– Spoiler Review –
In the “Worst Among Equals” arc, the Doctor Aphra series delivers an epilogue of sorts, dealing with the fallout from the first 25-issues worth of story and how it brings change, for better or worse, to those who still remain after the dust settles and the proximity bombs have been set to blow.
Caught in a madman’s experiment, Doctor Aphra finds herself linked to her muderbot counterpart Triple-Zero via proximity bombs, set to blow if they stray too far apart, either one dies, or they try to mess with them. The experiment? A “Study of the Reciprocal Longevity of Variant Dreadfulness,” aka will two morally bankrupt individuals, stuck together, manage not to kill one another. The evil madman who did it? Dr. Cornelius Evazan himself, who watches over the experiment from a safe distance, able to see everything through a broadcast in Triple-Zero’s eyes, and adds a funny meta-like commentary in the opening issue of the arc to get new and old readers up to speed. Learning of a cyberneticist who can help them get the bombs removed safely, the unlikely pair travel to Milvayne, an overly lawful Imperial world, where cracks in their lawful façade begin to show as their efforts to free themselves take on a whole different life once Triple-Zero’s broadcast starts being seen by the entire populace of the planet à la The Truman Show. And once they are pursued by the monster hunters Winloss and Nokk, the reanimated corpse of Tam Posla infested by Force-infused hookspores, and the Coalition for Progress aka Imperial PR, with a clocking ticking down to the bombs explosion after an initial botched surgery, will Aphra and Triple-Zero become villains or folk-heroes in the eyes of the populace? Or will they just end up as a million exploded bits regardless? It’s a compelling, thoroughly enjoyable premise, as Aphra and Trip learn to maybe trust one another to survive, and all the various pieces I mentioned above collide in entertaining, funny ways to make, you guessed it, “Worst Among Equals” the next great Aphra arc.
But what really elevates the arc are the themes within, specially how important change is for the arc. Can rogue archaeologists or murderous droids change their basic nature? Is evil learned or something one develops? How can one continue to trust when betrayal all but seems inevitable around the corner? As always Doctor Aphra tackles these heady themes with plenty of humor, though it never skimps on the pathos. Writer Simon Spurrier has been digging deep within the disaster that is Aphra, making each arc force her to look inside herself over her actions, but she continued to be selfish, concerned with her survival and using those around her to achieve it, as if the potential lessons didn’t stick. By the end of “The Catastrophe Con,” she pulled her biggest selfish move/sacrifice of someone else: forcing a Bor to change her girlfriend’s memory. Making Inspector Tolvan think she killed Aphra so she’d tell Darth Vader ‘truthfully’ that Aphra was dead. This saved Aphra’s life, but the cost was being left alone with only a murderbot for a companion instead of someone who loved her back. Much of “Equals” is Aphra coming to terms with such a decision and what it means for her, as she begins to think maybe she really does deserve to be with the murderous machine she brought into the galaxy due to all her self-serving actions.
Facing such a stark truth causes her to try to make Triple-Zero better, both as a way to reject Evazan’s experiment, but also to make her one and only companion worth keeping around because she’s too loyal to him considering she ‘birthed’ him back to the galaxy. They debate hilariously about the merits of either a killing-forward or a civilized approach for problems, and all of Aphra’s lessons for Trip don’t quite click until he finally gets to see his decrypted memories. While Aphra is all talk about civilized, she continues to think she can get away with sleight of hands against others, from not actually giving up Trip to the scav-scum youngin’ Vulaada as part of a deal for a ride to implanting a seismic charge into Trip when he reluctantly agrees to allow her to operate on him to get his legs working again. Vulaada actually betrays them before Aphra can her, while Aphra’s contingency plan for if they get the bombs removed and Triple-Zero has nothing holding him back from torturing her to death, like the good friend he is, is used instead to save his mechanical life and leaves her at his mercy. But Aphra’s willingness to trust Vulaada, as she reminds her a lot of herself, pays off in the end, as she comes back to help them, while Trip repays her loyalty by obtaining footage of Tolvan alive and well with the Rebellion and lets her live once the bombs are disarmed. Change comes to the murderbot who starts the arc promising to finish her off for good. And if someone similar to Aphra like Vulaada can change and make up for her betrayal, certainly so could Aphra, no?
In the ultimate selfless act, of which she increasingly makes throughout the arc, Chelli Lona Aphra jumps in the way of a blaster shot heading towards Vulaada. Aphra at the beginning of the series, and when we first met her, never would’ve even flinched in Vulaada’s direction to save her, as she was fond of using other sentients as shields from blaster fire in the past. While it’s felt like Aphra was never really going to change, despite all the work previous arcs put into giving her the option, this move feels like the start of a new era for Aphra, an action and course correction she can’t escape, which is honestly one of the most exciting aspects to the arc and its potential to shape her and this series’ future.
Since the entire time Aphra starts acting selfless she knows she’s on camera and the entire planet is watching, it does add an interesting wrinkle to her supposed change, because was she doing it out of the goodness of her heart or because she knew what she was saying/doing would help her in the long run by inciting the populace? After rereading the entire arc together for this review, I feel like it was a little bit of both, as I original felt in my issue #31 review. From when she tells the police the cameras are watching them when vigilante Posla is trying to steal their thunder, to Aphra repeatedly asking if the feed is still running, Aphra knows what she’s doing when she makes grand gestures and says “aww” worthy things, a sentiment reinforced when she says, “I work well under pressure” after taking the shot for Vulaada. At the same time, just because she knows doesn’t mean her actions and words aren’t stuff she believes in/wouldn’t have done if she wasn’t on camera. It’s the head of the Imperial PR arm watching the situation that says Aphra’s actions were deliberate to block Vulaada, and if there’s anyone who knows more about gleaning information from watching footage, there’s no one better than this mysterious new character Voor (more on her in a bit).
By the end of the arc, much like how issue #25 wrapped up a lot of storylines, issue #31 wraps up a lot of characters on the series, while introducing new ones. The biggest exit from already established Aphra characters is the murderbot duo of Triple-Zero and BeeTee-One! I had figured we’d see the end of them in “Equals,” imagining a more permanent exit, but the arc ends with both droids alive and mostly well. Despite being blown up last arc, BeeTee is basically put back together and just as ready to incite violence, while Triple-Zero is still a violently minded murder butler, letting Aphra go and exhibiting glimpses of empathy shows even he has been changed by the experience. To have these two characters out of the mix, for now, is a big change for Aphra and the series, as their adventures have been intertwined since Aphra’s introduction, so it’ll be intriguing to see how the series carries on now that they are gone. But no one’s ever really gone, so I’m sure we’ll see them again in the future.
This arc also wraps up Tam Posla’s story, as his reanimated Force-infused hookspore corpse finally meets its end at Triple-Zero’s implements, while Tam’s number one target, Dr. Evazan, and his pal Ponda Baba are apprehended. It’s monster hunting couple Winloss and Nokk who take down Evazan, as they realized Aphra’s not worth their efforts as they watch the drama of her life unfold via the broadcast, thus wrapping up their involvement with her; though it better not be the end, as I really love these characters! And lastly we’re introduced to Minister Voor, one of the heads of Imperial PR known as the Coalition of Progress. She’s a shadowy figure with agendas she’s trying to hide from Emperor Palpatine himself, her boss, and there’s been a list of things which have given me the theory Voor is actually Chelli’s mom, Lona Aphra, something I dive a little more into in my individual reviews. Voor will be seen again next arc, so hopefully we’ll get to learn a whole lot more about her soon!
Change doesn’t just come to Aphra and Triple-Zero, but Evazan’s experiment gets its answer in a way thanks to the populace of Milvayne. They show evil is learned, not something you’re born with, as they go from snitching on one another to stay on the Empire’s good side to rebelling against the local police force and learning to trust one another thanks to Aphra’s ‘show.’ It was almost like Aphra was running a counter experiment to Evazan’s, in both trying to change Trip for the better and in the macro case with the populace, and she comes out on top in both, deserving recognition as the better doctor. Change was important in the micro and macro for “Equals,” and it lead to plenty of entertaining results.
Art this arc came from Emilio Laiso (art), with help from Andrea Broccardo on the final issue, and Rachelle Rosenberg (colors), who have grown to become my favorite artist team on the series. There were some really memorable moments thanks to this team: the splash of Triple-Zero downloading his memories, which has a giant outline of his head with the memories as little windows making up his head; the splash of Aphra taking the shot for Vulaada; the little hidden detail of Winloss’ little sleight of hand stealing Triple-Zero’s memories; Vulaada’s betrayal scene drenched in red; the various citizens tuning into the show, sharing their excitement over the continued survival of Aphra and Trip; the explosion after Imperial PR’s strike; and Joe Caramagna probably having loads of fun with all the funny intro title cards for characters. For the next arc we’re getting a brand new to the series art team, so I’ll be curious to see if this one will return eventually, and I definitely hope so after their work this arc!!
Here are a few other things:
- Normally I like to get these arc reviews out before the next arc begins, but it didn’t quite work out for this one. Aphra’s next arc, “Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon” began last week and it’s already off to a strong start: Vulaada is with Aphra now, who is trying to look after her, with varying degrees of failure; Voor is becoming directly involved with Aphra, feeding into my theory above about her being Lona Aphra; we actually get to see Lona in some flashbacks; and well, the last one’s too good to spoil here! Check out my review of issue #32 or keep up with the arc here.
- As the July solicits revealed, Aphra will be visiting Black Spire Outpost in the 4th issue of the Galaxy’s Edge miniseries tie-in to the park!
I feel like I say this after every arc, but “Worst Among Equals,” is the series’ best, though by a smaller margin than most arcs, but it’s a great showcase of why Doctor Aphra is far and beyond the best Star Wars comics have to offer. And by pushing a potential change for Aphra, and seeing the murderbots exit stage left, a whole new era is upon us and fans, new and old alike, couldn’t be luckier.
+ Aphra maybe finally hopefully achieving change
+ Without the murderbots for the first time!
+ Epilogue feeling
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 | #27 | #28 | #29 | #30 | #31 | Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon (#32-36) | Annual: #1 | #2
CURRENT SERIES COMIC REVIEWS:
Galaxy’s Edge (miniseries)
Age of Republic (miniseries) | Age of Rebellion (miniseries) | Age of Resistance (miniseries)
Star Wars
Kieron Gillen Retrospective (#38-67) | Greg Pak – Rebels and Rogues (#68-73)
Jedi: Fallen Order – Dark Temple (miniseries)