– Spoiler Review –
As always, I’m beyond ecstatic for a new Doctor Aphra issue, especially #37 as it’s the start of a new arc, “A Rogue’s End,” but this one comes with a sense of melancholy for me and many other Aphra fans, as it also happens to be the final arc of the series; at least it’s a solid, entertaining start with tons of promise!
Doctor Chelli Aphra and Vulaada find themselves now conscripted into the Empire, and it’s going about as well as you’d think: Vulaada works a lowly janitorial job, the threat of a flogging always near and her pet qaberworm very, very far away, while Aphra is part of Operation Swarm, aka the probe droids scouring the galaxy for the new Rebel base, and is constantly wracked by nightmares of all the ways Darth Vader will finally kill her this time. And while I do not want to hear about the TIE fighter involved nightmare either, the opening of the issue is a neat callback to Darth Vader #25, where Aphra managed to trick him for the first time into thinking she was dead, but her dreams changes things up, as he knows she was floating in space and snaps her oxygen cord, ending her escape. The constant threat of Vader being so near, likely looking for the right excuse to make her pay for humiliating him, isn’t only making sleep as stressful as being awake, it’s also heightening all sorts of her old habits despite her beginning to be just a little less selfish: she speaks up in Swarm meetings, throwing in disrupting jokes (which are very funny, especially the one about General Veers’ name), baiting death itself by trying to talk to Vader, and scheming the best way to survive everything. As she devises a way to worm her way into command of Swarm from Professor Ud, an older man who sees the project more as the greatest archaeology tour than a search for the Rebellion and rightly calls her out on her self-serving interests, Vulaada falls through an ancient trap door and is left behind…which Aphra doesn’t even notice. She’s in charge now and knows better than anyone where the Rebels might look for a base next, and by being the one to find it, she could win the Emperor’s favor again and continue to keep Vader’s lightsaber at bay, the all-consuming selfishness returning after she had begun a process of changing last arc, causing her to forget about Vu.
The way she pokes Vader by bringing up his son Luke Skywalker, or at least almost bringing him up, is a stark reminder how this is information the Emperor doesn’t have quite yet, that Anakin’s son lives, and how fiercely protective Vader is over the info so he can hopefully capture the boy and begin turning him to help him overthrow the Emperor and rule the galaxy. At first I thought she was trying to bring up Skywalker in hopes he’d kill her right then and there, to avoid any more nightmare-filled nights, but by their second chat it was clearer she was trying to prove how loyal she’s been, how she hasn’t deserved death because he can trust her. By the end of the issue, with Vulaada missing and the surprise appearance of her father, Korin Aphra, it looks like she might have to mislead him soon enough to potentially save them.
Considering this is the final arc (I do not like typing that!), it’s only fitting we go full circle here not only with Aphra’s final appearance in the Vader series, but also the first arc of this series, where Chelli and her dad found a way to mend some of the complicated history between them. Last we saw Korin, he had stopped blackmailing his daughter into helping him, and while she pulled a fast one behind his back regarding the Rur crystal they found together, they’ve mostly made nice. Chelli groans every time the series has mentioned him since, and after finally meeting and learning what all happened to her mother, Lona Aphra, it was only a matter of time before the father would return. What is Korin up and why was he on Ash Moon 1 in the Kartovian Formation, and how Vader and Aphra react to his presence, shall be one of the many intriguing threads for this final arc.
On art, Caspar Wijngaard, with Lee Loughridge on colors, are here to close out the series. Caspar has previously drawn for Aphra, first in the wonderful and hilarious Doctor Aphra Annual #2 and for some select issues last arc, and he’s been my favorite artist on the series since. Which means I’m really enjoying this first issue: the starkness of the panels when Vader is around, highlighting his imposing figure and making us feel Aphra’s fear towards him; the intricacies of the cave they go exploring; Aphra’s varying expressions of disinterest at the Swarm meetings; Aphra’s sheepishness on approaching Vader; the hilarious panel of Veers barely lifting a fist to knock out the masked Korin; and the utter surprise on the Aphra’s faces when seeing one another.
Here are a few other things:
- While this is the Aphra series’ final arc, she’ll still have one appearance afterwards in the epic-sized one-shot Empire Ascendant in December (read the solicits for more info), which functions as a wrap-up of Marvel’s first phase of their Star Wars comics. With NYCC coming this weekend, we might get our first hint of the next “phase,” as it were, and maybe what could be next for Aphra (assuming she survives the one-shot, of course).
- If you’ve spent any time on SW Twitter, you’ve probably heard of or seen the account @VeersWatch, if not, you should get to following, as the commitment to finding the next great Veers-related content is a blast to watch, especially today! Veers is featured heavily this issue, providing the galaxy’s biggest Veers fan with a plethora of content…and it looks like a lot more as the arc continues!
- The cult of the Central Isopter was first seen in Rogue One in the background of Jedha, and they’ve since been featured in two of Kieron Gillen’s Star Wars arcs, the last of which left them disappointed in the promised destruction. Their worshiping methods are…unorthodox, to say the least, and I’m curious to see if they’ll factor into this arc beyond their appearance here.
Doctor Aphra #37 is a promising, exciting, and distressing start to the series’ final arc, “A Rogue’s End.”
+ Aphra reverting as the threat of Vader is oh-so near
+ Korin Aphra, what the heck you doing here!?
+ Aphra vs Veers and the Bureaucracy
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
Doctor Aphra
Doctor Aphra Vol. 1 Full Series Review
Aphra (#1-6) | And the Enormous Profit (#9-13) | Remastered (#14-19) / Arc Review | The Catastrophe Con (#20-25) / Arc Review | Worst Among Equals (#26-31) / Arc Review | Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon (#32-36) / Arc Review | A Rogue’s End: #38 | #39 | #40 / Arc Review | Annual: #1 | #2 | #3