– Spoiler Review –
Aphra’s words clash with her actions (per usual), to hilarious and revealing affect, in Doctor Aphra #10 (Vol. 2), the end of one arc and the beginning of the next, as the series jumps into the upcoming War of the Bounty Hunters crossover!
Vukorah of the Unbroken Clan has crashed the Path-inspired Hyperspace Tech Reveal Party, and crashed it hard, executing engineers one by one as they continue to fail to get the tech working for her to properly steal. In classic Chelli Lona Aphra fashion, having not been seen means this is her time to leave, but the studious and Rebellion-friendly Sana Starros wants to do anything but, disappointed once again by an ex who has only served disappointments since they started dating in University (told with tons of heart and humor in the Doctor Aphra audiobook!). Aphra complains being a hero isn’t ever worth it, probably the memory of having to lose Tolvan, Vulaada, and her father to the Rebellion as she bought them time to build out the base on Hoth still lingering in her mind, but when Sana invokes Tolvan’s name and says she’s going in there without Aphra, that changes the rogue archaeologist’s mind. She’s grown less selfish since the end of the first volume of her series, but she’s usually motivated to be selfless to help protect those she cares about, like what she did for her little clan I mentioned earlier and now with Sana potentially putting herself in danger, so Aphra rushes into the dangerous situation to give Sana time to find an escape route and for her to disable the ticking time bomb none of the engineers realize they’re dealing with. And if she manages to procure the Nihil Path engine locked inside the failed hyperspace tech, that’s just fortuitous luck and totally not the main reason she’s putting herself in danger’s way again.
Vukorah is a wonderful villain, in the sense she doesn’t suffer fools and lacks patience, taking out engineers like it’s just another Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean Aphra’s showboating won’t have an effect on her, in fact, it’s enough to get the other engineers out of the way and allow Aphra to put herself in Vukorah’s sights instead. There’s a lot of great humor this issue and most it comes from Aphra’s either talking herself up or mumbling to herself as things get increasingly out of control, with Alyssa Wong’s script giving us the best of early, talkative Aphra and the less-selfish one. I particularly loved Aphra’s line, once Sana manages to free some other engineers and get the Empire cavalry into the building, chaos ensuing all around her: she worries about the Path engine being damaged and then absentmindedly shows concerns for all the people who might be hurt as well; classic Aphra, right there! As Aphra pulls the Path engine’s crystal core out, it’s enough to defuse the catastrophic bomb, and it’s just in the nick of time, as the ensuing battle between Vukorah’s forces and the Empire blows up the ship anyways, so instead of a giant, building destroying explosion, it’s a localized blast and saves tons of lives. I absolutely also loved how, despite the place burning around them and Vukorah still gunning for them, Aphra takes the time to complain about the shoddy workmanship of the engine. On their way out, Sana takes a shot back at Vukorah, hitting her in her face mask, creating a new, unnerving enemy for them in the process.
All arc long, I’ve been curious if Sana would ever get a chance to see how Aphra has changed, as while she’s cooled on her ex, she’s been keeping her at arm’s length this whole time. As they make their escape, Aphra shares her surprise Sana came through and Sana returns the compliment with a big smile. This might be the best moment of the issue for me, seeing Sana actually smile at Aphra again, her ex surprising her in a way she never thought possible again. It, by no means, suggests Sana might be ready to try again with Aphra, but it’s the beginning kernel of potential that maybe, somehow, incredulously to both of them, Sana might just find her way back to wanting to care for Aphra again. That takes a bit of a hit when Aphra dodges the containment field Domina Tagge puts up when Aphra returns without the engine, despite explaining the circumstances and that the Tagge’s rival is laid low, leaving Sana to suffer its oxygen-less confines, but Aphra offers up the crystal core to the engine and gets her ex freed. Domina tasks them with a new mission and instead of Sana eager to go her own way, she’s right alongside Aphra, taking the new marching orders in stride. It’s definitely a step in the right direction for the pair, and as Wong teases in her letter at the end of the issue, it seems like it’s just one step in a big journey she has planned for them, even during the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover. Saphra goodness either way, folks!
For Just Lucky and Ariole, they survive the attack in the alleyway, only for Ariole to put a few suspicions together and realize someone set them up to send a message to the leader of Sixth Kin, Wen Delphis. They return to her, only for her to confirm Ariole’s suspicions, they have a mole and she’s sending them off to deal with them. It seems like it’s someone Lucky knows as well, so I’ll be curious to see what that means for the meeting when they catch up with them. And, oddly enough, their mission is similar to Sana and Aphra’s next, as Domina has concerns about a runaway cousin, who knows of a wonderful opportunity but has gone missing since he’s mentioned it…and it seems the Tagge’s have a mole of their own. In fact…as far as Domina knows, all of her competitors are having the same problem. Who’s trying to take down so many organizations? Does this have anything with events in War of the Bounty Hunters? And why would they want moles in so many places? It’s a neat new mystery that I’m curious to see unravel in the story ahead.
We might have the answer as to whom has all these moles in place though and their presence in the series was revealed by the cover for next month’s Aphra issue, which they make their first canon appearance in the final panel: Durge! That’s right, the menacing bounty hunter I remember most memorably from the Clone Wars microseries (available on Disney+ now!); there’s no Obi-Wan around to climb inside the weird monstrosity and blow it up from the inside via the Force, so I’ll be curious how Aphra, Sana, Lucky, and Ariole fair against him…and just what he’s up to!
Ray-Anthony Height returns for art on the series after kicking off “The Engine Job” arc and it’s neat he gets to bookend the story, while he’s joined the remaining team of Victor Olazaba on inks, Rachelle Rosenberg on colors, and Joe Caramagna’s lettering. I really enjoyed how Height continues a visual consistency with Minkyu Jung’s work: Aphra’s intern outfit being 3 sizes too big on her, as it hangs loosely on her and she has to pull up the large sleeves before she digs into the machine. Otherwise, the chaos and fire burning around Saphra as they escape was rich in Rosenberg’s colors, feeling warm and far too close to our heroes because of such heat, while Height offers lots of debris and obstacles to liven up the chaos around them. His expressions of happiness between Aphra and Sana as they have the slightest connection adds so much to the little moment, giving me my own smile while reading. Sometimes the faces don’t always have as much detail or have different proportions, but overall it’s more great work from the team across the board.
Here are a few other things:
- June begins the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover proper, with the first issue of the miniseries dropping June 2, and spiraling out into the rest of the series afterwards. If you want to glance ahead a bit, we have solicitations for issues out until August. Check them here: June, July, August. Otherwise, we’ll have a monthly round-up to discuss what’s happened in the crossover, so in case you’re just sticking to one series, are having trouble keeping up, or are just curious what’s happening, you can check those out too! Expect the one for May early next week!
- Sana and Aphra will grace two of Marvel’s planned Pride Month variant covers in June!!
- And don’t forget, her Gentle Giant bust is still available to pre-order (only 9 left as of his posting)! (And it seems the Triple-Zero bust is still available to preorder too!)
Doctor Aphra #10 (Vol. 2) builds an exciting bridge between the broken pair of Sana and Aphra, while sneaking its way into the upcoming crossover with finesse.
+ Sana Seeing Aphra’s Changes
+ Intriguing new mystery and set-up
+ Humorous finale to the current story
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
May: Alpha #1 | Star Wars #13 | Bounty Hunters #12 | Darth Vader #12
DOCTOR APHRA REVIEWS:
Volume 2: Fortune and Fate – #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 / Arc Review — The Engine Job: #6 | #7 | #8 | #9
Doctor Aphra (audiobook)
Volume 1: Full Volume 1 Review