– Spoiler Review –
Poe Dameron #11 answers the question that’s been on every reader’s lips: who is the spy on Black Squadron? The motivations of the spy turn out to be the more interesting reveal in another fast-paced, fun-filled issue.
After patiently waiting (see: not at all) over the last several issues to uncover Black Squadron’s spy, a question whose answer was so elusive to both the reader and Poe because how unlikely the suspects were, Poe Dameron #11 finally answers it…and immediately makes the why more important than the who. After his actions in issue #10, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine there might be more to Oddy Muva than meets the eye or even guess he was the spy, but even then it just didn’t seem right. Well, in a great little surprise that’s been hiding in front of our faces since issue #2, the Abednedo (the species Oddy is) aboard Terex’s ship as one of his “servants” is none other than Oddy’s wife! It was easy to dismiss her at first sight, considering she was just a background character, but it’s funny to look back now and see she’s the first person we see serving Terex on the Carrion Spike in #2. It would seem Oddy has been trading secrets about Black Squadron’s movements to Terex likely in some type of deal to keep his wife alive, which makes it hard to call him a traitor at all. In fact, I’ve always found it odd that whomever or whatever spying for Terex never gave up the location of the Resistance’s base, meaning the spy either didn’t have that information or didn’t feel like betraying his friends that much. Considering Oddy’s been essentially forced into the role, he’s not really a traitor, and therefore wouldn’t sell his team out completely, instead keeping the flow of information enough to appease whatever deal he struck with Terex. It is quite possible Oddy was originally a First Order spy and eventually fell under the sway of the Resistance’s alluring sense of freedom or something like that, thus deciding against giving out all the information, but I’m going to bet he was just coerced into the role. Either way, if there’s anyone in the galaxy who would forgive Oddy for spying in the name of love, it’s Poe “Charm Your Flight Suit Off” Dameron, who certainly understands a thing or two about love; Ain’t that right, Poe?
Another person who takes drastic measures in the name of love is Terex, but his is a love of the order and law the Empire represented, which he’s still dedicated to because he purposefully took back over the Rancs to circumvent Supreme Leader Snoke’s mandate of no open hostilities against the New Republic and/or Resistance. In a way, he gets to fight for the Empire again by being an Agent of the First Order, but he can actually do the fighting as the Lord-General of the Rancs of Kaddak. Terex has shown time and time again he is a man who gets what he wants and he doesn’t seem to care who or what toes he has to step on to do so, but of course time and time again Poe gets in his way once again. Finally deducing Oddy is the spy, along with Nunzix being a plant by Terex (no actual Supreme Leader Snoke location data unfortunately, folks), Poe drops out of hyperspace early from fleeing Kaddak to ensure he doesn’t compromise D’Qar and the Resistance. Of course Terex and his fleet of Rancs do their best to kill Poe, who actually takes apart a couple of their Uglies before being shot down to a nearby planet. Terex is done playing games and is out for blood, emboldened by his position atop the Rancs and getting to actually do some fighting instead of playing the little cold war going on in the galaxy. We know Poe will survive whatever Terex throws at him, but can Terex save face or survive however Poe eventual escapes?
Mad props to Charles Soule for hiding the spy’s identity and motivation in plain sight this whole time, as well as making Terex a villain I just can’t help but continue to root for, despite being against the absolutely charming Poe. And while Phil Noto’s expressive art is why I eagerly stare at every panel, he seems to be having a lot of fun designing all the Rancs’ Uglies, making and combining some of the strangest and most intriguing line of ships to ever grace Star Wars. Poe owes everything to these two excellent creatives.
Here are a few other things:
- Soule had mentioned not too long after Carrie Fisher’s tragic passing that he had altered a funeral in the issue #14 to honor her and now I have a good guess who the funeral will be for: Oddy Muva. And, like I mentioned above, it won’t be by the Resistance’s hands because they’ll likely forgive him, so look for Oddy and Terex to come face to face soon (I mean, they both are on the Carrion Spike…).
- I’m itching for another revealing of the dialogue Soule writes out for BB-8 because I’d love to know what he said in response to Poe urgently telling him to plot him a course to anywhere, to which Poe replied with a terribly desperate, “ANYWHERE!”
Poe Dameron #11 answers the big spy question and makes the next part just as compelling as that mystery.
+ Makes the motivations of the spy more interesting than the who
+ Terex’s work-around of the Galactic Cold War
+ Action and fun doesn’t stop here
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth and 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 | #8 | #9 | #10 | #12 | #13 | Legend Lost (#14 – 16) | War Stories (#17 – 19) | Legend Found (#20-25) | The Awakening (#26-31) | Annual: #1 | #2