– Spoiler Review –
Doctor Aphra #26 is the beginning of Year 2 for everyone’s favorite flaming disaster of a character with her latest arc, “Worst Among Equals.” Despite it being 26 issues in and building off events from previous arcs, issue #26 is a perfect jumping on point for anyone who hasn’t had the wonder of watching this amazing character, while it rewards longtime readers with some fun tongue and cheek. In short, this is the series you need to be reading.
Aphra’s latest predicament, now that most of those hunting her believe her dead, begins as one of her worst yet and only gets worse by issue’s end. Aphra and murderbot Triple-Zero have proximity bombs linked to one another, and if either dies/the bombs are tampered with/or they stray too far from each other: KA-BOOM…needless to say, it’s not a pleasant situation. By the end of the issue, after the two visit a cyberneticist to get the bombs removed, he ends up making it worse, triggering a fail-safe which now only gives them 10 hours to find a way out. Sitting far, far away is Doctor Cornelius Evazan and Ponda Baba, yes those two unruly bar patrons from A New Hope, watching this all unfold because it was Evazan who linked Triple-Zero and Aphra together in some type of twisted experiment/just for kicks idea.
The best part of the issue, and will likely be the best part of the entire arc, is the commentary coming from Evazan as he and Ponda watch from the comfort of their hideaway. It’s funny stuff, dismissive when mentioning details from previous arcs in an off-handed manner, both filling in new readers while having fun at longtime readers’ expense. It’s the meta-commentary aspect which really makes this conceit so enticing to read, as it feels like it’s calling out us readers on how we react to the trials and tribulations of our favorite character (okay, yes, my favorite character, it might not be yours, per se). If the past two arcs dealt with comparing and contrasting decisions and actions Aphra and Triple-Zero make, in a way having a mad scientist and his accomplice calling Aphra a flaming disaster or cheering when Triple-Zero does something deliciously evil despite it making things worse for Aphra, it certainly makes it feel like this issue is trying to make the joke we aren’t much better than Evazan and Ponda if our enjoyment is the same. There’s even a poke at fandom’s tendency to debate things as minuscule as pronunciation, like AT-AT, when Triple-Zero has this line, “You say Palpateen, I say Palpatyne.” From the start it was easy to say their commentary was one of the best parts of the issue, and it only got better on my second reading as I began to see it as a bit of meta-commentary on us readers, but the idea is simply my interpretation, so I can’t say for certain that’s what Simon Spurrier was going for here.
Triple-Zero was an existential threat most of the previous arc, as he didn’t really come into play until issue #25, but having him front and center rekindles my absolute dread whenever he’s in a scene, as both the art and his creepy, believable threats serve to make him just as terrifying as when we first met him. There’s plenty of humor in his darkness as well, making it an absolute delight to have him featured so prominently again like he was in “Remastered,” as his penchant for wanting to kill someone to achieve their goals instead of the “civil” way Aphra offers leads to some great, dark moments. While his actions are enjoyable in their own demented way, it’s really his conversations with Aphra which make him both spookier and a great character to put Aphra up against once again. He calls Aphra a hypocrite over her demands for him to stop solving every problem with murder, and she does her best to show him being civil can work, even if she’s being uncivilized in her own self-serving way. One of the best moments between the two is when Triple-Zero talks about his time with Aphra so far, revealing he was trying everything he could to upgrade her but her constant regret over her actions can no longer be tolerated. Trip can’t get his memories back, which he tasked her with retrieving and she encrypted, but are now dust thanks to Vader, and while she’s provided him entertainment, there’s nothing holding him back from killing her because he’s concluded he doesn’t like her like he thought. But for now he can’t kill her, as her death means his, thus he must take out his desire for death on other poor saps in their way, including the cyberneticist who they needed to undo his botched job. “Opps,” is right, Triple-Zero, and I wonder if this will be the first kill he’s ever regretted. I don’t know why or where I’m getting this feeling, but part of me believes this arc might see the end of Triple-Zero. I’ll take some bets, if you want!
Locked together with the murderbot, Aphra doesn’t look as bad in comparison, though when he wasn’t around she made some less than savory choices. Her attempts at rectifying the situation with Triple-Zero or showing him the murder-less way of doing things helps her new resolve, and is an intriguing part of the issue. Building off of last arc’s advice from Aphra’s mom, “Evil’s just a measure of how much your choices take away other people’s,” a comment from Triple-Zero about his joy in making others do things for him would seem to make him the ultimate evil compared to Aphra, at least according to Lona Aphra. Chelli Aphra seems to be turning a bit of a leaf this arc, because while she’s still committing crimes, her plan to show Triple-Zero how murdering isn’t always the answer is quite the undertaking, as I wonder what she hopes to accomplish, as her actions so far only result in Trip giving her a 5-minute head start once they are free from their bombs. Her regrets come into full view this issue, as she apologies to Trip about encrypting his memories, which seems like unnecessary action if she was truly as bad as Evazan and others see her, while she spends precious time in a holonet cafe searching for news on Inspector Tolvan, scooped up by the Rebellion, full of false memories of her time with Aphra, showing how much she loves and cares about her despite using her to secure anonymity from Vader’s crimson blade. How long before Aphra gives up her crusade to change Triple-Zero, as having him as her constant companion isn’t easy to say the least and their situation is only getting worse? Well, at the most, 10 hours, considering that’s how much time they have left after the cyberneticist mucks things up.
Remember the Force-infused hookspores looking for its next host full of righteous justice but were dissipated by Darth Vader? Or Tam Posla, the unhinged lawman, broken after the death of his boyfriend, who was murdered by Triple-Zero after he already served his purpose in Aphra’s get-rich schemes, his body left on Accresker Jail? As Evazan says, they’re gone and not important so it’s okay if you don’t, but his words are another brilliant bit of humor due to their unintentional irony, on Evazan’s part, as the panels surrounding his words reveal the hookspores weren’t totally defeated and Posla’s body was adrift in space…which the hookspores are about to infect, as they wanted to a few issues back. I had thought his body perished as Accresker slammed in Tiferep Major, thus raising questions about the tease in the January solicits about an undead bounty hunter, but now I see it really was about Posla and the hookspores. Evazan believes his study is completely under his control, but he’s dismissed the survival of the hookspores/Tam and I can’t wait to see what these uncontrolled variables bring to the “Study of the Reciprocal Longevity of Variant Dreadfulness” aka “How Long Before the Dumb Monsters Kill Each Other.”
Simon Spurrier once again remains as writer and once again handles a meaty script, packed it with plenty of humor, action, and non-stop fun, and put us on course for another excellent arc in the Doctor Aphra series; Wonder what tricks he’ll have up his sleeves this time, like the twist in #25 with Evazan, or if the potential meta-commentary on the readers is the special sauce for “Worse Among Equals.” Aphra issue #26 sees the return of the art team of Emilio Laiso (art) and Rachelle Rosenberg (colors), and there’s something about their work this issue that makes it look better than their previous work. It might be the deeper, but more vibrant colors, giving Aphra a more appropriate skin color, the neon background of the planet Milvayne, or how creepy they really get Triple-Zero to look this issue, but regardless it’s some of their best work yet and I’m really happy to have them back. Letterer Joe Caramagna continues along for this zany ride, with Tom Groneman as Assistant Editor.
Here are a few other things:
- The cyberneticist mentions his mentor, a Professor Prexo, a few times and I wonder if that means we’ll meet this character sometime this arc.
- It’s honestly both amazing and surprising that here we are, 2 years since her unbelievable survival after service to Darth Vader which led to her own series, and not only has Aphra’s own series surpassed the one she began in, it’s heading strong into its second year. She also was voted in for The Vintage Collection series of action figures, was included in a special 3 pack at SDCC, and will be part of an upcoming wave of The Black Series figures! I know her won’t be able to last forever, but I’m going to celebrate every issue and moment we get!
Doctor Aphra #26 is definitely not the “Worst Among Equals,” as it’s not really among any equals for its continued quality. Jump aboard this series now if you haven’t yet!
+ Evazan and Ponda commentary
+ Triple-Zero is sufficiently creepy again
+ Aphra trying to make Trip more civil
+ Art and writing are pointing towards another fantastic arc ahead!
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: #27 | #28 | Annual: #1 | #2
CURRENT SERIES COMIC REVIEWS:
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