Lux Imperator, also known simply as just Lux, was part of the Pantheon of Discord and the God of Light. He described himself as the shining light at the Pantheon's centre, the glint in a madman's eyes, and the last thing one saw before they fell into the abyss.
Biography[]
In Miami in 1952, moonlight hit the screen of the Palazzo Movie Theater as Mr. Ring-A-Ding Goes to Town was being played. Lux assumed Mr. Ring-a-Ding's form, declaring his interest in moonlight, not sunshine like Sunshine Sally's. He asked if the filmgoers agreed; irritated by their bemused silence, he climbed out of the screen to find out for himself.
Lux trapped the filmgoers in individual frames of a film strip, enlisting Reginald Pye, the projectionist, to help him stay alive with the promise that Reginald could spend time with his deceased wife. Three months later, the Fifteenth Doctor and Belinda Chandra entered the cinema, investigating the disappearances. He introduced himself as Mr. Ring-a-Ding, dropping the act when he was caught out by the Doctor. Giggling like the Toymaker, he revealed his true identity and desire for light.
Aided by Reginald, who forced Lux to act like Mr. Ring-a-Ding by playing the same short, the Doctor and Belinda escaped into the projection room. Struggling due to his pitiful size, Lux followed them. He entered the room, flattening himself and sliding under the door, and learned that Reginald had been giving away information to the Doctor and Belinda. He advised Reginald to stop, threatening to set alight the film reel containing footage of Reginald's wife.
After being bound by the Doctor to reveal how he could be defeated, Lux decided to have some fun with the Doctor and Belinda. First, he trapped them inside a caricature of Miami where even their brains were two-dimensional. When they escaped that, they were taken to a fake Palazzo, being accosted by a racist NYPD policeman and the mother of one of the disappeared. Finally, once Lux's bluff was called by the Doctor, they found themselves in a living room with fans of a TV series called Doctor Who. Inspired by the Doctor, the fans no longer wanted to serve Lux, and they provided the Doctor and Belinda with a vital hint about stopping him.
The Doctor and Belinda escaped the film strip which was their prison by stopping the reel, allowing the strip to be burned by the sheer heat of the projector. The Doctor healed his burns using leftover energy from his bi-generation, and Lux, nearby, began to covet the rest. Binding the Doctor with further film strips, he drained the Doctor of his regeneration energy, gradually gaining definition and shape. Belinda put a stop to this, and the projection room promptly exploded, the reels inside having been set alight by Reginald.
Exposed to sunlight, two billion times more powerful than a nuclear weapon, through a hole created by the explosion, Lux grew even faster, returning to his cartoony appearance. Eventually, he was so large, he dispersed throughout the universe. (TV: Lux [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 15 (BBC One and Disney+, 2025).)
Personality[]
Given that Lux was in the form of Mr. Ring-a-Ding, it was difficult to pinpoint exactly where the cartoon character ended and the powerful god began. Because of this, Lux was a cold, calculating and manipulative being that often expressed himself in juvenile and cartoonish ways. When Lux threatened to burn the memory of Reginald Pye's wife, he first mocked Reginald by crying in an exaggerated fashion before dancing towards him with fire in his hand.
Additionally, after his cameras grabbed the Fifteenth Doctor with strips of film, Lux made a pun by ordering them to "reel him in" shortly before he broke the fourth wall to quip about the Doctor being the "greatest story ever told". These jokes would greatly contrast to his following actions, where he savagely drained the Fifteenth Doctor of his regeneration energy and slowly became a grotesque and realistic version of Mr Ring-a-Ding.
As Lux absorbed light from the Sun and grew to exponential size, he was shown to have a sense of wonder and awe. He was overcome with emotion and seemed to accept his fate of expanding into nothing.
Like other members of the Pantheon of Discord, Lux was bound to certain rules. In Lux's case, since he was in the form of Mr. Ring-a-Ding, he was forced to stop and sing Mr. Ring-a-Ding's theme song for its entire duration if it was played in his presence. He was also honour-bound to tell the Doctor how he entered the world and how he could be defeated. However, Lux chose to answer with a riddle, displaying a level of cunning. (TV: Lux [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 15 (BBC One and Disney+, 2025).)
Powers and abilities[]
As the God of Light, Lux could control light as he pleased. He used this ability to trap people inside film strips, either by turning them into still images or physically transporting them into films. In the latter case, Lux could also turn the victims into cartoons as he did to the Fifteenth Doctor and Belinda Chandra. By doing so, Lux also limited the Doctor's thinking power as he now had a "two-dimensional brain".
However, Lux had limited control over what could happen inside his prisons. In one prison, the Doctor and Belinda met fans of their show, Doctor Who, who, despite being creations of Lux, helped the pair escape and pointed out Lux had inadvertently foreshadowed a way to defeat him. This would eventually help the Doctor, Belinda and Reginald Pye come up with a plan to defeat Lux once and for all. (TV: Lux [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 15 (BBC One and Disney+, 2025).)
To trap his victims in film strips, Lux utilised two large film cameras, which he could move just by thinking. (TV: Lux [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 15 (BBC One and Disney+, 2025).) Much like Maestro ensnared their victims with strings of music notes, (TV: The Devil's Chord [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 14 (BBC One and Disney+, 2024).) Lux was able to control strips of film and used them to hold the Fifteenth Doctor in place.
Despite being the God of Light, Lux could even manipulate reality to a minor degree as a living cartoon. He often made cartoon sound effects when he moved or expressed emotion, such as when sad violin music played as he recounted his loneliness.
Lux could also absorb energy, be it moonlight, sunlight, or regeneration energy. The more he consumed, the bigger he grew, until he could no longer maintain a physical form. Once Lux ceased to physically exist, his hold over his victims also vanished, as the fifteen missing audience members were freed from their film strip prisons immediately afterwards.
Lux also had the ability to summon fire. He used this power to threaten Reginald Pye into submission. (TV: Lux [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 15 (BBC One and Disney+, 2025).)
Appearance[]
Lux took on the form of Mr. Ring-a-Ding, a traditionally animated cartoon character. Belinda Chandra had trouble deciphering what Mr Ring-a-Ding was supposed to be. She noted he looked like a man, had a nose like a pig and was coloured blue. Mr. Ring-a-Ding also wore a deep purple tailcoat with a yellow waistcoat and white shirt with a large collar, as well as a prominent red bow tie. He also wore a straw hat, which was either placed on top of his head or floating just above it. Due to misunderstanding perspective, when he met the Doctor and Belinda, he was two feet tall.
Lux's Mr. Ring-a-Ding form also had visible film grain all over his body, as was typical for a cartoon produced during the 1950s.
After taking the Fifteenth Doctor's regeneration energy for himself, Lux was able to build himself a body. This body still retained Mr. Ring-a-Ding's appearance, but increased in detail until he was a physical, highly-detailed and grotesque version of him. He now had details that were previously unseen on his simple cartoon body, such as very prominent wrinkles and discoloured teeth. (TV: Lux [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 15 (BBC One and Disney+, 2025).)
