Comics Doctor Aphra #32-36: Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon (5/5 released)

she's always getting sidekicks isn't she? well you need someone for her to babble at.

 

Spoiler

With the "Why, we could fire it from half the galaxy away." line from Cracken's droid, you might be able to add in SKB as well.

Actually, now that I think of it, they kind of are describing a mini Starkiller Base...

 

Isn't this the same gun or a similar gun that was in the Darth Vader comic series when Jocasta Nu was trying to get in and out of the Jedi Temple, but just couldn't let the Inquisitor's manners go?

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Lightsaber_rifle

 

Issue #36 solicit.

Spoiler

STAR WARS: DOCTOR APHRA #36
SI SPURRIER (W) • WILTON SANTOS (A) • COVER BY ASHLEY WITTER
STAR WARS GREATEST MOMENTS VARIANT BY TBA
UNSPEAKABLE REBEL SUPERWEAPON PART V!
• The sinister propagandists of the COALITION FOR PROGRESS keep a vast gallery of the EMPIRE’S priceless victory trophies – and notorious thief DOCTOR APHRA just got in...
• But she won’t get the chance to pinch anything. She’s here to be initiated into the web of secret schemes she’s unwittingly tangled herself in. Can you say “coup”?
• (IF yes: don’t. Round here, there’s always someone listening...)
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
Star Wars © Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization. Text and illustrations for Star Wars are © 2019 Lucasfilm Ltd.

 

Similar, but not exactly the same. That one was a rifle; the Farkiller's specifically a sniper rifle. Maybe there's some connection somewhere, but the two artifacts aren't the same.

 

Well, I already like the Rebel intelligence squad. The series is again doing that cool thing that it does, shifting genres with each new arc while having little character and style signposts that keep it its own thing. Still one of my favorite ongoing SW things. Seems a little less talked about these days, so I hope it's going well enough to continue for a good while longer.

 

I really liked how Cracken was worked in - it could have so easily been "Random Alliance Intelligence Officer #94", but I'm glad it wasn't. I feel like this issue told us a lot about how the Alliance is operating around 1/2 ABY, much like how Alphabet Squadron does for the months post-Endor.

 

yah I Was was surprised that the Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon was actually a legit Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon! Pretty cool. Whole lotta different artists on this issue but all were pretty good. Sometimes the book can be a bit chatty so this was probably an even moreso chatty issue than usual as it's basically just Aphra walking down the street, but she still put slicer devices on the whole ride. but damn Rebels making their own mini DS superlazer, that's shocking! Loved that line, "Hypothetically." "Hypothetically."

 

@The2ndQuest @AdmiralNick22
2 of 5 released

Concerning #33, I found it slightly confusing but I think I got the gist. It definitely felt a little like Rogue One with a mix of the DJ/Finn scene in TLJ.

 

Preview for #34 is up:

Spoiler: Doctor Aphra #34 preview pages

 

Nice issue, though

Spoiler

Tolvan pointing a blaster at Aphra is getting a bit old.

And is it just me or is it a bit too obvious that the Minister of Propaganda is Aphra's mother? Her talk in the previous issue where she disagrees that the dark side is evil, and that hiding one's identity is a good way to maintain order in the galaxy, seem like big red flags, but I'd like to think this series, which has been good at its twisty-turns so far, might not make it as straightforward as that.

 

Spoiler

Yeah, I also got this feeling that Aphra's mother being alive will be the "twist" of the arc. I have to say that the story of this comic is getting better and better every time. Giving someone for Aphra to take care of was a very good idea even if it's a little cliché.

 

You know, I get the feeling that Aphra would actually have been better off with her dad.

 

Spoiler

I don't think the minister is or ever could be Aphras mother. Doesn't fit the personality and would not be worth it just for shock value. Maybe they are related in other ways? I mean, her mom is the minister, why would she try to harm or kill Aphra? Why not help her more back when she did nothing? Likewise what does an Imperial Minister of Propaganda with ties to the Emperor and elite herself do with a husband chasing forbidden Jedi lore and the like? It all does not add up. No way.


I love the relationship Aphra has with the kid protegé but fear she will betray the kid like anybody else in the end. Will a dead kid shock her into changing?


I think a new faceoff meeting with Vader is required in the series down the line, if in this arc though, don't think so.

Somehow I see Aphra running towards the Empire as a ploy. She runs into the Empires arms and leaks Rebel intel to them to safe her own hide, then when the Empire goes to act on the intel, she stalks it to take out both, the Imperials and Rebels alike that are either hunting her or annoying her. One kyberrifle boom and both are gone and she is free. Or so she thinks, obviously it will fail.
Maybe Vader leads the imperial mission against the rebels even... her shot takes out the rebels and imperials but Vader survives and comes gunning for her but is stopped by the Emperor himself who took note of Aphra, noting the Rebels might have gotten away had she not shot even with Vader in the field. So Aphra gets a new mission from Palpatine himself who loves archeology and old temples with portals.

 

Spoiler

I'd say their personalities absolutely fit, based especially on the dialogue I quoted. Lona is interested in keeping order, and keeps trying to rationalize evil and the dark side as perfectly normal ideas. She wouldn't have been with the Empire when she was with her husband; that's later. In this issue's flashback we see her get shot and surrounded by stormtroopers, so her being brought into the Empire seems likely. Nineteen years later and she's part of the regime. And she's not entirely trying to harm Aphra; Aphra's actually working for her at the start of this arc, to retrieve the Farkiller.

 

Spoiler

I see your points but still think it'd be a stretch. And until someone pointed out here that her mom might be alive I considered her dead actually in the comic. I am open to her survival, even to her being Imperial, but in the Emperors inner circle? And why propaganda? Did her mom or her profession in any previous flashback ever hint at anything that may relate to propaganda? Yes both women are blonde, not naturally so but I need more to take that pill.

Especially given said woman ordered that Imperial P.R. arm the rail gun and fire from orbit into civilian traffic to simply shoot down Aphras airspeeder she was on!!!! Crashsurvivors they might have become but still survival was not guaranteed with such a shot. Also in private shots of her in her office she does not know who that woman (Aphra) is and analyses her as well as intends to report on her to higher ups like probably the Emperor and Vader. This private moment would have been perfect to show any recognition but nope, nothing there.

IF she is her mom, she does not care for her daughter anymore at all, and that is why I do not believe she is. She may be Tolvans mom though, I'd love that twist nobody saw coming when Aphra is introduced to Tolvans family after those two lovebirds became friends again

 

Spoiler

I think the point is that she's considered dead. That's why it'd be a twist (and why I'm saying it's being implied, not outright stated). These new issues are only just showing the circumstances around her "death", so that story is still in progress. It's kinda like saying "well Vader couldn't possibly be Luke's father" having only watched half of ESB.

There are quite a few hints in her dialogue, I think, ever since she showed up two issues ago, that could easily suggest her as someone who'd go into propaganda over those nineteen years. A big deal is placed on her "pearls of wisdom"; she's much more into philosophy and moral relativism than Korin. Even in her first appearance she seems opposed to Korin's research, and points out the Imperial "censors" would kill him over it. "Obsessives. Idealists. They think things are simple when they're not. If they don't bring down trouble on themselves, they bring it down on everyone else". That sure sounds like someone who wants to control "obsessives and idealists".

"Don't look back, sweetie. In this galaxy, it just makes you look suspicious. And tears are just a big flashing sign saying "weak"."

The Minister is employing Aphra and paying her well. She knows Aphra survived Milvayne. Vulaada thinks Aphra "knows nothing" about the Minister; Aphra replies: "I know enough". Going back to the Milvayne arc, the Minister seems impressed by Aphra at several points, and she points out that their records don't include Aphra's identity, something which "I will be at pains to preserve".

Hell, Aphra even refers to the Minister as her "mystery matron" in #32, seemingly a play on "patron", but also...y'know, mother.

 

@The2ndQuest @AdmiralNick22
3 of 5 released

If I get a chance, I hope to read #34 during lunch today. I'm a little behind on my comics as I think this came out last Wednesday.

 

I just read #34 and the spoilers above and I didn't put two and two together, but you all make some interesting points and are probably right in your thinking.

The art has taken a sharp turn down unfortunately. Storyline-wise, it is quite obvious that Aphra kind of needs to successful in her efforts to propel the story forward. With two stories left in this arc, we probably get "the surprise twist" at the end of 35 and the conclusion of this arc and the set up of the next (and final?) arc in 36.

 

Okay, so the Farkiller is a kyber sniper super rifle that it can fire a blast which will travel miles away and cause a lot of damage? What a weapon.

 

I will be very disappointed if Episode IX does not make use of something along the lines of these Kyber weapons that pop up everywhere in the new canon.

Imagine the First Order unable to penetrate a Resistance holdout... Hux fumes and Kylo walks up from his excursion trip... "Hold my beer", aims his latest toy and fires it at the base, boom, mission accomplished.

Heck, I now demand Old Lady Aphra tales.. done Old Man Logan style, akin to Old Indiana Jones intros to the Young Indy Chronicles series. Set in the Sequel Era.

 

I've fallen behind on my comics reading! The preview for #35 is up and I still need to read #34.