Davros is the greatest scientist of the Kaled race, in charge of research - in fact, he is so revered that he is widely known as the Kaleds' supreme commander. One of his inventions was a substance with the strength of thirty-foot-thick reinforced concrete, which the Kaleds used to fortify the protective dome over their city. However, the Kaleds were not entirely in support of Davros; for over fifty years, factions in the government tried to interfere with his research, although they failed. Some of this might have been due to the unethical nature of Davros' research. Many of his earlier experiments involved animals, and when the results were deemed to be less than satisfactory, he discarded the creatures - still alive - into a cave outside the city. These mutants included some kind of large lizard and several giant clams.
On Skaro, a war had been waging between the Kaleds and the Thals for a thousand years, with both sides wanting to eradicate the other. Eventually, a scientific élite was formed to produce weapons that would end the war - but, realizing that this line of research was futile, they changed the direction of their research into how best they could ensure the survival of the Kaled race. But there were problems: during the first century of the war, chemical weapons had been used that caused disastrous genetic consequences. Some Kaleds were turned into mutants - cleverly nicknamed "Mutos" - and were banished to the wastelands. Davros, believing that these mutations could not be reversed, instead looked toward the future, and started experiments to determine what the Kaleds' final mutational form would be. He took living cells, treated them with chemicals, and produced "the ultimate creature." But these creatures could not survive on their own, so Davros devised a travel machine for them.
But for Davros, this was insufficient. His fanatical desire was to perpetuate himself in his machines - machines with no emotions, no feeling, no pity, no soul, and no conscience. And he turned his travel machines - named "Daleks", an anagram of "Kaleds" - into weapons. His belief was that the elimination of conscience would make the Daleks superior to all other lifeforms. But he did not see them as evil, merely conditioned to become the supreme rulers of the universe. Once they had accomplished their destiny - without letting any other races stand in their way, of course - then the universe would be at peace. He set up an automated workshop which began to assemble Daleks for him.
However, once the Kaleds got wind of what Davros had done to his original concept, many of them were appalled. This new direction was evil and unthinkable, and they wanted Davros to halt production of his Daleks. But Davros was not about to let a lifetime of work be stopped, so he began to plot against his own people. He told the Thals how they could destroy the Kaled city, then used the city's destruction as an excuse to execute a "saboteur" who had, in reality, been plotting against Davros. Having thus betrayed the Kaleds, he then expects them to launch an all-out attack on the Thals...leaving only his Daleks to emerge unscathed. But, to assure the destruction of the Thals, he sends an army of Daleks to their city with orders to exterminate everyone. Meanwhile, he interrogates the Doctor to learn the circumstances of every Dalek defeat to which the Doctor has been witness.
When the Kaled scientist and military élites confront Davros with their knowledge, and inform him that the majority want him to desist, he pretends to surrender...and then orders his Daleks to kill them all. But once this is done, the Daleks begin to exhibit self-control, executing orders without Davros' approval, or even his knowledge. Against Davros' protests, they exterminate the scientists that were still loyal to him, informing him that the Daleks are superior to all creatures, and they need no-one. Naturally, the next to be exterminated is Davros himself, just as he realizes his error and is about to destroy the base...
Fortunately, Davros had equipped his chair with more than one life-support system; his intention was that he would not let himself die until the Daleks became the supreme rulers. So, although the primary life-support system was damaged, the secondary and backup circuits switched in immediately. Synthetic tissue regeneration commenced, and his bodily organs were held in long-term suspension. Although he stayed asleep for centuries, Davros always knew his resurrection would come. But apparently he had time to think about his Daleks, for by the time of his resurrection, he was again fully in support of his creatures. In fact, he wanted to add new design elements to their circuitry and arm them with even more devastating weaponry. The Daleks, meanwhile, wanted his help to win their war against the Movellans. Davros sent a fleet of Daleks to the Movellan ship, armed with bombs, with orders to surround the Movellan ship and detonate the bombs - giving their lives so that the Daleks would gain an advantage in the war. But the Doctor manoeuvred Davros into pressing the button early, and all the Daleks were destroyed, while the Movellan ship was not even scratched. Davros was captured and cryogenically frozen until he could be taken by a high-security prison ship to stand trial for his crimes against the whole of sentient creation.
Ninety years later, having been frozen and conscious the entire time, Davros was being held aboard a space station which was attacked by the Daleks. They intended to capture Davros, making him think they wanted his leadership, and get him to help them devise a cure for the Movellan virus which had destroyed their fleet. Davros, wary, intended to help them - but instead of letting them abuse his power, he planned to lead them to victory as the supreme beings of the universe. If necessary, he had the ability to genetically re-engineer the Daleks so they would not be susceptible to the Movellan virus. He was able to convert several humans and Daleks to work for him, but these were destroyed by the Daleks loyal to the Supreme Dalek. When they came to destroy Davros as well, realizing that they could not trust him to help them unconditionally, Davros destroyed them with a sample of the Movellan virus - but he then learned that his own Dalek components were vulnerable, as the virus began to attack his systems as well.
After fleeing the station in an escape pod, Davros was brought to the planet Necros where he posed as the Great Healer. As the being in charge of Tranquil Repose, where those dying of illnesses were placed in suspended animation until their illnesses could be cured, Davros had complete control over what happened to the bodies. He began experimenting for a way to create Daleks that could reproduce anywhere - creating mutant humanoids in the process - and set up a laboratory for this purpose, complete with human brains floating in vats. Davros selected the most important and ambitious people in Tranquil Repose and began converting them into Daleks. He was able to place their heads inside glass Daleks, where they began growing like embryos. Meanwhile, those who were not fit to be used as Daleks were definitely fit to be used as concentrated protein. The galaxy was suffering from famine and needed a source of protein, so Davros sold this "protein concentrate" to developing planets. His researchers were said to be working on a way to improve the horrible taste. Davros hoped to keep the people of the galaxy alive until his Dalek army could sweep across it and take it over. But Davros' successes had made him a hero with the people - Tranquil Repose was very popular, with its method of continually updating its inhabitants with the latest news and keeping them entertained with music and a live DJ; and he had been able to conquer many of the diseases plaguing Necros. Davros hoped to lure the Doctor to Necros, to turn him into a Dalek as well. But Daleks loyal to the Dalek Supreme had different ideas, and travelled to Necros to apprehend Davros and take him back to Skaro to stand trial for his crimes against the Daleks. After a brief shootout between the two Dalek factions, the Imperial Daleks won and took Davros away. His base was blown up after his departure, destroying his new generation of Daleks.
Davros was apparently able to take over the Imperial Daleks, for when he was next seen, he was leading a faction of Imperial Daleks to recover the Hand of Omega from 1963 Earth. The Dalek Supreme led a renegade faction of Daleks against him, also hoping to claim the Hand for their own purposes. By this time, Davros had shed almost all vestiges of his previous self, and existed only as a head within the shell of an Emperor Dalek - a large sphere atop a Dalek base, with a hexagonal plate set into the front, through which a moving strip of light is seen while the front part of the dome is lowered. Davros wished to use the Hand of Omega to transform Skaro's sun into a source of unimaginable power, giving them advanced time-travel technology with which they could sweep away the Time Lords. Davros activated the Hand, but it sent Skaro's sun supernova, destroying Skaro as well. The feedback destroyed the Dalek mothership - although Davros evacuated in an escape pod before it blew up - and then the Hand returned to Gallifrey.
Besides being a brilliant scientist, Davros is a cold and calculating man. He quietly and murderously plots against those who would betray him, and delights in pretending to co-operate with the people he intends to kill. Davros is easily thrown into a spitting rage, particularly if his experiments are interrupted or if he is disobeyed. He is manipulative, fond of turning his allies and enemies against one another. It is ironic that Davros sought to eliminate weak emotions from his Daleks, for when his own life is placed in danger, his first instinct is to beg for pity. Once the danger has passed, of course, Davros immediately reverts to his hardened self as though nothing had happened. But most of all, Davros has absolutely no concern for anything other than his own Daleks, and will make any sacrifice to see that they survive. Here it would be most instructive to present a quote from "Genesis of the Daleks", in which the Doctor attempts to appeal to Davros' better side and suggest what a horrific influence the Daleks will be.
Davros, like the Daleks, demands total loyalty of those who serve him - hence his vengeful pleasure at exterminating those who betray him. But this desire extends to the Daleks - he is not fond of the idea that there could be a "Supreme" Dalek which is not him! He is cautious and paranoid about being assassinated, and developed a very convincing fake head mounted in a swivelling tank which would divert the fire of any would-be assassin. And, indeed, this precaution did come in handy; the console was destroyed by gunfire, causing the false head to deflate.
Davros is incapacitated, for an unknown reason (the Movellans call him a "humanoid mutant"), and spends all of his time in a mobile chair which resembles the lower half of a Dalek, in black/silver. He is probably at least 70 years old, if not older, and looks extremely frail and wizened. He only has the use of his right hand, and even that he can barely move without quivering. Davros' hand is later shot off by Bostock, a squire of one of the Knights of the Order of Oberon. Davros' eyesight seems to be completely gone - instead of eyes he only has shrivelled-up sockets - but atop his head is some kind of blue third eye, which glows periodically. This is attached to a blue device fit along his spine and the back of his head, from which also sprouts several metal connectors that hover around his forehead. Davros acquires the ability to fire blue electrical energy from both this third eye, and from his hand. Davros' mouth and teeth are black and glossy, and his remaining hand sports long fingernails. His blood is green. He dresses in a black leather tunic. On his chair are numerous switches and controls which he can use to remotely control the Daleks, or any of his other devices. One of these buttons controls his life-support systems, without which he could not survive for thirty seconds. Mounted in the chair is a triangular pen-like device which, when fired against a person's (or Dalek mutant's) skin, causes them to obey Davros. At the bottom of his chair is an access panel, through which the internal workings of the chair can be repaired. Davros eventually manages to modify his chair so that it has the ability to hover.
