Star Wars: The Screaming Citadel

This was a miniseries in the Star Wars comic books in 2015 and 2016. Doctor Aphra is an archaeologist in the world of Star Wars and in this particular series, she teams up with Luke Skywalker to try to uncover the secrets behind a mysterious artifact. The artifact in question has connotations and interactions beyond just the series mentioned here, but for the sake of simplicity, this article will analyze just what is in the series itself.

Aphra has found an ancient artifact that belonged to an ancient people group, or cult, known as the Ordu Aspectu. It was a crystal that seemingly has some sentience, possibly a Jedi’s consciousness - or at least that’s what she tells Luke.

It is clear that Aphra has a morally gray compass, and this can be seen even just in the mini-series. She betrays everyone but also saves them at times, and it is known that the creator of her character did so intentionally to turn her into a mirror of Indiana Jones. Luke goes along with the plan because he wants to communicate with an ancient Jedi.

The series turns Lovecraftian when they reach the titular location. A cult exists within the citadel that is also controlled by a hive mind. There is no shortage of Lovecraftian horrors on the isolated planet, and there is a very eldritch bug-like creature controlling the minds of most of the residents there. Additionally, the being inside the crystal, known as Rur, ends up having a lot of similarities to eldritch horrors himself, with the ability to possess souls and use his mind to force people to follow him.

While I have written an entire thesis on Doctor Aphra alone, this small mini-series has a lot to say about both Lovecraft and archaeology.

The Lovecraftian side of things brings back the themes of inevitability, madness, a cult worshiping something they don’t understand, an ancient artifact with power that isn’t properly understood and should have been left alone, and the cyclical nature of things. I never spoke about a couple of those things, so here is some context:

In many of Lovecraft’s work, the idea of humans attempting to stop the inevitable, or trying to outrun it, is perpetuated. In Rats in the Walls, for instance, an older ancestor killed the rest of the family and abandoned the house, attempting to stop the rituals from taking place and hoping it all died out. However, the protagonist returns and the cycle continues. It was inevitable that he would end up where he did, uncovering what was best left hidden and experiencing madness at the end. An ant cannot stop a boot, not forever.

This points to not just inevitability but the idea that the past happens again. Digging it up only leads to the past repeating itself, etc.

In The Screaming Citadel, while it ends with a fairly happy ending - it is still Star Wars after all, the dread of inevitability returns in the final panels as two humans stumble upon the symbiotes that were infecting the people. They thus start the cycle anew, and they have a new target in mind this time.

Archaeologically, Aphra is an entire beast to dissect on her own. But the artifact in question is more relevant for the mini-series itself. Her actions to get the crystal reactivated at all costs are a mirror of what many have done in the past, as they were willing to sacrifice lives to gain new knowledge. However, the relic itself is a focal point and the catalyst. They wouldn’t be here if the crystal wasn’t of some significance.

The idea of being able to speak to an ancient being who can reveal all of the secrets of the past is an extremely tempting one, but also one that proves to be too much to handle. It is a very Lovecraftian tale. Rur is an immortal consciousness, and one that exists in a sort of data storage. While pretending to be a Jedi, Luke correctly points out that he is not. He warns Aphra away from Rur, telling her that he’s not a Jedi and that he is dangerous. Aphra, typically, doesn’t listen.

As I stated in my thesis, Star Wars presents an interesting meta-narrative on archaeology, and this is emphasized in the rare moments that the story leans into the horror genre. Interestingly, the few times I have come across the lean toward a different genre have been in the Doctor Aphra comics, as her second series leans heavily into horror tropes as well. If nothing else, it shows that archaeology is so entwined with the Lovecraftian genre that even Star Wars can’t ignore it.