The Plant Master (comic story)

"" is the ex post facto title of the Third Doctor comic story in the 1972 Countdown Annual. Like many pre-Marvel comic strips, it had no title on first publication. The name gained traction after being used by Jean-Marc Lofficier in The Terrestrial Index and confirmed by John Ainsworth in his then-comprehensive listing of Third Doctor strips in DWCC #4.

Summary
After materialising in the path of a motorbike rider, the Doctor is turned on to a local mystery, involving a mad professor and an intelligent plant.

Characters

 * Third Doctor
 * Dave Lester
 * Professor Rayner
 * Carradine
 * Master Plant

Continuity

 * Though this story would have been written in 1971 for inclusion in the 1972 annual, the Third Doctor is clearly no longer exiled on Earth. He has complete use of the TARDIS. He's even shown executing some "short hop" precision flights. This places this strip (and many others in Countdown/TV Action) at least a year or two ahead of events on television.

Timeline

 * The Plant Master occurs after TVA: Backtime.
 * The Plant Master occurs before TVA: The Eternal Present.