Characters and development
The look of titular character Poe Dameron is patterned on Oscar Isaac, who portrayed Poe in The Force Awakens.[1] He and his droid BB-8 are joined in their missions by X-wing pilots Snap Wexley, a character played by Greg Grunberg in the film and resembling the actor in the comic,[2][3] and Jess Pava, also from The Force Awakens, where she is played by Jessica Henwick.[2][4][5] The series also includes cameos by Leia, appearing in Carrie Fisher's likeness as in the film,[3] and stormtrooper commander Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie).[2] New characters include Resistance pilots Karé Kun and L'ulo L'ampar, as well as X-wing tech Oddy Muva.[2] Poe Dameron also introduces a new villain, Agent Terex of the First Order Security Bureau, a cocky ex-stormtrooper whom series creator Charles Soule describes as "fresh and cool".[1][2] Soule said of Terex in February 2016, "He's a scary guy, a little older, which I think gives him a cool gravitas in much the same way Peter Cushing delivered as Grand Moff Tarkin in A New Hope. His approach to conflicts is very interesting, and he can be a charmer. I think of him almost like an evil Lando."[6]
Poe Dameron is set prior to the events The Force Awakens, leading up to the opening of the film when Poe finds Tekka on the planet Jakku.[1][3][6][7] Soule explained that at this time, "The New Republic and the First Order are in a position of detente, and while there have been a few small skirmishes between the Resistance and the First Order, it's very much a sort of cold war."[6] He compared the series to a Mission: Impossible film starring Poe,[1] and noted that "the Star Wars galaxy is a dangerous place, and the First Order isn't the only opponent Poe will face".[6] Soule later elaborated: "I think of it like a bunch of different genre movies, stacked up one after the other. I've been doing this for a while, actually—Lando was a heist movie, and Obi-Wan & Anakin is a post-apocalyptic steampunk western. Poe will be the same, with each arc feeling a bit different. The first story is straight-up weird, '70s sci-fi, but there's plenty more to come—a prison story, an espionage tale—lots of great stuff.
Soule said that the series would take advantage of the fact that the Star Wars fictional universe "is really flexible as far as what it can include ... there doesn't seem to be many limits on what you might find in the weirder corners of space."[6] Artist Phil Noto said that, while "trying to take some visual cues from the movies and apply them to the different environments in the book", he hopes to establish the comic's new locations "as something new and unique while having that traditional Star Wars feel to them".[6] Soule and Noto tried to capture Isaac's personality and likeness "so people feel like it's really Poe from the film," with Noto adding that "I think Oscar did a great job with the humor and heroism of the character."[6] Soule also writes dialogue for BB-8 in English, which Noto uses when drawing. It is then "translated" by assistant editor Heather Antos into droid sounds the team calls "bleeps and bloops", which are spelled out in the panels by letterer Joe Caramagna.[8]
