Spoilers for Doctor Aphra #3 below!
Doctor Aphra is defined by her betrayals. The breakout Star Wars character is a scoundrel in the vein of Han Solo, but when Harrison Ford’s bounty hunter gives in to generosity and rescues Luke in a moment of crisis, Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra would be much more likely to give Luke up to save what really matters to her. But in the new issue Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #3, a twist of fate and poor decision-making means Aphra may be the only person left on her crew who isn’t running a scam.
The new Doctor Aphra series is a fresh start from author Alyssa Wong, artist Marika Cresta, color artist Rachelle Rosenberg, and letterer Joe Caramagna. Few of the rogue archaeologist’s supporting cast members from her long-running previous series have shown up yet, which isn’t surprising, given how many of them Aphra has betrayed, left for dead, and otherwise burned bridges with. Her crew in the new volume is entirely made of first-time faces, aside from Black Krrsantan, a ruthless Wookiee motivated solely by a paycheck.
In the first story arc of Wong/Xresta/Rosenberg rad student Detta Yao has hired Aphra, Krrsantan, Aphra’s sniper backup Lucky, and the disgraced professor Okka to find a legendary artifact. If the hazards of an ancient ruin weren’t enough trouble, it’s also being sought by Ronen Tagge, an astronomically wealthy art collector who isn’t above having the competition killed. The previous issue ended as the floor gave out under the party, splitting them just as Tagge’s hired guns arrived.
Okka, the Wookiee, and Lucky find themselves in a hidden chasm deep below the others, but near enough that they can hear Aphra and Yao up above. With a knowing smirk, Aphra immediately offers to help Tagge, insisting that they need her expertise since the Professor and the other two fallen comrades must be dead. Lucky suggests to Okka that Aphra has been spying for Tagge all along, something that Okka readily believes, given that she has a history with the scavenger.
Topside, Aphra, and Yao get to work. Yao flirts Tagge’s guards into carelessness; Aphra sets off a trap that dispatches most of them. Once the pair are alone, Aphra accuses Yao of planning to double-cross her and keep the loot for herself. She noticed Yao didn’t mind agreeing to give the professor full credit for Yao’s discovery, something Aphra knew she wouldn’t honestly do because Yao reminds Aphra too much of herself. Yao confirms Aphra’s suspicions; a fight breaks out just in time for Lucky to get the drop on them and reveal that he was Tagge’s actual spy all along.
Of the five people who came into this mission, two have already betrayed the team and the other two have questionable loyalties. Okka has a grudge against Aphra from a broken relationship as well as a destroyed academic reputation to repair. Krrsantan, as far as readers know, has no loyalties to anything but an income stream. Aphra seemed to defect to Tagge’s men, but it was a ruse to protect the lost crewmates while she put her enemies in the ground. For once, Aphra didn’t turn on her crew, the crew turned on Aphra. This might be a chance at character development, but don’t count on it. If the lesson here is “don’t trust anyone”, it’s a lesson the doctor has learned many times; that’s what made her so treacherous in the first place.
