Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Vol. 5-Worst Among Equals collects Annual 2 and issues 26-31 of Doctor Aphra. It was written by Si Spurrier with art by Emilio Laiso, Caspar Wijngaard (Annual), and Andrea Broccardo (#31). It was published on June 25th, 2019.
Synopsis
Rogue archeologist and pointless hat enthusiast Dr. Chelli Aphra and homicidal droid Triple Zero have been united in the unholy bonds of hate-rimony. Fitted with the cutest matching throat bombs by Dr. Evazan, they must stick together or get blown apart. On the ultra law and order planet of Milvayne they seek out someone who can disarm the bombs even as Triple Zero assures Aphra that he is going to kill her anyway. With their exploits being broadcast by Evazan across the planet, they attract the attention of local authorities, the oppressed populace, and the Empire’s own public relations department.
Review
Aphra and Triple Zero take in the sights on Milvayne.
At the end of the previous volume, Dr. Aphra found herself out of prison and yet somehow in a much worse situation. She double-crossed someone who turned out to be Dr. Cornelius Evazan; she altered the memories of her lady-friend Insp. Tolvan; and she found herself inextricably bound to, of all the people in the Galaxy who want her dead, the one who is literally designed to make her death as slow and painful as possible. Worst Among Equals continues the theme that pretty much all of Aphra’s problems are the result of her past actions, actions motivated by greed, selfishness, and deceit, coming back to somehow both look her square in the face and bite her in the butt at the same time. From a certain point of view, things come full circle here. After all, the very first time we see Dr. Aphra in the pages of Darth Vader she is stealing the 0-0-0 personality matrix and reactivating it; and now, that first darn the consequences if the credits are good enough act has taken her down a long and winding road that appears to lead right to her grave. Along this stretch of road, Aphra must contend with the deranged Dr. Evazan, previously wronged monster hunters Winloss and Nokk, Milvayne cops, Tam Posla and BT-1 (both having been re-animated by the Gundravian hookspores), and the Imperial Propaganda machine. As always, Aphra is caught up in events that have spiraled far out of control. Previously, she may have tried to deal with this by conning her way out; but here she seems to realize that old mattress just doesn’t have any spring left in it. Is this change of heart sincere? Even if it is, is it too late for that now?
Imperial PR in orbit around Milvayne
It’s fun to have an amoral edgelord to play anti-hero in contrast to the usual gang of do-gooders; but there really is only so far you can take it. Most people aren’t sociopaths, and I for one would eventually get tired of seeing Aphra do something terrible then put her finger to her chin and make the “I’m a bad girl” face over and over again. Even seeing her feel guilty about the bad things she does but then making no effort to change would become meaningless and tiresome. Dr. Aphra was coming dangerously close to that, but at the end of Catastrophe Con she seems to have caught some legit feelings over what she did to Tolvan and that, in combination with facing imminent death after being spliced to the murder-bot, looks to have really started a transformation. Maybe. Like the story that preceded it, Worst Among Equals is another hot mess. It conveys the sheer absurdity that seems to be inherent in the life of its protagonist. Does it go too far this time? It might. It does come close, at least. When Aphra’s antics, being broadcast to the people of Milvayne, lead to an increase in anti-authoritarian activity, we are introduced to a ship of the Imperial Public Relations Department; the depiction of the propaganda officers, especially their leader feels like it comes dangerously close to what I would consider satire, maybe even farce; but they do end up being useful to the plot and I feel like the absurdity gets dialed back enough by the end. Any time you have a book like this, where so much of the signature style is built on witty and humorous dialogue and somewhat sarcastic absurdity, said style can often threaten to overshadow any real substance in the stories. Dr. Aphra continues to walk that line in Worst Among Equals; but I think it is starting to pay off, maybe more so than it ever has before. I say starting to because you can tell by the way this story ends that the next tale will start something new. The question is, will it really be new? Does all of Aphra’s talk about trust, loyalty and cooperation really mean anything? Will we see a lasting change and evolution in this character? I’m hopeful.
Notes
Triple Zero mutilates more people before 9AM than you do all day!
The art here is adequate; my only real complaint is the way Ponda Baba is drawn. He just looks kind of bloated as you may be able to tell from the included picture. I guess he got pretty depressed and started eating his feelings.
Annual 2 tells the story of how Winloss and Nokk first come to know Aphra. Some of the particulars of the plot are a bit of a stretch, but it’s fun enough. You will see why they are so eager to pay her back in the main story. The pair, by the way, are a human male and a Trandsohan female who are married to each other; and that’s cool. That’s totally cool, man.
Still no word from Black Krrsantan. Man, I miss him.
Comic Pack Wish List:
Winloss and Nokk seem like the obvious choice here.
Score:
I gave the previous volume a 4. I personally like this one more because plot-wise it’s a little tighter and it advances the story a great deal. It’s not perfect, though; and I give my usual Aphra disclaimer: if you like the character and have enjoyed her exploits thus far, it’s a must read; if you’re not a fan of the character, it probably won’t change your mind. 4 Skulls.
