Warning: SPOILERS for Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #1
Star Wars’ Doctor Aphra is back with an all-new series from Marvel Comics. With a new crew at her side and artifacts and fortunes to be sought after, Doctor Aphra #1 promises to be the start of a brand new chapter for Doctor Chelli Aphra and her simultaneous aspirations for discovery, survival, and obtaining large amounts of wealth. The first issue also introduces a new villain: Ronen Tagge.
Tagge’s aspirations appear as though they will directly collide with Aphra’s, especially given the fact they are after the same artifact and have some sort of bad blood. Furthermore, Tagge’s motivations seem like they would definitely contradict those of another Star Wars villain: Grand Admiral Thrawn.
In Doctor Aphra #1 by Alyssa Wong, Marika Cresta, and Detta Yao, a grad student from the Shadow University, approaches Aphra asking for her help in locating the legendary mythological Rings of Vaale, which if real, would be extremely valuable and powerful (and it might also be cursed).
Naturally, the Rings of Vaale are right up Aphra’s alley and field of expertise, so she agrees to aid in locating then. Aphra and her crew travel with Yao to the Ruins of Kolkur in the Outer Rim, which is where they learn that they’re not the only ones looking for the rings. Ronen Tagge has been sending teams of treasure hunters to obtain the rings, but most likely not to keep them on display.
At the end of Doctor Aphra #1, readers are introduced to Ronen Tagge, a spoiled young aristocrat. The Tagge family is one of the Empire’s wealthiest and prominent families in the galaxy. While it’s currently unknown exactly how at this time, it’s assumed that Ronen is related in some way to Grand General Cassio Tagge of the Imperial Navy, who was briefly seen in Star Wars: A New Hope. In the final pages of the issue, Ronen is in his penthouse on the luxury planet of Canto Bight, surrounded by expensive and exquisite art from around the galaxy, asking two artists which of their works of art is the superior piece. Terrified, the creators both say that each other’s is the better piece. Regardless, Ronen disintegrates both pieces into ash, sharing that the only thing better than owning something precious and priceless is being the last one to touch it, hence the disintegration.
Because of Tagge’s proclivity to destroy unique and rare artwork and artifacts, this will most likely put him odds with Aphra. You can’t get paid for an artifact if it gets destroyed by someone else. Not only that, but this desire essentially makes him the opposite of Grand Admiral Thrawn. While Thrawn likewise has a deep appreciation for art, he also carries a large respect for it and the culture it comes from. Thrawn would often study and collect rare pieces from various planets, finding unique vulnerabilities and developing cunning strategies to use against whichever people the Empire was currently subjugating. Thrawn’s respect for art and culture would never lead to destroying it from existence as Tagge does.
As Star Wars: Doctor Aphra continues, it will be interesting to see how Aphra and her crew handle Tagge and his forces… hopefully before he destroys the rings, so they can all get paid.
