Eight Legs

The Eight Legs were the giant spiders with psychic powers.

Physical characteristics
The Eight Legs were black spiders, generally less then a metre in length, though the Great One achieved a much larger size. The Eight Legs relied on human mounts for transport, though they could scuttle along at walking pace. The Eight Legs could create webs like the spiders of Earth, though they were not sticky and were merely tough. They also fed on the flesh of living creatures, generally the sheep of Metebelis III, though they preferred human meat. (DW: Planet of the Spiders)



Powers and abilities
The Eight Legs could speak through telepathy, discharge psychic energy and teleport through both time and space. To teleport further distances required more spiders to focus their wills.

They could ride on the backs of humans, turn invisible and possess the human who could act as a vessel for the Eight Leg's power. They could, for example, project psychic energy blasts, the strength of which varied according to the strength of the victim. (DW: Planet of the Spiders)

History
A starship of human colonists crash landed on Metebelis III with Earth spiders on board. In the mountains, the native blue crystals caused the spiders to grow both in size and mental power. Over the course of millenia, the spiders enslaved the colonists, forced them to harvest food and ate the humans themselves. They forbade the humans to use the word spider, referred to themselves as Eight Legs and calling the humans Two Legs. The Eight Legs developed a matriarchal society centred around the physically enormous Great One.

The Eight Legs planned to conquer the rest of the universe with the Great One planning to collect all of the blue crystals, believing it would give her immense powers. Though they were nearly successful, the final crystal was held by the Third Doctor on Earth. The Eight Legs sent an expedition back in time to obtain the final crystal. Though the crystal was returned to them, the power of the crystal web was too much to contain. The energy feedback destroyed the Great One. (DW: Planet of the Spiders) Despite this, some of the Eight Legs managed to escape to Earth, by travelling down the ley lines. The Fourth Doctor and Romana encountered the Eight Legs living in an isolated, little house, hiding away and supplying food for their queen, while she was giving birth to dozens of unhatched Eight Legs to take over the world. However, the Doctor stopped the Eight Legs plans by setting fire to the house, alerting the fire brigade. As the eggs began to hatch, the Doctor used the high powered jet of water from the houses to attack and kill all the Eight Legs in the house. (ST: Return of the Spiders)

Iris Wildthyme had encountered Giant Spiders on Metebelis III. (EDA: The Scarlet Empress)

When Es'Cartress tried to take over the Tenth Doctor's mind via the TARDIS' Matrix, he used his memories of the Eight Legs to attack him. (IDW: The Forgotten)