I’d say this news comes out of nowhere, but the writing’s been on the wall, and panels, for some time now. With December’s Star Wars: Empire Ascendant #1, a 56 (!) page one-shot, not only will it wrap up the Star Wars series proper, it signals the end of the current era of Star Wars comics which started back in 2015, while it’ll also reveal the fate of Doctor Aphra (I am SO not ready to hear that phrase) too. More thoughts below on the end of “Phase 1.”
The giant sized one-shot will be written by Charles Soule (this isn’t the “third” Star Wars project he’s teased he’s working on), Greg Pak (currently writing the series), Simon Spurrier (current writer of Doctor Aphra), and Ethan Sacks (Galaxy’s Edge), while artists announced so far include Luke Ross and Roland Boschi, with more to come. The Star Wars series ending in December with issue #75 was announced just last month and I figured we wouldn’t learn what was next until October’s New York Comic Con, but here it is: not only is the Star Wars series ending (though it seems likely to return), it also heralds the end to all the current Star Wars comic series out there, including Doctor Aphra! Since the Star Wars series’ current arc is set moments before the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back, Empire Ascendant is an epilogue that will find Leia, Luke, Han, and the Rebellion beginning to make Hoth a home.
But Darth Vader is on the hunt for their new base, with Doctor Aphra by his side. Her latest arc ended yesterday and it begins their renewed “partnership,” where he recruits her to locate the Rebels’ base, so hence how Aphra ties into this story as well. Aphra has not only been my favorite character of the new canon, but also overall character, while her series, Doctor Aphra, has been the best of Marvel’s comics to date. Saying this will reveal her fate is concerning for this big fan, to say the least, as I feel like it would be a mistake for her fate to be her ending up dead. She has so much potential still, and is such a fan favorite across a lot of fandom, which makes me feel like Empire Ascendant won’t be her death after all, but at the very least the end to her comic for now. Which is a damn shame, as it’s the most consistent series of Marvel’s to date, bias not included, though this opens her up to be in something new, whether that’s part of the Star Wars series’ return or maybe say a Disney+ TV show (finger’s crossed!). Both of those potential outcomes, or whatever else they can cook up to keep Aphra around for awhile would help prevented me from being so sad by this news…but yes, all good things have to come to an end; It’s just going to take me a bit to accept this news, like probably more than I realize right now, while I can at least hold onto some hope she’s involved with the next Marvel era or something more. In the meantime, having her gracing the epic cover (by Riccardo Federici) of this epic one-shot, alongside all the big-shot characters, is a testament to her character’s popularity and importance to Marvel comics. Nope, I didn’t tear up writing that, not at all.
The other series overlapping with this timeline is Target Vader, which includes the recanonization of Beilert Valance, so we’ll also see his canon fate, can turn out to be better than the Legends one-off continuation he received back in May.
UPDATE: With December’s solicits in, we have a few more details on just what is in store for Empire Ascendant, including something actually rather fantastic for Aphra!
The only series not involved in this purge will be the upcoming The Rise of Kylo Ren, from Charles Soule. We’ll probably have a better idea of what the new era of Marvel’s Star Wars comics will be next month at NYCC, which is only two weeks away. I’ll be biting my nails until then, as change is both exciting and scary, but as always, I’m ready for it. Minus maybe whatever happens to Doctor Aphra…
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.