‘Doctor Aphra’ #27 Review: ‘Control Issues’ Finally Breaks New Territory with Aphra and the Spark Eternal
As fun as it often was watching Doctor Aphra explore her and Miril’s memories over the last few issues, I’d been looking forward to seeing how she’d get out of the mess she’s in for a while now. Thankfully, Control Issues sees Aphra finally enact her plan, and the dynamic changes between her and the Spark Eternal.
That’s just as well, because it doesn’t seem like Sana Starros and her crew will be mounting another rescue anytime soon. As expected, their apparent “death” at the end of the last issue was a fake out, and Control Issues wastes no time picking back up with them. Unfortunately, things have gone from bad to worse, and they have a new problem to deal with before they can hope to go after Aphra again. It’s not clear exactly how long that will take them.
The one link they have to Aphra appears to be Kho Phon Farrus, the person the most likely to see Aphra next. This issue appears to take place halfway through Hidden Empire #2, before Farrus is confronted by Darth Vader, and this latest issue of Doctor Aphra seems to hint that Chelli will next appear in Hidden Empire #3.
The best thing Doctor Aphra could have done was blow past that stupid fake out from the previous issue, and Control Issues does that while teasing some interesting stories in the near future, as well as tread new ground with Aphra and the Spark Eternal ahead of an appearance in the Hidden Empire crossover.
Spoilers ahead…
The first thing the issue does is reveal that Sana & Co. were saved by Just Lucky and Ariole, which seems a pretty obvious development in hindsight. Thankfully, the story instantly redeems itself by revealing that Just Lucky brought them straight to Ronen Tagge, whose cutting edge bacta technology was actually capable of saving their lives. The demented Tagge mentions that if they were using regular bacta tanks, they would have died from their injuries a long time ago.
The genius development here is that in spending all this money to save them, Ronen Tagge claims they are each five million credits in debt to him. It’s a figure that is almost impossible for any of them to repay, which effectively means they’ll have to spend the rest of their lives working off that debt. Ronen reveals that he wants them to kill his aunt Domina, who has already been established as one of the most powerful and dangerous women in the galaxy at this point.
Sana gets ready to rebuff his offer and potentially fight their way out, until Ronen reveals that he is working for Crimson Dawn. That seems to change everything, with Sana willing to throw her lot in with Crimson Dawn in a fight against Domina. The decision does feel a bit rushed, but admittedly I’d back Qi’ra against Domina too. The issue ends on this decision, and it will be interesting to see if that will go any better than their rescue mission. Even if it does, what happens next?
Just Lucky points out that once Ronen Tagge considers you in his debt, you can never work it off. Killing Domina sounds like a job worthy of wiping off their debt, but it seems unlikely Ronen will actually let them go once it is done. It seems that by the time this arc is done, the Tagge dynasty will be no more. It’s an intriguing possibility, and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next.
Meanwhile, Chelli manages to use her high-tech electro-tattoos from Domina to cause the Spark Eternal some serious pain. It’s the one advantage she has against the Spark, and even though killing the Spark will also kill her, she manages to get some leverage and regain control of her body temporarily. They come to an understanding that the Spark will find a way to leave her body without killing her.
We then discover exactly which Sith Lord the Spark Eternal is hunting. Rather than the mysterious Sith Lord that Qi’ra is searching for, it turns out they’re hunting none other than Darth Vader, the man that Doctor Aphra is most afraid of in the entire galaxy. It’s been a long time since the two have crossed paths, and I can’t wait to see how it goes down. It would appear that she’ll turn up in the next issue of Hidden Empire to rescue Kho Phon Farrus, who turns up briefly in this episode to reveal they’re still in contact with Detta Yao.
While the next installment of Sana’s story will pick up in #28 of Doctor Aphra, it appears Aphra’s story will continue in Hidden Empire. This issue teased plenty of interesting stories on the horizon, and I’m eager to see what kind of chaos Aphra and the Spark Eternal will cause in the current crossover event.
Rating: 7/10
Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.
