2) Doctor Aphra
Most of what makes the Star Wars comics so great is how they embellish and embroider characters and situations that have come before. One of the few truly original creations of the comics is Doctor Aphra. Retconning such an important character into the universe – she’s an ally to Vader and briefly the Rebels – could have backfired, but Aphra has quickly become a fan favourite.
Simply put, Aphra is like a Star Wars version of Lara Croft. A rogue archaeologist with a sharp tongue, Aphra is recruited by Darth Vader to fulfill several missions on his behalf, along with his assassin droids Beetee and Triple Zero. Initially, she appeared in Kieron Gillen’s Darth Vader run before breaking out into her own solo series, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra. To date, she’s the only character original to the comics to do so.
What’s great about Aphra is that she captures some of that self-interested rogue attitude of the early Han Solo. Though she frequently works for Vader, Aphra isn’t evil, she’s just looking out for herself. She even helped out Leia and the Rebels after being arrested by them.
