Review: It’s the End of an Era for Black Squadron in Poe Dameron’s Benchmark Issue #25

It has taken twenty-five issues to get here, but we have finally reached the end of an era for the Poe Dameron series. Charles Soule confirmed last December that the series will continue beyond this issue, but issue #25 is loaded with payoff concerning all of the series’ dangling threads, and the ending of the issue seems to point to an end of the pre-The Force Awakens setting of the series as well. Read on for the full review. Spoilers ahead…

 

 

Having been contacted by agent Terex in last month’s issue, Black Squadron and the Resistance rushes to save Lor San Tekka after the ex-First Order agent left him adrift in space. This is no simple pick-up mission however, as the First Order is also on their way to apprehend the famous explorer.

 

 

Although I have largely enjoyed this story arc, this issue was a nice change of pace from the previous issues, focusing almost entirely on the space battle that erupts when both forces arrive simutaneously at Tekka’s location. Both sides continue to blast away at one another while they try to pinpoint Lor’s signal.

 

 

The Restistance finds him first, but the transport is destroyed before they can reel him in. When First Order Stormtroopers grab the explorer, its up to Poe and his squadron to make sure they have nowhere to go, focusing all their fire on the nearby First Order cruiser.

 

 

The battle sees two of Black Squadron’s pilots facing some very dangerous situations. Karè picks up a pair of TIE fighters on her tail, but her man Snap Wexley shows up to save the day. Soon, Jess finds herself dead in the water as her new astromech and BB-8’s…girlfriend(?), Ivee struggles to bring her X-wing’s systems back online. Things begin to heat up for the pilot when a missle gets a target lock on her dead vessel.

 

 

I was never really concerned for Jess, knowing that she makes it into The Force Awakens and beyond, but I have to admit that the way she got out of this mess caught me by surprise and left me surprisingly emotional as well. Knowing she couldn’t get the ship moving, Ivee ejects from the ship, rocketing toward the incoming missile, sacrificing herself for Jess.

 

 

The reaction from BB-8 was about what you’d expect, but thankfully, before she ejected, Ivee left behind a part of herself with a message to BB-8 that it wasn’t his fault (he recommended Ivee to Jess after all), that this was her choice. With Ivee’s processor in his possession, the little droid would always have a part of her with him.

 

 

After rescuing Tekka and getting back to the base on D’Qar, the explorer meets with General Organa and informs her that he has some suspicions about where her brother Luke may be, though he is not certain. Before he leaves, he says he will contact her once he has information regarding the Jedi Master’s location, setting up Poe’s next meeting with him on Jakku in The Force Awakens.

 

 

Before the issue comes to an end, Snap and Karè decide that there’s nothing left for them to talk about concerning their feelings and where they stand with each other. The very next page reveals their intent as they decide to finally put a bow on their relationship.

 

 

I have to admit that I’m a little concerned for the longevity of this marriage as Karè is neither seen nor mentioned in The Force Awakens or The Last Jedi (Snap and Jess are mentioned in the novelization of The Last Jedi as they are off trying to recruit others to join Leia’s Resistance). I just get the feeling that this one will be over before the two even get out of the honeymoon phase, but time will tell.

 

 

This was a solid issue and a nice ending to this chapter of what has turned out to be a well-rounded series from writer Charles Soule (who has been killing it lately at Marvel with his amazing Darth Vader series and one the best X-Men series in a long time – Astonishing X-Men). The payoff in this issue is nice, and if it hadn’t already been announced that the series will continue, I’d say this issue works as a nice conclusion to the series. Either way, I’m excited to see what’s on the horizon for Poe and company as they cover some new ground moving forward.

 

 

Score: 8/10

 

 

The next issue looks like we are getting very close to The Force Awakens, and if Finn’s presence on the cover is any indication, the issue may very well run alongside the events of the movie. It will be interesting to follow Poe after the TIE fighter crash to see how he got off Jakku and back to the Resistance (there is a little bit on this in the novelization for the film, but it is very brief), and perhaps we will see more on Jess and Snap’s mission during The Last Jedi. I don’t know what Soule has in mind for the series from here on out, but I think that would be a good direction. The rest of the series could fill in the gap between The Last Jedi and Episode IX as well if he decides to go that route.

 

Poe Dameron #25 is available now in a comic shop near you or online at Comixology. Happy reading comic fans!

 

 

 

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Jordan Pate is Co-Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net, of which he is also a member of the book and comic review team. He loves all things Star Wars, but when he's not spending time in the galaxy far far away, he might be found in our own galaxy hanging out in Gotham City or at 1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, NY.

Jordan Pate (Hard Case)

Jordan Pate is Co-Lead Editor and Senior Writer for Star Wars News Net, of which he is also a member of the book and comic review team. He loves all things Star Wars, but when he's not spending time in the galaxy far far away, he might be found in our own galaxy hanging out in Gotham City or at 1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, NY.

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