– Spoiler Review –
When the title of the latest Doctor Aphra arc was revealed as “A Rogue’s End,” most people connected the dots and realized it meant the end of the series. I was not most people and instead was in denial, until the news officially came down the line. Even with a relaunch announced, I was curious and apprehensive what would transpire in the final arc of Volume 1 of Doctor Aphra, but with an excellent creative team involved, I never should’ve worried the finale would’ve been anything less than stellar. This review will also include mentions to Empire Ascendant’s “Epilogue” story, a wonderful little coda to this final arc and the series.
Every time Chelli Aphra manages to make a change, the next arc/story sort of walks it back a bit, though the changes have been incrementally adjusting Aphra’s behavior since issue #1. I grew accustomed with the series not always making the change stick, meaning I didn’t initially think the change building from the past couple of arcs was going to either, but stick it did, in exceptional, fun, and interesting ways. When Aphra seems to forget Vulaada on a planet, working with the Empire to investigate the galaxy for signs of the new Rebellion base, I felt like she was back to her selfless way, despite the previous arc showing her capacity to look out for others, specifically Vulaada. I was happy to be wrong, as the arc ends with Aphra carrying out her most selfless plan to date, with her roguish flair and everything that makes the character so great remaining. Instead of using her friends, family, or loved-ones to help her get out of an impossible situation, she got them out of the way, together, and put herself in directly in the line of fire, both to escape her current predicament and give them a chance to prepare the rebel base before the Empire found it. To do so, she just needed to survive Darth Vader’s employment one more time; she’d done so twice before, an accomplishment not held by many who have crossed him. As cool as her method was for doing so, which I’ll get to shortly, I was more impressed with how she not only acted so selflessly, but also the rationalization of her actions, revealed in a holo-message to her loved ones. In her speech, with plenty of quotable and relatable lines, one that really stood out includes her going over how she believes the truest measure of a life is whether you can live with yourself or not, spoken over panels of Vader dealing with his inner demons, as Aphra can now confidently say she can live with herself, as she ends the issue on her own again, off to make trouble in the galaxy again. Magna Tolvan, Vulaada, and her father Korin all hear this message on Hoth, as seen in Empire Ascendant’s “Epilogue” story, and don’t quite buy it at first, until Luke Skywalker, who dealt with Aphra in the past (including The Screaming Citadel crossover), confirms Aphra’s words. Even then, their response is to debate telling him about the time she saved the Emperor’s life, but they all seem happier together than when she was around, taking solace in believing Aphra’s back where she belongs: in the middle, somewhere. It was not only great to see the actions which supported her speech in issue #40, but having “Epilogue” offer a view into how its recipients felt about it was the perfect icing on the cake. Her speech also is a highlight of writer Simon Spurrier’s time on the series, showcasing how inherently he knows the character and his penchant for excellently placed humor, both seen originally when he so seamlessly took over the series from Aphra creator Kieron Gillen.
The most interesting and compelling line from the arc, and one of the top from the entire series, is when Aphra tells Vader he was the best thing that ever happened to her. Vader, who has wanted to kill her since the finale of the first Darth Vader volume, and has hunted her every time he hears her mentioned, but is left vulnerable due to Aphra trapping him in an overpowering Force confessional, is, and really let this sink in here, the best thing that ever happened to her. It seems like a crazy, unthinkable thought, but it actually makes total sense for the character, her entire arc since getting her own series, and really proves she is comfortable living with herself. Where exactly would Aphra be had she not met and assisted Vader for a while, or in meta-parlance, if she hadn’t been created for the original series, would she have ever existed at in Star Wars? With Vader recruiting Aphra, the course of her life changed, leading her on the adventure fans have been enjoying, laughing, and fretting over ever since, leading her to reconnect with her father, fall in love (while wrecking it time and time again), get vengeance for her mother’s death, and create a little found family unit of her own. And by being able to admit that, and see, despite the constant threats to her and those she loves lives, it had brought her on a journey ending with her being a slightly better person than before, it ends the series long arc of her character in such a fantastic fashion, I actually wouldn’t have been mad the series completely ended here, despite my undying love for the character; and it sets high standard for the series’ relaunch in April.
The resolution to Tolvan and Aphra’s relationship is as messy and complicated, literally and figuratively, as it has been the entire series, as “A Rogue’s End” finds the two of them embracing their passion for one another again…inside a ship’s trash compactor (that’s the literal part, of course), in one of Caspar Wijngaard and Lee Loughridge’s most stunning panels. They manage to reconnect thanks to their shared choice of electro-tattoos, as the ability to communicate through them allows them to connect on a deeper level than ever before, allowing Tolvan to see past her personal bias against Aphra and actually feel the truth of what she’s telling her, as well as the love that’s always there too. They might enjoy one last time together, but they’re quickly back to their game of cat and mouse, hence me saying it’s complicated earlier, though having them back together again and easily over all that happened between them would’ve felt like a cheat if it happened, so complicated was necessary.
“A Rogue’s End” handles the return of several characters rather well, bringing back fan favorites or Aphra’s biggest problems both coherently and importantly to the narrative. Darth Vader’s ominous red blade hung over Aphra’s head all arc, and how she manages to subdue him, recognizing him as much of a disaster as she is and using it against him with the overwhelming Force confessional, was a stroke of genius for her latest get-out-from-Vader’s-blade scheme; that she hacks his suit to get probe droid data deleted only adds hilarious insult to injury. I just hope, considering Vader should be a little more focused on hunting down his son and the growing Rebellion, he won’t really factor into the relaunched series too much, as Aphra continuing to escape his grasps has worked so far, but too many times could diminish the impact/Vader himself. The murderbots Triple-Zero and BeeTee-One make their gloriously creepy return, and while them picked up by the Empire and having their memories wiped off-screen was a bit too easy, as they made such good progress after all those issues together, they still brought all their classic spooky, funny, and deviousness with them; when they were being dismantled by Vader in the final issue, I was actually okay if this meant the end for them, but they managed to survive and Aphra took them along for her next set of adventures, though I’m curious if they’ll return in similar bodies or if Aphra will give them upgrades. And Aphra’s father Korin manages to find some resolution with his daughter, as the arc offers the biggest moment between the two: after telling her how proud he is of her, and she airs any remaining grievances, he offers to sacrifice himself so she may live, though thanks to Tolvan’s timely pursuit, neither Aphra has to die, but the moment between them still stands; father and daughter find themselves at peace with one another again, important considering she corrales him in with Vulaada and Tolvan on Hoth. And Vulaada, stuck with a janitor job within the Empire and then left on a monster-infested world until Aphra could manipulate an option for rescue, gets to join a cause and have two parent-like authority figures in her life to look after her, Tolvan and Korin, though not like she needed anyone considering her past.
Caspar Wijngaard (art) and Lee Loughridge (colors), with Joe Caramagna as letterer, blessed “A Rogue’s End” with some dynamic, gorgeous, and moodily lit art, taking the series out on top with some of the best art overall. My favorite panel is easily Aphra and Tolvan’s kiss in the trash compactor, framed and lit so damn beautifully, it eclipses the first big kiss panel between the two back in issue #16. Some of the arc’s best art came in issue #40, especially in the scenes where Vader is hunting Aphra down in the ancient Tython temple: from the creepy souls tormenting Vader when he’s locked in the Force confessional (a concept I’m dying to learn more about), his slice, dicing, and splitting of the murderbots, and Aphra’s sneaking around the deathtraps/her confidence as she uses the hindered Vader for her own goals really gave the small scale of events an epic and momentous feel. We’ve had fantastic artists across the board for the series, but they saved the best for last.
Here are a few other things:
- There’s one final review coming for this first volume of Doctor Aphra, as Chris and I shall have a full series review incoming still! And Aphra will most definitely get a shout out or two in my upcoming 2019 year-in-review, too!
- Visiting Tython was a fun nod to Legends and a minor fulfillment of the potential for the Aphra series to visit all sorts of ancient, weird, and exciting new (/old) places, so I hope the next volume carries on the tradition and then some!
It might only be 4 issues long, but the creative team makes the most of them in “A Rogue’s End,” a fitting and as perfect as you can get ending for the first volume of the Doctor Aphra series.
+ Letting the change stick, with Aphra finding it has herself
+ Keeping Tolvan and Aphra messy, complicated
+ Wrapping up plenty of other characters’ stories within
+ Couldn’t have asked for a better art team for the finale
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
DOCTOR APHRA
Aphra (#1-6) | And the Enormous Profit (#9-13) | Remastered (#14-19) / Arc Review | The Catastrophe Con (#20-25) / Arc Review | Worst Among Equals (#26-31) / Arc Review | Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon (#32-36) / Arc Review | A Rogue’s End: #37 | #38 | #39 | #40
Annual: #1 | #2 | #3