How The Damerons Could Turn Into The New Skywalkers
While Star Wars is filled with action and science fantasy, the core of all three trilogies is the Skywalker family – even the sequel trilogy, which claims to move away from the Skywalkers but revolves around Ben Solo (Organa Skywalker), and ends with Rey appropriating the Skywalker name. But now the Damerons are being poised as Star Wars’ next family of importance.
The latest issue of Marvel Comics establishes that Poe’s mother, Shara Bey, was a rebel pilot, while Poe’s father, Kes Dameron, was a Pathfinder – an elite unit of rebel scout commandos.
RELATED: 'LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga' Senior Producer Confirms Players Can Start With Any Trilogy
It’s a fascinating lineage for Poe, whose development through the sequels can be, at best, described as uneven: he goes from being entrusted with securing the map to Luke’s location from Lor San Tekka and later leading the raid on the Starkiller Base in The Force Awakens, to seemingly an irresponsible, hot-headed, and impetuous flyboy in The Last Jedi who needs to learn to think before he acts.
However, when you see this sort of parentage, perhaps that can go some way as to explaining why Poe is who he is – not just courageous and audacious, but almost entitled to a sense of his own worth. His parents were heroes who’ve faced their own share of dangers and enjoyed their own adventures in the battle to topple the Empire.
Going back to the Marvel Comics, Shara crashes her A-Wing inside an Imperial Star Destroyer’s hangar and later disguises herself as a Stormtrooper. She then ferrets Imperial secrets and sends them to the rebels while hoping Kes will rescue her. The only problem is that Kes is waiting for the rebel higher-ups to approve a rescue mission.
Tired of waiting and realizing she can only rely on herself, Shara steals a Lambda-class shuttle – this is the same shuttle that Han, Leia, Luke, and their team will later use to sneak through Imperial lines so they can land on Endor and try to take down the Death Star’s shield generator in Return of the Jedi.
The adventures continue for Shara Bey and Kes Dameron – feats that have become synonymous in Star Wars with heroics, sacrifice, and battles against insurmountable odds. But unfortunately, Shara dies six years after the Battle of Endor, which leaves a young Poe motherless and potentially embittered and angry at the Empire.
The compelling thing here is that Poe is born into this world and has to live with the possibility of losing his parents whenever they go on a mission. He is fully cognizant of the battle of the Empire and how everybody must do their part to fight for freedom. That’s not something anybody here is taking for granted. He lives with these truths day after day.
It’s unlike Luke, who leads a sheltered life on Tatooine. While he’s aware of the Empire’s tyranny – in A New Hope, he remarks, “It’s not that I like the Empire, I hate it, but there’s nothing I can do about it right now” – he remains on the periphery of the conflict. Up to this point, we don’t even know why Luke hates the Empire. It might be nothing more than teen angst and rebellion against authority.
When he’s drawn into the fight, he’s immediately positioned with people who have a severe marquee in the rebellion: Obi-Wan Kenobi (a Jedi Knight) and Princess Leia (royalty). Responsibility is thrust upon him, but so is immense potential – he’s Force-sensitive. Luke embarks on the hero’s journey. He’s then elevated into the most important battle – the tussle between the Light and Dark Side of the Force and those who’d use him for their own ends.
Poe, Shara, and Kes are the everyday people in the story – part of the selfless legions of soldiers who throw themselves haplessly against the Empire in the fight against tyranny and darkness. They don’t have the Force to fall back upon, or powerful allies, or disembodied Force ghosts guiding them every step of the way. Yet they fight because it’s the right thing to do in these circumstances.
With this backstory, it’s easy to understand why Poe would become a hybridization of his parents – soldier and pilot. His fight against the Empire is personal. Given he’s lost his mother, you can even understand why he feels so pushed to take risks in The Last Jedi, as well as to oppose authority when he believes it’s risking the lives of others.
The Damerons may not have the abilities or relationships or the Skywalkers' lineage, but they are growing every bit as important in the Star Wars universe.
READ NEXT: Could An 'Heir To The Empire' Feature Film Be Headed To Disney+?