Quark

Quarks were the robot slaves of the Dominators' galactic empire.

An offshoot of rebel Quarks would go on to conquer worlds on their own. These Quarks were dangerous enough that the Doctor was forewarned so he could place John and Gilliam in a safer location. (TVC: Invasion of the Quarks)

Appearance
Quarks were cuboid in shape with a sphere on top two spikes come from opposite sides of this sphere and one comes out on top. They had rectangular compartments on their chests where their cuboid gun folded inside. The spore spikes were red along with the rim attaching them all. The rest of the sphere is black and the body is grey. The robots feet were large pieces of metal in the shape of a block; poles attach these to the body.

Dominator Quarks communicate with bleeps and shrill squeaks, while the independent ones are capable of speech.

Abilities
Quarks were able to use their guns to kill directly, stun, electrocute, communicate and to power up objects. They could collect data from a survey just by turning 360 degrees. They emitted warning signals when tripped or covered.

The Dominators had symbols representing each Quark on a wall, the symbol for the corresponding Quark flashes when that Quark was destroyed. (DW: The Dominators)

On several occasions, the independent Quarks used Giant Wasps to cover for their limited agility. (TVC: The Killer Wasps)

History
Quarks were originally the robot servants of the Near-Human Dominators. The Doctor and his companions first encountered them on Dulkis. Among other tasks, they operated drills for the Dominators. (DW: The Dominators, DWM: Fires Down Below)

Other accounts show the Quarks working alone, without reference to the Dominators. Jack Harkness refers to "rebel Quarks" in a report on the Vespiform, implying these are Quarks who rebelled against and broke away from their Dominator masters. At some point in their history, these Quarks waged war with the Vespiforms. (Captain Jack's Monster Files: Vespiform) They appear to have been active at the same time that the Dominator's were using Quarks.

The rebel Quarks had multiple battles with the Second Doctor, especially in their attempts to invade Earth. Their first attempt was in 1968, where a Quark spearheard landed at a radar tracking station in Scotland. (TVC: Invasion of the Quarks) After this encounter, the Quarks would often deliberately track down the Doctor to kill him.

At some point, they attacked the planet Gano. When the Doctor and Jamie arrived there, the Quarks unleashed their Giant Wasps. (TVC: The Killer Wasps) At another time, the Quarks ambushed the Doctor and buried the TARDIS under rubble in an attempt to prevent him escaping. (TVC: Jungle of Doom)

In 1971, when the Doctor invented the Martha series of houseworker robots and sold them to an American company, the Quarks turned them against humanity as a prelude to their invasion. (TVC: Martha the Mechanical Housemaid)

In 1984, slave Quarks were part of a Dominator secret invasion of Earth. They came up against UNIT forces under Iceland. UNIT's Major Whitaker ensured their destruction. (DWM: Fires Down Below).

In 2044, a Quark squad arrived on the planet Hekton to kill the Doctor, but were defeated by the Human colonists (TVC: The Duellists).

In 2053, a Quark pursued the Doctor when he participated in an automobile race on Earth. (TVC: Death Race)



Other information

 * During his trial, the Doctor recalled the Quarks as one of the adversaries he had broken the Time Lord code of non-intervention to fight (DW: The War Games)


 * The Doctor and Melanie Bush fought the Quarks and their Giant Wasps again. (MA: Millennial Rites)


 * The Doctor says he has never met the Quarks before in Invasion of the Quarks, but knows of their reputation. This clashes slightly with The Dominators, made worse by the strip appearing to take place before the serial.

Behind the Scenes

 * The Quarks where originally created by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln who felt cheated out of royalties from merchandising featuring them. The Quarks appeared many times TV Comic as a solo villain, without the Dominators.


 * A Quark, with a Dalek, a Yeti, an Ice Warrior, a Dalek and a Cyberman appeared briefly in studio (rather than in previously seen footage) in the last episode of The War Games. One also appeared in publicity photos for that story.


 * A blueprint for a Quark appeared in The Doctor Who Technical Manual.