Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Created by writer Kieron Gillen and artist Salvador Larroca, she first appeared in Marvel Comics' 2015 Star Wars: Darth Vader comic book series. Aphra became a breakout character, and began appearing in her own comic series, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, in December 2016. She is a morally questionable, criminal archaeologist initially employed by Darth Vader, who later goes into hiding from him. Aphra is the first original Star Wars character not from the films to lead a Marvel comic series.