Since 2015, Star Wars has been experiencing a comic book renaissance. Through the medium, Star Wars has introduced a dizzying array of new storylines and characters into canon, ranging from a race of insatiably hungry evil plants to C-3PO's murderous Doppelgänger 0-0-0. One character, the Wookie bounty hunter Black Krrsantan, even made the jump to live-action with a role in The Book of Boba Fett. Few, however, have had as great an impact as one inspired by Indiana Jones: Dr. Chelli Aphra.
Introduced in Star Wars: Darth Vader #3 (2015) by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca, Aphra was intended as a dark take on Han Solo during a period in which Darth Vader was surrounded by twisted opposites of the Skywalker Saga's key players, including deadly versions of R2-D2 and C-3PO and a lightsaber-wielding set of twins out to supplant him as the Emperor's right hand. However, while she may be a daring rogue who plays by her own rules, the idea for Aphra actually came from a totally different Harrison Ford role.
Doctor Aphra is often described as Star Wars' Indiana Jones, the two are very different in some key ways. While Jones is a benevolent adventurer, Aphra is far more amoral, betraying even her closest allies in the name of profit, and rarely worrying about who ends up with the ancient and powerful weapons she frequently discovers. Despite this, Chelle was explicitly inspired by Indiana Jones. In the creator commentary included in collected versions of his Darth Vader run, Gillen states:
The core idea for Aphra came to me when walking around the Lucasfilm offices. We passed a large Indiana Jones display and I just thought, gender - and ethically - switched Indiana Jones. That'd work well in Star Wars. Aphra grew in many other directions, but that was her core inspiration ... (I still can't believe they let me get away with "IT SHOULD BE IN AN ARMORY!")
Doctor Aphra Keeps Things Lucasfilm
While Aphra has been developed since her introduction, her roots as an evil Indiana Jones are clear to see. The opening sequence of Doctor Aphra (2016) #1 by Gillen and Kev Walker is an almost beat-for-beat recreation of the opening to Raiders of The Lost Ark. A rival archeologist, Ulbik Tan, braves long-abandoned ruins in search of a priceless relic. Acquiring the sought-after artifact triggers long dormant booby traps, which Tan expertly evades down a hallway to make his narrow escape. And, like, Dr. Jones, Tan finds his rival waiting outside the interest to relieve him of his prize. And this is what truly sets Aphra apart from Jones: she is the one waiting outside after someone else did the legwork, she is the one with the blaster in hand waiting to ambush her rival. That's not to say she's outright evil - unlike Darth Vader or Emperor Palpatine, Aphra has often shown genuine reluctance and guilt when she's been pushed to kill. When 0-0-0 attempts to prove she enjoys killing as much as he does in Doctor Aphra #19, she rebukes his assertion, stating that she's not a good person, but she isn't a monster who enjoys suffering.
Doctor Aphra has emerged as one of the true breakout characters of Star Wars Marvel comics era. While Indiana Jones may have provided the spark for her inception, she's now a character all her own, forever treading the line between antihero daring and potential redemption.