Doctor Aphra Volume 3: Remastered collects issues 14-19 of Doctor Aphra. It was co-written by Kieron Gillen and Simon “The Silver Bullet” Spurrier with art by Emilio “Lay Lady Lay” Laiso.
Synopsis
Look at Triple Zero's drill and multi-tool. Was there a sale at Harbor Freight?
Imperial officer Magna Tolvan has been demoted to Lieutenant and is serving at an outpost on Someilk, in the Outer Rim. Chafing under the supervision of her former classmate Capt. Punfor, she stands outside contemplating the advice of her old mentor Inspector Thanoth. At that moment, the base falls under attack by none other than Dr. Aphra and some associates. They cross paths, and although Aphra has her at blasterpoint, she only stuns her in order to acquire an Imperial patrol transport. Aphra and her accomplice arrive at Son-tuul, where we learn that she is now under the thumb of Triple Zero. Trip has taken over the Son-tuul pride gang and is using the threat of revealing her to Darth Vader to get her to perform specialized missions for him. The raid on Someilk was to acquire some Clone Wars era data; and now, after selecting a crew of oddball mercenaries, she is ordered to Skako Minor to locate the personal workshop of Wat Tambor and get any files pertinent to the 0-0-0 matrix. However, their guide leads them into an Imperial trap from which they escape only because Aphra had the foresight to come armed with a genetically altered Tooka that explodes when you say “snugglebum oogiewoogie”. In the meantime, Tolvan, the only survivor of the Someilk attack, is spared execution when it is revealed that she was named by Inspector Thanoth as his legatee. So, basically, when he died he willed her his position in the Imperial Inspectorate because that’s totally something you can do apparently. You can inherit military appointments. I…okay, whatever. Tolvan has been using her new position to ID the mysterious rogue she keeps running into who says her name is Joystick Chevron because that’s what she was looking at when she said it. She also learns that this person was somehow affiliated with Darth Vader. So, Tolvan tracks Aphra to Skako, busts in to Wat’s lab with her troops and they accidentally unleash a monstrous creature. Chaos ensues and in the aftermath Aphra and her crew escape with Tolvan stowed away disguised as one of the mercenaries. What they learn from this excursion is that Tambor did have the 0-0-0 matrix at one time, and that before putting it into quarantine (where Aphra stole it) he retained all of the memories it had acquired. That’s what Trip wants; he wants his several lifetimes’ worth of memories. Where are they now? The Empire confiscated them after the Clone Wars and they are at Hivebase 1, the “pride and joy of the Tarkin Initiative”.
Tam Posla in action.
So, how does one acquire sensitive information from the place where the Empire keeps archives and prototypes of their most deliciously evil murder ideas? It couldn’t be simpler. First you find where the Rebels are using an old Trade Federation Lucrehulk as a flight school, and then you get locked up by them, escape confinement, and kidnap Gen. Hera Syndulla. You then use her as a sacrificial offering to get into the Imperial station while at the same time revealing your location to the Rebels who show up just in time to cause a huge firefight/distraction. It’s that easy! They might as well have just left the door open! Anyway, Aphra is in. Cornered by Imperial forces, she takes control of the Rebel Lucrehulk (Tolvan is still over there, by the way; she actually took control of it from inside, and then defied an order to self destruct it), uses it to snatch the part of the station she is in and then uses more Tookas to blow up the rest of Hivebase 1. Hera agrees to let her go because she gives them the rest of the info she got from the archives and she is able to sneak Tolvan out right under their noses. After a couple of days of fun with Tolvan, Aphra returns to Son-tuul to give Triple Zero his cherished memories of past murders and torturing. Like all good villains, Trip takes an opportunity to rub it in her face that she is just as much a monster as him because she has caused or contributed to the death of quite a few people and animals over the last couple of days. She has, it’s true; but she feels bad about it…so…yeah. He is just about to have her “deactivated” when Tolvan, who had placed a tracker on Aphra, comes busting in with more troops and erases the scourge of the Son-tuul Pride gang. Trip and BT get away by playing the role of innocent droids. Tolvan has Aphra arrested under the name Joystick Chevron, which is actually a pretty normal name by Star Wars standards, and sent to a harsh Imperial prison; but there seems to be a lot of smirking on both sides, so I guess, you know, everything will work out in the end.
Review
Hera is a single mother and basically a widow at this point, she doesn't deserve this.
So, this one is a bit of a mixed bag. Let’s start with what I don’t like about it. First: Magna Tolvan is problematic. The beginning of this story is her second encounter with Aphra. The first involved Aphra and her hangers on causing the deaths of multiple Imperial personnel and the destruction of Imperial property while trying to infiltrate a former Rebel base. Aphra then ended up stranding her on a planet in the Outer Rim. All this led to Tolvan being (quite justifiably) demoted. So, minutes into running into Aphra this time, we see Tolvan sitting in a cockpit with her (admittedly at gunpoint), coming off as rather weak and sentimental and establishing an emotional connection with her that does not seem justified. Then there’s her connection to Insp. Thanoth. I loved Thanoth. I yearn for the return of Thanoth in a story that takes place before his death. Tolvan having a connection to Thanoth seemed more than a little contrived, as did the explanation for her assignment to the Inspectorate. I think we got to know Thanoth pretty well in the Darth Vader series; and if Tolvan was the kind of person she is now when he knew her, there is no way he would have wanted her to succeed him. Now, maybe Tolvan is not the lost cause I make her out to be; maybe more will be revealed about her motivations and goals. She did, after all, consign Aphra to imprisonment at the end of the story; but she should have shot her in the face like 10 different times prior to that and she didn’t because she has feelings for her. It’s not that you can’t have a believable story where someone develops feelings for an adversary; but it’s just too quick and convenient here.
Aphra and her crew infiltrate Hivebase-1.
What else? Glad you asked. One of Aphra’s mercenaries in the story is a reprogrammed first gen droideka designated Dek-Nil. In the course of re-programming him, Aphra tinkered with his existential circuit which is presumably why he talks in a quasi-poetic sing-songy way. It’s the kind of thing that the writer probably thought, “this will come off as a little annoying but a lot of fun”; when, in fact, it comes off as a lot annoying and not at all funny. What of the good? The art; I have no complaint about the art in this book. Emilio Laiso takes over from previous artist Kev Walker. Kev’s stuff was good; really nothing wrong with it except for some minor stuff in the first volume; but I’m going to say I like Laiso’s style better in this book. Aside from the aforementioned complaints, the story is really not that bad. The decision to pursue the whole Triple Zero and BT unleashed thread started in the previous volume is smart. Since his introduction, Triple Zero has been a great source of amusement. The inclusion of Hera was also a good move. Remember that the issues with her were originally released between March and April of 2018, so they actually sandwiched the Rebels series finale. Aside from her in name only cameo in RO, this is really the first look we get at Hera’s post Rebels life. Having her here works because it’s better than shoe-horning one of our movie heroes, like Luke or whoever, into the part; or using some rando that we don’t know or care about.
Notes
Aphra and 0-0-0 have a heart to...whatever droids have instead of a heart.
Aphra’s mercenary crew consists of: Rexa Go, a female equipped with AJ^3 cyborg construct (I assume it’s less advanced than Lobot’s AJ^6)
Glahst Ombra, a Defel (same species as cantina patron Arleil Schous)
the aforementioned Dek-Nil
Tam Posla, former Milvayne lawman turned bounty hunter, he works for Aphra to fund his pursuit of Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba; Caysin Bog, a victim of Evazan, he met Tam Posla on Jedha and they became lovers while hunting Evazan and Baba; he was a prototype for the Decrainiated;
Sister Six, a Xexto (same species as Gasgano) assassin and former member of the Central Isopter cult, in the end she joins up with the Rebel Alliance.
While in Wat Tambor’s lab, we get another tantalizing mention of the Hundred-Year Darkness. As far as new canon references, it was previously mentioned in issue 9 of Star Wars (Showdown on the Smuggler’s Moon).
Tam and Caysin both appeared in Rogue One. Tam also makes an appearance in Solo, during Han’s first Sabacc game with Lando. They both really get messed over by Aphra in this story. Caysin dies in a suicidal attack against the enemy because, unbeknownst to him or Tam, Aphra reprograms him to do so. Then, Tam gets incapacitated by Tolvan who takes his clothes in order to get off the Rebel ship. This stuff will come back up later.
Comic Pack Wish List:
Tam Posla is at the top of the list; he looks cool and has been in two movies already. Caysin would be good too, as would Sister Six.
Score:
If I could, I would give this a score of 2 ½, the last volume got 3 and I just don’t think this is on the same level. It’s not bad, but the Aphra/Tolvan stuff happens too fast (I think it’s a good idea, but it was rushed) and undermines Tolvan’s credibility as a hardened Imperial officer. There are some good “jokey” lines, which you expect with Aphra, but some of it was over the top. Final verdict: 2 Skulls.
