I will help rebuild what my grandfather and Palpatine nearly destroyed. That is what I'm going to do. I'm going to help Luke and the others make a better Jedi Order. Am I gonna live to see all my efforts pay off? No, but I can still lay down the framework as best I can.
— Ben telling his mother his life goals.
Ben Solo was a Force-sensitive human male serving in the New Jedi Order. The son of Rebel Alliance heroes Leia Organa Solo and Han Solo, Ben spent much of his early years in loneliness before his adoption by Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker at the age of ten. He eventually grew to master his powers and build his self confidence over the years, deciding to become a Jedi and help Luke build a better Jedi Order.
History[]
Childhood[]
With the exception of his infancy, Ben spent little time with his birth parents during his early years of life, often being looked after by C-3PO or another friend of his mother. Han's inability to stay in one place for long and his mothers busy schedule meant he often spent days or weeks without seeing either of them in person. This made connecting to them very difficult and his interactions with them were often awkward and tense.
Ben was almost never a mischievous youth, something that did not help his relationship with his father but was a source of great relief to Leia who semiconsciously hoped for him to follow her into politics. Han found his lack of troublemaking concerning in a Solo and would sometimes try to talk Ben into doing something small that Leia would nevertheless be annoyed by such as drinking a few whisky shots or staying up late. Ben only humored his father out of a desire to spend time with him and not knowing how to dissuade him from following through with these ideas.
Bens lack of troublemaking was largely due to the fact that Leia expected him to take a number of extracurricular activities such as classes in political science and public speaking. While Leia believed this would have taught him discipline and the skills needed for a political career, it only resulted in Ben becoming more distant to her. Ben began seeing himself less as her son and more as her protege. Hearing Leia's friends defend her expectations of him did nothing to assuage his suspicions.
Personality[]
Early on in his life, Ben was very unsure of himself and timid, lacking the self confidence to try and figure out his life goals or even confront his parents on their consistent pattern of absence and unapproachability. This fact was emphasized to his parents when Luke and Mara intended to adopt him, saying he had no confidence that Han or Leia would listen to his problems even if he had the confidence to confront them about it. Until his late teenage years Ben's negative experience with his parents led him to hate acknowledging his Organa or Solo blood, telling his friend and fellow Padawan Lial that all they meant to him were workaholism and irresponsibility respectively. This belief of his was seen as disconcerting by close friends of his parents who felt he should have a stronger sense of pride in both sides of his heritage. Leia's former pilot and friend Evaan Verlaine felt that Ben was only lying to himself by refusing to acknowledge his Alderaanian background and even went so far as to say he was actively hurting Leia's feelings in doing so.
He had no interest in emulating his fathers behavior; he drank very rarely, was soft spoken and exercised intense self restraint as well as fall back on diplomacy as a first resort to solve confrontations. Ben also didn't give too much thought as to how much his behavior broke with how Corellians typically acted. Han's friend Wedge Antilles and his daughter Syal also noticed this trend when Ben had dinner with them while on break from the Jedi Temple. Syal bluntly told him that he was "a good kid, but a lousy Corellian." Much to her, Wedges and Hans surprise Ben thanked her for what she said, responding with "I won't insult your intelligence by lying to you, I like I just heard." When Syal furiously confronted him the next morning over his response, Ben angrily told her that he saw no reason to be proud of having Corellian blood if all people were going to do were tell him he should be proud of it instead of showing him why he should be proud. He followed up by saying that although the day might come when he'd be proven otherwise, until that day came all being Corellian meant to him was recklessness, indifference, hot temperedness and having a drinking problem, a response that made Syal speechless.
Ben openly admitted he felt a slight amount of jealousy towards Kaidon and Mira Bridger Wren, saying that their parents actually made a good effort to show why they should take pride in their family. This never resulted in any hostility between him and them, though Mira was stunned hearing Ben give his thoughts on his parents even after having been told of them by Kaidon beforehand. While speaking to her on the subject Ben told Mira "people tell me I have the blood of a scoundrel and a princess in my veins, but to me I have the blood of a workaholic politician and a drifter."
Ben began to build up his self esteem some time after being adopted by Luke and Mara, reveling in the knowledge he was now around people who he could talk to and could help him tame his powers. He soon saw Jaina and Rey as being more akin to his sisters and enjoyed training with them. Ben had good relations with his fellow students as well.
Ben was somewhat shy around those who expressed romantic interest in him. Starting from his days at school on Hosnian Prime he was unsure of how to react when girls flirted with him. He often responded in a friendly and diplomatic way as he got older although this did not work as well on less reserved women like Tenel Ka or Mira Bridger Wren. He tried stopping the two from fighting over him with varying degrees of success until Tenel and Mira finally riled each other up to the point they engaged in a duel that was only broken up by Luke, Asokha and Kaidon. Han fell over laughing when he was first told of this event and told Ben during their next meeting that not even he was able to accomplish such a thing despite his luck with women even after first meeting Leia.
Relationships[]
Family[]
Parents[]
Ben was in the midst of reconciling with his parents over how he was treated during his childhood. His relationship with his father was the first to show improvement, with Han openly admitting to not being the father he should have been seven months after Ben went to live at the temple on Tython. Things were still substantially awkward between the two for years though.
Friends[]
Kaidon Bridger Wren[]
"What'll I tell them if we fail? How am I gonna break it to my parents their little girl's lost forever? That Joruus snuffed out her light?" "Considering we haven't screwed up yet, I think that's something you don't need on your mind right now." Ben comforting Kaidon before the rescue of Mira and Tenel Ka.
The friendship between the two strengthened tremendously during their efforts to rescue Tenel and Mira from the First Orders control, with Ben's group, Monster Clan and Rancor Clan working closely together to free the two. Following the girls being rescued Ben and Kaidon gave emotional support for each other in trying to help them heal.
Romance[]
Tenel Ka Djo[]
"I told you I just liked being called Ben. It's Solo. I'm Ben Solo." "Solo, it's an inspiring last name." "Really? Its yours if you want it"- Ben telling Tenel his last name and unintentionally foreshadowing their future engagement.
Tenel Ka Djo is Ben's girlfriend and as of the Liberation of Empress Teta, his fiancé. He attempted to get the stoic girl to laugh through puns and observational humor.
Mira Bridger Wren[]
Though Ben simply saw Mira as a good friend, Mira found herself head over heels for him a few months after the two first met. Mira enjoyed being around Ben no matter long he was near her. She expressed a desire to help heal the pain his lonely childhood caused him but was undeterred when Ben said her friendship was enough.
The Wren girl's already substantial interest in him only increased when she found out he did calligraphy as a hobby, causing her to start asking Ben if he wanted to spend an afternoon painting together. Mira had no problem expressing her outrage concerning Bens childhood when she met Leia and Han on Tython and accidentally revealed her interest in Ben to them when she furiously stated she'd never be so neglectful to any children she and Ben had.