Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Annual No. 3 review: The ripple effect

After so many years of making and keeping enemies, maybe it’s finally time Doctor Aphra makes some friends in the Star Wars comic.

This post contains spoilers for Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Annual No. 3! If you don’t want to know what happens, check back after you’ve read it and let us know what you think!

It’s no secret that rogue archeologist and destroyer of could-have-been-good relationships Doctor Aphra is neither trusted nor liked by most of the people who know her name. Even she knows it.

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There’s not much you can hide when you’re desperate, it seems.

When we last left Aphra, she had been “appointed” by Emperor Palpatine himself to use her gifts and experience as a scientist to serve the Galactic Empire.

It only took a few run-ins with Lord Vader the Angry before things went downhill. But what else would you really expect when Aphra is around? Things always fall apart. It’s entropy. And the fact that she just can’t catch a break … among other things.

Forget about that “Hey, dad” cliffhanger though. Because this week we have a brief interlude, bringing back the “monster hunters” we love to hate for a special edition of Aphra Has a Mischevious Plan and We Don’t Get to Know a Thing About It.

That’s right, folks: Your (least) favorite mediocre duo is back in the game. But wait! There’s a twist.

Winloss and Nokk are the arch nemeses that seem to always stumble back into Aphra’s dangerous, chaotic life when she least needs added chaos.

At least they were, until she realized she needed their help.

And this is when the true fun begins. Because even though the audience knows Winloss, Nokk, & company are up to something sneaky, we’re left out of the loop.

So we’re left to watch and wonder — and maybe worry, just a little — as a seemingly innocent bartender falls (literally) into a trap. All involved: Aphra, of course. Winloss and Nokk. A very big Wookiee bounty hunter. And Jabba the Hutt. What fun!

It’s all for a good cause, though — well, sort of. Because even though Winloss and Nokk have hunted her in the past, and she hasn’t done much to earn their trust, Aphra knows that if she does something good for them, they’ll owe her a favor. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll stand by her for once. Perhaps not as friends. Allies? Acquaintances? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Desperate times call for mended relationships.

Does this mean Tolvan is in the wings ready to swoop back into Aphra’s life for good? CAN THESE TWO GET THEIR HAPPY ENDING PLEASE? WE NEED IT.

There are only a few issues left. Just enough time for our favorite rogue archeologist to fix everything she’s ever broken with the people she loved.

At least until she gets another solo comic, that is.

Doctor Aphra will return on November 6.