Review: ‘Doctor Aphra’ #29 – ‘On The Edge of Ascendance’ Gives Us More Ascendant Lore
Issue #29 of Doctor Aphra was fascinating as the story returned to Aphra and the Spark Eternal, giving us more of the history behind the Spark and the Ascendants.
After last month’s pulsating issue wrapped up all the business with Domina Tagge, I was delighted to see On The Edge of Ascendance keep the pace going. Doctor Aphra and the Spark travel to an ancient site, where the AI reveals a whole bunch of Ascendant lore involving Miril and other sects of the Ascendants. This is important as it fleshes the group out a bit more and helps us understand how the Spark evolved from Miril’s pure intentions into the being of pure malevolence that it is by the time Aphra finds it.
I’m a sucker for ancient Star Wars lore so this was fascinating to me, although I did struggle to piece together some parts of the history. It seems a bit inconsistent to me, but perhaps I just don’t remember Miril’s initial story very well. Other than that inconsistency it was a great issue, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Spoilers ahead…
The issue begins with a flashback to Miril and Ghes, the Ascendant’s Trandoshan Record Keeper. Miril is still having issues syncing the Spark Eternal to his being, so he wants to speak to a splinter faction of the Ascendant to understand what he’s getting wrong. The leader of the splinter faction, a Twi’lek named Ilith who used to be Miril’s second-in-command, welcomes them inside a temple created to be an exact replica of the temple underneath the University of Bar’leth.
It’s a really cool way to kick off the issue, and from there we head back to the present day, with Doctor Aphra, the Spark, and the two droids visiting the same temple. The rest of Miril’s story is told by a combination of flashbacks and the Spark Eternal in the present day, who projects holograms through Aphra’s mind.
Once again, we see that Miril intended for the Spark to be a pure and just being, more concerned with saving lives than taking them. We can infer from Ilith’s words that Miril tried to get the Spark Eternal to replicate the light side of the Force, but Ilith believes that the Spark needs to focus on the dark side in order to defeat the Sith, teaching it that hate is its strength. As if to reinforce his point, Ilith is using his Spark to torture a Sith on an interrogation table.
Unsurprisingly, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. The Spark needed both the light and dark in balance to function, but it’s easy to see from here how its personality and worldview became warped. It seems that Ilith and Miril had created their own Spark each — a revelation that I was surprised the comic just blew past — one light and one dark. Sith Darkseekers then raided the temple and killed Ilith; in Miril’s grief, she instructed the Spark Eternal to survive no matter what it takes, bringing the two sparks together as one.
Clearly, this union didn’t bring balance inside the Spark Eternal, as we can see it has become a malevolent and chaotic being in the present day. It’s unclear if this is a result of Miril’s “survive at all costs” mantra or if the new dark side element overpowered Miril’s original peaceful programming.
What I found confusing is that if the two Sparks were merged that day, why did the Spark Eternal need to return the site to absorb this fragment of Ilith’s spark? The flashbacks didn’t make it clear if Ilith’s spark fragmented when Miril tried merging it, so I’m sure I won’t be the only reader who struggles to understand what happened. Clearly the Spark Eternal is overwhelmed with the “dark side” now, so surely the merge with Ilith’s creation worked.
Either way, in the present day, the Spark Eternal absorbs the fragment and becomes whole again, kicking Doctor Aphra out of the driving seat once again. Presumably, this means it’s even more powerful now and will be tougher than ever to take down.
Elsewhere, Sana Starros, and her crew make plans to take down the Spark Eternal, unaware of this new development. Kho Phon Farrus suggests using the Fermata Cage to trap it, which I imagine will end up happening by the end of the Hidden Empire arc (there’s a handy little recap here for those who aren’t also reading the crossover series). Magna Tolvan reveals that she can use her electro-tattoos to incapacitate the Spark, so it seems that is the crux of their plan.
Presumably, they will all meet Aphra and the Spark Eternal next issue, which teases a confrontation with Darth Vader in the cover art. The Spark announces that it’s heading to Amaxine Station, a dying world strong in the dark side which we know becomes a home for Snoke in the Rise of Kylo Ren comic series and was the home of the Drengir for a while in the High Republic comics, which makes me even more excited.
Doctor Aphra is on a roll right now. I can’t wait to see how this all shakes out.
Rating: 8/10
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.
