Poe Dameron #4 Review

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The galaxy’s greatest pilot meets Escape from New York in latest adventure.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Poe Dameron #4.

Poe Dameron #4

Writer: Charles Soule | Artist: Philo Noto | Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna | Cover Artist: Phil Noto

Summary

Tasked with finding the location of Lor San Tekka, Poe Dameron has assembled Black Squadron to tackle the job. Last issue, they survived the lair of the Creche and Agent Terex. When the Creche’s egg hatched, a monster emerged and attacked everyone. Finally, another monster arrived and defeated it. Poe and his friends drove off the First Order, and were rewarded with the secret to Lor San Tekka’s next destination: prison. Lor San Tekka went to prison to consult with a Jedi expert. In order to finish his mission, Poe has no choice but to follow. A flash-forward scene begins the story in which Poe accepts an unknown deal from Grakkus the Hutt.

A Little Rest and Relaxation

Returning to the present, Poe and Black Squadron celebrate their return to Resistance headquarters on D’Qar. Poe has the opportunity to demonstrate a little leadership. In the previous adventure, L’Ulo escalated the conflict with the First Order. He opened fire on a First Order transport unprovoked. L’Ulo’s actions contradicted Black Squadron’s orders. They were not permitted to fire upon the First Order unless fired upon.

L’Ulo sees nothing wrong with his actions. However, Poe sees it differently. Despite that, he does not reprimand L’Ulo. Instead, he demonstrates his own brand of leadership. He praises L’Ulo’s skills and the skills of Black Squadron. He points out that they are the best. Notwithstanding that fact, it isn’t the issue. They do not have the resources to go toe-to-toe with the First Order. Where the Resistance can bring one fighter, the First Order can bring one thousand. Their orders are such so that they don’t provoke the First Order into a conflict they cannot win.

Poe’s reprimand was gentle but effective. L’Ulo is far older than Poe. The Duros flew with Poe’s mother, Shara Bey, during the Galactic Civil War (see Shattered Empire). Poe acknowledges that L’Ulo helped raise him after his mother died. Poe’s style allowed him to get his point across while maintaining unit morale and focus.

The Spy

Poe Dameron #4, and the overall series, has a subplot featuring an unknown spy and saboteur. It was this individual that placed a tracer on Poe’s X-Wing. The tracer alerted the First Order to his location in the previous story arc. The spy does not make an appearance in this issue, but Poe has a conversation with BB-8 about him at headquarters. Poe is adamant it isn’t one of his pilots. Also, General Organa is aware of the spy and has put C-3P0 to the task of figuring this out. This scene, while only four panels, succinctly refreshes the readers mind to this plot point, and features BB-8. In fact, it is the only scene featuring BB-8.

The Prison

The prison is known as Megalox. It is a privately run prison on a world with ten times the standard gravity. If one were to step outside of its walls, then one would be crushed by their own weight. The rest of the prison is something out of Escape from New York. The prison has no guards on the inside. The prisoners regulate themselves. They have no place to go, so there is no fear of escape. Poe and his comrades must go the Snake Plissken route to find the Jedi expert and learn what became of Lor San Tekka.

The Jedi Expert – A Familiar Face

If the Jedi expert looks familiar, it is because you have seen him before. Grakkus the Hutt is a collector of Jedi artifacts. He once ruled a corner of Nar Shadda, the Smuggler’s Moon. In issue nine of Star Wars, he took hostage Luke Skywalker, who was an untrained Jedi apprentice at the time. Luke was to be part of his collection and fight monsters in Grakkus’s arena. Later, Grakkus was arrested by the Emperor. Up until now, the fate of the Hutt had been unknown.

Grakkus’s appearance in Poe Dameron #4 was an excellent choice. Presumably, the Story Group had something to do with it. Rather than invent an unknown character that would be discarded after this story arc, they reused a character that had already been introduced as an expert in this area. Grakkus isn’t a major character. He does not contribute to the “small galaxy” syndrome that an appearance by a more famous character would.

Escape of the Hutt

Poe Dameron isn’t the only one looking for Grakkus. Poe’s nemesis, Agent Terex has found the Hutt as well. Evidently, the spy let Terex and the First Order in on Poe’s quest. The Creche had not revealed to Terex where Lor San Tekka had ventured to next. Therefore, it is fair to deduce he found out from a spy within the Resistance.

Grakkus makes a deal with Poe and Terex. He will provide the next known location of Lor San Tekka to whomever can break him out of the prison. This is somewhat reminiscent of Ziro the Hutt hiring Cad Bane to break him out of prison on Coruscant. It is a wonder that a bounty hunter had not been hired for that task before.

The appearance of Grakkus and his minions in the Star Wars comics has been somewhat polarizing. They are absolutely huge. They are much bigger than Jabba was in Return of the Jedi. They are big enough that one picked up Poe Dameron and held him upside down. Personally, I like the look. The Hutts are said to control a sector of space. They are gangsters. Certainly, one can exercise control without being a physical specimen. However, at some point, they had to have overwhelmed lesser beings, and this series makes that seem more likely.

Poe—Always Cool and Collected

One of the things that sells Poe in this series is his characterization. Soule has done an excellent job writing him. Poe doesn’t let the enemy see him sweat. He protested Terex arriving to bargain with Grakkus, but he didn’t lose his temper. The guards that escorted Black Squadron to the surface sold Poe and his companions out. Again, he didn’t lose his cool. He meets obstacles with a level head. Which brings up the second related point. Poe knows how to lead. He does not panic in front of his men. He knows how to get them past obstacles.

Conclusion

Poe Dameron #4 is a great rebound from issue three. Not that issue three was terrible, but it was bizarre. The introduction of the monster from the Creche’s egg was unexpected and distracting. It seemed like a scene from a fantasy story, not a space opera. This episode resumed Poe’s tale of adventure with his multitalented team of pilots. The story has recaptured the “Rogue Squadron” element and has become intriguing once again.

Poe Dameron #4 Favorite Panel

First, as always, Noto’s art is just incredible. He draws an excellent Poe Dameron, and his take on the Hutts is great too. I may be in the minority, but I do enjoy Grakkus and the other Hutts. I also am very fond of Poe’s characterization in this series. Therefore, I picked one of the more humorous panels from this book that features both the Hutts and Poe’s humor. One of Grakkus’s minions has picked up Poe and hold him upside down while the pilot negotiates with Grakkus. Poe realizes he is not in a position to bargain, and he takes it in stride. That is the Poe Dameron #4 favorite panel.