Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Volume 6-Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon collects issues 32-36. It was written by Simon Spurrier with art by…just so many different people. It was published by Marvel comics on December 10, 2019.
Synopsis
Synopsis? I got your synopsis right here. Move along.
Review
Dr. Aphra and her youthful ward Vulaada try to lay low after her hi-jinks on Milvayne caught the attention of the entire galaxy; but boredom and a lack of profit are the doctor’s worst enemies. When a job to steal some sort of cloak leads to an opportunity for a side hustle with the ancient weapon of an apostate Jedi, Aphra finds herself in the hands of Rebel Intelligence’s Gen. Cracken courtesy of her ex-girlfriend Magna Tolvan because apparently she is with them now. Cracken, without Mon Mothma’s knowledge, wants to use this weapon, a lightsaber powered rifle that can kill from kilometers away called the Farkiller, to create this unspeakable rebel superweapon you keep hearing so much about and use it to assassinate the Emperor. Collateral damage? Yeah, but you gotta do what you gotta do is Cracken’s thinking on this. Aphra says no thanks; but the Empire is really bearing down on her, and when bounty hunters come a calling the only thing that saves her is the fact that Black Krrsantan is among them and he would rather keep her alive so she can (Riley Freeman voice) PAY WHAT SHE OWE! So, Aphra returns to the Rebels and says she’ll help and then immediately steals the Farkiller back and escapes with Tolvan’s assistance because of course she does. Ladies and gentleman: Aphra has a plan. She is going to very publicly offer to turn the Farkiller over to the Empire to show them that she is a good citizen and that they should definitely not kill her. Of course, Vader gets wind of this too, but his attempt to order her immediate execution is interrupted by Minister of Propaganda Pitina Mar-Mas Voor. Okay, it gets really complicated at this point. Not in a bad way; it’s coherent, but it would take longer to describe it than the actual story unfolds. The gist of it: Pitina put this whole thing in motion in order to get the Farkiller to Palpatine knowing the Rebels, who never had any intention of making this superweapon, would at least rig it to kill or incapacitate him. She would then swoop in to take power because surely no one else in the Empire will be interested in that job. She feels her disinformation and lies are a better way to build and maintain an Empire than Palpatine’s heavy-handed ways. The gist of the gist: everybody is smart, but nobody is smarter than Dr. Aphra, and maybe Palpatine. Pitina’s plan is already unraveling, the Rebels and Sheev both know what’s up. Right on cue, Vader arrives, kills Pitina, and the story ends with him looming menacingly over Aphra, as he tends to do.
This is, obviously, a complicated story. But, as I’ve pointed out before, complicated stories with twists, turns, and plans gone awry are just what you expect with Dr. Aphra. Her rogueish life just naturally lends itself to this sort of thing. What really matters here is character. I really feel this volume continues the character development and evolution that started in earnest with the previous storyline. This is aided quite a bit by the fact that we get some substantial flashbacks to Aphra’s childhood. We see how her father, obsessed as he was with the Ordu Aspectu, drove Aphra’s mom to take her to live on an isolated world. It becomes quite clear that Aphra’s rather cynical worldview was shaped by her mother; but we also see that it was her mother who instilled in her the idea that, in a dangerous galaxy filled with people jockeying for power, the most important thing is to do right by the people you love. I think the addition of Vulaada also does much to humanize Aphra and make her think twice about some of the things she does. It is surely no coincidence that in this story where we see them palling around we also get our best look at Aphra’s relationship with her mother. By the end of the story we see that who Aphra is today is the result of not only her mother, but also her father, and her interactions with the Empire as a child. It really helps give her some depth. Black Krrsantan came back, and for that I am grateful. Unfortunately he leaves again before the end, so who know when we’ll see him again. I was also pleased that the whole “unspeakable Rebel superweapon” turned out to be a ruse. I think it’s important to continue to show that there are things that the Rebels won’t stoop to. The Rebel Alliance should clearly remain freedom fighters and not terrorists. This is why they couldn’t work with Saw Gerrara, or rather why he wouldn’t work with them. You could have had it to where Cracken was really going to do the mass destruction thing, but it would have only really worked if he had been rooted out by the less violent elements of the Rebellion and then you would have had a problem with why Cracken was still around during ROTJ. As for the art, none of it is bad, not at all really; but there are four different pencilers in this volume. Often you’ll have more than one working on a single issue. Consistency would be good.
Notes
Though it was used by Oo’orb the Aposate, we are told the Farkiller was created by Jedi Var-Whill. A timeline for these events is not given.
Comic Pack Wish List:
Black Krrsantan, Black Krrsantan, and throw in a Black Krrsantan while you’re at it.
Score:
This volume continues the upward trend that I feel was present in the previous storyline although, as is always the case with Dr. Aphra, it can sometimes be too clever for its own good. Nevertheless: 4 Skulls.
