Apologies for being so far behind on my Star Wars comic book reviews (it’s been a crazy busy time for me lately), but I’m going to be making an effort to catch up over the next week or so. I’ll start with issue #32 of Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Vol. 2, which came out at the end of May from Marvel Comics.
The previous issue of Doctor Aphra (#31) ended with the title character, rogue archaeologist Dr. Chelli Lona Aphra, taking Jedi-Knight-in-training Luke Skywalker hostage– for unknown reasons– by gassing him into unconsciousness. And at the beginning of #32, we find out pretty quickly what those reasons are. After Luke comes to aboard Aphra’s ship, Chelli shows him a holorecording from the prequel era of Jedi Master Shaak Ti communicating with Aayla Secura about a powerful artifact they’re putting into safe keeping in a location known as the Sason Temple. When Aphra suggests to Luke that the artifact may give him an edge in his ongoing battle with his Sith Lord father Darth Vader, the would-be Jedi can’t help but go along for the ride. The pair (with the loyal astromech droid R2-D2 in tow) arrive at the planet Sason to find it covered in magnetic storms that interfere with the ship’s systems, so Luke must rely on the Force to locate the temple, which they find to be suspended within a cyclone of energy. Along the way, Chelli reveals that she has learned that the Sason Temple will only open its doors to those “pure of heart and strong with the Force,” but when they finally arrive at the correct spot, Luke finds that his connection to the Force has subsided once again thanks to the ebb and flow caused by the opening of the Fermata Cage in the Star Wars: Hidden Empire miniseries.
Soon Luke and Aphra find themselves being attacked by semi-mechanical guardians of the temple, formed of crystal shards fused by the magnetic energy of the planet. Chelli deduces that these monsters must have been activated by a nearby mechanism, while Luke struggles to get his damaged yellow lightsaber working (I think this issue takes place before the events of Charles Soule’s Star Wars #34). Working together, they manage to eliminate their enemies just as Luke regains his Force powers, and then the pair of explorers tumble through a trap door into an underground chamber where they seemingly encounter Aayla Secura and Shaak Ti themselves. I’m guessing these long-dead Jedi are not really there on Sason but are instead visions or holograms or robots or something, but either way this reveal gives us the cliffhanger ending of the issue. It’s an exciting read, and I loved seeing Chelli Aphra and Luke Skywalker working together for a change, even if their interactions did start with the usual amount of conflict this time around as well. Writer Alyssa Wong is doing a pretty terrific job of taking things in a new direction after the conclusion of the many-months-long Spark Eternal arc, and I’m really enjoying the way she writes Luke (I don’t believe she has before). And artist Minkyu Jung’s evocative, energetic style feels perfect for this mysteriously compelling, off-the-beaten-path adventure shared between the chaotic-neutral rogue and the virtuous Jedi.
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #32 is available now wherever comic books are sold.