– Spoiler Review –
Doctor Aphra #5 wraps up “Fortune and Fate” in a chaotic but neat bow and sets the stage for what’s to come in memorable fashion.
Aphra’s off-panel plan to give themselves up to Ronen Tagge to save the Rings of Vaale from his destructive ways was missing a few critical details, as is typical for Aphra. Like the part where Aphra offers Dr. Okka up to show the Rings’ abilities, which means she gets pushed into the disintegration chamber! It’s a move Aphra often makes, putting others in harm’s way to prove a point or to escape a situation alive, but she was trusting Okka’s little TA to hack into the chamber and mitigate the strength of the disintegration blast; it’s far less reckless than some of her plans have been in the past, as either the rings will save Okka or TA will, and this decision highlights one of a few ways writer Alyssa Wong manages to preserve what’s come before but still make the series her own, which we’ll talk about more in a moment. While Okka survives the chamber, thus making Ronen pop on both Rings (he’s had the sapphire (aka life) one this entire time, as a family heirloom), Aphra kicks him into the chamber and hacks into it herself, setting it to blow up, while Detta gains redemption in giving her time to hack it; yes, this is another risky plan that could hurt others, but at least this time everyone seems to be in on it so they’re prepared for the risks. The chamber blows and Ronen is barely alive, burnt to a crisp, making one wonder if it was TA’s hacking or the Rings that saved Okka earlier; Okka/Yao later suggests they debunked the theories about the Rings, but Ronen’s survival tends to disagree with them, as while it might give the wearer of both eternal life and fortune, it never said anything about invulnerability, hence Ronen’s crispy survival. I’m hoping we’ll get to see the Rings in action a bit during some part of The High Republic initiative, since they were created back then, but for now we’ll just have to wait and wonder what Just Lucky, and his brother, will do with the crimson (aka fortune) ring now that they are free from Ronen’s influence.
As I mentioned earlier, Wong focuses on making it easy for new readers to jump into her volume of Doctor Aphra, which I’ve thought was a great choice because more fans of Aphra will always be a good thing in my book. Despite my excitement, I was concerned a little this choice would mean a slight reset to her character, steering away from her progress towards a slightly less selfish individual, but the rogue archaeologist’s confessions this week, and her calculated risky plans prove Wong has been able to breathe new life into the character, make her accessible to new audiences, and still honor what’s come before. Once they’re safely off Canto Bight on Aphra’s new Ark Angel,* she confesses she’s not great at being a team player, admitting her plans were risky, but she did it all to actually help those around her; this combines her usual chaos but retains her “growth,” as it were, into a less selfish person. I look forward to watching how Wong balances this, especially as we get deeper in and characters like Sana Starros, and I really hope Magna Tolvan, begin to find their way back into the series and Aphra’s life again.
Detta Yao made up for her betrayal in an epic display of murder to help Aphra pull of her plan of taking down Ronen, while Dr. Okka’s evidence and stolen artifacts from Ronen will help her regain entrance, and potential tenure, at the Shadow University. I enjoyed these side characters the most, and it seems like they are done on the series for now, parting ways with Aphra after she paints a target on her back with the Tagge family. Knowing Okka and Detta will work together, and are friends again despite what happened, was a great ending for this two, as we might be able to see them again and their arcs, as short and sweet as they were, wrapped up well. I enjoyed Ronen’s comeuppance, but the threatening Domina Tagge, introduced at the end, looks to be a formidable problem for Aphra in the future. Normally we have Vader looming over Aphra’s life, when he’ll pop up adding a sense of tension to every issue, but Domina is a new threat that won’t be as distracted as Vader can be from chasing after Aphra, meaning she’ll be even more deadly and worrisome. Domina comes from the Original Marvel Years of SW Legends comics, most recently seen again in the Legends one-off last year, but Wong will certainly make it easy for us who never read those to enjoy the characters’ time in canon.
For now at least, this was the last issue of Marika Cresta (art) and Rachelle Rosenberg’s (colors) time on the series, which is a damn shame as I’ve really enjoyed their style and was so damn happy to have a female-fronted creative team for the series. Some of their face work remains my favorite, especially Ronen’s smugness, which makes Aphra’s plan working so successfully feel even better, knowing the smugness will never return to his face. I also liked how they put together Ronen’s looming visage over a spread of his family, as he talks the Tagge’s up a bit, giving us a look at the powerful and expansive family that Aphra might have coming after her soon; Domina’s grand appearance in the final page also was a favorite, as Cresta and Rosenberg managed to convey her fierceness and resolve in a stunning, menacing stance, pose, and dress. Thanks for all the great work, team, I hope you’ll be back every other arc, at the very least!
Here are a few other things:
- *I’m really hoping the Ark Angel IV is the High Republic ship they stole last issue, as it’s a wonderful little reminder Aphra can’t let the past lie, while I’m surprised she wasn’t eager to sell it away for money. I’d like to see if she gives it any Aphra-flair with upgrades or tweaks as the series continues…until it blows up again.
- I was on my honeymoon when this issue released, so I appreciated the patience with this review. I did read the issue the day it released, but it wasn’t the only Aphra related thing I made time for: I pre-ordered the Gentle Giant mini-bust of Doctor Aphra! It’s thankfully only $99, which might still be a lot for some, but for this Aphra fan it was the perfect price, because I likely would’ve paid more for it and am very happy I didn’t. Either way, it looks incredible and you can still pre-order yours now…it won’t be released until March of next year though!
- This is the second last issue for the series this year, as the 7th issue was delayed from December in January. There’s going to be a Doctor Aphra drought again but thankfully it won’t be as long as the one during the earlier days of this still on-going, and terrible, pandemic.
- I’ll have an arc review, which will look back at these first 5 issues as a whole, sometime before November’s 6th issue!
Doctor Aphra #5 is a fun ending to a solid and entertaining opening arc for the new Doctor Aphra volume, dealing with the current problem, resolving character threads, and setting up for what’s to come.
+ Aphra is still risky, but calculated
+ Take that, smug Ronen!
+ Domina’s intro
+ A fine way to end Cresta and Rosenberg’s art run!
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.
DOCTOR APHRA REVIEWS:
Volume 2: Fortune and Fate – #1 | #2 | #3 | #4
Doctor Aphra (audiobook)
Volume 1: Aphra (#1-6) | The Screaming Citadel crossover (#7, 8) | 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 (#37-40) / Arc Review | Full Volume 1 Review
Annual: #1 | #2 | #3