– Spoiler Review –
Lor San Tekka becomes a pawn in Terex’s quest for freedom but can Black Squadron save Lor in time? Poe Dameron #24 packs a few surprises where you might least suspect them, pushing the “Legend Found” arc towards its final issue.
Terex, first introduced in the series’ second issue, has gone on to be one of the best villains in any of the comic series to date. He’s unpredictable, out mainly for himself, and willing to go to whatever lengths to get what he wants, be it revenge, information, and in this case, freedom. With Lor as a bargaining chip, Terex not only gets to board a First Order ship without being instantly pulverized, he gets Captain Phasma to free him from the implants she punished him with (10 issues ago!) due to him preparing for every dirty trick they might pull to turn the situation around to get him and Lor under their control. While the lengths he went to secure this freedom weren’t surprising, they were expected from him and understandable considering what the implants do to a person, seeing him in peak form again after being castrated for so long was both frightening and exhilarating, as he’s a character I love to hate. What did take me by surprise, and a very welcomed one at that, was Terex’s next moves after attaining freedom. Long ago he joined the Empire to help spread law and order, and while he was disillusioned for quite some time after the Empire’s fall, running a gang called the Rancs, he thought the First Order would take up the Empire’s role in the galaxy so he joined up. But after finding the First Order to be no better than his own gang, but this time he wasn’t the leader, he decides to get out while he’s still ahead. That’s right, Terex sheds whatever thirst for revenge against Poe Dameron and the First Order he has left, leaving them to tear each other apart, or not, as he couldn’t care less about it all. Considering everything we’ve learned about Terex over this series, and how much I’ve grown to enjoy him as a character, this might be the best outcome I ever could’ve imagined for him. Donning a modified First Order stormtrooper helmet, resembling his modified armor set while he was the head of the Rancs, Terex gleefully pits the two galactic powers against one another and exits stage left, his charming and chilling grin set firmly in place. Where he goes from here, one can only guess, but I love the idea he could be out there to cause trouble around the galaxy, for his own gains. Could he be someone a Rey-led Jedi Order has to contend with sometime after the events of Ep. IX? A pirate leader carving out his own little slice of the galaxy, maybe one day brought down by Poe and friends after their fight with the First Order is over? For Leia to chase down in retribution over destroying her mom’s dresses*? Whatever the answer might be, I can’t wait to see it, and am very happy to know this jerk of a human being will be out there, somewhere, charming and scheming to the point I want to hate him but love him anyways. So long for now, Terex!
Knowing that the next arc of Poe Dameron will send the series through the events of The Force Awakens, I had assumed Terex’s hiding spot for Lor San Tekka was Jakku and I couldn’t believe it was going to be him, and through this comic, we got the set up for the opening scene of the film. I assumed incorrectly, for one very simple reason: Poe is surprised about the FO showing up on Jakku, but Terex tells Poe in issue #24 that he told the FO where he stashed Lor. Either way, it was a nice little surprise to see Terex left Lor hanging, in space in a spacesuit, floating around and just waiting to be found. How the heck Lor gets out of the whole situation alive and to Jakku at some point is a giant mystery to me, but I can’t wait to see if the FO and Resistance clash in a little battle over the poor, old floating Lor San Tekka! If I had to take a bet, I imagine Poe manages to pick up Lor, flees the scene, takes him to Jakku at Lor’s insistence, and that’s how we get to the start of the TFA (as Poe’s Black X-wing is currently under repair, which explains him being in the generic X-wing on Jakku). No matter what, this looks like we’ll have quite the finale in the next issue!
Having Charles Soule as writer since issue #1 has really given him a chance to hone these characters and keep them consistent, which in regards to Terex was a key component of making him such an enduring villain. The art team of Angel Unzueta (art) and Arif Prianto (colors) captures Terex’s desperation and happiness over gaining his freedom with true skill, always seemingly close to photo referencing but keeping it stylized enough where we end up with fantastic, depth-filled depictions of the characters instead. I’m happy they’ll be on the series for the next arc after this!
Here are a few other things:
- It was really cool to see the Raddus, Leia’s flagship cruiser, outside of The Last Jedi and in the comic!
- *Remember how I said I love to hate Terex? He jettisons Leia’s collection of Padmé’s dresses into hyperspace, potentially never to be found again. Though we have seen people exit hyperspace in Star Wars Rebels, something tells me the dresses wouldn’t be able to survive the same process. It was a moment which caused me to gasp, “Oh, no!” but also applaud Terex at the same time.
- Jess is quite the mathematical genius and I hope we get to spend more time on her in the arc(s) ahead!
- The Karé and Snap relationship hasn’t really gotten off the ground for me, but if we get to spend a bit more time with them to properly set it up more during the events of TFA, I might be able to come around to being interested in it.
- Lor just saying Padmé Amidala’s name, and calling her a great hero, is something I hope we get to hear more and makes Lor a pretty great guy in my book.
- I understand the need for a reminder and getting readers up to speed, but I found the regurgitation of the information on Leia’s bugged dresses from #23 in this issue’s opening moments to be a bit too much, as it seemed like neither Leia nor Poe decided to mention this info to the rest of Black Squadron until they were all aboard the Raddus. Minor quibble, in the end, but still felt weird.
An old villain exits to annoy the galaxy another day and our heroes find themselves on a crash course for the fate of the galaxy in Poe Dameron issue #24.
+ Terex setting out on his own path
+ Lor’s precarious situation
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
Poe Dameron
Full Series Retrospective with Chris and Ryan
Black Squadron (#1-3) | Lockdown (#4-6) | The Gathering Storm (#7-13) | Legend Lost (#14 – 16) | War Stories (#17-19) | Legend Found: #20 | #21 | #22 | #23 | #25 / Arc Review (by Chris) | The Awakening (#26-31) | Annual: #1 | #2