Poe Dameron #5 Review

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Poe Dameron and Agent Terex set their plans in motion to break a Hutt out of prison.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Poe Dameron #5. 

Poe Dameron #5

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

Poe Dameron’s Plan

Poe Dameron came to Megalox Beta with a plan. Following the footsteps of Lor San Tekka, Poe arrived at the penal planet intending to speak with Grakkus the Hutt. However, the Hutt surprised Poe by revealing Agent Terrex arrived before him. Then Grakkus compounded the surprise by setting the two against each other. Whoever breaks Grakkus out of prison first receives the location of Lor San Tekka’s next stop. Issue five begins the race to escape from Megalox Beta.

As previously mentioned, Poe expected freeing Grakkus would be the price for the information. Therefore, he concocted a plan. While Poe and his squadmates worked on the surface of Megalox Beta, BB-8 and the other droids commenced another half of the operation on the station in orbit around the planet. Having received orders from Poe, BB-8 and his fellow astromechs commence their operation. What that operation entails remains a mystery as of the conclusion of the issue.

Matters are Worse

Waiting for the droids in orbit proves difficult for Poe and Black Squad. Agent Terrex quickly plays his cards and recruits other criminal organizations to his cause. In exchange for eliminating Black Squad, Agent Terrex promises to help them escape. Of course, his plan includes obtaining Lor San Tekka’s location from Grakkus first. The criminal leaders rally their forces for an assault on Grakkus’s stronghold. Poe and friends are caught by the rushing crowd and need to run out the clock.

Unfortunately, things aren’t going well for their droids either. A failed droid booster thwarts their attempt at stealth. In addition, hacking into the station database sets off an alarm. Worse, it summons a large security droid that seemingly crushes and discards one of the astromechs. The droids find themselves in a tight spot as the issue concludes.

The Race

Agent Terrex continues to prove himself as a worthy adversary to Poe. He possesses cunning and guile to match Poe’s talents. While Poe plans a covert operation to free Grakkus, Terrex sows the seeds of a coup on the prison world. From Grakkus’s perspective the race to free him commenced the moment they left his stronghold. In reality, the race is between Poe’s plan to free Grakkus and Terrex’s plan to overthrow him. At the moment, Terrex appears to have the upper hand. Much of the prison population appears to be under his sway.

The Return of an Old Crime Boss

An old crime boss created by Soule returns in this issue. Papa Toren finds himself confined to Megalox Beta with other crime lords. Toren first appeared in issue one of Lando. In that series, Toren offered Lando a job that once completed would clear debts owed by Lando to Toren. Of course, this set Lando, Lobot, and others on an adventure to steal what proved to be the Emperor’s private ship. In this issue, Papa Toren has fallen on hard times and finds himself incarcerated on Megalox Beta.

As previously seen in Lando, Papa Toren is a curious being. His speech is largely unintelligible. To compensate, he relies on smaller beings that float around him to translate his threats. How this being rose to the rank of criminal boss befuddles me. By himself, he seems unthreatening. In addition, his minions hardly inspire fear by their appearance. In fact, only the threats they issue carry any ominous weight. Still, it is fun to see a character of this nature return. It adds a bit of whimsy and fantasy to this issue.

Deciphering Aurabesh

I enjoy translating the aurabesh that appears in Marvel’s Star Wars comics from time to time. The aurabesh depicted on Poe’s coveralls on the cover of this issue shouldn’t be hard to guess. If you aren’t inclined to guess, the word is “prisoner.”

A Note on the Cover

It might be obvious from this review that the cover has little to do with the content Poe Dameron #5. That seems to be a trend in this series. For example, the prior issue’s cover depicted Poe displaying a hologram of Luke Skywalker to Grakkus. That never happened. In a sense, it is symbolic of Poe’s quest, but it is misleading. For the most part, no harm no foul. However, Marvel typically teases the next issue at the end of their books with the cover of the next issue. It can affect expectations. In this case, one might reasonably have assumed Poe would be taken into custody by prison guards. It never happened. Not a big deal, but it was worth noting.

Concluding Thoughts

Poe Dameron #5 contains plenty of action and danger. Poe and his team face a horde of inmates bent on destroying them. To make matters worse, Poe and Black Squad must contend with the knowledge that the Resistance appears to have a spy. Terrex boasted to the crime lords that he had eyes everywhere. This accounts for how he knew to head to Megalox Beta. Who is the spy? How will this knowledge impact the team? Also, how do you smuggle a Hutt? That seems like a tall order. I’m eager for issue six already.

Poe Dameron #5 Favorite Panel

As part of their operation to extract Poe, Black Squad, and Grakkus from Megalox Beta, the droids attempt stealth aboard the station in orbit. They might have gotten away with it if one of the droids’ boosters didn’t fail. However, the booster failure creates an opportunity for another droid to unleash its inner ninja. A Blue R5 astromech droid does just that. In a fun sequence, the little droid unloads on a pair of guards with all manner of devices and a kick to the face. One panel of this sequence depicts this droid falling from the ceiling while unleashing a battle cry. It made me smile. As always, Noto’s art continues to impress. That is this issue’s favorite panel.