The Ark Angel IV was a starship in the possession of the renegade archaeologist Doctor Chelli Aphra. This vessel, which dated back to the era of the High Republic, was discovered abandoned on the planet of Dianth and remained there until the Imperial Era. Following the destruction of Aphra's previous starship, the Ark Angel III, by the fleet belonging to Ronen Tagge of the House of Tagge on Dianth, Aphra's companion, the bounty hunter Krrsantan, located the ancient High Republic ship. Aphra and her crew boarded it, determining that it was still operational. Aphra then piloted the ship to Cantonica, the location of Tagge, thereby drawing the attention of his fleet, which gave her chase. Tagge's forces inflicted damage to the main thruster of the vessel, leading Aphra to permit them to board. Both the damaged High Republic ship and one of Tagge's vessels landed on Cantonica, and Tagge took Aphra's crew as prisoners. While Aphra and her crew were transported to Tagge's Canto Bight penthouse, the starship was left unattended on an exterior landing pad. After Aphra and her allies were victorious over Tagge, they used the starship to escape, subsequently naming it the Ark Angel IV.
The fourth issue of the Star Wars: Doctor Aphra comic series from 2020 marked the first appearance of the Ark Angel IV. The issue was written by Alyssa Wong, with illustrations by Marika Cresta, and published by Marvel Comics on September 30 of that year. Its name was confirmed in the following issue, also penned by Wong and released on October 28, 2020. The series' twenty-second issue, which was published on July 27, 2022, erroneously referred to the ship as the Ark Angel V.