10 Years After The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren Finally Accomplishes a Force Feat Even Darth Vader Could Not

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Ever since Kylo Ren appeared in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it was obvious he was fixated on Darth Vader. Ben Solo, the grandson of the Chosen One, didn’t know the full story of his family background. He only discovered his grandfather was Darth Vader when the information became public in Claudia Gray’s novel Bloodline, which also ruined his mother’s political career. Ben had already been feeling drawn to the dark side, and this revelation led him to believe he was meant to follow in Darth Vader’s path.

Charles Soule’s Star Wars: Legacy of Vader comic series delves into Kylo Ren’s search for Darth Vader’s history, taking place between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. As Supreme Leader of the First Order, Kylo Ren has visited places like Tatooine and Naboo, and now arrives at Mustafar. While meditating with the Force, Kylo Ren achieves something even his grandfather couldn’t.

Kylo Ren Is Able To Enter the Netherworld of the Force at Last

Like other Sith Lords, Darth Vader was obsessed with overcoming death. After the events of Revenge of the Sith, his focus shifted to bringing back his wife, Padmé Amidala, or at least connecting with her spirit through the Force. Despite his attempts, he only received brief, unclear glimpses of her – never a true connection. Ultimately, Padmé remained lost to him.

In the tenth issue of Charles Soule and Luke Ross’ Star Wars: Legacy of Vader, Kylo Ren finds himself following in Darth Vader’s footsteps, attempting to reach the afterlife. However, unlike Vader searching for Padmé, Kylo is driven by anger over Luke Skywalker’s death. He feels Luke’s Force ghost is watching and judging him, fueling a desire for revenge. Through this, he unexpectedly manages to project his consciousness into the Netherworld of the Force – a realm normally closed off to those who harbor darkness within them.

The confrontation with Luke Skywalker isn’t the emotional release Kylo Ren hoped for. Instead of a satisfying battle, Luke tries to reach out and teach him, which frustrates Kylo. Luke’s final message is filled with optimism, suggesting he still believes Ben Solo, the person beneath Kylo Ren, can be redeemed. He senses a spark of good within his nephew and hopes to guide him back to the light.

Why Kylo Ren Succeeded Where Darth Vader Failed

Kylo Ren has achieved something Darth Vader never could: he’s entered a realm of the Force where the spirits of the dead reside. This is possible because Kylo is conflicted, feeling the pull of both the light and dark sides. Vader, however, tried to completely embrace the darkness and extinguish any light within himself. It’s this remaining light in Kylo that allows him to reach this other realm – a light Vader would have suppressed.

This feels similar to the novelization of Revenge of the Sith by Matt Stover, which includes a longer conversation between Yoda and the Force ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn. In that version, Qui-Gon explains that true immortality isn’t achievable through the dark side; it’s found by letting go of ego and embracing compassion and love. These ideals still resonate within Kylo Ren, causing inner turmoil, and were also present within Darth Vader, though he managed to bury them more deeply.

Luke Skywalker uniquely held onto the belief that Darth Vader could be saved. Even experienced Jedi Masters like Yoda and Obi-Wan thought Luke was naive, as they believed Vader’s assertion that Anakin Skywalker was truly gone. Kylo Ren, however, never managed to extinguish his former self, Ben Solo. He attempted to do so by killing his father, Han Solo, in The Force Awakens – a dark imitation of a Sith ritual. But Han’s peaceful acceptance of death and enduring love for his son weakened the attempt, and Ben Solo ultimately survived within Kylo Ren.

It makes sense that seeing Kylo Ren in this spiritual Force realm would give Luke Skywalker hope. This place is only accessible to those with inner goodness, something even Darth Vader never achieved. For Luke, it’s confirmation that redemption is possible and that his nephew might still be saved from the darkness.

The complete conversation can be found in Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #10, a comic book by Charles Soule and Luke Ross, available now from Marvel Comics.

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2025-11-09 16:10