madame vastra

The wrong side of Madame Vastra can be a dangerous place to be… A brave warrior, she wields swords with power and precision and after dealing with the notorious Jack the Ripper, she commented that she’d found him ‘stringy but tasty’, suggesting that she devours her enemies!
Also known as: The Great Detective
Home Planet: Earth
Fact! Simeon suspected that Sherlock Holmes was based on Madame Vastra!
First Appearance: A Good Man Goes to War
Latest Appearance: The Snowmen
Doctor: The Eleventh Doctor

The Doctor found Vastra in the London Underground system where, in her own words, she was ‘attempting to avenge my sisters on perfectly innocent tunnel-diggers’. He intervened, teaching her that ‘anger is always the shortest distance to a mistake’. It was a piece of wisdom she would remind him of much later, on the eve of battle…

Send a telegram… Jack the Ripper has claimed his last victim!Vastra

It’s clear that the Doctor has enormous faith in Vastra. When he needed a team to help him at the Battle of Demon’s Run, this remarkable Silurian was one of the first figures he turned to and her immediate response – ‘It means a very old debt is to be repaid!’ – indicates she had met the Time Lord in the tunnels long before he called for her assistance.

In fact, by the time they teamed up to rescue Amy Pond from Kovarian, they had developed a sound friendship. She felt comfortable teasing the Doctor and gently challenging him when she sensed his judgement was impaired by emotion. She was familiar with the concept of regeneration, knew about the Time Lords, and even recognised their cellular make-up, indicating that she’d learnt much from the man she called ‘old friend’.

Like many Silurians, Vastra sometimes showed a haughty contempt for humans, but she’s close to her ‘assistant’, Jenny Flint and showed a steel resolve to keep the Monks from baby Melody, shouting, ‘Protect the child at all costs!’ and risking her own life for the Ponds’ daughter.

Back in Victorian London, her alliance with Jenny and Strax became known as the Paternoster Gang , with the trio sometimes joined a fourth member - the Doctor himself. She was by his side as he battled the Great Intelligence in 1892 and was delighted to see Clara galvanise him into action. She last glimpsed the Time Lord haring off on another mission but we suspect that we’ll be seeing more of this engaging ‘lizard woman from the dawn of time’!