Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, he decided to add a bit of color to Poe's backstory. Consequently, the final film in the sequel trilogy revealed he used to be a spice runner. It was a transparent attempt to transform Poe into the Han Solo of the sequels, a reformed scoundrel rather than a white knight.
There was just one problem; Poe Dameron's new backstory created a plot hole. When Lucasfilm relaunched the Star Wars canon after they were purchased by Disney in 2012, they abandoned the previous tiered model. Now, everything that is published or released is equally canon. And, unfortunately, Poe's backstory has already been detailed in several tie-in comics. These have revealed just how Poe was recruited into the Resistance, how he created Black Squadron, and even how he located Lor San Tekka on Jakku. There'd never been any hint Poe was any more than he seemed; a straight-laced character, son of two Rebel soldiers who fought at the Battle of Endor, a loyalist who ed Leia Organa's Resistance movement early on. How could Lucasfilm sort this problem out?
The answer, of course, was by releasing a new tie-in novel. Written by Alex Segura, Poe Dameron: Free Fall is a young adult novel that reveals how Poe got involved with the Spice Runners. According to the book, the Spice Runners were a prominent crew of smugglers who numbered among the galaxy's most wanted. They visited Poe's homeworld of Yavin 4, where his parents had settled, but killed their pilot when they began to suspect he'd betrayed them. They were eager to recruit a local pilot to help them get offworld before the New Republic tracked them down, and Poe - a young teenager who'd just had an argument with his dad - jumped at the chance to fly. The Spice Runners had no choice but to give him a shot, and they barely escaped Yavin IV.
Poe worked with the Spice Runners for some time, desperately attempting to fit in, but they always sensed he wasn't really committed to their ruthless life of crime. That was especially the case with Zorii Bliss, the girl who was destined to become leader of the Spice Runners. But Zorii attempted to ignore her nagging sense of distrust, simply because she was as attracted to Poe as he was to her. In the end, though, the Spice Runners organized a trap for rival gang leaders, planning to execute them all; Poe's doubts came bubbling to the surface, and he betrayed the Spice Runners. He promptly fled them, heading straight to the Resistance after he heard an inspirational holo-recording from Leia Organa. In truth, this was the only place Poe had left to go; he was wanted by both the New Republic and the Spice Runners.
It's a smart attempt to fix one of the stranger plot holes raised by Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and for the most part it works. Unfortunately, there is still one major issue; it clashes significantly with the Age of Republic: Poe Dameron one-shot, which told the tale of how Poe Dameron was first recruited into the Resistance. This introduced Poe Dameron as a commander in the New Republic Defense Force, who crossed the path of Vice iral Holdo and caught her eye. There's absolutely no way to reconcile these two versions of Poe's backstory, illustrating the scale of the problem J.J. Abrams introduced into the Star Wars lore with this unnecessary idea.
