Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #2With just a single page,Star Warshas made it clear thatKylo Renwas never going to be what Palpatine wanted during the sequel trilogy. The grandson of Darth Vader, Kylo Ren’s corruption to the dark side was predicated on Ben Solo feeling betrayed by his family before taking up Vader’s legacy and mantle and joining Snoke and the First Order. However, there’s one key reason why Kylo Ren was never going to match Darth Vader’s power in the dark side like Palpatine was looking for.
In Marvel’s new and canonicalStar WarsseriesLegacy of Vaderby Charles Soule and Luke Ross, Kylo Ren has become the First Order’s new Supreme Leader after killing Snoke inThe Last Jedi. Despite his belief that he needs to let the past die and even kill it like he told Rey,Darth Vader’s old servant Vaneé is attempting to show Kylo Ren how Vader was able to turn his past into a source of power.While Vaneé seems to believe Kylo could do the same,Star Warsconfirms that Ben Solo’s past wasn’t all that comparable to Anakin Skywalker’s.
Darth Vader’s Past Was Full Of Pain, Anger, and Loss
All of It Fueled His Power In The Dark Side
Taking Kylo Ren to the home world of his uncle, grandfather, and great-grandmother,Vaneé shares with the Supreme Leader that Tatooine played a key role in shaping Anakin Skywalker into the Dark Lord of the Sith he became during the original trilogy. After all, Tatooine was where Anakin was a slave who left his mother Shmi to become a Jedi. He also lost her on Tatooine when she was killed by the Sand People years later, resulting in the Jedi tapping into the dark side for the first time, giving into his feelings of rage and loss asAnakin massacred the entire Tusken Raider tribe, an act of brutal vengeance.
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According to Vaneé, Vader’s life was a crucible from the very beginning:“unending toil, an existence in chains. It was what he rose above. The blade in his soul, slicing away all that held him back so that he might rise to greatness”. Combined with losing his wife, his wounds suffered at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and all the darkness that came with Palpatine’s corruption inRevenge of the Sith,Darth Vader internalized all of his pain and loss and used it to fuel his power in the dark side as a formidable Sith Lord.
Kylo Ren’s Past Was Far Happier
Plenty of Good Memories With Family and Friends
Vaneé assumes Ben Solo must have similarly faced pain and struggle in his past, only forLegacy of Vader #2to feature a large splash page of happy memories and moments from Ben’s childhood. Shown playing with his parents and learning to flyThe Millennium Falconwith his father, it’s clear that he was loved and cared for, having family dinners and eventually receiving his own Jedi training as his uncle’s apprentice. As such, it’s rather pitiful to see Kylo Ren defensively claim that he too had just as many moments in his past filled with pain as his grandfather.
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Kylo Ren was not born a slave. He didn’t have the same struggles, nor did he face the same kind of loss that Anakin did before his corruption. Instead, Ben Solo’s fall to the dark side came viaSnoke worming his way into Ben’s mind, presenting himself as a friend and gradually turning him away from his family. As such, what tipped the scales for Ben was the reveal that his family had kept the full truth about his grandfather’s identity a secret, as well as Luke fearing Ben’s growing darkness and momentary consideration about destroying his nephew.
Despite His Corruption, Kylo Ren Was Never Going To Match Vader’s Power
His Darkness Was Shallow, Resisting The Light’s Pull
Kylo Ren is a very powerful and impressive Force-user. After all, he does come from a powerful bloodline.That said,Star Warshas proven that Kylo Ren was never going to reach the same levels of power in the dark side as Darth Vader, no matter how much he or Palpatine wished he could.
“While this explains why he’s so dead-set on killing the past, it also confirms the dark side was never going to be where Ben Solo/Kylo Ren could be his most powerful…”
Because his past was so full of light, Kylo’s struggle was all about resisting his past rather than trying to use it (as there wasn’t much darkness to use as fuel to begin with). While this explains why he’s so dead-set on killing the past, it also confirms the dark side was never going to be where Ben Solo/Kylo Ren could be his most powerful.Unlike Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, Kylo Ren simply didn’t suffer the same kind of pain and intense loss, making his mission to emulate Vader even more performative in theStar Warscanon.
Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #2is on sale now 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.
