IF THEY ARE MORBIUS...
We have to make a couple of big assumptions before we start.
Morbius lost the game. It seems that the Doctor drove an overconfident Morbius "back! Back" to his beginnings, even as he thought he was doing the same to the Doctor.
So, without further evidence, let us assume that the final face on the screen was the first Morbius - and that is the moment he lost. The game was over. There were no other Morbius' to see...
So who were they?
THE FIRST MORBIUS
If this is truly the first Morbius, and we have nothing to suggest that there are any earlier ones, what is most remarkable is that he has, in this very first incarnation, found his way into the past history of Earth, judging by his attire.
Clearly part of Earth history. What drew him to that planet at such an early stage of his lives?
A second remarkable aspect is that Morbius seems to appear almost kind here, with a friendly appearance and a bit daft. What was he doing in Earth history? Did something happen during his incognito visit to ignite his insanity and a terrible lust for power? The tale of Morbius is not as black and white as it seems perhaps.
What happened to him to change him so?
THE SECOND MORBIUS
The vibe I am getting from this one is that of a judge. Again a position of power. But is he a judge on Earth, or some other planet? Where has Morbius got to this time? And fairness and true justice are unlikely to be part of this incarnation's agenda. Only one image to go on, but I speculate that Morbius is experiencing his first taste of power and authority and is top of the pile. But where the pile is remains a mystery. Rough speculation, but I would opt for a hanging judge in English history, or leading the Witch Trials of Salem. Something like that. But why?
And what happened to that friendly first Morbius?
THE THIRD MORBIUS
Once again, he seems to have headed to Earth. Is it possible that there is something hidden in the depths of the history of our insignificant planet that he is desperately hungry to possess? A Gallifreyan artifact? What can it be? Again, there is a cold and ruthless look to that face. A growing and consistent feature of this most dreadful of Time Lords.
THE FOURTH MORBIUS
This one doesn't fit. This one doesn't seem to be a Morbius, so to speak. He looks too normal, too human, too ineffectual to be the mass slaughterer of anything. So what is going on? Has he returned to the friendly sanity of his first incarnation? Unlikely. Or has something else happened?
The only way I can rationalise this one is that Morbius has been tracked down by the Time Lords and, desperate to escape them, has used a chameleon watch, in order to fit, unobtrusively into a humanoid society somewhere. But his inner self longs to be free - and it is only a matter of time before the Universe trembles at the name of Morbius again.
THE SIXTH MORBIUS
Morbius is back. And he's pissed. Resentful of having to spend an entire lifetime as a blissfully useless humanoid, he is thirsty to regain his rightful place as Master of creation. A terrible incarnation, in the worst possible way. This incarnation's callousness has increased drastically. This is the empty gaze of a madman. He has slaughtered millions - and it is all behind that gaze. Again, we cannot fix a location for this one.
Is he the supreme ruler of some backwater planet, still on the run from the Time Lords? Regardless, it seems he ends up on Earth again...
Did he ever leave it before now?
THE SEVENTH MORBIUS
Morbius seems to have an air of desperation about him here, in he seventh body. There is nothing we can deduce from this about his location. Has he finally left Earth?
The consistent empty callousness remains, as ever, in that gaze.
This is the face of a person who likes to be in complete charge of any and everything. But what is he planning? Where is he located?
It seems he will end up all at sea after this...
THE EIGHTH MORBIUS
Morbius is clearly now in a different era of Earth's history, perhaps at sea, travelling. Trying to find something. But what?
Again there is that terrible blankness to the eyes.
Few who cross this incarnation's path survive. There is an air of great superiority behind the deceptively avuncular gaze. From here he will - I contend - end up in Victorian London?
THE NINTH MORBIUS
Sticking with the Jack the Ripper notion of this incarnation, let us assume that, for some reason, Morbius was in fact the Whitechapel killer.
This raises the question of why?
Nefarious experiments that require body parts. What can that be all about?
There is a horrifying blankness to Morbius here. He cares not for anyone or anything. A true psychopath.
Could Magnus Greel and he have crossed paths at some point?
It is after this incarnation that he ends up fleeing to Karn. We can only assume that the Time Lords tracked him down in Earth's history and he made his escape, regenerating in the process.
THE TENTH MORBIUS
And so to Karn. And a terrible accident that ravages the body of Morbius into a state where regeneration is no longer possible.
Robbed of his remaining lives, he becomes a bitter brain in a jar; that long ago kindly first Morbius but a distant memory....
