– Spoiler Review –
In Doctor Aphra #13 (Vol. 2), Doctor Chelli Aphra and Sana Starros’ future comes into focus as they figure out their next steps, stuck on the Crimson Dawn flagship with the ticking time bomb of Darth Vader onboard, while Lucky and Ariole’s battle with their old mentor takes an interesting turn.
All arc long, and really ever since the return of Sana Starros into Chelli Aphra’s life to be exact, I’ve been intrigued how their dynamic will change and evolve…and if Sana could ever trust her or believe in her again. After last week’s preview of this issue, I was even more concerned about Sana’s ability to believe her ex, but I didn’t take into consideration their entire history together, but thankfully writer Alyssa Wong does. The issue starts with Aphra still in a PTSD response to Vader’s appearance, but Sana’s voice, which Aphra always loved as we learned in the audiobook, helps pull her back to the here and now and concentrate. Sana demands an explanation for Aphra’s response to Vader and what went down between them and Aphra opens up with the truth of her actions on Tython, debilitating Vader long enough to help throw off the Empire’s search for the Rebellion’s new base and thus giving them more time to prepare on Hoth (as seen in Volume 1 finale Doctor Aphra #40). Chelli’s just as concerned as I was regarding Sana’s reaction to the story, doubting Sana’s ability to believe her, but Sana loved Aphra once upon a time, truly cared for her, and knows the inflections in her voice regarding truth or lies, thus able to believe the tale of her semi-heroics. As a big fan of Aphra and the complicated relationship between her and Sana, these moments here show Wong’s deep understanding of both characters, from Aphra’s love of Sana’s voice helping center her to Sana’s past feelings giving the woman a window into the disaster that is Aphra that no one else has. Even better than Sana believing Aphra is the deliciously close moment between them, as Sana leans in and typical Aphra nervously talks through it, saying she’s not going to complain about how close she’s getting in, only for Sana to reach behind Aphra’s ear to get the mic listening in on the Falleen woman they tagged earlier, saying they’ll talk about the near kiss later. It’s literally all over Aphra’s lips she was ready for the kiss to happen, but Sana’s a smoother operator than that, and not so easily won back, but the moment helps Aphra see maybe, just maybe, there can be something between them again. The whole series of panels left me screeching about how close they got to making up, as it was so excellently teased by both Wong’s writing of the moment and the art team of Minkyu Jung, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Clayton Cowles’ execution, be it Aphra’s lips betraying her and the nervous sweat dripping down her face to the clear approach of Sana and her last second zag to grab the mic.
After the moment passes, they track down the Falleen Black Sun woman they tagged from earlier—still trying to clean off her dress!—and take her down swiftly to gather the data crystal necklace and hack into her droid. After Sana’s scuffle, she notices something surprising: the woman has a Crimson Dawn tattoo, meaning she’s a spy inside Black Sun. Domina Tagge, Aphra’s current malevolent benefactor, was already concerned about reported moles across all types of syndicates and it’s slowly becoming clear in other parts of the tie-in that Qi’ra spent all those years in the shadows with a big, expansive plan in mind. It’s some incredible foresight and planning to have so many hands in so many different organizations, able to tell what your competition will do at all times, though I’ll be curious to learn what Qi’ra’s endgame is with such a network, though I guess that’s what this whole trilogy of content for her return will probably dig into!* With all of the access codes and other Crimson Dawn data, Sana’s ready to head back to Domina, close out their tab, and let her deal with the results of the data, their lives safe and sound. Aphra wants to deliver the data too, but she smells an opportunity, knowing Crimson Dawn’s leaders round up expensive and obscure artifacts (one look at Dryden’s office in Solo confirms), so she thinks they should explore the Vermillion while everyone is distracted by Vader. Sana is a more practical woman, knowing it could mean their death if they’re caught, but Aphra’s also very convincing, saying the riches they could uncover would fix up Sana’s ship and afterwards she promises Sana would never have to see her again. Both myself and Sana doubt it and Sana goes along with Aphra’s plan but claiming she won’t die for her (please just don’t die in general!), which part of me doubts as I believe Sana’s only going along with Aphra because she knows she can’t convince Chelli otherwise; she’d rather make sure she lives than let her go alone, because that’s how awesome Sana is. Their explorations in the eerily empty bowels of the ship don’t end well, as they run into some giant guard droids which knock them out and throw them into an expansive jail within the ship. At least it looks like they won’t be without friends…
Lucky and Ariole’s battle with their Sixth Kin mentor turned Crimson Dawn member continues not to go well for the two younger men. Crae mentions their weaknesses and how the young pair could offset their issues if they worked together, like he trained them, but their fractured past means they can’t team up yet and he’s able to hand them their asses. This gives him the time to finally talk, which he told them he wanted to do last issue, and he tells them why he left: Wen Delphis has grown paranoid to the point even a trusted lieutenant like Gallin Crae could’ve been next to be killed, so when he met Qi’ra and she offered him something different, a new and secure home, he took the offer. He extends the same offer to them, how they could be family again, and while this looks to appeal to the sentimental Ariole, Lucky argues he has his own family already, his brother. Gallin doesn’t threaten Lucky’s brother, but he does tell him how Delphis will likely kill him to keep Lucky in line, but before they can discuss this any further a person strikes from the shadows…Deathstick! She’s been hounding Valance and Dengar in the Bounty Hunters series and it looks like, at some point, she makes it back to the Vermillion and her employer, just in time to cut Gallin’s fight with his protégés short and capture them, probably throwing them in the same jail Aphra and Sana wake up in at the end of the issue. Will Lucky be willing to expand the scope of what he calls family? I doubt he’ll join with Crimson Dawn, but I could see him finally healing the differences between him and Ariole and dragging themselves out together from Delphis’ claws; first though, they need to get out of jail!
The visual consistency from the end of the previous issue, where Aphra’s PTSD kicks in after seeing Vader for the first time since Tython, to the beginning of this issue was an excellent way to show just how severely this triggered Aphra; I loved how Cowles has Sana’s speech bubble grow clearer as she centers Aphra, giving the illusion of Aphra’s world going soundless during her panic and the sound returning with Sana’s whiskey voice (like you’d imagine from a movie), while Rosenberg lets up on the blistering red as Aphra calms back down and normalizes a bit. Just a bravura performance from the whole team for making readers feel Aphra’s reaction with such clarity between these two issues. There were a lot of closeups this issue, from Aphra and Sana’s brush with reconciliation, where the resolute Sana remains straight faced through the entire moment while Jung ensures Aphra face is visibly squirming with tension at what might come next, while I loved Lucky’s steely face as he points his gun at Gallin’s back, the mentor looking over his shoulder in response, a mixture of pride and danger lurking in his expression, bolstered by Rosenberg’s dark shades and colors. Their battle in the hallways of the Vermillion is dynamic and well-staged, from Gallin’s sweeping leg kick to his looming size and calm face telling you everything you need to know about how the fight will end. Also, the flashback of a little Lucky and Ariole hanging from Gallin’s staff was far too adorable for its own good.
Here are a few other things:
- *Last week it was revealed where the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover was all leading too: Crimson Reign, a new comic miniseries starring Qi’ra from writer Charles Soule, set after the events in the crossover! Even more exciting was the detail Reign would be part two of a planned trilogy for Qi’ra’s return, so her tale will only get bigger as it messes with the status quo of Star Wars comics going forward! Aphra looks to be part of Crimson Reign, which should come as no surprise! It starts in November.
- We’ll have our monthly Hunters’ Guide, a recap for the entire WotBH crossover, out sometime next week in case you need to be caught up on the events from the other series!
- Over on Reddit, someone put together some truly awesome LEGO minifigs of Aphra, the murderbots Triple-Zero and BT-1, and Magna Tolvan!
- Lastly, but most importantly, there’s a brilliant interview with writer Alyssa Wong over at Tatooine Times (who made that awesome Aphra shirt), where she digs into why she loves and understands Aphra so well, why she brough in Sana, Domina Tagge’s role in everything, and so much more!
Doctor Aphra #13 (Vol. 2) uncovers larger parts of Crimson Dawn’s story while Sana and Aphra explore their future and the bowels of the ship, plus Lucky and Ariole get an intriguing offer from their old mentor.
+ The Saphra moments here are delicious!!
+ The offer and what Lucky and Ariole might do with it next
+ Uncovering Dawn secrets
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS CROSSOVER
August: 4-LOM & Zuckuss #1 | Bounty Hunters #15 | War of the Bounty Hunters #3 | Star Wars #16 | Darth Vader #15
July: Bounty Hunters #14 | Doctor Aphra #12 | War of the Bounty Hunters #2 | Darth Vader #14 | Jabba the Hutt #1 | Star Wars #15 / Hunter’s Guide for July
June: War of the Bounty Hunters #1 | Bounty Hunters #13 | Star Wars #14 | Darth Vader #13 | Doctor Aphra #11 / Hunters’ Guide for June
May: Alpha #1 | Star Wars #13 | Bounty Hunters #12 | Darth Vader #12 | Doctor Aphra #10 / Hunters’ Guide for May
DOCTOR APHRA REVIEWS:
Volume 2: Fortune and Fate – #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 / Arc Review — The Engine Job: #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10
Doctor Aphra (audiobook)
Volume 1: Full Volume 1 Review