Supreme Dalek

The Supreme Dalek, or Dalek Supreme, was the name given to many Daleks, usually within the Black Dalek ranks, to serve the role of commander. This title could refer to the leader of a specific operation, territory, faction or of the entire Dalek race in the absence of the Dalek Emperor. They comprised the Dalek Supreme Council. (AUDIO: We Are The Daleks) Unconditional obedience to the Supreme Dalek and belief that it would lead the Daleks to victory was one of the six "articles of faith" comprising the Dalek creed. (PROSE: The Dalekreed)

Dalek City
The first known Dalek Supreme resided deep below the Dalek City in the city's incubation level, held in a large nutrient tank. (AUDIO: Return to Skaro) After the Thal-Dalek battle had disabled the Daleks' main power source, (TV: The Daleks) the incubation level was sealed off, suspending the Supreme for decades before it was found by Tryana. Convincing her that it desired peace, the Supreme had her restore power to the Dalek City. When the First Doctor returned to Skaro, the Supreme abandoned the ruse and transferred itself to a black casing so it could lead its resurrected army against the Thals only for the Doctor and his companions to destroy the Dalek force. (AUDIO: Return to Skaro)

22nd century Dalek invasion of Earth
A Black Dalek known as a Supreme Controller directed the Bedfordshire operation. It had a terrifying pet called the Slyther, which it let roam free around the mines at night, killing those it found. The Supreme Controller's voice was considerably higher than the other Daleks'. A black-and-silver-coloured Dalek referred to as the Saucer Commander was also used during this invasion. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth)

Alternate timeline of the 22nd century
The Daleks on Earth were led by a Gold Dalek in an alternate timeline in which World War III had occurred in the late 20th century, enabling the Daleks to take over. (TV: Day of the Daleks)

Second Dalek War
During the 26th century, Supreme Daleks were gold with black trim. liaised with one after he'd been hired to start another human-Draconian war. (TV: Frontier in Space)

Another, a member of the Dalek's Supreme Council, arrived to take command of operations on the planet Spiridon. He exterminated the Dalek Section Leader for its incompetence and ended up stranded after Thals stole his ship, but called for another one. The second Supreme had an eye-stalk that lit up when he was speaking. (TV: Planet of the Daleks)

During the Second Dalek War, a red-and-gold Supreme Dalek led Grey Daleks in an attack on the Cathedral of Contemplation. (AUDIO: Out of Time) Later, at a point when the war was waged by new bronze Daleks, the Dalek Inquisitor General known as Dalek X was subordinate to the Supreme Dalek. (PROSE: Prisoner of the Daleks)

Circa 4000
A Black Dalek serving as the Dalek Supreme dispatched a Dalek execution squad to pursue the Doctor through space and time in response to defeating their invasion of Earth, (TV: The Chase) and later led the Great Alliance on the planet Kembel in their plan to destroy Earth. (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan) As it was second-in-command of the Dalek race, the Dalek Supreme was considered irreplaceable by the Dalek Prime. (PROSE: The Mutation of Time) Some historians claimed that this Dalek Supreme was the last surviving member of the Supreme Council, which had been whittled down over the course of the Dalek Wars. (PROSE: Dalek: The Astounding Untold History of the Greatest Enemies of the Universe)

However, over a thousand years later, when the Dalek Prime had become the Dalek Emperor, there were several Black Daleks, (PROSE: The Evil of the Daleks) in addition to black-domed Daleks serving as lieutenants and guards. (TV: The Evil of the Daleks)

Dalek-Movellan War
The Dalek Supreme was the Supreme Commander of the Daleks during the war with the Movellans. A Dalek lieutenant, a Dalek of a darker shade of grey than the rest, was also of an intermediate rank at that time. (TV: Destiny of the Daleks)

Imperial-Renegade Dalek Civil War
A schism developed between the Daleks led by the Dalek Supreme and those still loyal to their creator Davros. Following the Dalek-Movellan War, the Supreme Dalek was a fully black Dalek, with white bumps and a more hollow voice. He was destroyed when the prison station holding Davros self-destructed, taking the Dalek ship with it. (TV: Resurrection of the Daleks) When Renegade Daleks captured Davros for trial, he tried to convince them he was their master, to which they responded they obeyed only the Supreme Dalek. Davros stated he could make them all Supreme Daleks but they would not release him. (TV: Revelation of the Daleks)

During the civil war, Davros, despite his animosity towards the Supreme, nonetheless had an Imperial Supreme Dalek in partial command. (AUDIO: The Curse of Davros)

Another Dalek Supreme was the leader of the Renegade Daleks that opposed the Imperial Daleks commanded by Davros, now calling himself the Dalek Emperor. The Dalek Supreme ended up as the last surviving member of the original, Kaled-descended Daleks. The Seventh Doctor convinced it that it had no purpose. At this point, in a state of confusion and distress, it destroyed itself. This variation was also mainly black, but had silver sensor globes, shoulder slats and neck rings, orange dome-lights, and a less-tapered "skirt" section. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)

53rd century
A Supreme Dalek, assisted by a Black Dalek, led the invasion of the New Earth System aboard the Dalek Hive. It planned to collapse the star into a black hole and invade the multiverse to exterminate all impure Daleks. It was significantly larger than other Daleks and possessed an actual eye with veins and a claw-manipulator. It was destroyed by the impure Daleks. (COMIC: Fire and Brimstone)

Time War
A red Dalek Supreme with three luminosity dischargers commanded a Dalek fleet which attempted to ambush the War Doctor after leaking its coordinates to the Time Lords. After the Doctor escaped the trap, the Dalek Supreme ordered its underlings to "active the tracker beacon" and gloated that "the Predator" would soon be located and "bent to the will of the Daleks". (COMIC: Ambush)

claimed to have fought a Supreme Dalek on the hills of the Never Vault during the Time War. (TV: The Witch's Familiar)

New Dalek Empire
After the return of Davros and the reestablishment of the Dalek race, a red Supreme Dalek took charge of the New Dalek Empire. Like the Time War version's, its casing had gold ridges around it, golden sense globes, and three luminosity dischargers. The Supreme Dalek spoke in a deeper voice than most Daleks. He was killed by Jack Harkness after attempting to exterminate Davros and the Doctor. (TV: The Stolen Earth / Journey's End)

The dome of an identical Supreme Dalek ended up in UNIT's Black Archive. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)

New Dalek Paradigm
Three survivors of the New Dalek Empire, with their heavily-damaged Dalek saucer, located a Progenitor device, capable of restoring the Dalek race, which refused to activate for them due to their "impurity". The Daleks decided to lure the Eleventh Doctor to them by posing as man-made machines in World War II. Gaining the Doctor's "testimony" that they were truly Daleks, the Progenitor finally activated for them, creating a new faction of improved Daleks who considered themselves superior. These Daleks were led by a white Dalek Supreme. Under the Supreme's orders, the old Daleks were destroyed by the new ones. The Supreme Dalek then threatened to destroy the Earth using an Oblivion Continuum. While the Doctor rushed to Earth to disarm the device, the Supreme Dalek and its subordinates departed the era in a time corridor to go on and rebuild the Daleks. (TV: Victory of the Daleks)

A Supreme Dalek oversaw the placement of the Eye of Time in the ruins of Kaalann. However, its plot was foiled by the Eleventh Doctor and Amy, reversing the invasion of Earth and sending the Supreme Dalek and its army back to their own time and space. (GAME: City of the Daleks)

Another Supreme Dalek led the Daleks on their attempted take-overs of the SS Lucy Gray in their efforts to recover their lost Time Axis. The Daleks, including the Supreme Dalek, were destroyed when their ship was sent into the sun. (GAME: Evacuation Earth, Return to Earth)

A Supreme Dalek appeared at the opening of the Pandorica. (TV: The Pandorica Opens)

The Eleventh Doctor found a dying Supreme Dalek and took information about the Silence from its memory banks. (TV: The Wedding of River Song)

A damaged Supreme from the Paradigm was once discovered in the wreckage of a Renegade Dalek base on Thule. (PROSE: Dalek: The Astounding Untold History of the Greatest Enemies of the Universe)

When the Daleks invaded London in 2106 using a piece of the Eternity Clock, the Supreme Dalek oversaw the operation from the Dalek Command Node. The Doctor and River Song hacked into the Dalek transmat systems and sent the Supreme Dalek to the North Pole. (GAME: The Eternity Clock)

While the original Supreme Dalek had originally been the ultimate leader of the Paradigm, its repeated failures had caused it to be demoted, maintaining simply a token presence in the Parliament of the Daleks. Another Supreme was an inmate of the Dalek Asylum. (TV: Asylum of the Daleks)

A Dalek Supreme served under the Dalek Time Controller during their plan involving the Doctor and the Sunlight Worlds. (PROSE: The Dalek Generation)

Redemption for the original Paradigm Supreme came when the Prime Minister of the Daleks was driven insane upon remembering the Doctor. Declaring the Prime Minister unfit for service, the Supreme exterminated it and retook command of the New Dalek Paradigm, commanding Dalek forces throughout the Siege of Trenzalore. Though it came close to exterminating the dying Doctor, it was ultimately destroyed by the regeneration energy that the Doctor released when the Time Lords granted him a new regeneration cycle. (PROSE: Dalek: The Astounding Untold History of the Greatest Enemies of the Universe)

A Supreme Dalek commanded the Daleks from Dalek control on a rebuilt Skaro at the Dalek City. This Supreme ordered the extermination of Missy and Clara Oswald. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice) These Daleks were destroyed by the rejuvenated Daleks that were decaying in the sewers. (TV: The Witch's Familiar)

Behind the scenes

 * Similar to Dalek Emperor/Emperor Dalek, the terms "Dalek Supreme" and "Supreme Dalek" are used interchangably across media. Following the initial use of "Supreme Controller" in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, "Dalek Supreme" is used in The Chase, The Daleks' Master Plan, Planet of the Daleks and Asylum of the Daleks, while "Supreme Dalek" is used in Destiny of the Daleks, Resurrection of the Daleks, Revelation of the Daleks, The Stolen Earth/Journey's End, City of the Daleks and The Witch's Familiar. Additionally, in Victory of the Daleks, the leading Dalek identifies itself simply as "the Supreme".
 * This inconsistency is referenced in Out of Time, when the Tenth Doctor asks a Supreme if it prefers "Superme Dalek" or "Dalek Supreme".
 * A Black Dalek, leading the Dalek city, was featured in the Dr. Who film Dr. Who and the Daleks. In the sequel Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., the Black Dalek is subordinate to a Gold Dalek, predating the first televised appearance of a Gold Dalek in Day of the Daleks.
 * The Dalek Supreme, featured in Planet of the Daleks, was actually part of Terry Nation's private collection and was made up of parts from two props from The Curse of the Daleks play.
 * A white Supreme Dalek appeared in two short length BBC sketches featuring Matt Lucas and David Walliams promoting a new comedy, Come Fly With Me. The first sketch featured the Dalek collecting a boarding pass at Heathrow Airport and telling the hostess that it is going to Skaro. The second sketch featured the Dalek leaving the airport, with shopping bags on its plunger arm and being distracted by two attractive air hostesses.
 * "The Dalek Tapes", a feature in the Genesis of the Daleks DVD, presented both the Gold Dalek of Day of the Daleks and the golden Dalek Supreme of Planet of the Daleks as members of the Supreme Council. This notion was later confirmed in a narrative source, Dalek: The Astounding Untold History of the Greatest Enemies of the Universe .
 * A Supreme Dalek appeared in Extermination from the Gallifrey audio series, attacking the Axis. It had a Time War casing with a black dome and black globes.
 * Depending on the player's progress, "Supreme Dalek" is a potential rank for the Metaltron to attain in the video game NOTVALID: The Last Dalek.
 * Doctor Who The Official Annual 2011's feature on the New Dalek Paradigm makes the claim that there is only ever one Supreme Dalek.