Comics Doctor Aphra #37-40: A Rogue's End (4/4 released)

Change side of course, declare herself a quadruple triple agent under abyssal deep cower who has always worked for the Rebels! And maybe she can dig up some dirt on one or two Rebel top brass that she can use to have him declare her lie the truth.

 

If you're watching The Mandalorian, which takes place five years after the events of Endor, if she puts herself in the right place/position, she can be highly profitable.

 

yah she'd do what she always does, scheme and survive. I think killing her off is the least interesting thing you can do with her story, it's more interesting to see her basically grift her way through the galaxy. although sometimes the last minute saves can be a bit much, like in the last issue.

 

I'm not totally caught up yet, but she seems the type to keep up with the underworld circles no matter who is running "the government" of the galaxy. Not to mention in the New Canon, the New Republic has a very light touch when it comes to actually enforcing anything.
So a bounty for former Imperials? Sure, but I'm not expecting them to put much effort into it.

 

With a new ongoing Aphra series running from TESB to ROTJ probably ending somewhere in Jabbas palace? Any post ROTJ Aphra may be live action given the tv show rumors!

I just hope no LFL casting agent will have the same ideas as idiotic fans who fancast non-asians into the role! Are they blind?

 

Spoiler

So, there ARE underwear in space.

 

I'm personally fine with just killing her off. We've already seen her grifting the galaxy over and over again at this point it's getting boring as well as predictable.

 

This contradicts Lucas level of canon, we have to force them to edit the panels! Must be a coloring error or

Spoiler

she tatooed clothing on her skin that is not there!

 

So Force Realm with Vader next issue . Will we see Vader try to get padme again but will aphra mess it up for him

 

https://www.starwars.com/news/doctor-aphra-40-target-vader-6-exclusive

Spoiler

 

Holy.... TYTHON in Canon? Here we go Aphra dear you always deliver!

 

yah interesting note at the end of the last issue Aphra's message to Vader is "Dress warmly" which may be interpreted as how Vader immediately knows that Hoth is the location of the Rebel Base which Aphra's message could confirm or deny, or it was just all Force intuition anyway. (or the above preview may note Aphra leads them to the wrong cold destination, still, Vader would know something about her "Dress warmly" pronouncement.)

Anyway, running through my head in that issue to the tune of Areosmith "Love in a Trash Compactor". The fact Aphra could read her girlfriends mind was a mite convenient since this doesn't seem to be a plot point that has factored in the book all that much which could have been useful a few times before this.

Anyway who was the 4 armed Rebel alien dressed exactly like Aphra? It was a little weird, maybe from a previous arc.

 

That was Sister Six. She first appeared in the "Remastered" arc (issues 14-19) as a member of Aphra's mercenary crew that searched Wat Tambor's workshop, kidnapped Hera, and infiltrated the Tarkin Initiative's Hivebase-1.

 

The preview definitely shows Aphra leading Vader to the wrong cold destination, so she certainly hasn't told him about Hoth. Her father mentioned the Martyrium of Frozen Tears a couple of issues back, so she knows it's a place Vader might be interested in, even though it's not actually the Rebel base.

The meaning of the electro-tattoos have been teased throughout the series; they carry data as per earlier issues, and Tolvan got her own previously too.

The four-armed Xexto is Sister Six, formerly part of Aphra's crew from the "Remastered" arc who joined the Rebellion.

 

TYTHON CAN U SMELL THE FORCE STUFF THATS COMING

 

You're forgiven for not recognizing that character as Sister Six - Caspar Wijngaard has redesigned her quite a bit, giving her a far more humanoid appearance compared to the somewhat snakelike look Emilio Laiso gave her back in "Remastered." (And in neither case does she look much like a Xexto, although that might just be Laiso and Wijngaard exercising artistic license to design a more interesting character.)

 

@The2ndQuest @AdmiralNick22 @Sinrebirth
3/4 released

Re: #39

Spoiler

I thought this issue was really well done. I wonder if Aphra does really care about Tolvan, or just slept with her to get the information. Maybe it's a little bit of both, but we'll never truly know.

I like that Papa Aphra and Aphra's ward are partnered back together and of course they're put in a precarious situation that I'm sure they'll some how find their way out of with no problems.

Since it's very heavily implied that Aphra will Vader/Emperor the name Hoth even thought for now she only says "Dress Warm" it explains why Vader was so sure that the Rebels were there at the beginning of ESB. Although, as a kid, my assumption was Vader was using the Force to detect Luke/the Rebels there. If he learns the actual name from Aphra, it takes a little bit of the mystique away. I hope he doesn't get the actual name. Thoughts?

 

Well if Vader knew where the Rebels were, he'd go there so I believe Aphra will fail.

 

On the contrary if he succeeds it means Aphra has to spill the truth.. so Vader has to fail for TESB to work, meaning Aphra wins!

 

@The2ndQuest @AdmiralNick22 @Sinrebirth
4/4 released

Re: #40

Spoiler

Pretty interesting that Aphra was actually able to go toe to toe with Vader without the Force or the use of a lightsaber. I kind of wish they explained it a little bit more, but I guess if the Force can bond with spores, rock monsters, and other things, then I guess it could live inside a mountain which resides in a temple that acts like a confessional? Shrug.

I did like that Aphra messed with the probe droids which gives the Rebels more time with the base on Hoth. That was an interesting twist that I didn't see coming.

Overall, I've said it before, and I'll say it again that this series should be applauded for taking a character that we or at least I originally disliked as she was essentially an *** **** Han Solo/Indiana Jones, to a character we actually caring about and some maybe even loved.

 

Spoiler

It's the opposite for me. I hate this character now. Hard to describe why but I guess part of it is because people in and out of universe are somehow supposed to treat her as an anti-hero while I can't view her as anything other than a sociopathic villain at this point. The series continuously try to justify why this is so but to me they felt like even more of Aphra's grifting other characters and us the readers/audiences. And am I suppose to root for her that she successfully gotten the better of Vader? No thanks. I prefer to root for someone that has gotten the better of Aphra instead. Especially if they're sympathetic characters like Nokk and Winloss. That's how much I hate Aphra at this point.

 

Eh, I agree that she shouldn’t be killed off, but I’d also like some character development. There’s not much more to Aphra being a self-destructive, short-sighted, selfish grifter that they can explore. If they want her to still be interesting, she has to evolve in some way. She can’t keep being a static character.

 

I felt she has evolved and continues to evolve, especially with her current relationships specifically in this arc, but I won't post too much because I don't want to spoil those currently still reading this or waiting for the trade.

To go back to the beginning of her introduction, I remember thinking, "who does this girl think she is?" She was very entitled and I didn't like that. Then she causes her own problems by activating two killer droids and betraying Vader. So when she was dealing with betraying them I didn't really feel sorry for her because she's the one that created her own issues in the first place.

Then they partnered her characters like Black Krrsantan and Sana Starros, which were two missteps IMO as I don't really like either of those characters. I didn't care that she had a past relationship with Sana, just like I didn't care about the fake love triangle the comics tried to do with Sana/Han/Leia.

Also, I didn't get the whole Screaming Citadel thing. I think the writers wanted Aphra partnered with the main three - Luke/Han/Leia - for an adventure, and ultimately, it wasn't really a story I cared for.

I did like the occasional story with her father, but I didn't like the way she treated him. It wouldn't be until later when we got the backstory with her mother that her strained relationship with her father made more sense.

Tolvan wasn't my favorite either when introduced, and Aphra definitely acted weird around her which makes sense in retrospect as that is who she was attracted to. You act weird around people you like.

There has been a lot of weird and wild Force stuff with the Rur crystal, the spores, and other things that have come back around that was hit or miss from issue to issue...

...but then after all the junk above, we earned the heartfelt story that involved Aphra and Triple Zero being connected by the bomb. I thought that was done really well and we actually got to see that Aphra had a heart all long as she was capable of a selfless act. It gave her a little sympathy and understanding. Shortly after those events, we got her backstory involving her mother, which really played on the heartstrings.

In the end, even though the entire plan was convoluted, it was somewhat satisfying for her to finally get revenge on the person responsible for her mother's death even though she didn't do the killing herself. I can't remember, but there must have been a point where she stopped killing people to make her more sympathetic. I'm not sure.

***

So the big question is, where does she go next and where does she fit in the universe? I won't speculate but I will say that I'm liking what they're doing in "The Mandalorian" and maybe they can do something similar with Aphra now that's she's essentially established. She doesn't need to be on Hoth nor does she need to make a turn into a full hero or anything. She's an archaeologist, so maybe we see her on Ahch-To, essentially 30+ years before Luke finds it. Who knows. It's a huge galaxy and I'm looking forward to what she does next.

 

Tolvan is the only thing from aphra I don't like . But yeah Aphra grew from her first appearance . she's still a **** person but she's our **** person . I can't wait for her new run and what changes it does for her character. Thou I still want her to have wrestle with the stages of a Sith possession if she finds a artifact that houses a Ancient Sith Lord.

 

Spoiler

Oh c'mon, can she die already? Honestly she should have already died at the end of Gillen's arc if I am honest and now they give her yet another unlikely out. They didn't have to do another confrontation with Vader which she won because of some McGuffin plot device and her plot armor. I am not sure if I buy Vader stumbling into a trap this way, he already knew Aphra knew the place and should have taken better precautions. Blowing it up with a turbo laser would've done the trick just as well.

Remember TESB when Vader had his men walk in front before he walks in because traps?