Warning! Spoilers ahead for Doctor Aphra #3
In the pages of Doctor Aphra #3, Aphra and her crew are one step closer to finding the valuable and potentially powerful lost Rings of Vaale. However, it also looks like they're taking one step back, facing additional obstacles to achieving their prize thanks to the efforts of the wealthy Imperial Ronen Tagge, who sent men to find the rings and coerce the cooperation of Aphra and her people, recently divided thanks to some well-placed booby traps. With Aphra and Detta up top, and the rest of the crew in the depths of the ancient ruins below, Aphra does something seemingly cold, but not altogether unexpected: she sells out her crew and agrees to work with Ronen Tagge....or does she?
From her very first introduction into Marvel's Star Wars comics, Doctor Aphra has always been devious and untrustworthy, doing whatever it takes to survive and get a solid payday. As a result, she doesn't have very many friends, so the idea of her working with a crew was one that was interesting for fans. However, Aphra seemingly does what she usually does when faced with a tight spot with very little options: she cuts a deal, only focused on her own survival. It's how she survived so may interactions with Darth Vader himself for as long as she did. She finds a way to make herself valuable and indispensable, which in this case means allying herself with Ronen Tagge in Doctor Aphra #3, written by Alyssa Wong with art by Marika Cresta.
Again, it's a cold and cruel move, but not all that surprising, considering Aphra's past and overall personality. Even Lucky and Professor Eustacia aren't surprised by the move, going so far as to assume that Aphra had been spying on them for Tagge from the beginning.
However, it's revealed later on that Aphra was merely stalling to buy time, and the true traitors and sell-outs hadn't yet revealed themselves. Once the crew manages to shake off Tagge's men (thanks to some more well-placed booby traps) and reunite, it's revealed that Eustacia found one the two Rings, which is Detta's cue to pull her blaster and demand the ring, seeking the credit and fame for herself. However, when Eustacia can't find the ring, it's revealed that Lucky stole it off her, and that he has been Tagge's spy from the get-go. As more of Tagge's men arrive to back him up at the issue's end, things don't look good at all for Aphra and those who didn't wind up being traitors (which is only a few of them at this point).
What ended up being the truly surprising move in this issue was Aphra's inaction, choosing not to use her typical tactics, which is to simply look out for herself. Instead, the traitors were revealed to be others in her crew, which may lead her to revert back to her more limited approach with jobs in the future, where she only has one or two companions that she can reasonably trust, like the Wookie Black Krrsantan. With one more Ring still needing to be found, it will be interesting to see how the current Doctor Aphra series continues with so much betrayal going on.