Doctor Aphra
Doctor Aphra | |
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Star Wars: Darth Vader #3 ) | |
Created by |
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Voiced by |
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In-universe information | |
Full name | Chelli Lona Aphra |
Species | Human |
Gender | Female |
Title | Doctor |
Occupation | Archaeologist |
Affiliation |
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Family | Korin Aphra (father) Lona Aphra (mother) |
Significant others |
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Origin | Second moon of Thrinittik |
Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra, or simply Doctor Aphra, is a
Aphra is a morally questionable, criminal archaeologist initially employed by
Character
Doctor Aphra is a criminal
Noting that "Aphra's sarcasm and the careful way she codes her words are a vital part of her character",
In creating the character, Gillen looked to what he called "The Indiana Jones archaeologist archetype", which he believed fit well into Star Wars.[4] His original concept for Aphra was Indiana Jones and his ramshackle problem solving, but with inverted ethics.[4] He said that Aphra falls somewhere between a hero and a villain in that "You do see her do good things and bad things."[4] Gillen further states, "She's kind of fun but at the same time, there's a really dark heart to her."[7] He explains, "She has this very fun-loving attitude, she's very fun to be around, but she's really bad as a person."[4] He added:
Aphra ... was designed to be Darth Vader's foil ... she has to do a lot of the talking when Darth Vader doesn't. Darth Vader will not make jokes. To be even a fun book to read, you need her to lighten it. But when you introduce her as a lead, that kind of changes the dynamic entirely. A) she becomes slightly more serious, and B) everyone else around her becomes a lot more deadly.[4]
Spurrier states that Aphra "knows that Vader is probably not a nice person. She's aware that space
Appearances
Comics
Darth Vader (2015–2016)
Aphra first appeared in issue #3 of
From 2015 to 2016, Aphra appeared in
Doctor Aphra (2016–2019)
After first being teased in September 2016 as Star Wars: Classified,[13] Star Wars: Doctor Aphra was announced in October 2016,[14] and began to be released in December 2016.[4] The story picks up after Vader's attempt to kill Aphra at the end of the Darth Vader series.[4][6] She is in hiding so that Vader will not discover that she is alive, but needs to get back into her life as an archaeologist so she can repay her enormous debts to the Wookiee Black Krrsantan, and fulfill her promise to help locate the people who tortured him in the past.[4][6] Gillen said he wanted to write the series to explore "what makes her tick and why she's doing what she's doing".[4] Gillen wrote issues #1 to #13,[15][16] and then cowrote #14 to #19 with Simon Spurrier.[17][18]
Spurrier took over for a departing Gillen as of #20.[19] Larroca and Kev Walker shared the artwork for issue #1,[15] with Walker doing it alone for #2 and #3,[20][21] followed by Walker and various other artists rotating in and out of the series. Spurrier refocused the series to expand Aphra's adventures past the known Star Wars universe and attempt to tell stories that would be unique to Aphra's character.[7]
The series was nominated for Outstanding Comic Book at the 30th GLAAD Media Awards.[22] Alan Scherstuhl of Slate wrote of the series, "The stories, like Death Stars, tend to explode, but unpredictably so, with escalating twists, striking moral quandaries, and only occasionally anything like a truly happy ending."[3] He explains, "Besides the vigorous storytelling and startling twists, the Doctor Aphra comics ... fill in shades of gray that are otherwise missing from Star Wars' moral spectrum."[3] Jesse Schedeen of IGN called Doctor Aphra "Marvel's riskiest Star Wars project to date", but noted that "the distance from the movies gives Doctor Aphra a greater sense of freedom in terms of tone, style and plot possibilities."[6] Schedeen described the series as "very much like a Bizarro Han Solo story with a dash of Indiana Jones thrown in", and noted that it "thrives on its dark sense of humor."[6]
In 2017, Aphra appeared in the five-issue crossover miniseries
In 2020, the series won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book.[24]
Doctor Aphra (2020–2024)
Doctor Aphra relaunched in 2020, and is set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.[25] The first issue was released digitally on May 3 (in recognition of Star Wars Day) and physically on May 27.[26] The fortieth and final issue was released on January 31, 2024.[27]
Other comics
Aphra also appears in flashbacks in issues of the 2019 comic Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, as well as in the first issue of the 2020 comic Star Wars: Bounty Hunters, and mentioned in the third. Additionally, she appeared in five issues of the 2020 War of the Bounty Hunters miniseries.
Aphra co-creator
Audiobook
An expanded audiobook adaptation of Aphra's introduction in the Darth Vader series, titled Doctor Aphra: An Audiobook Original, was released on July 21, 2020. Written by Sarah Kuhn, the audio drama added new scenes and featured a full voice cast, with Emily Woo Zeller voicing Doctor Aphra.[8][31] The script was released in book form on April 6, 2021.[32]
Short story
"The Trigger" (2017)
"The Trigger" is a short story written by Gillen, published in the 2017 Star Wars
Her reaction to the news is complex: She's awed, even a little turned on, at the thought of such destructive might. She annoys the Imperials by excitedly gaming out what tech could have possibly achieved it. She wonders aloud whether the Death Star has a "trigger"—whether any one person flipped the switch that murdered billions. She wonders if killing that many from a distance is easier than killing one person in front of you.[3]
Gillen said he wrote the story with the intent of "working out a fairly logical reason, why with her background, she thinks the Empire is bad to the alternative. If you grew up in a galactic civil war, I think peace by any means might be better than war. That's kind of Aphra's take. Aphra can handle everything. She lies to herself. But normal people? Normal people would probably like to live under a fascist regime rather than actually people just killing each other in a war. And that's a really dark hole to think about but I can buy someone believing that with Aphra's background."[7]
Video game
Doctor Aphra is a playable character in the 2015 collectible RPG game Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, released on mobile devices by Electronic Arts.
Doctor Aphra was a playable character in the 2017
Impact and reception
Increased sales of Darth Vader #3 convinced Gillen of Doctor Aphra's instant popularity, and he called the character "a big part" of the unexpected success of the Darth Vader series.
Of all the characters I've created for other people's universes, she's by far the most successful one ... She's kind of fun but at the same time, there's a really dark heart to her ... All those weird kind of contradictions to her, I think they're quite appealing. At the same time, she's got a very core thing people can get. She's quite complicated and not complicated at all. With Luke or Leia, they've got that core archetype you get, you get what they're like. You get that with Aphra but at the same time, there's an underlying ... all this weird, twisted stuff in there that kind of gets under people's skin."[7]
Spurrier added:
Most of what we've seen so far in Star Wars is goodies versus baddies. And Aphra ain't that. And I would suggest that the reason people ... respond more to Han Solo than they respond to Luke Skywalker is because he's not just playing the goodie. He's a little more complicated than that. And Aphra is 100% the same but from the other direction."[7]
Trent Moore of SyFy Wire deemed Aphra "arguably the best thing" about the Darth Vader series,[34] and Catrina Dennis of StarWars.com calls her "the type of character that steals every scene she's in."[2] Hanna Flint of SyFy Wire describes Aphra as "an edgy, cool and refreshingly diverse character",[1] and Bria Lavorgna of StarWars.com calls her "one of the coolest characters in Star Wars right now."[7] Noting that Aphra's first appearance was an homage to Indiana Jones, Alan Scherstuhl of Slate states that she subsequently "gains a depth that Indiana Jones never quite did", and praised the fact that Gillen has "never exploited or exoticized her sexuality."[3] Citing Aphra's "feats of technological prowess coupled with her unpredictable personality" as the characteristics which "make her a character worth watching", Dennis writes, "Aphra has stolen the hearts of fans everywhere with her unpredictable humor and a complicated backstory that has unfolded into something much more than her introduction to the saga may have let on."[2]
Black Krrsantan, introduced in the same Darth Vader comic as Aphra (and returning in Doctor Aphra), was introduced to the live-action Star Wars universe in the second episode of the streaming series The Book of Boba Fett.[35]
Merchandising
In 2018,
Doctor Aphra and her two droids have also appeared in the Star Wars: The Black Series line of 6" action figures.
References
- ^ SyFy Wire. Archived from the originalon April 26, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ StarWars.com. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Scherstuhl, Alan (April 12, 2019). "The Best Star Wars Character of this Millennium Is a Lesbian Archaeologist". Slate. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Brooks, Dan (October 12, 2016). "The Doctor Is In: New Doctor Aphra Ongoing Series Coming This December". StarWars.com. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- ^ LaVorgna, Bria (June 22, 2021). "The Personal Impact of Doctor Aphra". StarWars.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Schedeen, Jesse (December 7, 2016). "Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #1 Review". IGN. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
- ^ StarWars.com. Archivedfrom the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- ^ a b Dominguez, Noah (April 24, 2020). "Star Wars' Doctor Aphra Lands Audiobook Adaptation". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
- ^ Lake, Jeff (March 26, 2015). "Darth Vader #3 Review". IGN. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
- ^ Newsarama Staff (December 16, 2014). "Marvel Comics Full March 2015 Solicitations". Newsarama. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
- ^ "Doctor Aphra: An Audiobook Original Revealed". StarWars.com. April 23, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Whitbrook, James (February 8, 2017). "The Star Wars and Doctor Aphra Comics Are Crossing Over". io9. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
- ^ Arrant, Chris (September 19, 2016). "Marvel Launches New Star Wars Ongoing in December". Newsarama. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Kubai, Andy L. (October 12, 2016). "Marvel's Star Wars: Classified Revealed as New Doctor Aphra Series". Screen Rant. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ a b "Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #1". Previews World. 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ "Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #13". Previews World. 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ "Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #14". Previews World. 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ "Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #19". Previews World. 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ "Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #20". Previews World. 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ "Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #2". Previews World. 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ "Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #3". Previews World. 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Whitbrook, James (January 26, 2019). "Deadpool 2, She-Ra And Black Lightning Highlight GLAAD's 30th Annual Media Awards". Gizmodo Australia. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ Newby, Richard (December 11, 2019). "Comics Watch: As Doctor Aphra Ends, Could Disney+ Provide a New Beginning?". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- ^ Markus, Tucker Chet (July 30, 2020). "'Star Wars: Doctor Aphra' Wins GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book". Marvel Entertainment. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- ^ Marston, George (October 25, 2019). "Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Relaunching in 2020". Newsarama. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
- ^ "Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #1 Gets a Special Digital Comics Release in Celebration of May the Fourth". Marvel Entertainment. May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ "Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2020) #40 | Comic Issues | Marvel". Marvel Entertainment. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- Heather Antos [@HeatherAntos] (May 15, 2017). "Gah. I need to commission someone to draw Doctor Aphra and Gwenpool meeting. I need this so badly in my life. It hurts" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ (R@ph AB) [@Raph_AB] (July 18, 2021). "(((R@ph AB))): Was there ever a Gwenpool/Aphra crossover? Heather Antos: Not canonically, but @Sweeney_Boo did this amazing commission for me!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- Heather Antos [@HeatherAntos] (January 11, 2022). "Alyssa Wong: I have to ask: who are your favorite Marvel villains? Accepting applications for mainstream AND esoteric, the only requirement is that you love them!.
Heather Antos: EVIL GWENPOOL!!!
Alyssa Wong: If I wanna read something fun with Evil Gwenpool, what would you recommend? 👀
Heather Antos: Why, I am SO glad you asked! She first appears in Gwenpool #19, but to get the full appreciation of her I highly (and maybe biasedly) suggest reading all of The Unbelievable Gwenpool 1–25.
Also I think she and Aphra would be best friends. Duh." (Tweet) – via Twitter - ^ StarWars.com Team (April 23, 2020). "Doctor Aphra: An Audiobook Original Revealed". StarWars.com. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
- ^ Larson, Kyle (April 6, 2021). "Doctor Aphra by Sarah Kuhn Now Available in Hardcover". Star Wars News Net. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ Johnston, Rich (January 17, 2017). "Dr Aphra, OOO And BT-1 Make Their Way Into The Wider Star Wars Universe". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- ^ a b Moore, Trent (November 8, 2016). "First look at Star Wars fan favorite Doctor Aphra's new comic series". SyFy Wire. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
- ^ Perry, Spencer (January 8, 2022). "Star Wars: Creator of Wookie Black Krrsantan Reveals How to Pronounce His Name". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
- ^ Whitbrook, James (June 5, 2018). "Hasbro Is Bringing Some of the Star Wars Comics' Best New Characters to Comic-Con". io9. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ Knight, Rosie (June 5, 2018). "Hasbro Is Bringing Star Wars' Doctor Aphra and Her Evil Droids to Life as SDCC Exclusives". Nerdist. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
External links
- Chelli Lona Aphra / Doctor Aphra in the StarWars.com Databank
- Chelli Lona Aphra / Doctor Aphra on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
- Star Wars: Doctor Aphra on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki