Salamander, originally from the town of Merida, in Yucatan, Mexico, and an identical double for the second Doctor, was hailed as the savior of the world when he invented a device known as a sun store, which collected the rays of the sun and stored them in concentrated form, to be beamed to parts of the world where crops needed help. With this device, hunger on Earth became a thing of the past.
But Salamander was not content to merely be loved by the world; he wanted to control it. To this end, he began murdering important officials and replacing them with men who were in his power. Salamander's loyal servants ensured that he got away with these evil deeds perfectly well; his tracks were constantly covered, and any threats to Salamander's position were swiftly annihilated. Because attempts on Salamander's life were frequently made, he also kept himself surrounded by guards and hired a food taster.
His partner-in-crime, Giles Kent, built an atomic shelter and took about thirty people into it as an endurance test. Salamander then went to the shelter and told the people that the Earth had been plunged into nuclear war, and the surface was not safe for them to visit. He went out periodically to search for food, leaving them safe in the shelter. He also instructed them to cause natural disasters, like volcanic explosions, earthquakes and monsoons, in order to destroy the people who are opposed to truth and freedom so that the surface can eventually be reclaimed. For five years the shelter residents labor to cause these disasters, never realizing that the Earth's surface is perfectly safe, and Salamander is using the disasters to destroy his own enemies.
When Salamander's schemes are finally brought out into the light, and his underground bunker is destroyed, he tries to impersonate the Doctor and persuade Jamie and Victoria to sneak him away in the TARDIS. But when the real Doctor shows up, Salamander tries to dematerialize without closing the doors, and he is sucked out into the time-space vortex.
