Theory:Timeline - The Master

This page lists appearances of The Master in the order in which he experienced them. It relies on much speculation to fit semi-contradictory sources together, and should absolutely not be seen as representative of this wiki's general policy.

Limiting factors
Events after Doctor Who are difficult to reconcile with each other as they offer contradictory accounts to what happened when the Master escaped the Eye of Harmony.

Series basics
to be added

Timeline

 * TV: The Sound of Drums (flashback)
 * The child who would become the Master is presumably in his first incarnation.


 * COMIC: Flashback
 * "Magnus" lives on Gallifrey. He's said to carelessly waste regenerations.


 * TV: The War Games / PROSE: Doctor Who and the War Games
 * Magnus is a renegade and lives off-Gallifrey. The Time Lords try to execute him, but he just regenerates.

It was intended that Magnus be the Master and the War Chief, who were intended to be the same character. Divided Loyalties identified the two as separate, but the dream flashbacks are stated by the Doctor to have been nightmares, and are therefore unreliable.

Here, the Master's timeline splits in two.

1.

Ke Le

 * AUDIO: Sympathy for the Devil
 * The regenerated War Chief is stranded on Earth and regenerates again into Ke Le.


 * AUDIO: The Library in the Body (cameo)
 * AUDIO: The Emporium at the End

2.

Koschei

 * PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus
 * The War Chief regenerates into Felix Kriegslieter, who, after being burned, regenerates into the "Koschei" incarnation. Ace describes the new incarnation as "a young man, tall, dark and satanically handsome".


 * AUDIO: The Toy
 * The Master is living on Gallifrey, but is the incarnation first seen in Terror of the Autons.


 * PROSE: The Dark Path
 * The Master is already in his incarnation first seen in Terror of the Autons.


 * PROSE: The Nameless City
 * The Master is wearing the clothes of the incarnation seen in Terror of the Autons, but targets the Second Doctor, rather than the Third. He is malevolent and the Doctor is travelling with Jamie and not Victoria, so after The Dark Path.


 * PROSE: Prisoners of the Sun
 * The Master doesn't appear, but a Time Lord mentions that he has escaped Shada.


 * PROSE: Reconnaissance
 * Leads into Terror of the Autons.


 * TV: Terror of the Autons / PROSE: Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons
 * PROSE: Doorway into Nowhere
 * The Master is stuck on Earth.


 * TV: The Mind of Evil / PROSE: The Mind of Evil
 * PROSE: Deadly Reunion
 * The Master's TARDIS is operational.


 * PROSE: UNIT Christmas Parties: Christmas Truce
 * TV: The Claws of Axos / PROSE: Doctor Who and the Claws of Axos
 * TV: Colony in Space / PROSE: Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon
 * TV: The Dæmons / PROSE: Doctor Who and the Dæmons
 * PROSE: The Unwanted Gift of Prophecy
 * The Master meets his future incarnation's wife in prison.


 * PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy
 * The Master is imprisoned.


 * PROSE: Freedom
 * COMIC: The Man in the Ion Mask
 * PROSE: The Face of the Enemy
 * The Master is imprisoned.


 * PROSE: Harvest of Time
 * The Master is imprisoned.


 * PROSE: The Switching
 * The Master moves to Fortress island, leading into The Sea Devils


 * TV: The Sea Devils / PROSE: Doctor Who and the Sea-Devils
 * PROSE: The Eight Doctors
 * The Master retrieves his TARDIS from where he hid it in The Face of the Enemy.


 * PROSE: The Seismologist's Story
 * PROSE: Doctor Who Fights Masterplan "Q"
 * TV: The Time Monster / PROSE: The Time Monster
 * PROSE: The Spear of Destiny
 * PROSE: Listen - the Stars
 * PROSE: Out of the Green Mist
 * COMIC: The Time Thief
 * PROSE: Hidden Talent
 * COMIC: Character Assassin
 * COMIC: The Glen of Sleeping
 * COMIC: Fogbound
 * PROSE: Smash Hit
 * PROSE: The One Second Hour
 * PROSE: Last of the Gaderene
 * PROSE: The Duke of Dominoes
 * The Doctor has regenerated.


 * PROSE: Night Flight to Nowhere
 * The Doctor has regenerated again.


 * PROSE: Legacy of the Daleks
 * The Master is badly injured, leading into The Deadly Assassin. According to this, the Master is already in his thirteenth incarnation. Note that this contradicts Sympathy for the Devil, where he is able to regenerate after the Doctor's exile, The Two Masters, where the version of him burnt is probably a different one and Doorway to Hell where he regenerates.


 * PROSE: Verdigris
 * The Master intends to go to Skaro and ally with the Daleks, leading into Frontier in Space.


 * TV: Frontier in Space / PROSE: Doctor Who and the Space War
 * COMIC: Doorway to Hell
 * The Master has returned from his affair with the Daleks and the Draconians.

Damien Scott

 * AUDIO: The Two Masters (Old Master flashbacks)
 * The Master has avoided being burnt, but encounters his future incarnation, who scars him. The Old Master steals the New Master's body.


 * AUDIO: Vampire of the Mind

Van Houten

 * AUDIO: The Two Masters (Old Master)
 * The Master is badly injured, leading into The Deadly Assassin.


 * TV: The Deadly Assassin
 * AUDIO: The Museum of Curiosities
 * AUDIO: Jago & Son (cameo)
 * AUDIO: Maurice (cameo)
 * AUDIO: The Woman in White (cameo)
 * AUDIO: Masterpiece
 * The Master left Gallifrey straight for Earth looking for the Doctor.


 * PROSE: The Scarlet Shadow (flashback)
 * The Master, wearing a cloak, attempts to steal Iris Wildthyme's body.


 * PROSE: Harvest of Time
 * The Master is captured by the Sild.


 * COMIC: The Five Masters (flashback)
 * The Master meets his future selves.


 * COMIC: The Abominable Showmen
 * COMIC: The Five Masters
 * AUDIO: Trail of the White Worm
 * AUDIO: The Oseidon Adventure
 * AUDIO: The Light at the End
 * The Master hasn't met Nyssa yet, placing it before The Keeper of Traken. Release order position for original Four/Leela Big Finish audios.


 * AUDIO: The Evil One
 * AUDIO: Requiem for the Rocket Men
 * AUDIO: Death Match
 * PROSE: Special Occasions: 1. The Not-So-Sinister Sponge
 * TV: The Keeper of Traken
 * The Master gains the body of Tremas

Tremas

 * PROSE: Master Faustus
 * TV: Logopolis / PROSE: Logopolis
 * TV: Castrovalva / PROSE: Castrovalva
 * AUDIO: Smoke and Mirrors
 * The Master is trying to reconstitute his body after it was broken down when Castrovalva was destroyed.


 * TV: Time-Flight / PROSE: Time-Flight
 * TV: The King's Demons / PROSE: The King's Demons
 * PROSE: Birth of a Renegade
 * TV: The Five Doctors / PROSE: The Five Doctors
 * PROSE: The Velvet Dark
 * PROSE: The Creation of Camelot
 * TV: Planet of Fire / PROSE: Planet of Fire
 * PROSE: A Town Called Eternity
 * The Master is scarred because of Planet of Fire.


 * TV: The Caves of Androzani / PROSE: The Caves of Androzani
 * AUDIO: Winter
 * The Master attempts to steal the Fifth Doctor's remaining regenerations.


 * TV: The Mark of the Rani / PROSE: The Mark of the Rani
 * PROSE: The Time Savers
 * PROSE: A Handful of Stardust
 * PROSE: The Fellowship of Quan
 * PROSE: The Radio Waves
 * TV: The Ultimate Foe / PROSE: The Ultimate Foe
 * PROSE: The Quantum Archangel
 * AUDIO: The End of the Line
 * COMIC: The Five Masters (flashback)
 * The Master meets his past and future selves.


 * COMIC: The Abominable Showmen
 * COMIC: The Five Masters
 * TV: Survival / PROSE: Survival
 * PROSE: Stop the Pigeon
 * The Master is still infected with the Cheetah virus from Survival.


 * PROSE: Prime Time
 * COMIC: Facades
 * COMIC: The Choice
 * COMIC: Endgame
 * The Master is wearing the same costume as in Destiny of the Doctors. He is not affected by the Cheetah virus.


 * GAME: Destiny of the Doctors / HOMEVID: Destiny of the Doctors

Major Kreer

 * PROSE: First Frontier
 * The Master is affected by the Cheetah virus. It recurred after seemingly being cured in Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark as well, in Ace. The Tzun attempt to give the Master a new regeneration cycle, and his first regeneration cures the cheetah virus.


 * PROSE: Housewarming
 * PROSE: Happy Endings
 * The Master's supposed new regeneration cycle has not worked, and his body is breaking down.

Mr Seta

 * AUDIO: Dust Breeding
 * The Master's old body has broken down by the Warp Core, turning him into the same form seen in The Keeper of Traken.


 * PROSE: The Eight Doctors (cameo)
 * The Master is in his Trakenite form, which continues to be infected with the Cheetah virus until TV: Doctor Who. He gains a Deathworm Morphant and steals another body.


 * TV: Doctor Who (execution scene)
 * The Master is executed by the Daleks because... reasons.


 * AUDIO: Master
 * The Doctor has already travelled with Chris and Roz, so this is after Lungbarrow - when he was sent to retrieve the Master's remains. He also has enough power over the Master to (with Death's help) create his life as "John Smith." So Master has been placed here on the assumption that, rather than even trying to return the Master's remains to Gallifrey, he takes advantage of his possession of said remains to give the Master his "John Smith" life. Then, while the Master spends ten years as John Smith, the Doctor has other adventures - which nicely explains why there can be stories set between Lungbarrow and Doctor Who.


 * PROSE: Omegamorphosis
 * This is a body stolen by the Master as a way to survive.

Bruce

 * TV: Doctor Who / PROSE: The Novel of the Film
 * COMIC: The Five Masters (flashback)
 * COMIC: The Abominable Showmen
 * COMIC: The Five Masters
 * Set while the Master is wearing Bruce's outfit.


 * PROSE: The Eight Doctors (cameo)
 * COMIC: The Glorious Dead (flashback)
 * The Master is saved by Esterath and given the body of a recently-deceased vagrant.

A Street Preacher

 * COMIC: The Fallen
 * COMIC: The Glorious Dead
 * The Master is banished to parts unknown by Kroton - most likely the Eye of Harmony, although not stated.

Don Maestro

 * PROSE: Forgotten
 * The Master escapes the Eye of Harmony again.
 * PROSE: Prologue
 * Set during the events of Forgotten.


 * AUDIO: Mastermind
 * Set directly after Forgotten. At the end, the Master is free and has his grandfather clock TARDIS.

War King

 * PROSE: Interference - Book Two
 * The Time Lords have cloned the Master during the War.


 * PROSE: The Adventuress of Henrietta Street
 * The Doctor's oldest friend has survived the War and is determined to save Gallifrey.


 * PROSE: Sometime Never... (cameo)
 * PROSE: The Deadstone Memorial (cameo)
 * PROSE: The Gallifrey Chronicles (cameo)
 * PROSE: The Book of the War
 * A renegade returns to Gallifrey with warnings of the War and becomes a politician. He has scarring deliberately retained from his previous incarnation.


 * PROSE: The Infinity Doctors
 * The Doctor's oldest friend is Magistrate of the Citadel on Gallifrey.


 * PROSE: The Book of the War
 * The renegade becomes the War King. He keeps a hypercube as a momento.


 * PROSE: The Taking of Planet 5
 * The Magistrate is War King.


 * AUDIO: Body Politic
 * AUDIO: Words from Nine Divinities
 * The War King is consumed by what was originally his grandfather clock TARDIS, Lolita.

Harcourt De'ath

 * AUDIO: Time's Horizon (cameo)
 * AUDIO: Eyes of the Master
 * The Master was rescued by the Time Lords from "a predicament," which the Doctor is aware of.


 * AUDIO: The Death of Hope
 * AUDIO: The Reviled
 * AUDIO: Masterplan
 * AUDIO: Rule of the Eminence
 * AUDIO: The Monster of Montmartre
 * AUDIO: Master of the Daleks
 * AUDIO: Dominion
 * The Master is working in direct opposition to the Time Lords.


 * AUDIO: The Two Masters (New Master flashbacks)
 * AUDIO: And You Will Obey Me
 * AUDIO: The Two Masters (New Master)

The Time War

 * COMIC: Outrun
 * COMIC: The Organ Grinder
 * COMIC: The Then and the Now


 * COMIC: Kill God
 * COMIC: Fast Asleep
 * The Master is in the body of a small child, having been resurrected to fight in the Time War. He regenerates into the "Yana" incarnation of the Master due to a paradox.

Professor Yana

 * TV: Utopia
 * The Master has just left the Time War. He doesn't have a TARDIS. He regenerates into his "Harold Saxon" incarnation.

Harold Saxon

 * TV: Utopia
 * PROSE: Speech Day
 * TV: The Sound of Drums
 * PROSE: The Unwanted Gift of Prophecy
 * Lucy is given the gun that she will use to kill the Master.


 * TV: Last of the Time Lords
 * PROSE: Harvest of Time (captive)
 * The Master is captured during the Year That Never Was by the Sild. He is freed and returned to his time.
 * PROSE: The Story of Martha
 * Set during the final scene of Last of the Time Lords.


 * TV: The End of Time
 * The Master is sent to the last day of the Time War.
 * COMIC: The Five Masters (flashback)
 * COMIC: The Abominable Showmen / The Five Masters
 * Set during The End of Time, while the Master is free-roaming.


 * TV: World Enough and Time / The Doctor Falls
 * The Master references his brief return to Gallifrey. The Master is later stabbed by his future self, commencing his regeneration into Missy.

Missy

 * TV: Deep Breath (cameo)
 * TV: Into the Dalek (cameo)
 * TV: The Caretaker (cameo)
 * TV: Flatline (cameo)
 * TV: In the Forest of the Night (cameo)
 * TV: Dark Water / Death in Heaven
 * Missy claims the Doctor "left [her] for dead." Missy is aware of the Doctor saving Gallifrey at the end of the Last Great Time War. The Twelfth Doctor speculates that she has a TARDIS, though it does not appear.


 * TV: The Magician's Apprentice / The Witch's Familiar
 * COMIC: The Five Masters (flashback)
 * COMIC: The Abominable Showmen / The Five Masters
 * PROSE: Yes, Missy
 * TV: Extremis (flashback)
 * Missy is imprisoned and sentenced to execution. The Doctor spares her life, but traps her within a vault.


 * TV: The Lie of the Land
 * The Doctor is forced to visit Missy within the vault to consult her for help against the Monks.


 * TV: Empress of Mars (cameo)
 * Missy is freed from the vault by Nardole to rescue the Doctor and Bill Potts.


 * TV: The Eaters of Light (cameo)
 * TV: World Enough and Time / The Doctor Falls
 * Missy meets her previous incarnation, who mortally wounds her.