Star Wars: Shattered Empire Reveals Major Connection to The Force Awakens (Spoilers!)

Major Spoilers ahead! You have been warned!

Star Wars: Shattered Empire debuted Wednesday with the first issue of the Marvel Comics mini-series under the "Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens" banner. Just five days after five novels debuted under that same banner, the comic book series shares a time frame with the book Star Wars: Aftermath, in that it takes place after the Battle of Endor that ended Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

While Aftermath picks up a few months after the destruction of the Death Star, however, Shattered Empire actually starts during the Battle of Endor itself. The story centers on A-wing pilot Lieutenant Shara Bey as she assists in the attack on the second Death Star, then goes down to the forest moon of Endor to find someone in particular.

The first issue has multiple revelations, and should be read for yourself, so consider this your final warning for major spoilers, including possible direct connections to Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

Shara meets up with her husband on the moon, and Sgt. Kes Dameron sure has an interesting last name for fans looking forward to The Force Awakens, now doesn't he? For the unaware, the name of Oscar Isaac's character, the pilot of the fancy and unique black and orange X-wing in December's film is Poe Dameron. Little is known about him, except that he's a confident flier who considers himself "the best pilot in the galaxy." He flies with the Resistance, working to take down the First Order, an enemy army that looks an awful lot like the original Star Wars trilogy's Empire.

The assumption, then, is that Lt. Bey and Sgt. Dameron are Poe's parents. In fact, we may have seen Poe's conception, at the celebration on Endor, when the pair are reunited for the first time after the battle. The timing works out well - that would make Poe right around 30 years old at the time of The Force Awakens, and Isaac is himself in his mid-thirties (it wouldn't be the first time that an actor played someone younger, and it's only slightly so). Marvel Comics currently has no official comment on any relation, and Lucasfilm PR had not returned a request for comment at the time of publication.

So what did we learn about Poe's potential parents?

Well, it's only the first issue, so this is just the start. Still, from the little we know and have seen of Poe so far in footage and interviews, it's easy to believe Shara and Kes would have a child like him. Shara, under the callsign Green Four, demonstrates incredible piloting acumen. Her sharp flying (and shooting) assists none other than Lando Calrissian and Luke Skywalker during the battle, and she winds up piloting none other than General Han Solo for an op just after. Kes, meanwhile, is the head of a Pathfinder unit - consider them like the U.S. Marines expeditionary units or Army Airborne Rangers - they're the first into a field of war, and the last out. It's an elite position, and living up to that would certainly inspire a young Resistance pilot to show some leadership.

Lucasfilm has been teasing that the Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens publications would be important for months. Now, as they begin, we have already started to see just how important. With new characters, possible relations, and an intriguing adventure to top it all off, it looks like Shattered Empire and others of its ilk will be must-reads for Star Wars fans.