Poe Dameron

Poe Dameron is a fictional pilot and a freedom fighter featured in the Star Wars multimedia franchise. Played by actor Oscar Isaac, he first appeared in the 2015 blockbuster film Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens by Lucasfilm, Ltd. and Walt Disney Productions. The character has also appeared in alternate media adaptations of the film, as well as reference books.

Early life
Poe Dameron was born two years after the Battle of Yavin. He was the son of Kes Dameron and Shara Bey, both of whom were members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic and served in the First Galactic Civil War. They were both active during the Battle of Endor, which was one of the last major campaigns of the war. Poe grew up on the moon, Yavin IV.

As an adult, Poe Dameron followed the virtues of his parents, and became a member of the Republic Resistance, which fought in opposition to the First Order. Trained as a pilot, he was regarded as the most accomplished fighter pilot in the Resistance. He flew an X-wing fighter and was assisted by an astromech droid named BB-8.

Mission to Jakku
Thirty years after the Battle of Endor, Resistance leader General Leia Organa sent Poe Dameron on an important mission to the planet Jakku in the Western Regions. He was to meet with a spiritual advisor named Lor San Tekka, who had possession a part of a map that pointed the way towards finding Luke Skywalker – the last of the Jedi. Poe met with Lor San Tekka in the village of Tuanul who gave him the map.

The First Order caught word of this transaction, and the Dark Force user Kylo Ren personally led a raid on the village. As villagers fled from the squadron of First Order Stormtroopers, led by Captain Phasma, Poe Dameron placed the data chip containing the map inside of BB-8. Entering the fray, he shot and killed a Stormtrooper named FN-2003. He then fired a shot at Kylo Ren, who used the Force to freeze the blaster bolt in place. Kylo killed Lor San Tekka with his lightsaber and then took Poe Dameron prisoner.

He brought him aboard the Star Destroyer Finalizer where he interrogated him at length. Using the Force, he pressured Poe into revealing that the map was placed inside of the droid. Kylo Ren then had a bounty placed on the droid, and sent agents out to recover it. Poe Dameron was placed in a cell.

Escape from the First Order
A Stormtrooper who had been present during massacre on Jakku, FN-2187, had decided to turn his back on the First Empire and defect. However, he required a pilot if he was going to escape. He freed Poe Dameron and they agreed to help each other. 2187 asked him if he could fly a TIE fighter, and Poe told him that he could fly anything. The two stole a fighter from the docking bay, but forgot to disengage the anchor cable. As Poe tried to get lift-off, 2187 operated as gunner and blasted their way to freedom.

Poe began flying the ship back towards Jakku, explaining that he needed to find BB-8 and get the map back to the Resistance at all costs. He asked the trooper what his name was, but when the man told him that it was FN-2187, Poe refused to acknowledge it, and renamed him Finn instead. 2187 liked the name and decided to adopt it as his own.

As they flew, a squadron of Special Forces TIE fighters pursued them. A missile struck the fighter and sent it spiraling through the planet’s atmosphere. It crashed in the desert, but both men managed to escape in time. As Finn emerged, he found no sign of Poe Dameron and believed that he was dead. He elected to complete Poe’s mission by finding BB-8 and returning him to the Resistance.

Skirmish at Takodana
Poe Dameron did survive however and managed to make his way back to Resistance headquarters on D’Qar. It was at this time that the First Order deployed their massive super-weapon from Starkiller Base, which sent out an immense energy beam that destroyed the Hosnian system, which was where the New Republic was headquartered.

Afterward, the First Order learned through its spy network that the droid carrying the map, as well as the refugee trooper and a scavenger named Rey had been sighted on the planet Takodana. They sent in an aerial assault as well as ground forces and attacked the castle of Maz Kanata, which is where they found the refugees, as well as venerable war heroes Han Solo and Chewbacca the Wookiee.

When the Resistance learned what was taking place, they sent in a squadron of X-wing fighters to lead a counter-offensive. Poe Dameron piloted his ship during the skirmish, swooping in a treetop level to take out fighter ships and support vessels. On the ground, Finn took note of Poe’s flying, having no idea who it was, and commented, “That’s one hell of a pilot!” Kylo Ren pulled his forces back after capturing Rey, whom he knew had seen the map leading to Skywalker. Believing that this was all he needed, he called off the First Order forces.

The Battle of Starkiller Base
Poe Dameron returned to D’Qar where he attended a meeting to decide the Resistance’s next move. At this point, he reunited with Finn and the two were very happy to see one another. The Resistance knew that the First Order was targeting D’Qar next with their super-weapon, and the only way to survive would be to destroy Starkiller Base. Their plan involved sending in an advance team onto the base itself to place explosive charges in key locations while a squadron of fighters would target a thermal oscillator on the base as it was priming its super-weapon. Timing was key, as they only had minutes to fire the kill-shot before their weapon would be fully-charged. Poe Dameron led the flight group in the assault against the base.

Poe flew through the opening created by the explosives placed there by Han Solo and Chewbacca, and fired at key points to start a chain reaction. The pilots only had moments to get away before the base exploded. The strike team also made it off the planet aboard the Millennium Falcon, having managed to reunite with Rey, who had freed herself, but Han Solo was a casualty of the battle.

Poe and the other members of his squadron returned to D’Qar for a victory celebration.

Notes & Trivia



 * received a profile entry in the Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary by DK Publishing in 2015.


 * Almost from the beginning, there has been fan rumor and speculation that the friendship between Poe Dameron and Finn might be something more than just a budding bromance. Hints of a possible homosexual relationship between the two flooded the internet, but as per The Force Awakens, there was no information coming out of director J.J. Abrams' camp to suggest anything other than what the fans have seen. Actor John Boyega fueled the flames by hinting at a possibility of such a relationship with Episode VIII, but as it was, he had no idea what the new director, Rian Johnson, had in store for them.


 * The backstory of Poe Dameron's parents was revealed in the four-issue comic book series Star Wars: Shattered Empire, published by Marvel Comics. The timeline of the series takes place immediately following the events from Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.


 * received his own Pop! Vinyl collectible toy by Funko. Number 62 in the series, the toy comes with its own base.