Poe Dameron 'Force Awakens' Prequel Comic Book Series Announced
Oscar Isaac's character Poe Dameron was originally supposed to be a smaller part of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but his expanded role has been embraced by long-time fans of the George Lucas-created franchise. Fans won't have to wait until Star Wars: Episode VIII's release on May 26th 2017 to get more from the best X-wing pilot in The Resistance. Git the jump for more information on the Poe Dameron comic book series.
Lucasfilm and Disney have announced they are teaming with Marvel Comics to give fans more Poe, in the form of a new on-going comic book series that will launch in April 2016. Star Wars: Poe Dameron will be written by Charles Soule (who previously worked on the Star Wars comic book series Star Wars: Lando) and will be drawn by Phil Noto (who also worked on another Star Wars comic book, Star Wars: Chewbacca).
The comic book "focuses on the lead-up to the opening scene of The Force Awakens, which saw Poe seeking out mysterious traveler Lor San Tekka (Max von Sydow) on the planet Jakku for a key to finding the missing Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill)." But the interesting part is this is an on-going series, so this might not forever be constrained to a Force Awakens prequel story. Don't expect to see flashback scenes of Poe's childhood or teen years, as the series is envisioned to take place chronologically.
According to USA Today, the Star Wars: Poe Dameron comic book series "will dig into Poe's status as the top X-wing fighter jockey for General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) and leader of a squadron with an important mission." Apparently while the First Order is on the hunt for Luke Skywalker, a "new villain from the organization is introduced as Poe's chief nemesis." That makes it sound like a new character not seen in Force Awakens, which probably means they won't make it into the upcoming new trilogy sequels — but you never know.
"Sometimes it can feel like the Star Wars universe is so well trodden and so many stories have already been told," Soule explains. "But the way the Episode VII galaxy is set up, there are opportunities for new archetypes almost, and the bad guy we're working with is going to feel fresh and cool."
Charles Soule describes the story as a Mission: Impossible movie with Poe in the lead, which should give you an idea of the tone of what to expect. The comic promises to help flesh out Poe's personality and explore locations e've seen before and never heard of previously.
While Poe is the star of this new comic book series, the story will feature a mix of legacy characters (I'm assuming General Leia, C3PO, R2-D2, Admiral Akbar and Nien Nunb as Han Solo, Chewbacca and Luke Skywalker were probably away at the time this story takes place) and some of the new characters from Force Awakens (obviously Poe's lovable droid sidekick BB-8, but also some of the X-Wing pilots we saw in Force Awakens, probably Greg Grunberg's Snap Wexley and hopefully Yolo Ziff).
The Journey to the Force Awakens comic book miniseries Shattered Empire revealed some of Poe Dameron's backstory through the story of his Rebel Alliance parents, A-wing pilot Shara Bey and soldier Kes Dameron. The story didn't feature Poe, but the end of the series (spoiler alert) hinted at Poe's childhood on Yavin IV with a Force tree in his yard, a gift from Luke Skywalker.
This "Force Tree" has led some fans to believe that Poe might possess some Force sensitivity. Maybe thats why he's the best X-Wing pilot in the Resistance? Or maybe he's just that good, more likely. Although I'd love to see the Force Tree ending of Shattered Empire pay off in a bigger way than just a poetic closure.