Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories: Codebreaker #1
Poe Dameron, ace Resistance pilot, and his droid companion BB-8 are sent to investigate a piece of First Order tech used to decode Resistance messages.
Standing between them and their objective is an infamous TIE fighter pilot.
Can Poe out-fly his enemy, or will the mission go down in flames before it begins?
Writer: Ethan Sacks
Penciller: Marc Yarza
Inker: Jose Marzan Jr
Colorist: Nicola Righi
Letterer: Comicraft
Cover artist: Diego Galindo
Editor: Spencer Cushing
Publication date: April 30 2025
It’s been a while since we rode with Poe Dameron and BB-8, and in this 10th anniversary year of The Force Awakens, when better to leap into the co-pilots seat than now, and who better to put the coordinates in the nava computer than Ethan Sacks, making a very welcome return to the GFFA in this four issue, pre-Episode VII adventure that sees Dameron at his most devlish and charming and the galaxy waiting for the Force to awaken.
We kick off on the outskirts of ther soon-to-be-destroyed Hosnian system as a New Republic vessel comes under attack from pirates, and as they gloat that there’s no one here to save them enter Poe dropping from hyperspace and tearing into the pirates as they quickly steady themselves to mount their own offensive by launching heat seekers. That’s their first mistake – Dameron bobs and weaves, leading the seekers towards him and veering off to leave the bombs to hit and disable the pirate vessel.
Soon, back on board the Resistance cruiser Echo of Hope Poe is bragging about his exploits to his fellow pilots when he’s called over by General Leia Organa who chides him for his unorthodox piloting, but also praises him for the results, despite pointing out that the New Republic would have been less than happy with his methods. She tells him how he reminds her of his father, something that catches him off guard, and tells him of a secret mission she wants him to lead, taking him to Nar Kaaga on the edge of Hutt Space to find and destroy a First Order code breaking machine. However, there’s a problem, a notorious First Order pilot known as the Banshee of Bestine, who has 26 confirmed kills and who patrols the area. With the treaty between the New Republic and the Hutts in place, any problems would see them very much on their own, so the mission is as off the books as they come.
Jump to Nar Kaaga orbit. The X-wing squadron moves in as the New Republic governor of the Halla sector contacts Poe, ordering him to stand down, but Poe fakes transmission static and the squadron powers on until they’re attacked by the TIE squadron of the banshee of Bestine, who destroys X-wings seemingly at will until Poe orders his squad to form up, which they do but to little avail. Their situation is dire, outnumbered and outgunned, so Poe comes up with the idea to crashland on the planet and orders the rest of the squad led by Snap Wexley to withdraw. Snap promises to return with reinforcements as we see Poe spiral down, followed closely by the First Order fighters. Fortunately for Poe, he maneges to evade the banshee, while jetttisoning his fuel and landing, ditching the X-wing and making his way on foot to the nearest city.
BB-8 is understandably nervous, but Poe assures him that he knows their contact, and once in the city finds the contact in a bar, asking him for help with repairs and asking if he’s located the codebreaker. He answers in the affirmative, and after a quickchange into a First Order uniform (and BB-8 with a temporary dome perched on top of his ‘head’) we see them spot First Order Stormtroopers, openly going about their business. Poe spots where the codebreaker is, and with the help of his astromech he makes his way through the instalation until the door opens to reveal the codebreaker; it’s not a machine at all, but a young girl, and we end weith troops heading their way as Poe laments that ‘this mission is about to get a whole lot more complicated‘.
Great fun and the perfect way to kick off a new series, with a swashbuckling Poe Dameron and his astromech buddy BB-8 alongside him leaping into the action, and one that highlights one of the most interesting schism of the era, the split between the New Republic and the Resistance. At this point of history, General Leia is very encouraging of Poe’s actions, seemingly comfortable that he goes against orders and strikes out on his own to take down a pirate vessel, something that very much changes as the Resistance evolves (just as we saw through the chapters of Andor) throughout the sequel trilogy (albeit a trio of films that only take place over a little more than a year).
Ethan Sacks imbues the characters with an easy charm, and the art from penciller Marc Yarza and inker Jose Marzan Jr is perfectly executed to convey the pacey action of dogfights and the galaxy-spanning nature of the mission. Wrapped in a beautiful cover by Diego Galindo, this 4-part mini series has started hot, so bring on issue 2.
