Poe Dameron #11 Review

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Poe discovers the traitor while evading the First Order in Poe Dameron #11.

Warning: This article contains spoiler for Poe Dameron #11.

Poe Dameron #11

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

Unfortunate Coincidence

In this story arc, Poe and C-3PO travelled to Kaddak on a recovery mission. A N1-ZX (also known as a Nunzik) reported to Threepio that it had information on Supreme Leader Snoke and the First Order. Unfortunately, Agent Terex, Poe’s nemesis, arrived on Kaddak at the same time. Once he arrived, Terex assumed control of the Ranc gang. His next act was ordering the Rancs and citizens of Kaddak to bring him Poe. This was a ruse. The trap is revealed in Poe Dameron #11.

The Mystery Clears

In addition to the rivalry with Terex, Poe has an additional problem. There is a spy in his midst. After retrieving the N1-ZX droid, Poe sets a course for the Resistance headquarters. Threepio programmed the droids in his spy network to only release their data after they returned to headquarters. During the trip back to D’Qar, Poe has the opportunity to contemplate the spy.

Poe begins to reason the chronology of his encounters with Terex. The First Order Security Bureau officer followed him to Ovanis with a tracker on his X-Wing. That only narrows the suspects to members of the Resistance. Next, Poe narrows the pool of suspects to Black Squadron and General Organa. They were the only ones that knew of his mission to Megalox Beta. Immediately, he rules out General Organa.

Poe finally realizes who the traitor is when he contemplates his mission to Kadak. The only people (or droids) that knew of that mission were Threepio, BB-8, Poe and Oddy Muva. All are present in his X-Wing except Oddy. Therefore, Oddy is the traitor.

No Malicious Intent

Despite the revelation that Oddy betrayed Poe and Black Squadron, not all is as it seems. In the prior issue, Oddy snuck aboard the Carrion Spire. Now onboard, Oddy continues sneaking around. If he were a First Order agent, stealth tactics such as these are unnecessary. Before long, a Ranc gang member discovers Oddy. A fight ensues, and Oddy demands to know where his wife is being held captive. Alas, Oddy is an unwilling traitor. Terex coerced his cooperation by holding his wife hostage.

The revelation of the spy in Black Squadron was well written. Soule dropped hints throughout this story arc. Poe always theorized someone in Black Squadron betrayed him. However, no obvious suspect emerged. In addition, Poe’s moment of reflection worked well. With a quiet moment to ponder the mystery, Poe talked out the puzzle with Threepio and BB-8. He logically deduced the traitor by examining past events in chronological order and narrowing the pool of suspects. As traitorous revelations go, this one was well done. The reader had just as much of an opportunity to solve the mystery as Poe. Furthermore, no clues were withheld. While not earth shattering, the resolution to the mystery was satisfying.

Cornered in Space

Once Poe solves the mystery, he also reaches another conclusion. N1-ZX is a distraction. In addition, Terex is either tracking the droid, or the N1-ZX will reveal Resistance headquarters once they get there. Playing things safe, Poe drops out of hyperspace to confront the N1-ZX droid. Shortly thereafter, Terex and his fleet arrive.

Poe is outnumbered, but he fights valiantly. Terex is disappointed. Against Captain Phasma’s orders and wishes, he conducted this operation. The discovery of the Resistance headquarters was his goal. This entire operation was his means to that end. Since that mission failed, he settled on Poe’s death as a consolation prize. Although the odds are against him, Poe destroys several of the Ranc ships. Unfortunately, his luck runs out and he crashes on a nearby planet as the issue concludes.

Conclusion

Poe Dameron #11 continues a good run for the series. Poe Dameron is the primary source of additional sequel trilogy era stories right now. It also details the operations of the Resistance while providing clues to the political state of the galaxy. As mentioned earlier, Soule expertly crafted the reveal of the traitor. The reveal was satisfying while maintaining the scope of the story. The reveal didn’t need to be huge. It just needed to fit the story.

Another detail of this issue: Terex is a rogue agent in some ways. He does not get along with Captain Phasma. Obviously, his past as a gangster prejudices other members of the First Order against him. In addition, his operation to track down the Resistance base is unauthorized. Furthermore, it is forbidden by Supreme Leader Snoke. Therefore, readers know that Terex is arrogant. His arrogance will likely be his undoing.

The stakes of the Poe Dameron series are appropriately measured. At no point is the fate of the entire galaxy riding on any one mission. Instead, Soule opts for a cold war tone that suits the story and this era. At some point, the story will reach the events of The Force Awakens. One can assume the story ends then, but there is potential for future war stories after the war heats up.

Favorite Panel of Poe Dameron #11

I’ve often remarked that Black Squadron is the spiritual successor to Rogue Squadron. Indeed, pilots with diverse abilities compose Black Squadron just as they did in Rogue Squadron. However, this issue features Poe. In fact, other than some panels illustrating Poe’s thoughts, the rest of Black Squadron is absent from the current story arc. In addition, aerial combat was missing. That changed with this issue. After Poe realizes Terex and the Rancs tracked him, he drops out of hyperspace. Before long, Terex and his minions arrive. Poe has no choice but to fight. Fight he does. One of the panels from his dogfight is the selection for this issue’s favorite.