Fenric is the Black Guardian!

In my recently published introductory post, I list this statement among more conventional wisdom about what does and doesn't make it into my version of canon.

Doctor Who must necessarily pretend every weekly monster is the worst ever, otherwise the tension dissipates. He can't stride in to the Slitheen and point out what we all know - that compared to the Daleks, they're wimps. This occasionally leads to horrible cliffhangers such as "it means the Master has finally defeated me!" from Time Flight, when confronted with a wall.

It also means the Doc ends up facing off Eternal Evil From The Dawn of Time quite a lot. I've never been into "lets make canon straight" - because you can't tie up all the loose ends in a program that big and long running, with so many different influences. But I do genuinely believe Fenric and the Black Guardian are the same character - they occupy the same role, and work in the same way. It wasn't meant to be like this, of course - just a coincidence. But lets look at the evidence...

• The Doctor explains that Fenric isn't his real name, it's just a name for him - he's really just a personification of all that is bad. Similarly, the Black Guardian is a personification of malice with a grudge against the Doctor. When he gives his potted history to Ace, his descriptions "evil since the dawn of time" and "two forces, only good and evil" could equally apply to both characters. In mythology, it is the wolf Fenric which will consume king of the gods Odin (who, with a bit of imagination, we could liken to the powers of good, or the White Guardian).
• They have history - they've fought each other before. For Fenric, he ends up trapped in a pot. For the Black Guardian, this is the Key to Time lark, but the White Guardian assures the Doctor after Enlightenment that he will be back. But he never is, not on screen - so lets argue that the Fenric backstory happened sometime after this, making Curse of Fenric the promised showdown?
• Both manipulate humans instead of challenging the Doctor directly (Turlough vs Fenric's wolves). You can also argue that both stories boil down to the actions and decisions of a tainted companion.
• Chess metaphors! Quite aside from the whole Black vs White Guardian thing, Enlightenment begins with Turlough and Tegan playing chess; the chess connection in Curse of Fenric is obvious.
• "I control the game, the Doctor's destiny!" - The Black Guardian. Compare to "We play the contest again", "It's like it's some kind of game and only you know the rules" and numerous other references of this type in Curse of Fenric

I'm not suggesting any of this is deliberate - it's just tempting to see them as the same person instead of allowing two very similar character concepts to coexist. It also provides a proper resolution for the Black Guardian story.

Now, Sutekh and the Beast is a different story. Not only do I believe they are the same character in essence, I also believe it to be deliberate. Lets look at the facts:

• Pyramids of Mars is a popular, memorable episode, and Sutekh a very iconic villain (also, incidentally, my favourite). This makes him a natural choice to bring back, much as the Cybermen, Master, Daleks and Davros were.
• In the middle of series 2, the show was a lot more wary about referencing its own history. We hadn't even had the word "Gallifrey" yet. If someone did want to return a classic, they'd be wary about diving straight for their video collection.
• "Your name is abhorred by all civilisations in the galaxy!" Or words to that effect from Mr Baker. He certainly gives the impression that Sutekh is the archetypal devil figure which, lookie do, so is the Beast.
• Both characters are imprisoned; both work through other operatives - the Robot Mummies are replaced by the Ood, and Toby (I suppose) can replace a Scarman. If you look for less obvious similarities, both involve a small human group trapped in an isolated area, and both are shitscary.
• They're both played by Gabriel Woolfe, and in both cases the monster can't move, it's just his voice that does the dirty work.

It's a good theory, right up until Gabriel Woolfe shows up, at which point it is a great theory. Like drafting in real-life-Doctor-daughter Georgia Moffat as in-story-Doctor's-Daughter, it's stunt casting too obvious to miss. Now apparently, the story was already in the can before he was cast; but hell, I think this theory's watertight!
While tidying up the loose ends, the Ood claim another name for the Beast is Abbadon - who you'll know turns up at the end of Torchwood series one, and spoils a rather complex, interesting and creepy episode by attempting to destroy Cardiff with the unholy powers of CGI. Even though there's more textual evidence here than anywhere else (it also says he too has been locked away), quite frankly neither Sutekh nor the Beast would ever behave so crassly as Abbadon does, nor be defeated by Captain Jack crying at it. Or whatever he does. What does he do again?
Of course, with Sutekh and the Beast both evil-destroying devil figures, and Fenric and the Black Guardian also being chaotic-evil-destroying figures, maybe there's an argument to be made that they're all the same thing? Ignoring the Guardian, Sutekh, the Beast, Fenric and Abbadon all end up sealed in rifts, black holes, curtained chambers, or whatever bricabrac the Doc had lying around at the time. But I think this is taking it too far...