SPOILER Kyle's Review: Marvel's Poe Dameron #12

Poe Dameron has been on the run since the beginning of this series. Whether he’s hunting for a map to Luke Skywalker or running from the First Order’s commander-gone-rogue, Poe just can’t stop to catch his breath. This issue is no different, but there’s lots of things in this issue I think fans will very much enjoy. SPOILERS AHEAD….



Poe and his droid troupe just can’t seem to catch a break. Just as they thought they were about to deliver N1-ZX to the Resistance, he ended up crash landing on a deserted planet. In case you haven’t been reading, N1-ZX is a droid that claims to know the location of Supreme Leader Snoke. Since the droid’s extraction he’s been holding out and proving to be very difficult to deal with. At this point, and there aren’t any hints in this issue given, I think it’s pretty clear this droid has no idea where Snoke is. I’m interested to see if he is some sort of ruse to the Resistance. Maybe Snoke had the droid programmed to think he is defecting from the First Order with the Supreme Leader’s location, only to transmit the location of the Resistance base once Poe delivers him there. I don’t feel very optimistic when it comes to N1-ZX, and it doesn’t help he’s an insufferable bastard of a droid.



To evade the welcoming committee of ships Terex has dispatched, Poe leads the droids into a nearby cave. On an Easter egg note, make sure to take a close look at all of Terex’s fighters. You’ll see some familiar ships, as well as a few hybrids that have components you’ll recognize. Once inside the cave, Terex’s fighters blast the entrance, sealing Poe and the droids in. Poe’s solution: go deeper. Kind of reminds me of another Star Wars comic about a little, green Jedi Master wandering through caves. Poe doesn’t have a real plan, but he knows who is not far behind him.



Meanwhile, aboard the Carrion Spike, we begin to learn why Oddy sold his captain out. Terex had his wife and used her as leverage to get to Oddy. It explains why we see the pilot in The Force Awakens, as I imagine Poe and pretty much everyone in the Resistance would be sympathetic to the situation. We learn most of the people under Terex are only there because of similar circumstances. Oddy vows to make Terex pay for it.



Terex and a band of undesirables have made there way to the caves. To me, Terex has shifted, issue-to-issue, from true villain to goofy and inept. Make no mistake in this issue, Terex is as sinister as we’ve seen him. I love hating the villain now, and with Terex in his visage, hunting Poe only because he wants to leverage him between the First Order and the Resistance. Terex has loyalty to no one. Every action he takes is of a man who has given up faith in everything but his own survival and power. Terex is the worst kind of villain because he sees everyone in the galaxy as either the weaker or an enemy. The Empire failed Terex, the First Order was only a stepping stone, only for a man like Terex, everything is a stepping stone to nothing but violence and power.



BB-8 does a good job of slowing Terex and his “buddies” down by chopping off this giant slab of ice/rock. The droids selflessness and willingness to protect Poe shines through in this issue. If Poe were on his own, this chase would have ended pretty quick.



Threepio has really changed in this era of the saga. After his own, dedicated issue that Marvel put out last year, we’ve seen a different protocol droid than the one we were used to. Threepio was always a terrified, nervous wreck of a droid. In this issue, Threepio encourages Poe and N1-ZX to keep going, while he stays behind to create a distraction for Terex. Threepio simply does this out of respect for Poe’s mortality and the importance of getting N1-ZX to the Resistance. It’s not something I would expect from the golden machine in the previous Star Wars stories. Writer Charles Soule gives Threepio something of an old soul. Threepio never picked up a blaster or wielded a lightsaber, but he’s seen it all, and I appreciate that the classic character is being taken in a different direction. His experiences reflect in his self-sacrifice to protect Poe and the Resistance.



Unfortunately, Threepio’s distraction doesn’t work that well on Terex. Terex knows exactly who Threepio is, where he’s been, and what he’s seen. Terex figures that Threepio may be even more of an asset to leverage against the Resistance or bait the First Order with. Threepio’s noble act seems to have backfired, as Terex takes his memory chip. Just as Poe is backed into a corner and Threepio may be lost…



The Black Squad arrives! I’m going to guess that Oddy placed a call to them from the Carrion Spike.



Lots of good stuff in this issue. Charles Soule continues to turn out consistently good issues on Poe. Since there hasn’t been a specification of how close we are time wise to the opening of The Force Awakens, I’m uncertain how much road Soule has ahead to keep this story moving. It would be nice if, after we see Poe head for Jakku, maybe Soule takes us back to much earlier days when Poe first joined the New Republic and eventually the Resistance. I trust Poe in Soule’s hands, so here’s to hoping there is a lot more to come. Phil Noto looks like he had a lot of fun with this issue. As I mentioned early in the review, make sure to look closely at each frame of this issue, there’s a lot going on.



Oh, and look who may be showing up next time…