe of the island. It is Lee, the man who wrote a guide to Shadow Cay. Menwhile the Sycorax prepare to kill the humans when Norah throws the Sycorax's recording device into their screen causing an explosion, in the panic the humans flee. Jean is tied to the rest by the Torkfish but cuts the rope so she can stay with Harry who is now dead, the Torkfish having released its grip. Lee discovers he is just a spirit in another man's body. He throws himself at Gilfane and both land in the pool of acid surrounding the mainframe and dissolve. The Doctor frees Lee from the mainframe and turns to face Haxan and fellow warriors. Donna and Norah head aboard a plane. Meanwhile the Sycorax wake the dead who are contaminated with a spell virus that will be spread round the world in the Sycorax's bid for revenge. Donna and Norah realise the plane is full of corpses contaminated with the virus, ready to be flown to London to spread it. The Sycorax declare that this is their curse and advance on the Doctor. Haxan proclaims "No second chances, were that sort of a clan!"

Part Four
The Sycorax widows continue to advance on the Doctor, who gives them a chance to leave this world. The Sycorax say they will leave this world to rot when the abstracts have freed the curse. The Doctor attaches himself to the Lithic womb in an attempt to control the abstracts. Donna and Norah are aboard the plane with the disease carrying abstracts. They soon find out that the pilots are abstracts too. Meanwhile the Sycorax prepare to kill the Doctor, the Doctor is in control of the abstracts on the island and forces them into the lithic womb. They begin chanting, "I am the Doctor". The Doctor can speak through the abstracts and tells Haxan Craw not to underestimate humanity and definitely not Donna Noble. Donna and Norah remove the pilots from the pilot seats. The Doctor begins to melt the walls of the lithic womb while a Sycorax falls into the acidic water pushed by an abstract. The Doctor realises he can use the Sycorax "magic" to replicate anything on earth. Meanwhile on the plane Donna struggles to keep the plane in flight as the Zombies awake and begin breaking down the door. Donna redirects the plane to Haxan's island. The Doctor replicates the drowning giant sculpture and uses it to catch the plane. Haxan smashes the part of the lithic womb connected to the Doctor and so he runs off followed in hunt by Haxan. The Doctor gets Jean to come with him on the way out, she is still upset over Harry's death. The island suddenly begins to take off and is revealed as a Sycorax rock ship. Haxan catches up with the Doctor and easily knocks him down and prepares to slay him. Suddenly a Torkfish attaches itself around Haxan neck. She realises it is Jean the Torkfish keeps the both held together via the rope in-between. Jean then uses Haxan's spear to knock her over the edge of a replicate building intending to also plummet to her death. At the last moment the Doctor cuts the rope saving Jean. Haxan plummets to her death. The humans all meet on a ferry as the island lifts into the air. The Doctor says, "There’s enough pain in loss to bring down mountains, to crush whole planets...and if pain turns to revenge it can tear you apart!" The Sycorax ship explodes.

Characters

 * The Doctor
 * Donna Noble
 * Norah
 * Jean
 * Harry
 * Lee Deverill
 * Sycorax
 * Torkfish

Continuity

 * The Sycorax return, however this time it's a group of female Sycorax who were widowed when their menfolk were destroyed during their attempt at invading Earth.
 * Harriet Jones destroyed the Sycorax ship in DW: The Christmas Invasion.
 * Clips of the events from The Christmas Invasion are seen by the Sycorax and dialogue from the episode is quoted verbatim. The Doctor's killing of the Sycorax leader by throwing a satsuma at him plays a key role.
 * Haxan changes the Doctor's "No second chances, I'm that sort of man" to "No second chances, we're that sort of a clan!"
 * Donna says she's flown the Tardis (DW: The Sontaran Stratagem), thus this adventure must be set after The Doctor's Daughter which took place immediately after the two-part story.

Story notes

 * This comic mark the first appearance of Donna in the DWM comic strip series. However, her debut, in terms of what would have been available to the British consumer first, was DWBIT: "Any Old Iron".

Timeline

 * This story takes place after: DW: The Doctor's Daughter
 * This story takes place before: DW: Turn Left