The Abominable Showmen was a back-up comic story printed in Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctorissue 11. The story followed directly from the events of The Meddling of Clara's Song, which itself began where Day of the Tune had left off. This marked the first time which the Titan back-up comic stories printed for Doctor Who had attempted a continuous story throughout the issues.
The story is also notable for being one of the first multi-Master stories - the story featured the return of the incarnations of the Master initially played by Anthony Ainley, Peter Pratt, Eric Roberts, John Simm and Michelle Gomez. For Gomez, Roberts, and Simm, this marked their first full-time appearance outside of the show and prose - the first outside of the show for Gomez.
Performing for their lives in Battle of the Bands Beyond the Stars, the Twelfth Doctor and Clara watch a luckless Ood be incinerated. As Clara tries to lighten the mood with a bow tie joke, a group of robed figures brush past them and onto the stage. Though the Doctor is initially unconcerned, thinking the competition to be a grouping of Headless Monks, both his and Clara's jaws drop when the competition reveals themselves to be Missy leading a band made up of her previous incarnations.
According to one account, the Master had the appearance of Roger Delgado while on Gallifrey. According to another, he had Anthony Ainley's likeness. According to another one, the one with James Dreyfus's appearance was the incarnation who ran away from Gallifrey.
While fighting to extend his life at the end of his regeneration cycle, many bodies were possessed by the Beevers incarnation, but all kept somehow reverting to his real being until he finally regenerated into the MacQueen one. Hence, these sections cannot be strictly chronological
