[Editor’s Note:  This review is edited from the one written by Bret for the SDCC 2018 Doctor Aphra Comic Set.  The Doctor Aphra figure in that set is indistinguishable from this VC129 version.]

Doctor Aphra was the winner of the TVC Fan’s Choice Poll that was launched in April of 2017, and was the reason Bantha Skull made its first news post after months of running on life support.  After Aphra was announced as the winner (in a surprise to me), it was later revealed that besides coming in the TVC basic line here, Aphra would also be somewhat controversially “pre-packed” as part of the exclusive comic 3-pack at SDCC 2018.  While Hasbro may have gone a somewhat easy route by repurposing this figure for the set, it did show that 3.75” collectors were back on the map after years of missing out on cool exclusives, deferring instead to them Filthy Sixers™®©!

Doctor Aphra was the TVC Fan’s Choice winner.  For full disclosure, I had never heard of Doctor Aphra at the time of the poll, and would have preferred any film character (like Tzizvit, but definitely not EV-9D9) over Aphra, but thanks to Sundays With Jimmy {Now known as Wednesdays with Jimmy) here at Bantha Skull, I’ve become familiar with the character thanks to these weekly comic book reviews. 

Aphra is an outstanding figure.  The sculpt is excellent.  It has all the articulation you should expect.  The only thing lacking is ball-jointed wrists, but the figure doesn’t scream for them.  It is well balanced, and can achieve a variety of advanced positions, including kneeling, leaning, and a THWG (Two-handed weapon grip).  The elbow joints are designed to flex a little more than the typical figure, so Aphra can actually put her hands behind her head in a rather natural manner, and her hands even come close to reaching her face so she could be posed to look like she is lifting the goggles off her eyes.  The “diaper crotch” is present, but well-disguised under the separately sculpted double-belt/holster combo.  This is an outstanding piece that accessorizes the figure.  The holster holds the blaster a bit too loosely for my tastes, but it isn’t too bad.  Aphra grips the pistol perfectly in her right hand, and the floating index finger fits nicely into the trigger guard. The paint applications are not mind-blowing, but are pretty solid.  The striping down the pant legs is a little messy, as are some of the edges elsewhere.  Aphra’s face and head sculpt are appealing, although as I am not too familiar with her various incarnations at the hands of the many comic book artists, I can’t say if the result would be a likeness that is satisfying to fans of the character.  Likeness aside, the face sculpt and paint are decent, although you do witness the recurring issue that we see where the “lipstick” is applied differently than the sculpt would seem to warrant.  The skullcap and goggles are clearly inspired by Flick and that kid who likes the Tin Man:

It’s interesting, and perhaps a bit disappointing, that Hasbro opted to sculpt the skullcap and goggles as part of the hair.  The entire shebang is executed well as a separately sculpted piece, but having a removable cap and/or goggles would be pretty cool.  Maybe it’s not important, as I don’t know if she ever removes either in the comics, or if this is pretty much her singular look.  In any case, it works for the sculpt, although the silver lenses on the goggles are a bit sloppily applied.  Overall, it’s a terrific figure, and I’m going to give the set a 9.  Even if you’re not a fan of the character, or if you just don’t know that much about her, it’s a very cool release, and at a minimum, would fill a diorama as a background character, or anywhere else your wacky imagination takes you.  If you missed the SDCC comic pack, definitely consider picking up this release.

Single carded commentary (Chris):  When the carded sample was shown at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, it sent a minor ripple through the fan base.  Placing an Expanded Universe character on the base Star Wars card was viewed as sacrilegious since that is viewed as the A New Hope card.  I’m not personally upset about this.  I view this card as “non-denominational” and thus could be used as a generic catch all, but perhaps a concession could have been made by removing the Hildebrandt Luke and Leia from the upper right corner.  I view the double racetrack Star Wars card as the absolute best design in the history of the the vintage Kenner and Vintage Collection cards, so that may lead me to being more permissive of its use outside of Episode IV characters.  It’s a subject of debate, and Bantha Skull reader, Scott, submitted some suggestions for alternative cards to use for Expanded Universe characters.  One day when my day job schedule is more accommodating, I hope to publish his suggestions.  In this case, I think it’s another stunning Vintage Collection design, and similar to nomad’s Shae Vizla review, I think the depiction of the character on the card back is much more attractive than the figure representation.