Fans of Star Wars were shocked to discover that Kylo Ren, the villain of the sequel trilogy, was actually the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia. But canon has been forever changed once again, as Kylo Ren enters the Force to finally meet the heroic Jedi Knight that Ben Solo would have become, if he had remained Luke Skywalker’s student.
The Jedi Version of Kylo Ren is Officially Revealed in Star Wars Canon
Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #12 by Charles Soule, Luke Ross, Nolan Woodard
This unexpected twist is just the latest dramatic change to canon delivered via Star Wars: Legacy of Vader, a series intended to showcase Kylo Ren’s story between the final moments of The Last Jedi, and the start of The Rise of Skywalker. Having previously made history by revealing the Jedi version of Heaven, the final issue of the series may have saved its biggest bombshell for last. Because a face-to-face meeting between Ben Solo and Kylo Ren was the last thing anyone could have predicted.
The story had previously been building to some sort of confrontation between Kylo Ren and his grandfather (hence the title), to decide whether or not the heir to the Skywalker family would destroy, reject, or embrace his mission to become the titular ‘legacy’ of Anakin Skywalker. But as Kylo Ren enters the vault buried at the heart of Vader’s Mustafar castle, he finds only himself. At least, the version of himself who could have existed, had Ben Solo completed his Jedi training.
Appearing first as Vader, the mysterious figure who greets Kylo soon unmasks himself, revealing a face unmarred by the dark side and inciting rage in the Supreme Leader of the First Order (as most things do). And if the previous chapters of the story were slowly teasing Kylo Ren’s path back to the light side in The Rise of Skywalker, this final issue takes him by the hand to show him the way.
Ben Solo knows exactly what Kylo Ren fears, what crimes he has committed, and what emotions drove him to do it. But in a less philosophical way than most Force entities, Ben Solo explicitly tells Kylo what he needs to do. To accept his mistakes, but cast off regret and fear of rejection, and begin the march back to the light. All leading to one moment that will keep Star Wars fans theorizing for years to come.
Ben Solo Exists As His Jedi Form, Inside The Force Itself?
The Shocking Twist That Teases Another Form of Ben Solo
While most readers would assume and accept that this ‘Ben Solo’ is a projection from within Kylo Ren’s own mind, speaking the truths he’s afraid to acknowledge, the final scene suggests something completely different. Because as Kylo Ren falls back into the real world, the reader, not Kylo, witnesses the form of Ben Solo remaining behind… Slowly resolving back into the form of a Force Ghost, before disappearing completely. Making the exact nature of this ‘Jedi Ben Solo’ a tantalizing new mystery.
Could this Ben Solo be a glimpse forward into the man Kylo Ren will become? Does this entity exist not as a hypothetical, but a tangible spirit within the Force? And as the canon expands, does this change mean Ben Solo is the one who redeemed himself, leading his dark alter ego back to the light side? Only time will tell.
Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #12 is available now from Marvel Comics.
- Died
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Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise Of Skywalker
- Alliance
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Jedi, First Order
- Race
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Human