– Spoiler Review –
Still hot on the tail of a dangerously modified artifact, Doctor Aphra finds herself forcibly employed, without her electro-tattoos, and chaperoned by Luke Skywalker (again), so will she be able to adapt or further dig a hole with the New Republic government? Find out in my review of Doctor Aphra: Chaos Agent #2!
Having already laid a solid foundation in the opening issue, writer Cherish Chen doubles down on her Luke Skywalker and Chelli Lona Aphra dynamic for issue #2, as he tries to mitigate her concerns regarding her new lot in life and then attempts to do things his way, considering her way last issue meant he was electrocuted profusely, thankfully not by Emperor Palpatine this time but only Aphra to save him. Luke’s very short story about a womp rat in comparison to Aphra’s issues with being locked out of her electro-tattoos (not removed, thankfully!) and the new job arraignment with the New Republic’s DAGGERs, aka Department of Artifacts and Archival Goods Retrieval, is a succinct and funny beginning to their interactions throughout this issue. Aphra finds his optimism grating, but she’ll happily allow him to take the lead, letting doors get slammed in his face without offering a word of advice, which is quite the restraint for her. His do-gooder persona and name carry far, as they get a lead from an oft-dismissed assistant because of who he is, but on Aargau, a planet known more for secrets as currency than money itself, considering how rich its inhabitants are, it doesn’t get them far enough. Aphra’s able to step in, show her way of doing things, and through some old Rebellion code, she’s able to get the info they need. I appreciated how her informant still needed to see Luke to take the plunge and reveal what he knew, showing how the two do end up working well together and their different approaches work out well when they’re united in purpose.
But what’s always made the dynamic of Luke and Aphra an entertaining one for fans to read are their opposing mindsets and how they push and pull at the edges of each other’s perceptions. This is where I think Chen showcases her understanding of them both best, even given where they are in the timeline, as Aphra tempers his expectations with an explanation the galaxy will continue as is despite the New Republic’s rise, while he leaves her to ponder idealism over her usual cynical worldview. It’s very classic them and fits with their characterizations, as Luke being more optimistic than normal tracks after what he was able to accomplish with his father, while Aphra being alone and not with her polycule might be explained in her too cynical viewpoint. It certainly reads like a hint towards the absence of some very important people in Aphra’s life, Sana Starros and Magna Tolvan, her polycule partners she took the plunge with by the end of her last series, as while she’s always been cynical, will time with Luke, next Han, then Chewie, and finally the DAGGERs in general help her see the error of always feeling that way? I’d not be surprised her cynical thoughts could’ve helped her drive a wedge between the polycule, even unintentionally. Also, Luke and Aphra’s time in these first two issues left me curious how much seeing a conversation between her and him regarding Darth Vader couldn’t aided or hindered Chen’s take on their usual push and pull: it could’ve strengthened Luke’s optimism to point out what he accomplished, while I’m sure Aphra could’ve spun it in such a way it would’ve serviced her ideals, so maybe it would’ve been a wash. Either way, I hope we’ll get that conversation, one day! Overall, it felt like we were just getting started on their time together by the end of Chaos Agent #2, but it’s enough and can easily stand aside Luke and Aphra’s previous interactions.
As for Aphra and Luke’s mission, they track down the dealer who sold the gauntlet last issue to a family’s home in the middle of the city. And it seems the man’s wife and child are none-the-wiser to his schemes, openly welcoming in Luke and the old pirate lady, which I agree with Aphra was the kindest (yet funniest) thing she’d been called all issue, but their suspects knows what brings them to his home, doing his best to hide it until he lets slip some information they hadn’t revealed regarding their search. I’d have liked a little more from Dailas on the why and how of his collecting days, but he’ll have to tell that all to Meteora, the Director of the DAGGER agency, since Luke and Aphra, even after she shot a giant hole in the side of the family’s home, managed to subdue the collector and tinkerer. Since the artifact was half the fun of issue #1, having this story wrapped up in such a swift and tight manner was my only downside, as issue #2 felt slightly anti-climatic. As I mentioned earlier, and this issue teases on its final page, Han Solo and Aphra will be forced to work together, and whereas her and Luke have had a rocky, yet positive history, her interactions with Han in the Vader Down and The Screaming Citadel crossovers are less friendly, so this should be an interesting pairing given such a past and Han’s new station in life! We can only hope, very soon, Aphra will have to face more personal acquaintances!
The artistic team of Gabriel Guzman, Michael Atiyeh on colors, and letterer Joe Caramagna return for Doctor Aphra: Chaos Agent #2. In my review of the previous issue, considering Guzman was new to me, I called his style a more old-school one, but in discussions about the art since and seeing more of it here, it’s interesting how thick his linework seems to be, leading to the colorist almost fighting for space, which gives the series a heavier, and like I said, old-school look. It seemed more subdued in issue #2, maybe the two are getting used to one another’s work, and it’s overall a far cry better than some trace-heavy or other less aesthetically pleasant art in both Aphra’s and Star Wars comics’ past in general. This heavier, almost darker look to the series worked very well once Dailas enters the panels, as he’s immediately shown as a shadow, already forecasting his guilt, if the varied collection of trinkets in his home wasn’t a dead giveaway, and he’s often shown with heavy shadows on his face to really hammer it home, while obviously only a bad guy gets a bowl-cut! Guzman’s expressions for Luke and Aphra continue to aid Chen’s sense of humor in the overall story and their back and forth over whose way works best, be it Aphra’s grumpy, scrunched face when Luke gloats over the assistant helping them or her smirk, while pulling her collar, as she reveals how she spoke in code with an informant and got the information they wanted. Speaking of the code, the impact marks on the card table were a touch overboard, as Caramagna’s sound FX of the taps and tips were more than enough to keep me intrigued why it was being highlighted so much, as it left me wondering if it was some part of the card game they were playing, especially since the expressions Guzman used for Aphra and Limin made them seem as antagonistic as Chen’s dialogue wanted. Shoo, the proprietor of the Quatro Cortagio club, is a member of a relatively new species, the Nithorn, which first appeared in Solo: A Star Wars Story and even Andor’s second season, and it’s a neat avian-related design I felt like Guzman did a great job with, especially when making sure her feathers were visible to help lead up to Aphra’s revelation Shoo was lying to them due to her knowledge of the species; Guzman also does a great job of packing panels with a lot of different species, which I can’t imagine is an easy choice to make but it really gives each place the series has visited so far a good sense of the galaxy.
Here are a few other things:
- While we had the honor of interviewing Cherish Chen ahead of the series, Countdown City Geeks also had such an opportunity and posted their nearly hour-long interview on YouTube! They focused a bit more on Chen’s career before Aphra, from how Lord of the Rings got her inspired for filmmaking to her time working in the Trailer House on all sorts of projects, like how Mad Max: Fury Road was her final big project, and it’s utterly fascinating stuff. I found the conversations about how creating trailers work, from how early in the process the marketing teams are seeing footage and how much the producers affect their work, very fascinating and it makes the job sound both exciting and exhausting at the same time. She also discussed Chaos Agent of course, how there’s so much she’d like to do, why we’re seeing so many familiar faces first, and how she wants to find that balance of new and old for all sorts of fans. All of it’s worth a listen! But it also got into how long or short this series might be…
- In the initial announcements, Chaos Agent‘s was described as an ongoing series, which would make sense given Aphra’s first two series went 40-issues long, why not do it for the third? I began to worry a little when the new mainline Star Wars (2025) series’ first trade paperback went from having the usual 6 issues to 10 issues, but it also seemed like Marvel was doing this more across the board. Then I saw the previews of artwork over on Instagram from the upcoming Doctor Aphra: Chaos Agent artist, Kieran McKeown, where he called it a miniseries, though I wrote it off as the artist referencing the length of time he’d be on it before someone else took over. But then in the interview with Countdown City Geeks, when directly asked about it being a miniseries or ongoing, Chen hesitates, admits she doesn’t know how much she can say, and calls it a miniseries and later goes on to basically suggest sales will help keep it going. This has always been true, but revelations from Jedi Knights‘ writer Marc Guggenheim, that Marvel is contracting people on an ‘ongoing’ series for 10 issues and reconsidering as sales data comes in, brings this whole story together and makes it clear sales are more important than ever to see your favorite characters or story continue, so get out and support when and if you can!
- Kieran McKeown joins the series in issue #4, by the way, which is out in September. Expect to learn more about the series with October solicitations and SDCC publishing panels this week, which I’ll be covering on the Manor!
- A Bothan mention?!? In the year of our Aphra, 2025?! Am I dreaming? Are they suddenly showing up in canon?!!? No and no to the last two, but it certainly did stand out to hear their tech is one a refined collector keeps their eye our for. May the Bothan floodgates open, one day!
- Aphra’s electro-tattoos not being completely gone is a relief and I’ll be curious to see if the next issue picks up the thread a bit more on getting her access back to them!
Doctor Aphra: Chaos Agent #2 might bring the Luke Skywalker and Doctor Aphra team-up over just as it was really getting started, but Cherish Chen and the art team take great advantage of the time they are together!
+ Aphra and Luke dynamic continues to be a delight
+ Plenty of humor in their conflicting ideals
+ Art team highlights the humor and villain in little and obvious ways
– Feels like the artifact plot ends before it got to stretch its legs
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him and the website on Bluesky and Instagram @mynockmanor.
DOCTOR APHRA: CHAOS AGENT REVIEWS
Vol. 1: #1