– Spoiler Review –
Doctor Aphra comes crashing through Galaxy’s Edge #4 for a highly entertaining appearance, as she’s wont to do, while the main story of the miniseries picks up and ends on a cliffhanger making me eager to see the finale!
Teased last issue, Doctor Aphra stars in issue #4’s flashback story, finally revealing how Dok-Ondar came into possession of the Sword of Khashyun, as he sends her to raid the ancient Sith homeworld of Moraband! I repeat, DOCTOR APHRA RAIDS A SITH TEMPLE ON MORABAND…and gets away with it! I call this flashback story: Doctor Aphra and the Darth Bane Tummy Bomb. Why is that? If you ever watched Yoda’s arc in the season 6 episodes of The Clone Wars, Yoda ends up on Moraband, confronting at one point Darth Bane’s spectral form (voiced by Mark Hamill, believe it or not!), and when Aphra comes raiding he appears again, only for her to slam a thermal detonator into this stomach and continue onward. Her irreverence for the past or the mystical has always been a central tenant of the character, but I loved how it was handled here, from her actions with Bane’s specter to defeating Sith Hounds with ease, as it’s a very blunt and hilarious display of what makes the character such a blast, flying through references and canonical tidbits without any regard for their importance. Considering how often Triple-Zero has taken the center stage in the Aphra series, it was great to have the focus on BT-1 this issue, like when he trips up the Shistavnen Dok sends with Aphra to prevent her from betraying him, as the droid’s deadly talents and demure are as entertaining as his counterpart. Triple-Zero actually gets the least to do this issue, even being overpowered by Dok himself, throwing a mynock into Aphra’s plans of double-crossing him, forcing him to leave her stranded on Moraband; Dok says there is more to the story and I hope we’ll see it all one day! What I appreciated most about Aphra’s appearance here is how it’s possible this issue will be the first time some readers will be exposed to the character, as the amount of reprints for this series could be due to visitors from the park diving into the comic about the place they just visited, those who haven’t/can’t visit trying to see glimpses of what they are missing out on, and more. I hope this drives more love to Aphra and her series, because she’s the character I feel deserves more and more attention, and how writer Ethan Sacks handles her matches with the fun readers will have diving into the Aphra comic. Also, mad kudos to her introduction using the lettering for the title of her series!
In the present day, Hondo Ohnaka comes to warn Dok-Ondar about Kendoh and her crew coming after the Sword, though I was a little confused on this part because Dok seemed to be coaching Hondo in what to say to Kendoh when they met in issue #3 and yet it seems like they weren’t talking until #4, so maybe Dok was watching and the way it was presented made it seem like he was communicating with Hondo. I do like knowing Dok was aware of Kendoh’s crew bugging his shop, saying what they wanted while the device was on, so I’ll be curious if he actually has the hilt to the Sword still or if he’s already moved it without them knowing. Just as Kendoh and Wooro come storming into Dok’s shop, the Red Fury troopers seen in the first issue are amassing outside, reading to raid the building as General Hux has an order out for their heads. It looks like Galaxy’s Edge will culminate in a solely present-set tale, something I’ve hoped for more and more as the series has gone on, despite my love for these two most recent flashback stories. Will we learn who hired Kendoh? Will we learn a bit more about her connections to Serenno? And will we see the Sword all together in one piece? Whatever the answers, this surprisingly good tie-in has my full attention for the finale!
I was a little off-put by Aphra’s appearance last issue, but it was the first time I ever saw her under Will Sliney’s art, and Dono Sánchez-Almara’s colors, and now I’ve not only made my peace, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed their work and wouldn’t ever mind them on the Aphra series proper! The humor and action-packed adventure of the Sith Temple was a delight to follow across the layouts and big, bold panels, while the whole page panel of their approach to Moraband was a fantastic image that about took my breath away (not simply because of the location!).
Here are a few other things:
- Want to know what adorns Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities when you visit the real thing? Look for further than this stunningly comprehensive guide over at Polygon!
- In the October 2019 Solicitations, Doctor Aphra‘s next big arc was announced while the first concert story details on Ethan Sacks next big miniseries, the Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker‘s Allegiance was revealed!
Galaxy’s Edge #4 might be the best yet due to the inclusion of my favorite character, Doctor Aphra, but it’s due to how it builds up for a potentially epic finale for the present-set tale!
+ Doctor Aphra the Darth Bane Tummy Bomb
+ Building to a big finale
– Wish we were spending more time with the newbies
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
CURRENT SERIES COMIC REVIEWS:
Doctor Aphra
Aphra (#1-6) | And the Enormous Profit (#9-13) | Remastered (#14-19) | The Catastrophe Con (#20-25) | Worst Among Equals (#26-31) | Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon (#32-37) | Annual: #2
TIE Fighter (miniseries)
Age of Rebellion (miniseries) | Age of Resistance (miniseries)
Star Wars
Kieron Gillen Retrospective (#38-67) | Greg Pak – Rebels and Rogues (#68-72)