"Your evil is my good. I'm Sutekh the Destroyer. Where I tread, I leave nothing but dust and darkness. I find that good."
As the 15th Doctor's first season comes to a close, we mark the return of Sutekh with a look at the various Character Options 5-inch figures that have been released based on his original serial from 1975, the Pyramids of Mars.
It was 2009 when the first Pyramids of Mars releases arrived in Character's Doctor Who line with the release of the 4th Doctor from the 1974 serial, a reworked version of the original 'Robot' 4th Doctor with a new waistcoat, long coat, and an updated paint job. The Doctor was also packed with his sonic and the TARDIS console piece. The figure would be re-packed in 2015 under the Underground Toys US-specific 'Diamond' packaging. And in 2017 it got a third lease of life as part of a B&M Exclusive 3-Pack in the UK alongside K9 and Leela - but without the TARDIS accessory.
The Doctor was joined in 2009 by the Servitor Mummy, one of four figures from the Adventures of the Fourth Doctor Set. The set also included the original 4th Doctor Figure, a VOC Robot, and a Destiny of the Daleks bomb-laden Dalek. This release of the Mummy came with a Jackal Head Canopic Jar accessory.
Roll on one year to 2010 and the Mummy was given a single release in Wave 2 of the Doctor Who Classic series. The Canopic Jar was updated to an Eagle Head, and inside the jar was an explosive canister accessory.
We had to wait until 2012 for the first Sutekh figure in a Pyramids of Mars exclusive 3-pack which also included two new variants of the Mummy figure, now with the gold sash worn by the guardians within the Pyramid itself. The set was exclusive to Forbidden Planet in the UK and distributed by Underground Toys in the US.
The Sutekh in the 2012 set was the unmasked version, and we only had to wait another year or so for the masked version to be released. This was part of the biggest and arguably the best Pyramids of Mars set releases by Character. The 'Priory Collector Set' included the masked Sutekh with a light-up eyes feature. He was joined by a brand new figure, Marcus Scarman, and a sarcophagus that opened to reveal a lenticular time vortex. Accessories include more Canopic Jar variants (Monkey & Human) and the Coordinate Selector. The large closed box set also featured a cardboard playset that could be assembled to recreate a scaled version of the Pyramid Rocket.
With five key characters/monsters released the Pyramids of Mars collection remains one of the most comprehensive of any classic story and perhaps is short a Sarah-Jane Smith to complete it in full. Sadly, many of the releases were exclusive and therefore limited in volume and some 10-15 years later these will bring a premium on the secondary market if you are wanting to track any of them down.
You can review all of the Character Options Doctor Who releases over at our comprehensive Doctor Who Collector Database, and please support our ongoing support and maintenance of this and other checklists by sharing the site and by using our affiliate links if you intend to make any purchases. Thank you
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About Me : As a child of the '70s and '80s I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force), and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licenses - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who, and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK-focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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