The canon series Star Wars: Legacy of Vader promised to bring the story (and helmet) of Darth Vader forward into the timeline of the sequel trilogy, and it has done much, much, more. Putting a new Star Wars character into the iconic helmet of Vader, and seeing them reborn in the flames of Mustafar, this story changes everything.

Darth Vader’s Attendant Creates A New Version, To Replace The Original

Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #11 by Charles Soule, Luke Ross,

The Legacy of Vader series has held on to its central mystery for some time, teasing a master plan being hatched by Vaneé, the trusted attendant of Darth Vader. But nobody could have ever guessed that his master plan to capture, coerce, and then create a new Darth Vader to replace the original. And most disturbing of all, literally force someone to relive the horrifying disfigurement Anakin Skywalker suffered to complete the “rebirth.”

But after luring Kylo Ren into the depths of Darth Vader’s castle with the promise of ultimate power, subjecting the Supreme Leader to horrifying lightsaber wounds, and placing him into Vader’s former bacta healing tank, Vanee reveals his final twist in Legacy of Vader #11. Forcing Darth Vader’s helmet onto Kylo, strapping him to a table, and lowering him into the lava pools below Vader’s castle, to be burned just as Anakin was.

Kylo Ren Leaps from Lava in Darth Vader Helmet

It’s safe to say that while this new canon story has given fans some much-needed closure to Luke and Ben Solo, the actual reenactment of Anakin Skywalker’s death and rebirth as Darth Vader is better described as a crucial piece of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. We previously speculated that this ordeal would explain why the Kylo Ren identity was killed leading into Rise of Skywalker, but this new torment for Ben Solo all but confirms it.

Refusing The ‘Legacy of Vader’ Completes Ben Solo’s Sequel Story

A Total Change From The Wannabe Vader of The Force Awakens

Kylo Ren sitting with Darth Vader's helmet. — Kylo Ren sitting with Darth Vader’s helmet.

While Kylo Ren is not actually dismembered as his grandfather was, and he thankfully escapes his lava bath with only his skin being seared, the ordeal is by no means a minor test for the character. As Vaneé reveals, Kylo Ren’s journey through the series has been painstakingly planned as a ritual to christen him as the next Vader. While that might have been a dream come true for the Kylo we met in The Force Awakens, this version meets it with violent refusal.

Taken in its entirety, or simply the image of Kylo dismantling and removing the true helmet of his grandfather, the point of this story is clear: Kylo Ren’s desire to become Vader’s heir is dead. And with the final chapter bringing him face to face with Vader (in some form), the story is poised to tell fans exactly who Kylo Ren/Ben Solo is when The Rise of Skywalker begins.

Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #11 is available now from Marvel Comics.