Poe Dameron #14 Review

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Poe and Agent Terex determine their futures in Poe Dameron #14

Warning: This article contains spoiler for Poe Dameron #14.

Poe Dameron #14

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

A Funeral for One of Their Own

Poe Dameron #14 begins with a funeral. In the previous issue, L’ulo, a lifelong friend of Poe’s, died in battle. General Leia Organa leads the memorial service and calls for Poe to deliver a eulogy. Soule wrote an eloquent analogy between Jedi and fighter pilots. Although not mentioned directly by names, Poe recites a story related to him by Leia from Luke Skywalker. It was the story of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s death and how his body just vanished. Similarly, pilots die in explosions in space. In both instances, there is no body for a Jedi or a pilot to bury.

Poe then recites Yoda’s famous line that people are luminous beings and not the crude matter that makes up their physical forms. L’ulo’s body perished, but Poe still feels him shining in the Force within. It was a touching eulogy and an excellent beginning to Poe Dameron #14.

Poe is Grounded

After the funeral, Poe and BB-8 begin repairs on Poe’s X-wing. Leia seeks him out and debriefs him on the last mission. They discuss that Oddy is now missing, but they are uncertain whether he is a traitor. This is an open plotline that might result in its own story arc at some point.

Then Leia catches Poe attempting to bury any grief he might be carrying. For instance, he decides against attending L’ulo’s wake. Furthermore, Leia challenges him to drop all modesty and explain why he is important to the Resistance. Naturally, Poe proclaims he is the best pilot they have. Leia doesn’t disagree with him, but she notes pilots, even good pilots, are not rare. However, something more is needed to win wars. Until Poe can realize what that is, he is grounded.

Terex’s Plea

While Poe and Black Squadron absorb the impact of L’ulo’s death and funeral, Agent Terex finds himself in the brig of a First Order Star Destroyer. After the events of “The Gathering Storm” story arc, the First Order arrested him after betraying the commands of Supreme Leader Snoke. Terex is desperate and hopes to regain his status with the First Order. After many of his demands for an audience with Captain Phasma are denied, she finally graces him with an audience.

However, Terex’s pleas meet with limited success. Phasma doesn’t believe his loyalty to the First Order. Therefore, she promises him one more chance to convince her. Terex takes her up on her offer. He considers his position and pleads with Phasma. Terex proclaims his loyalty to both the Empire and the First Order. He claims he recognizes the need for them.

Terex equates personal freedom with a drug. In the wrong hands, it is abused.  It is his belief that people can’t be trusted with their own freedom. Therefore, the Empire provided it in small doses. They provided the illusion of freedom and insured order. Terex believes the First Order must take up the Empire’s mantle. Everyone else is wrong.

Terex’s Fate

Terex’s proclamation of loyalty and usefulness sway Phasma. She agrees that Terex knows much that would be useful to the First Order. In fact, she specifically notes his mind is full of useful information. Terex successfully convinced her he can better serve the First Order someplace other than the mines. However, Phasma also agrees that some people cannot be trusted with their own freedom. Terex is one of those people. Therefore, Terex is fitted with a controlling device. In effect, he is a repository of useful information for the First Order but not much more. Clearly, that isn’t what Terex had in mind.

The Fate of C-3PO

A remaining plot line from the last issue was the fate of C-3PO. Terex previously removed Threepio’s memory unit. This causes concern for the Resistance. If the First Order could break Threepio’s encryption, then all manner of Resistance secrets would be at the First Order’s disposal. The good news, from the Resistance perspective, is that Threepio was at least restored with a backup memory unit.

Even more fortunate for the Resistance is that Threepio’s old memory unit is useless. When BB-8 came to Poe’s aid, he shocked Terex. An unexpected benefit was that this corrupted the unprotected memory unit. Considering Threepio received many massive shocks in the past that didn’t wipe out his memory unit, this is somewhat convenient, but might be explained by the fact the memory unit was not protected within Threepio. The memory unit was one of Terex’s bargaining chips, it’s uselessness weakened his case with Phasma.

Granted, the Resistance had its hands full at the time, but the lack of concern for Threepio was somewhat disappointing. He is a veteran of the Galactic Civil War. He was a companion to Princess Leia in the past. Yet, Leia and Poe waste no time contemplating him. Soule previously wrote a scene where Threepio explained the anonymity of droids in this series. This seems consistent. Droids are expendable and easily repaired.

Carrie Fisher Tribute

Charles Soule teased a tribute to Carrie Fisher in this issue. At first, that tribute seemed like it might be hidden in the funeral for L’ulo. Poe Dameron said many elegant things about the Force and the similarities between pilots and Jedi. However, the tribute to Carrie combines panels from both the beginning and the end of the issue. The first part is Poe’s recitation of the story about how the Jedi believe people are luminous beings.

The next part starts when Leia grounded Poe. The reason was not a failure to carry out a mission. In addition, his abilities were as sharp as ever. However, Leia notices that Poe doesn’t see the larger picture. He focused on what he can do and not what he represents. Poe is a natural leader. He needs to inspire. It was only when he joined the rest of his squadron in celebrating L’ulo’s life that he realized that.

Poe tells Leia that it isn’t his fight. It is the fight of the Resistance. Leia agrees and remarks that no one person can win a war. The Resistance will need leaders. And, after all, she has been at this for a long time. She won’t be around forever, and eventually and sooner than they would like, she too will be luminous. Indeed, Carrie Fisher is now luminous. In addition, she inspired so many with the courage and bravery she confronted her own life issues with and the manner in which she championed mental health causes. Soule’s tribute was very fitting.

Conclusion

Poe Dameron #14 is the opening issue to the “Legend Lost” story arc of the Poe Dameron series. It also would have worked as the last issue to the previous story arc. Although light on action, this issue is by no means filler of fluff. The messages and lessons written by Soule are eloquent.

Soule and Angel Unzueta make great use of juxtaposition. On one side is Poe as he deals with L’ulo’s death and his role in the resistance. On the other side is Agent Terex as he plots an escape from his imprisonment. In both instances, they achieve epiphanies. However, while Poe understands the larger picture and his role in the resistance, Terex achieves enlightenment on the goals of the First Order. Regardless, each character progresses through the logic of their argument at the same pace. The panels of each character’s progression are neatly juxtaposed to remind the reader the philosophy of the characters and their causes. Poe and the Resistance are about inspiration and cooperation. The First Order is about order and control.

The Resistance and the First Order are like the light and dark sides of the Force in that way. Poe’s reference to the Force is even more appropriate than ever. Poe plans to use his gifts to lead and inspire. Meanwhile, Terex and the First Order seek order at the cost of personal liberty. The Force is bigger than the Jedi and Sith, and this issue demonstrates it.

Favorite Panel of Poe Dameron #14

Angel Unzueta took over the artist duties for Phil Noto with this issue. However, Noto still provided the cover. Unzueta is a Star Wars vetern though. He previously contributed art to Shattered Empire #2 and #3 and Star Wars Annual #1.

Unzueta’s art differs from Noto’s. For one thing, Noto created all of his own art, but Unzueta left the coloring duties to Arif Prianto. Prianto’s color palette is brighter than Notos for one thing. Unzeuta’s art compliments Noto’s work quite a bit. Both provided excellent depictions of Poe that resembled Oscar Isaac. In addition, Unzueta’s depiction of Leia Organa was flattering.

Speaking of Leia, she is the focus of this issue’s favorite panel. As previously mentioned, Soule worked in a tribute to Carrie Fisher in this issue. It was masterful. Therefore, the panel featuring Leia smirking as she contemplates becoming luminous is the favorite panel of Poe Dameron #14.