Poe Dameron #13 Review

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Poe and Black Squadron engage Terex in a climactic battle in Poe Dameron #13

This article discusses the plot of Poe Dameron #13.

Poe Dameron #13

Writer: Charles Soule | Artist: Phil Noto | Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna | Cover Artist: Phil Noto | Assistant Editor: Heather Antos | Editor: Jordan D. White

The Resolution to the Gathering Storm

After Poe Dameron #12, Poe found himself trapped in a cave on a desolate planet. Agent Terex and the Ranc gang cornered him. Although Black Squadron arrived to provide air support, they are outnumbered by the Rancs ugly mash-up fighter craft. During the fight, Agent Terex eliminated both C-3PO and BB-8. All that is left is Poe and N1-ZX. Things take a turn for the better in Poe Dameron #13.

To start, Snap Wexley helps Poe reprogram N1-ZX to bring him up to fighting speed. Separately and together, Poe and the commando droid eliminate the Rancs. In space, Oddy took control of the Carrion Spike long enough to provide desperately needed relief to Black Squadron. However, Black Squad suffers a major casualty. Just when Terex recovers and gets the drop on Poe, BB-8 returns to provide an assist. In the end, the First Order arrives and eliminates the forces of their rogue agent. Poe and the First Order’s commander agree to go their separate ways after Poe turns over Terex. Although Poe believes Terex’s days are over, his own adventures and path have just begun.

A Death in the Family

Poe and his team experience a casualty. In fact, it is a big one. While defending the escape pods, L’ulo perished. The Rancs shot him and his A-Wing down. Of course, L’ulo not only flew with Poe, but he was Poe’s mother’s commanding officer. Readers may remember L’ulo flying with Shara Bey in the Shattered Empire series. L’ulo’s presence brought some continuity from the original trilogy era to this pre-sequel trilogy era. Although not a major character, he was part of the squadron. His death reminds readers that this series has consequences if not for Poe, then at least for the supporting characters.

Mr. Bones Returns

It is hard to keep a good droid down. Soule treated readers of Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath trilogy to a fun cameo. Mr. Bones, Snap Wexley’s childhood droid and friend, emerged in this issue. Snap transmitted a droid personality matrix to Poe. After that, Poe installed it in N1-ZX. With the Mr. Bones personality, N1-ZX went on the rampage and defeated all the Rancs in the cave save for Terex. However, Terex blasted the commando droid’s head off before Mr. Bones could turn on him. This also has the consequence of losing any data N1-ZX had, if any, on Snoke. In the end, N1-ZX was the merely the McGuffin of the story.

The Fate of C-3PO Unresolved

This series left at least one plot line open. What happened to C-3PO? In the previous issue, Terex extracted C-3PO’s memory core. Threepio sacrificed himself for Poe. Terex wasted little time extracting the core. Although BB-8 resurfaced in this issue, Threepio did not. Furthermore, there is no evidence Poe recovered Threepio’s memory core. Therefore, it is possible Terex has a bargaining chip to use with the First Order. Also, coincidentally, this is the second series where Threepio’s fate was left unresolved. Star Wars #26 began with the Empire’s interrogation of Threepio. Although R2-D2 began a rescue of his old friend, that story remains incomplete four issues later.

The Cold War

One of the achievements of Poe Dameron thus far is the galactic cold war. Soule created a believable tension between the Republic and the Resistance on one side and the First Order on the other. The entities are not at war. However, there is tension. When the First Order arrived in this issue, Commander Malarus compliments Poe on his political skills. She doesn’t wish to create a political incident between the Republic and First Order. The tension is there though. Poe knows he is powerless to stop her from taking Terex. He doesn’t even try.

Conclusion

“The Gathering Storm” was a good story arc. It provided a few clues as to the hierarchy of the First Order and subtly illustrated the evolving cold war with the Republic and Resistance. Terex was an interesting character. He began as a true believer in the Empire through the Battle of Jakku. It was only when his fellow survivors turned to a life of organized crime that he sought a new way of life. However, he longed for the return of the glory of the Empire and joined the First Order when he discovered them. Terex was impatient though. He acted while the First Order plotted. Terex’s future remains open ended. The potential for him to return and torment Poe in the future exists.

Favorite Panel of Poe Dameron #13

Soule wrote a great story with this arc of Poe Dameron. In fact, of the entire series, there was only one subpar issue so far. In addition, Phil Noto contributed amazing art. Noto’s strength often is his character likenesses. For instance, Poe Dameron looks like Oscar Isaac. Noto consistently drew Agent Terex throughout this series, and he was instantly recognizable whenever he appeared whether it was the past or the present.

However, Noto’s artwork, when it comes to spacecraft, is overlooked sometimes. Therefore, I decided to remedy that with this issue’s favorite panel. Noto’s work on the battle between Black Squadron and the Rancs was spectacular. Movement in dogfights is often difficult to convincingly capture as the ships have few moving parts. Noto solved that with strategic positioning of the ships in his panels. For that reason, I have selected one panel featuring as an attack run by X-Wings as the favorite panel of Poe Dameron #13.