Darth Vader Intervenes In Marvel’s Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #13

marvelaphra13- cover

If your eyes aren’t too terribly strained from the dozens of times you’ve no doubt viewed The Last Jedi trailer (which was fantastic, in my opinion), Marvel put out a great issue of Doctor Aphra this week. I haven’t been too crazy about the last few issues, but this issue reminded me why Aphra is one of my favorite new characters in the Star Wars Universe.  SPOILERS AHEAD…

 

 

marvelaphra13- versus vader

 

Since the series began, Aphra has been entangled with the Ordu Aspectu, whose convoluted history has them being an ancient adversary of the Jedi. The Ordu Aspectu consider the Jedi to be an oppressive force in the galaxy and they feel they were victims of Jedi conquest. In Aphra’s understanding, the Ordu Aspectu were no victims, but were stopped by the Jedi after their capture and torture of several Padawans to prolong their life. In the last issue, Darth Vader was introduced to the droid the consciousness of the last Ordu Aspectu inhabits. It’s going about as well as could be expected.

 

marvelaphra13- party's over

 

After faking her own death to escape the Sith Lord, Aphra is by no means calm when Vader shows up. He’s the last person she wants to see, and she’s only concerned with getting away at this point. Any shred of hope she had to pull off her auction of the crystal containing the Ordu Aspectu is gone. It’s full survival mode for Aphra in this issue. I’m not implying that she’s terrified, but Aphra is taking the wisecracks down a couple notches in favor of her skills with a blaster and smarts for tactical thinking.

 

marvelaphra13- hutt shield

 

Since Vader has also been accompanied by a platoon of stormtroopers that are lighting up the place with blasters, Aphra chooses a not quite human shield. Yes, Aphra gets herself a Hutt shield in Sutha the Hutt. Unfortunately, for Sutha and most of Aphra’s potential buyers, these stormtroopers are a pretty good shot.

 

marvelaphra13- triple zero master

 

Yonak, Rodian leader of the criminal organization Son-tuul Pride, meets an even worse fate than death. Upon his escape, he discovers Triple Zero and BeeTee have stowed away on his ship, and they are in “need” of a new crew member. It looks like Yonak is going to be at the mercy of the two most diabolical droids in the galaxy.

 

marvelaphra13- deconstruction

 

Vader is having no trouble taking down this mechanical manifestation of the Ordu Aspectu. One thing I forgot to mention earlier is the Ordu Aspectu is familiar with the Sith and refers to Vader as a fake Sith. So the Ordu Aspectu must have come after the war between the Sith and the Jedi, which is interesting, since the Ordu Aspectu’s goal was immortality. My apologies for the tangent I’m about to go on here, but I’m of the mind Supreme Leader Snoke is NOT Darth Plagueis, but I do think we are about due for a canonical introduction of that Sith Lord. It would be interesting to somehow connect his lineage to the Ordu Aspectu, as I’d love to learn more about their rise and fall, and it would be cool if they were somehow connected to the Sith. Just in case Pablo or any of the Story Group is reading, I think that’d make a great novel or comic. Oh yeah, and have James Luceno or Claudia Gray write it. Please and thank you. Okay, back to Aphra.

 

marvelaphra13- vader down

 

One thing Darth Vader sure has a knack for is taking out sentient beings who declare they only become more powerful once they are unbound from the physical world. While that’s certainly true for Obi-Wan Kenobi, it appears to be less so for the Ordu Aspectu, as the only ability it gains from disembodiment is the ability to hack computers. While that may not be “one-with-the-Force” level ability, it does give the Ordu Aspectu control of all the weapons onboard. The Ordu Aspectu also attempts to hack Vader’s suit.

 

marvelaphra13- escaping

 

Aphra is making her way towards her ship, slowly but surely. She’s not waiting for the droids or Black Krrsantan this time, either. Doctor Aphra is on her own and she seems to be doing just fine with that. I always thought her affiliations were a bit peculiar, so I’m hoping we get some more issues just focused on her adventures.

 

marvelaphra13- trapped

 

The Ordu Aspectu’s hacking abilities didn’t last long against Vader. Just like Death Stars, technological terrors are no match for the power of the Force. Vader rounds up the artifact and prepares to clean-up the rest of Aphra’s party. As we know from previous situations like this, the Dark Lord likes to leave behind no survivors. Before Vader goes and just as Aphra is about to depart, he senses her presence.

 

marvelaphra13- star destroyer views

 

Here’s another one of my arguments for LESS Vader. After sensing Aphra’s presence, Vader pretty much lets her get away. Granted, he’s pretty pleased with himself over his acquisition of the Ordu Aspectu, but this leniency over someone who knows some pretty serious stuff about him doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. It actually runs against everything we are accustomed to in a Sith Lord who is at the peak of his evil reign. Maybe it’s a minor complaint, but I will continue to lobby for less Darth Vader. When it comes to Sith Lords like him, less is more.

 

marvelaphra13- belongs in a museum

marvelaphra13- cheers

 

In a very Indiana Jones turn, Aphra returns the artifacts to a museum, as well as the Shadow Academy who approached her about the Ordu Aspectu artifact in an earlier issue. I hope this is the direction Doctor Aphra goes moving forward. It would be a lot of fun to see her exploring the galaxy in search of ancient artifacts. This would be a great way of expanding the Star Wars Universe, as well as making some Legends stories canonical. I’m relieved she seems to have found somewhat of a happy ending and can regroup before her next adventure.

 

marvelaphra13- revenge of the rookie

marvelaphra13- competitors

 

While Aphra found her own happy ending, Black Krrsantan and the droids reached their own. Krrsantan has returned to the slavers who forced him to fight for his life and is about to give them a dose of their own medicine. Triple Zero and BeeTee are in the process of wiping out any criminal organizations that would compete with their new acquisition, the Son-tuul Pride. I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ve seen of them, though.

 

marvelaphra13- a gift

 

Vader returns to Coruscant to present the gift to Darth Sidious himself. The Emperor is pleased, but I don’t think he’s quite as excited as Vader thought he would be. As we know from the Lando series, Sheev Palpatine has quite the collection of Force artifacts. The Ordu Aspectu is just another ornament in his collection.

 

marvelaphra13- another one

 

I like that the Ordu Aspectu are still out there. I hope we get more information about them, as well as what fate the Sith decide for them now that they are deep in their archive. There’s a lot of potential and I hope the Story Group has something in mind for a later date.

 

marvelaphra13- here comes trouble

 

And of course, Doctor Aphra never gets to catch her breath for very long.

 

Writer Kieron Gillen tied this “Enormous Profit” arc up nicely! This issue certainly renewed my interest in the series. It’s not that I disliked the series as a whole, it just felt like it kept getting smaller in scale as the minutia of the auction clogged up the pages. I hope they go big in the next arc. A character as intelligent and fun as Doctor Aphra deserves a grand adventure, and judging by the next cover, she’s going to be reunited with an Imperial commander I thought disappeared far too soon.

 

8 OUT OF 10 STARS

 

 

marvelaphra13- next issue

 

+ posts

Kyle Larson lives in Portland, Oregon. When he's not running trails, he's reading and writing.

Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson lives in Portland, Oregon. When he's not running trails, he's reading and writing.

7 thoughts on “Darth Vader Intervenes In Marvel’s Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #13

  • October 13, 2017 at 6:12 pm
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    That awkward moment when you have a close family member called Aphra and everyone else thinks it’s just a made-up Star Wars name.

  • October 14, 2017 at 1:05 am
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    “I’m not implying that she’s terrified, but Aphra is taking the wisecracks down a couple notches”
    So…facing off against Darth mutherfucking Vader and a platoon of stormtroopers, and the most she can muster up is ‘a mild reduction in joviality’? And then he lets her go because…reasons? Goddamn, what an insufferable character. I’m so glad I ditched this series after the first issue.

    • October 14, 2017 at 8:24 am
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      I enjoyed her enough as a side character in the first standalone Vader comic series. But on her own she is growing more annoying. I only now sticking around because of the artwork, but may be gone too. This character is a Poochie. The last page with her practically breaking the fourth wall and shrugging like “oh, my bad!” What? Ugh.

      I’d rather see a Jyn Erso prequel series, seriously, where she does criminal acts, set in the grimy underground world of the OT era before ANH.

      • October 14, 2017 at 10:41 pm
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        Yeah that would be good.

    • October 14, 2017 at 10:41 pm
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      Mr_Crankypants indeed!

  • October 14, 2017 at 3:01 pm
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    I quite liked this issue. Vader is awesome and everyone gets their just desserts/rewards.

    Speaking of Vader, I agree that less is more. That being said, I’m fine with him letting Aphra go. Other than being pleased with himself and his new acquisition, he is told that going after her would be at the cost of letting other criminals escape. It’s convenient but makes sense.

  • October 16, 2017 at 6:59 pm
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    I like this issue and good review. I love the evil black droids BT&000. Also black krrsantan is cool and Aphra is witty and always get away somehow. I hope all these characters get to be on the big screen in some way maybe just a cameo. If they can do rebels cartoon they could totally do this. I like indiania jones vibe if this series

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