Canon Comic Review: Doctor Aphra #21

– Spoiler Review –

“The Catastrophe Con” might be catastrophic for all those involved, but it makes for absolutely excellent, enjoyable reading, as Doctor Aphra issue #21 puts Aphra and her flames on a collision course, the mystery of the Force Ghost troubling her stay in jail deepens, and Aphra can’t help but sabotage herself even when the rescue is THIS close.

For starters, I loved the bait-and-switch from issue #20’s ending, as it led us to believe Aphra called Sana Starros for help but the beginning of issue #21 reveals it’s actually everyone’s favorite Space Mom, Hera Syndulla, who calls Sana! It’s not only the murderbots who are miffed about Aphra’s con job of encrypting the data core she stole from the Tarkin Initiative’s Hivebase-1, but also Hera and the Rebellion, who really want to unlock the data’s secrets about the Empire. I’m glad to see Hera back in the series and her part of the plot thread from the “Remastered” arc wasn’t forgotten, and how she’ll factor into the rest of the arc or this is just cameo to get the ball rolling on bringing Sana into the equation, remains to be seen. Though with a potential development we’ll discuss a little later, keeping this mom around could have great potential. I really hope Sana was recommended to Hera by Leia (or Han, even Luke), though since she doesn’t realize who Aphra is, Hera has no idea about the can of exogorths she just opened.

Hera’s concern for others compels her to question why Sana is so antagonistic to Aphra, as Sana’s considering ways to get around Hera’s directive to keep Aphra alive while still causing her pain, and it leads to Sana airing out, in an epic tirade, how Aphra’s betrayal hurt her long ago. We still haven’t quite gotten the specifics of what exactly went down with Sana and Aphra that caused them to break up, but Aphra’s apologized before (Star Wars‘ “Rebel Jail” arc, issue #19) and showed she could care for others (The Screaming Citadel), but Sana’s still so broken from Aphra’s actions it seems to never quite be enough. Sana tells Hera she can see love has only been tragedy for her, welling up fresh tears for Kanan from me, but Sana’s only dealt with treachery. Will this be the arc we finally learn just what Aphra did to hurt Sana so damn much? With Sana approaching Accresker Jail in the Volt Cobra, their eventual meeting will be, to quote Sana, “Fireworks,” so who knows what will all go off!

Since it was Hera who called Sana, who did Aphra call? Turns out she did call Inspector Tolvan, who is none too pleased Aphra hasn’t yet managed to escape as they originally planned. And when it looks like Tolvan never considered rescuing Aphra herself, Aphra pulls a very dirty (but very Aphra) move and makes Tolvan complicit in Aphra’s knowledge of Darth Vader’s plans to replace the Emperor with Luke by his side, thus forcing Tolvan to come in case Aphra would crack under the increasing interrogation. Tolvan proves how competent she is, thinking of everything to protect her role in the Empire in her efforts to break Aphra out, from getting MATCHING ELECTRO-TATTOOS on her arm which allows her to speak to Aphra incognito through objects like glass (so that’s one function the tattoos serve!), an override code to Dek-Nil’s damaged restraining bolt, to sensor disruptors to mask her TIE picking up Aphra. What she doesn’t account for is Aphra’s penchant for causing disaster with the best of intentions and just how much she loves Aphra despite how doing so affects her well-being, as she acquiesces to Aphra chasing after a potential Force Ghost and archaeological find in the middle of her rescue attempt. They are both disasters, and they love one another regardless, a key ingredient in what makes these perfectly imperfect characters so relatable and their relationship so much fun to see grow and evolve.

Speaking of growing and evolving, Aphra is still dealing with Triple-Zero’s remarks about how similar they both are, which she was avoiding thinking about last issue until her escape plans went to hell. In Doctor Aphra #21, she makes a profound announcement, echoing words spoken by her mother, that, “Evil’s just a measure of how much your choices take away other people’s,” which touches on how Aphra must feel about herself, as her choices have taken away other peoples’ choices, sometimes to the extreme aka death, but never the extent that Triple-Zero took away other people’s choices. It’s also a remark that seems fitting for the climate of the times we live in, but it certainly wasn’t the focus of the line. Regardless, I’ve been hoping to see if she’ll change to some extent after her dealings with Triple-Zero last arc, and her ruminating on her life with a remark that powerful, certainly hints his actions will have lasting consequences.

But Aphra’s most definitely still her good ol’ morally questionable, self-serving self, from how she forces Tolvan to rescue her by making her complicit in her deadly knowledge, to how she’d rather uncover the secrets of an ancient Jedi starship and a Force Ghost than be rescued, thus putting the woman she loves in danger. And her practicality, even in the face of all the strangeness she’s encountered, takes center-stage in a fun interaction with Lopset Yas, her Abednedo prison buddy. The Force Ghost who threw a giant wrench in Aphra’s plans last issue attempts to crush Lopset, but Aphra helps him out of it, though now he’s utterly convinced all the stories he’s heard about Accresker being haunted are true, to which Aphra responds with riotous laughter. Once she calms down, her full reason for laughing is so quintessentially Aphra, and another reason I love her so much, because it’s not that Aphra doesn’t believe in ghosts per se, as she’s dealt with some weird things, but if knowing the jail’s haunted doesn’t help her in any shape or form, why should she care about it? In a way it sounds like Indiana Jones, who knows most of the mystical things he encounters are grounded in reality, but he slowly becomes a believer because there are some things he can’t explain (the Ark or the tests at the end of The Last Crusade), so maybe we’ll see Aphra have a similar epiphany, that she should be more worried/respectful about the odd things she encounters while still keeping her cynicism.

The mystery surrounding the Force Ghost gets more complicated this issue, as Aphra happens to recognize its voice, saying it sounds exactly like her mother. Aphra’s mother, Lona, was first mentioned in Darth Vader #10, where she was on a mission for Vader to reveal if Padmé truly gave birth to a child, when she revealed she wasn’t able to save her mom from raiders after they had moved into the fringes of the galaxy to avoid the Empire’s reach, which she partly blamed her dad for because he wasn’t around, instead off chasing myths to make the galaxy safe, while it pushed Aphra to believe the Empire’s order and strength couldn’t be all that bad. We got a glimpse of the moment in Doctor Aphra #2’s opening flashback, while her mom hasn’t really been mentioned since the first arc of the series, where we learned Aphra’s full name, Chelli Lona Aphra, and when Papa Aphra talked about their differing opinions on how to keep a young Chelli safe. In Doctor Aphra issue #21, Aphra thinks not only does the Force Ghost sound like her mom, but the “Jedi” robes aren’t quite real robes, and she sets off to uncover the secret like the Mystery Gang in Scooby-Doo, unmasking the supernatural as the ordinary, but her team consists of a shapeshifting pal, a improbability droid, and her Imperial lover. I’d love to find out Aphra’s mom isn’t really dead, though I wouldn’t be surprised this is more some type of manifestation of her through a Jedi relic buried in the rubble of Accresker, or a trapped Sith-type spirit who can pray on her dark memories. Remember how I said there was some potential with Hera around? Who better to give Aphra some motherly advice, no matter what is revealed here regarding the Force Ghost, than the galaxy’s best Space Mom? It’s only a dream of mine these two could have a more…positive…interaction than they’ve had in the past.

While Kieron Gillen plotted this arc with Simon “Si” Spurrier, Si has been writing the scripts for “The Catastrophe Con” and the series continues to excel as one of Marvel’s best regardless. Even if Gillen isn’t part of the plotting going forward after this arc, I feel like the series would be in very capable hands. The art team continues the return of my preferred Aphra art, with Kev Walker (pencils), Marc Deering (inks), and Java Tartaglia (colors). I really enjoy how dirty and grimy the jail and everything/everyone in it looks, and the final page of Aphra holding up a finger to make her point about only being one second to investigate the old Jedi ship, and Tolvan’s concerned, but longing face really matches with the series tone and humor in my books. These issues are a little darker, color-wise, than the series has been in the past, but it’s not unbearable in any way, I just miss a little extra color.

Here are a few other things:

If Lopset is a shapeshifter, is his original species an Abednedo or is he a Clawdite? As in, can any species have shapeshifters or are only certain races/species able to be shapeshifters? I’m not sure this has ever quite been nailed down, but now I’m very curious.
Learning some functions of the tattoos beyond a fashion statement was promised in the interview with Kieron Gillen and Si Spurrier, that I keep coming back to, on the official site (by Tosche-Stations’ Bria!). They also state there’s, “…one very, very big secret lurking at the center of this prison, which hopefully should really impress the crowd.” Does this have to do with the Ghost Aphra is seeing? Or what’s inside the ship? Can’t wait to find out!
Over on the Sapphic Skywalkers podcast episode, “Aphra Effects,” they spoke at length about Aphra in honor of Pride Month, considering she’s one of the most prominent and beloved LGBTQ+ characters in the saga to date. The conversation around Aphra begins at the 8:14 mark, where hosts Lynn, Emma, and Natalie are joined by the biggest Aphra fan around, Bria, for the great chat about what Aphra’s representation means and how it still needs to be better in the saga overall. Head on over and make sure you give it a listen!
In fact, the first Editor for Star Wars comics, Jordan D. White had a little Twitter thread, also in honor of Pride Month, which hit on similar points that the team at Sapphic mentioned in regards to what makes Aphra so great, like her being flawed and how her relationships tend to go poorly.

Doctor Aphra #21 is another great issue for the series, full of humor, deep ruminations, and plenty of exciting things to uncover ahead.

+ Tolvan and Aphra attracted to one another like tractor beams, despite everything
+ Aphra’s ruminations
+ Bait-and-switch on who called who
+ Momma Force Ghost??

Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.

Canon Comic Review: Doctor Aphra #21

+ Tolvan and Aphra attracted to one another like tractor beams, despite everything

+ Aphra’s ruminations

+ Bait-and-switch on who called who

+ Momma Force Ghost??

Check out the rest of our Canon Comic Reviews here!

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