Poe Dameron #21 Review

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Charles Soule writes a love letter to Princess Leia and the prequels in Poe Dameron #21.

This article contains plot details for Poe Dameron #21.

Poe Dameron #21

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

If there is any doubt whether the Lucasfilm Story Group, Disney, or Marvel embrace the prequels, then Poe Dameron #21 puts those doubts to rest. After Lor San Tekka surfaced in Poe Dameron #20, General Organa assembled Black Squadron for a retrieval mission. Poe Dameron #21 finds Black Squadron in the thick of their rescue mission. However, they aren’t alone. General Organa accompanies the squad and leads the opening phase of the mission. The challenge in rescuing Lor San Tekka is breaking him out of prison. During his trip to Cato Neimoidia, Lor San Tekka had the misfortune of falling into Baron Paw Maccon’s disfavor by infiltrating his vaults. In detailing the opening phase of the rescue and retrieval, Charles Soule writes an issue that embraces the prequels and pays fitting tribute to Princess Leia in the pages of Doe Dameron #21.

A Love Letter to the Prequels

The prequels influence in this issue is strong. First, this issue takes place on Cato Nemoidia, which is the home world of the Neimodians. They, of course, were the members of the Trade Federation that served as The Phantom Menace’s villain. Although Nute Gunray and his lackeys aren’t present, the Nemoidians are well represented. Baron Paw Maccon is Lor San Tekka’s jailer. He demonstrates a level of greed that rivals Nute Gunray. His rival, Baron Reya, is similarly filled with avarice. In addition, Soule gets their dialogue write. Some of the lines are variations of those spoken by the various Neimoidians from the prequels (e.g. “This is an outrage!”). Readers can hear the Neimoidian cadence as they deliver their dialogue.

Then there is Padmé’s wardrobe. Leia leads this mission to Cato Neimoidia under the pretense that she needs a secure vault to store her mother’s wardrobe. She tells the tale of how her mother’s wardrobe was kept on Naboo for years, and then eventually delivered to her when her parentage was revealed. Now, she wants them stored for posterity and kept safe for a potential granddaughter someday. The first gown displayed is right of out the prequels. Furthermore, Leia adopted a style of dress and hair more like Padme than anything Leia wore before.

As a final touch, Baron Maccon can’t bear his rival Reya securing Leia’s business. Therefore, he invades Reya’s palace with an army of Super Battle Droids in a demonstration of Reya’s lax security. This scene could have only been more befitting of the prequels if it were the standard battle droids invading. Regardless, this issue merges the aesthetic of the sequel trilogy with the prequels flawlessly.

A Tribute to Leia

Despite Carrie Fisher’s death, Marvel continues releasing comics featuring the famous princess from Alderaan. However, this is something about Poe Dameron #21 that resonates as a tribute to Carrie Fisher than anything from the past year. Perhaps it is Leia in action and portrayed as the Carrie Fisher we knew last in life rather than her younger self. Regardless, the combination of Soule’s writing talents and Angel Unzueta’s produce a spectacular tribute to the feisty princess turned general.

Unlike in The Force Awakens, Leia is more than a general giving orders from the base. She takes the field in Poe Dameron #21. She and Suralinda infiltrate Baron Reya’s palace. When Baron Maccon attacks the palace, Suralinda and Leia grab blasters (note the similarity to Rey’s blaster from The Force Awakens) and fight back. Finally, at the end of the issue, Leia signals Poe and lets him know everything is in place. Her role expanded. Soule’s Leia is the feisty Leia fans remember from the original trilogy.

Poe’s Mixed Message

While Leia and Suralinda infiltrate Baron Maccon’s palace, Poe and Snap Wexley get in some maneuvers. During their flight, Poe asks about Snap’s relationship with Karé. After Snap reveals they broke up over Karé’s concern about their relationship becoming a distraction, Snap inadvertently puts Poe in a dangerous position. While extricating himself from this scenario with some of the spectacular flying that he is known for, Poe turns off his communications. When he emerges from the danger, he explains to Snap he had to turn off the comms and focus.

What makes this odd is that he then tells Snap not to worry, that things will work out with Karé. This is odd because he just shut off the comms to focus. In other words, he was avoiding distractions. This is the very thing Karé cited as the reason they should break up. Therefore, Poe asks Snap to believe in what he says, not what he does.

Jess Gets a Droid

Another ongoing plot line from this story arc is Jess Pava’s inability to find another astromech willing to work with her. However, BB-8 has a solution. In the previous issue, Poe learned BB-8 had something of a girlfriend, and astromech named IVEE. In this issue, BB-8 calls on her to serve as Jess’s droid. Although it took a little convincing, IVEE agreed to Jess’s relief.

Concluding Thoughts on Poe Dameron #21

If the prior issue is the exposition that established this setting and introduced the various conflicts, then this issue is the rising action on the traditional plot line diagram. In this issue, Leia leads a Ocean’s Eleven style infiltration of Barron Maccon’s palace. The biggest difference is that she uses her own identity and personal belongings to do it. For a series named after the best pilot in the Resistance, seeing Leia featured so prominently is a treat.

Soule integrates the prequels into this sequel era story seamlessly. In addition, he does so without making Neimoidians caricatures of villains, which they sometimes were during the prequels. Plus, Leia’s connection with Padmé took center stage, even if it was only for a brief moment. Soule has done a lot to bring all eras of the saga together between his work on Lando, Darth Vader, Poe Dameron, and other stories.