Ask any Whovian who the best companion is and they will have a well thought out list of reasons why their favorite is the right choice. However, ask about the strongest and the debate changes a bit.
RELATED: BBC Knew the 13th Doctor Who Would Be a Woman Before Capaldi Ever Left
Among Doctor Who's new crop of companions, several have displayed a moral compass, cleverness, and strength of character that could rival The Doctor. Whether you champion Rose, Martha, Donna, Amy, Clara or River, there's no denying they're all worthy of being companions. With that in mind, we’ve decided to settle this debate with 10 times the companions were stronger than The Doctor.
MARTHA PROTECTS THE DOCTOR WHEN HE'S HUMAN
As a Time Lord, The Doctor’s knowledge of time and space, along with the ability to regenerate makes him one of the most powerful species in the universe. However, when he becomes human for a short time, he’s just as vulnerable as the rest of us.
During this time in pre-WWI England it's up to Martha to protect him from the Family of Blood. Despite her jealousy at his feelings for a local schoolteacher, she doesn't hesitate to defend him from the family and ultimately protect him from himself and force him to turn back into a Time Lord. When push comes to shove, Martha puts both her and The Doctor's feelings aside to protect the world.
BILL REMEMBERS HER MOM TO DEFEAT THE MONKS
Bill Potts is introduced as a smart woman, alone in the world, with no family. However, her connection to her late mother is an essential part of who she is. Thoughts of her mom even inform her decision to travel with The Doctor.
RELATED: 8 Times Doctor Who Ignored Its Own Canon
Knowing this, it comes as no surprise when it's this love for her mother that saves the whole world. Bill uses her memories of her mom to preserve a world changed by the evil Monks. Over and over again, we're shown that Bill's force of will is extremely powerful.
AMY REMEMBERS THE DOCTOR AFTER BIG BANG II
For a whole season Doctor Who set up the story of a crack in space and time, and an exploding TARDIS. When it finally happened, it destroyed the whole universe. The Doctor saved everyone by resetting everything with the Big Bang II, which unfortunately erased him from time.
Thankfully, Amy Pond was having none of that and used their connection and her memories to bring him back. Amy had an independent spirit and unwavering belief in The Doctor that made her one of his most trusted companions. Though they met when she was a little girl, he always treated her like an equal.
CLARA ERASES THE DOCTOR'S MEMORY
Clara and the Twelfth Doctor didn't have the best start since she was unsure of how to react to his regeneration. In an interesting twist, the pair ended up as one of the series’ closest duos. When Clara sacrificed herself to save a friend, The Doctor couldn't take it and went to extremes to bring her back.
RELATED: 10 Things Only Real Doctor Who Fans Know About The Sonic Screwdriver
The Doctor, realizing that they were too devoted to one another, decided to pull a familiar trick and erase Clara's memories. Only Clara decided to make her own choices and reversed it back on The Doctor. Honestly, in order to keep the universe safe and let them both move on, Clara had to be strong enough for both of them to make this difficult decision.
DONNA SURVIVES TWO DIFFERENT PARALLEL WORLDS
The moment we meet Catherine Tate's hilarious Donna Noble in “The Runaway Bride” we know she's not like other companions. When she returns for a full season, we immediately see how perfect she is for The Doctor's current emotional state.
After surviving her first emotionally draining parallel world in the Library, she uses her second parallel world in “Turn Left” to reveal how much danger the universe is really in. In the end, it's Donna who saves the Earth and several other planets from Daleks.
MARTHA OUTSMARTS THE MASTER
There's no question that The Doctor's greatest nemesis is The Master. His return is a complete surprise to The Doctor, and he's able to instantly get the upper hand. However, unlike The Doctor, The Master's hubris has always been his biggest weakness. This is why he doesn't see Martha as a threat.
When she returns to England to bring him down, she begins her plan by spreading misinformation she knows he will act on. She uses his ego against him so she can be in the right place, at the right time to save her family and help The Doctor. Yeah, she out thinks a Time Lord.
RIVER STOPS TIME TO SAVE THE DOCTOR
It takes a special kind of woman to be The Doctor’s wife, and River Song is that woman. Though she is the one destined to shoot him, she saves his life on several occasions. Their relationship is based on the fact that one of them always knows more about the other’s timeline, so it makes perfect sense that when the time comes, she rewrites a fixed point to save him.
RELATED: 10 Things Only Real Doctor Who Fans Know About The TARDIS
All of history is changed and begins happening at the same time. While it’s a fun episode full of Easter eggs, ultimately it’s not good for time and The Doctor must reset everything. However, there’s something great about River’s confidence that she can rewrite time just to save the man she loves.
RORY WAITED 2000 YEARS FOR AMY
No companion has grown more from traveling with The Doctor than Rory Williams. He initially boarded the TARDIS just to follow Amy, but ended up finding his confidence and becoming a hero in his own right. Of course, everything Rory does is still connected to his love for Amy and when the fate of the universe is at stake, he makes a huge sacrifice to protect her.
When Amy is stuck inside the Pandorica, a plastic Rory stays by her side and keeps her safe for 2,000 years. In fact, when The Doctor suggests time travel, he doesn’t even hesitate to stay behind for her. It’s just one of the many times Rory was the perfect husband.
ROSE DOWNLOADS THE HEART OF THE TARDIS TO HER BRAIN
The minute she meets The Doctor, Rose Tyler’s life is changed forever. Through her adventures with the Ninth Doctor she grows more devoted to him, so when he sends her home to save her, she does anything to get back to him. In one last desperate attempt to save him from the Daleks, she accepts the heart of the TARDIS into her head, making her very powerful.
RELATED: Kid Behind Most Controversial Doctor Who Episode Speaks Out 12 Years Later
She uses her newfound abilities to destroy the Emperor of the Daleks and bring Jack Harkness back to life. Unfortunately, this isn’t a power humans were meant to have and The Doctor takes it away from her, leading to his regeneration into the Tenth Doctor.
BILL REFUSES TO BECOME A CYBERMAN
During a visit to a black hole, Bill is shot and separated from The Doctor. While waiting for him to show up, she's swept into one of The Master's schemes and turned into a Mondasian Cyberman. Only Bill has no plans to change and her mind is strong enough to refuse the process.
Bill's belief in herself and The Doctor prevent the programming from taking over her mind. In fact, she can't even see the physical differences until The Doctor points them out to her. From the moment we meet her Bill has an incredible sense of self. Turns out, it's that strength that saves her soul.