Poe Dameron

"Dameron's commitment is absolute. And he's our best pilot. He'll get what we need.''" "''I've never worried about Poe's commitment. My worry is for what that commitment may cost him."

- Major Caluan Ematt and Leia Organa

Poe Dameron was a human male who served as a commander in both the New Republic and the Resistance as a pilot approximately thirty years after the Battle of Endor. As a leader in the Resistance's fight against the First Order and a member of Black Squadron, he flew his customized fighter Black One under the callsign of Black Leader while commanding a squadron of T-70 X-wing fighters in the company of his loyal astromech droid, BB-8.

Early life
Poe Dameron was born two years before the Battle of Endor. He was the son of Shara Bey and Kes Dameron, who both served the Alliance to Restore the Republic in the fight against the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War. As an infant, Dameron barely saw his parents due to continued operations against the Imperials following the Battle of Endor, as his mother worked as a Rebel pilot for the Alliance's Green Squadron and his father was a member of the Pathfinders, and was thus left in the care of his maternal grandfather. Only after the Imperial remnant put forward Operation: Cinder did Dameron's parents leave Rebel service to reunite with him, settle on Yavin 4 and build a house—close to which they planted a Force-sensitive tree, a gift from Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. When Dameron was a kid, he learned how to fly using his mother's old RZ-1 A-wing interceptor. However when Dameron was nine, tragedy struck the Dameron family when his mother unexpectedly died.

Member of the New Republic
Eventually, Dameron joined the New Republic and rose through the ranks becoming a Commander in the New Republic Starfleet and was given command of the Starfighter squadron, Rapier Squadron

Member of the Resistance
"It was a question about duty&mdash;our commitments to causes, and to each other, and how we balance the two. It's something I learned battling the Empire, and now Poe's learning the same lesson against the First Order. I've discussed it with him. He's old enough to hear me, but not old enough to listen yet. I'll keep trying."

- Leia Organa, to Caluan Ematt

Eventually turning out to be an ace pilot, Dameron was a member of the Resistance approximately thirty years after the Battle of Endor, and he became a leader in the group's fight against the First Order. In that capacity, he commanded a squadron of T-70 X-wing fighters, flying under the callsign of Black Leader. He also flew with the spherical astromech droid BB-8.

At one point, Poe was in a village on the planet Jakku, where he was meeting with village elder Lor San Tekka to obtain a map with coordinates to Luke Skywalker's location. Stormtroopers under the command of the mysterious Kylo Ren infiltrate and destroy the village, before capturing Poe. His droid, BB-8, escapes with the map hidden in his memory and comes across a scavenger named Rey at a junkyard settlement.

After Ren uses the Force on Poe to learn about BB-8, Stormtrooper FN-2187 defects and helps Poe escape. Their stolen TIE fighter crashes on Jakku, and the stormtrooper, dubbed "Finn" by Dameron, appears to be the only survivor after the only trace he found of Poe at their TIE fighter's wreckage was his jacket, which Finn takes with him.

Poe would later turn out to be alive, as he would show up leading a squadron of Resistance X-Wing fighters to fend off the First Order garrison attacking Maz Kanata's castle. Following this, the First Order starts to prepare the superweapon of Starkiller Base to fire on D'Qar, and the Resistance devises a plan to sneak onto the surface and lower the planetary shields so their fighters can attack the superweapon's weak spot. Initially, their X-wing fleet, led by Poe, cannot penetrate the weapon, so Han Solo and Chewbacca use explosives to create an opening into the superweapon's weak spot. Poe, with the assistance of his squadron, flies through the opening and causes heavy damage inside, starting a chain reaction that ultimately destroys Starkiller Base. Poe escapes before the explosion overtakes him, and later reunites with the rest of the Resistance to celebrate their victory over the First Order. R2-D2 suddenly awakens and reveals that he holds the map to Luke's location, with the only piece missing being inside the portable drive that BB-8 was given by Poe, which he takes out from a nearby terminal it was inserted in earlier and puts it inside BB-8 again. Together, BB-8 and R2-D2 complete the map and reveal the location of the planet on which Luke Skywalker is hiding.

Personality and Traits
"All teams, give it everything you got!"

- Poe Dameron

Poe Dameron was a human male. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and fair skin. Dameron was known for his strong commitment to the Resistance and his duty, but had trouble with the line between that commitment and the commitment to his comrades.

Behind the scenes
Poe Dameron is portrayed by Oscar Isaac in Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. Isaac's casting in the film was first announced on April 29, 2014, and the character was revealed in the first teaser trailer for the film on November 28, 2014. His name was revealed by Entertainment Weekly in an exclusive trading card.

Dameron was named after J.J. Abrams' production assistant Morgan Dameron. Yavin 4 was made Dameron's homeworld in Star Wars: Shattered Empire when Isaac realized the planet's shooting location was Tikal, which is located in the country he was born, Guatemala.

On March 20, 2015, Isaac revealed that he will appear in Star Wars: Episode VIII, as well.

Appearances

 * Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure
 * Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Part II
 * Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Part III
 * Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Part IV
 * Before the Awakening
 * Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
 * Finn & Poe Team Up!
 * Star Wars: Episode VIII

Non-canon appearances

 * Disney Infinity 3.0