There is no need for concern. Together we will destroy the Reistance—and the last Jedi.
—Kylo Ren to Snoke
Kylo Ren, born Ben, was a Force-sensitive human male who served as master of the Knights of Ren and a commanding officer in the First Order thirty years after the Battle of Endor. The son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, Ben was raised as the apprentice of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. At some point, he was seduced to the dark side of the Force by Snoke, a powerful Force-user, and turned on the newest generation of Jedi, slaughtering them and forcing his uncle into exile. Leaving his family behind and declaring himself to be "Kylo Ren", he became obsessed with his late grandfather, Darth Vader, and took the fulfillment of Vader's legacy as his prerogative—to destroy the last remnants of the Jedi Order, Luke Skywalker.
To this end, Kylo Ren sought out the maps that might lead him to Luke's hiding place. However, the Resistance managed to beat him to the final piece of the map by concealing it within an ordinary BB-8 droid. Ren pursued the droid along with its escorts, a scavenger from Jakku named Rey and a traitorous stormtrooper named Finn. During the course of his pursuit of the map, he was also reunited with his father, Han Solo, whom he killed in order solidify his own loyalty to the dark side during the battle on Starkiller Base. Shortly thereafter, Ren was defeated by his cousin,[3] Rey, in combat and forced to rejoin his master in order to complete his training.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren victorious over the new Jedi Order.
Born with a strong affinity to the Force, Leia Organa decided to send her son off to study as a Jedi under her brother, Luke Skywalker, in the hopes that Luke could tame Ben's wild temper—an echo of his grandfather, Darth Vader. Under Luke, Ben learned the ways of the Force and the tenants of the Jedi Order, including patience and the importance of meditation.[4] At some point, however, Ben encountered Snoke, a being powerful in the dark side of the Force. He was then swayed to the dark side and, along with the Knights of Ren, slaughtered Luke's burgeoning "new" Jedi Order. Luke then went into exile, while Ben—assuming the name "Kylo Ren"—made it his primary task to hunt Luke down and bring a final end to the Jedi.
Awakening in the Force[]
There has been an awakening… Have you felt it?
—Snoke to Kylo Ren
Search for Skywalker[]
Even you, master of the Knights of Ren, have never faced such a test.
—Snoke to Kylo Ren
Thirty years after the Battle of Endor, Kylo Ren was under orders from Supreme Leader Snoke to hunt down the fragmented pieces of a map that would lead the First Order to Luke Skywalker. Ren traced the map to the backwater world of Jakku, but was beaten to it by the Resistance pilot, Poe Dameron, who stored the map fragment within his BB-8 droid. Despite capturing Poe, who later escaped with the traitorous stormtrooper FN-2187—known as Finn—aboard a rogue TIE fighter, the BB-8 droid escaped his grasp and fell into the hands of the Resistance thanks to the efforts of Rey, Finn, Han Solo (Ren's father), and Chewbacca.
Kylo Ren captures Rey on Takodana.
Thanks to a First Order agent stationed on Takodana, Ren was able to track Solo and his friends and lead an attack on Maz Kanata's castle. Upon entering the fray, Ren was immediately informed of BB-8's location and pursued, leading him into a confrontation with his cousin, Rey—who knew next to nothing about her Skywalker heritage or her latent connection to the Force. The confrontation was short-lived, as Rey was quickly outmatched by the superior training and talent of Kylo Ren. Ren then captured her, subduing her with the Force, and brought her aboard the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer, Finalizer. They later arrived at Starkiller Base. There, he attempted to interrogate Rey, hoping to use the Force to extract the map from her memories. In the process, he taunts her with her own memories and, in doing so, awakened her latent Force-sensitivity, which allowed her to resist him and eventually probe his mind—revealing his primary fear: being weaker than Darth Vader. Enraged, Ren withdrew to report to Snoke, who commanded Ren to bring him the girl. However, when he returned, Rey was gone.
Battle on Starkiller Base[]
I could kill you right now. But there is another way."
"You're a monster."
No. You need a teacher. I can show you the ways of the Force!
—Kylo Ren and Rey
During his hunt for Rey, Kylo Ren sensed the presence of his father, Han Solo, on Starkiller. Along with a squadron of First Order stormtroopers, Ren set out to find and kill his father. As it would happen, Solo would find Ren first and, in a final desperate plea, begged his son to return to the light side of the Force and return home to his family. Conflicted, Ren expressed that he was being "torn" apart before asking his father if he would help him with a final task. When Han replied that he would, Ren offered him his lightsaber. As Han moved to take the weapon, darkness fell over Starkiller Base and Ren ignited the lightsaber, killing his father. An enraged Chewbacca, who was watching nearby, unleashed an assault on Ren and managed to wound him with his bowcaster. Ren then noticed the presence of a grief-stricken Finn and Rey and pursued them into the snowy woods outside the base.
Kylo Ren confronts Finn and Rey.
In the woods, an unmasked Kylo Ren confronted both Finn and Rey. Enraged, Rey attempted to shoot Ren, only to be knocked out when Ren used the Force to push her into a tree. Finn then took up the Skywalker lightsaber and attempted to defeat Ren, only to be grievously wounded and left for dead. Seemingly victorious, Kylo Ren attempted to use the Force to take the Skywalker lightsaber laying nearby, but was exceeded by the Force-potential of Rey, who had woken up, causing the lightsaber to fly to her hand instead. Rey ignited the lightsaber and, despite her lack of training, managed to surprise and defeat Ren. At the last minute, she turned away from the lure of the dark side and spared Ren rather than kill him for the murder of Han Solo. As the Resistance toppled Starkiller Base, the planet began to fragment, which opened a rift between Kylo Ren and Rey. Rey used the opening to escape with Finn and Chewbacca aboard the Millennium Falcon. Ren then escaped the explosion of Starkiller Base and rendezvoused with his master in an unknown portion of the galaxy. There, Snoke decided that it was time to complete Kylo Ren's training in the ways of the dark side.
Disturbance on Bakura[]
There is a disturbance in the Force. The first of its kind since the Force awakened from its thirty-year slumber."
"I know, Supreme Leader. I have also felt it.
—Snoke and Kylo Ren
Personality and traits[]
Forgive me. I feel it again... the call to the light. Supreme Leader senses it. Show me again, the power of the darkness, and I'll let nothing stand in our way. Show me, grandfather, and I will finish what you started.
—Kylo Ren to Darth Vader's mask
Kylo Ren with his infamous lightsaber.
Kylo Ren was a male human who originally went by his birth name, Ben, and bore a remarkable resemblance to a young Anakin Skywalker, his late grandfather. He wore black garb, akin to the extinct Sith Order, complete with a voice-altering mask in honor of his grandfather, Darth Vader, though, unlike Vader, he did not need the mask to survive and frequently took it off when necessary. His lightsaber was unusual in design. The standard hilt was built in a fashion similar to the ancient Sith, dating back to the Scourge of Malachor, and possessed two quillons on either side of the main emitter, which acted as vents for its extremely powerful, scarlet blade—the product of a cracked kyber crystal. This gave the appearance of a crossguard. The damaged crystal was also responsible for the wild, flame-like appearance of the blade, which gave it an even more unique appearance when compared to traditional lightsabers. The quillons had practical uses within combat, aside from simply being vents to the blade's power. Ren was able to use them against Finn by pushing his lightsaber far enough to use the quillons to burn into Finn's shoulder.[1]
Despite giving off an air of cold calmness, Kylo Ren was actually a very emotional being. He was prone to outburst of extreme anger, during which he would use his lightsaber to slash and damage whatever was within reach of the blade. These outbursts made him a feared figure among the officers in the First Order.[2] Additionally, Ren was obsessed with his grandfather, the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader, and vowed to complete what Vader started—the complete annihilation of the Jedi Order. He became so transfixed by his grandfather's legacy that he would speak to Vader's deformed mask and his greatest fear was that he would not be as powerful as Vader.[1] Ren was also fiercely loyal to the First Order and desired the restoration of the Galactic Empire, which he saw as a force of order in the galaxy.[4]
Despite his allegiance to the First Order, the Knights of Ren, Snoke, and the dark side of the Force, Kylo Ren was also a young man in a great deal of emotional turmoil. He hesitated when confronted by his father, Han Solo, even though he eventually was able to kill him and complete his fall to the dark side. He also expressed a continual pull that he felt towards the light side of the Force and sought guidance from Snoke and his deceased grandfather to get rid of it.
Powers and abilities[]
I have never had a student with such promise—before you.
—Snoke to Kylo Ren
Akin to the other members of his lineage, Kylo Ren was immensely strong with the Force and—like his grandfather and his uncle, Luke—was a skilled warrior. He could use telekinesis with great proficiency and was also capable of preforming a powerful version of Force stun to immobilize both his enemies and energy beams fired from a blaster rifle. His control over the Force is so strong that he can keep objects and enemies frozen in this manner without giving conscious thought to it, allowing him to preform other actions and tasks while they are frozen, until he releases them himself. He could also use the Force to probe the minds of his captives and, it seemed, only other Force-sensitives were capable of resisting this probe.
Despite his strong connection to the Force, his lightsaber skills were not of the same caliber, as a non-Force-sensitive, Finn, was able to hold him off with the Skywalker lightsaber and Rey, his cousin and an untrained Force-sensitive, was able to defeat him in combat—her first experience with a lightsaber or lightsaber combat. This may, however, have been due to his injury at the hands of Chewbacca rather than a lack of skill.
Ren was also extremely tolerant of pain, able to ignore the pain he felt after being shot by Chewbacca as he fought both Finn and Rey.
Appearances[]
Canon appearances[]
- Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens (First appearance)
- Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens novelization
Fanon appearances[]
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (First appearance)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
- ↑ Rey's Identity Revealed in Star Wars: The Force Awakens Disney Infinity Game
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Star Wars: The Force Awakens novelization