Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #1-7
Star Warscontinues to flesh outKylo Ren’sstory in some pretty major ways, effectively retconning his depiction in the sequel trilogy. By the end of the sequels, Ben Solo is redeemed before giving his life to save Rey. However, the true nature of Kylo Ren’s dark side corruption is pretty different from how it’s shown in the movies alone.
Beyond the sequels, Kylo Ren’s story has primarily been revealed in two graphic novels: 2019’sThe Rise of Kylo Renby Charles Soule and the currently ongoingLegacy of Vaderseries (also by Soule).In both stories, readers are shown the truth behind Kylo Ren’s dark side corruption, and the results are as revealing as they are tragic.
Star Wars' Newest Kylo Ren Story Changes How We See Ben Solo
In Marvel’s new and canonicalLegacy of Vaderseries set betweenThe Last JediandThe Rise of Skywalker, Kylo Ren is struggling with identity and his new position as theFirst Order’s Supreme Leader.
Despite his naive attempts to kill the past, Ren is instead being shown the power to be gained from the past, a key source of pain and suffering that fueled his grandfather. However, Kylo Ren’s darkness has been proven to be very performative, and the same was true in Soule’s earlierRise of Kylo Renseries.
More than once, Kylo Ren is simply…pitied. He was pitied by theOrder 66 survivor Grandea, whom he recently encountered and failed to kill. Grandea reached into his mind and lamented how much more he could have become.
Likewise, the former caretaker of Darth Vader’s castle (Vaneé) has been trying to illuminate his former master’s past. This is specifically so that Kylo Ren can become a worthy heir, as Vaneé doesn’t believe the Supreme Leader is currently ready.
Despite being the new Supreme Leader who killed Snoke, Kylo Ren was incredibly unbalanced afterThe Last Jedi.However, the argument to be made is that Kylo Ren was never fully anchored in the dark side to begin with.
Kylo Ren Never Truly Chose The Dark Side At All
The Rise of Kylo Rencovers Ben Solo’s origins as Luke Skywalker’s nephew. However, it also confirms that Palpatine was a presence in Ben Solo’s life from his earliest days, using Snoke as a proxy.As such, it’s hard not to pity Kylo Ren as well, while questioning how much of his dark side corruption was actually Ben’s choice.
Snoke presented himself as a secret mentorwho gradually manipulated Ben from the very beginning, stoking the boy’s insecurities about the family legacy he had to live up to. Likewise, his family’s mistakes only served to push Ben further into Snoke’s arms.
The truth about Darth Vader being his grandfather was kept from Ben until it was publicly revealed to the entire galaxy in a political attack against his mother, which the boy understandably saw as a betrayal. Likewise, Luke Skywalker’s critical moment of weakness, fearing Ben’s potential darkness, was the very thing that tipped his apprentice over the edge.
Likewise,even the destruction of Luke’s Jedi academy was not Ben’s doing, but the work of Palpatine through the Force.
While this isn’t to say that Ben Solo didn’t make his own dark choices once he became Kylo Ren, it should be clear after readingThe Rise of Kylo Renthat he didn’t have much choice in the matter, considering all the circumstances and dark forces working to get him there.
Kylo Ren Was Never A True Villain (A Child In A Mask)
For Kylo Ren, the dark side was very much a prison he desperately pretended was his freedom. Tragically, he had always been a pawn in Palpatine’s game, and that only continued throughout the sequels, especially when Kylo Ren became aware of the Emperor himself: “I have been every voice you’ve ever heard inside your head.”
Presumably, Palpatine kept his presence (and Snoke’s) masked from Luke the same way Palpatine remained undetected for decades during the prequels from the Jedi Order. Likewise, so many key moments in Kylo Ren’s dark side origins were not his own doing.
The Rise of Kylo Renheavily implies Palpatine let the mask slip the night of the Jedi academy’s destruction, motivating Luke’s instinctual fears and pushing Ben to resist his uncle. Likewise, although Ben Solo later takes credit for the academy’s destruction, he truly only watched in horror as Palpatine’s Force storm did the dark deed.
Even inThe Force Awakens, Han Solo’s willingness to sacrifice himself tainted what would have been an important Sith ritual for Kylo Ren, supporting the argument thatBen Solo never had a moment where he truly chose the dark side.Instead, the dark side was very much thrust upon Ben Solo until he came to believe it was the only option.
Is The Tragedy of Kylo Ren Worse Than Anakin Skywalker’s?
By all accounts, Kylo Ren seems to have had far less agency in his dark side corruption compared to his grandfather.
Anakin was just as desperate, but he made much starker, intentional choices.Anakin killed everyone in the Jedi Temple during Order 66following his decision to embrace the dark side after he chose to save Palpatine by killing Mace Windu.
Sure, Palpatine stacked the odds in the dark side’s favor, but Anakin was the one who made the choice and was far more responsible for his subsequent dark deeds. This wasn’t the case for Ben Solo, whose decisions were essentially made by default due to overwhelming circumstances and limited alternatives, forced down a path chosen for him by Palpatine himself.
It does make one wonder whose dark side path is more tragic in theStar Warstimeline. However, perhaps they’re simply different flavors when it comes toAnakin Skywalker and Ben Solo’s respective journeys.
Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #1-7are now on sale from Marvel Comics.
Ben Solo/Kylo Ren
The son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, Ben was manipulated by Palpatine through the Force for most of his life, influenced toward the dark side of the Force. A misstep by Luke Skywalker ultimately left Ben feeling he had no choice but to embrace the dark side, and he became Kylo Ren, a key figure in the First Order. Kylo Ren’s heart remained deeply divided, however, even after he ascended to become Supreme Leader of the First Order. He was ultimately redeemed by Rey, with whom he shared a remarkable Force bond, and by the love of his parents.
Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
Conceived by the will of the Force itself, Anakin Skywalker was the prophesied Chosen One, destined to bring the Force into balance. Anakin struggled to balance competing attachments to the Jedi Order and his wife Padmé Amidala, and ultimately fell to the dark side, becoming Darth Vader. For years he served as Palpatine’s right hand man, but he was ultimately redeemed by the faith of his son, Luke Skywalker. Now a Force Ghost, Anakin continues to act as an agent of balance.
