Star Wars: What Happens When Kylo Ren Meets Darth Vader?

Marvel's Star Wars: Legacy of Vader bid has been engaged filling successful the yearlong spread betwixt The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Past issues person revealed what the Knights of Ren were up to during this play and adjacent chronicled a astonishment reunion betwixt Kylo Ren and the shade of Luke Skywalker. Now, arsenic the bid reaches its conclusion, we larn what happens erstwhile Ben Solo enters his grandfather's concealed vault successful Fortress Vader and really battles Darth Vader himself.

What eventual prize lies wrong the vault? How does this contented acceptable up Ben Solo's redemption successful Episode IX? Read connected to larn more, but beware of afloat spoilers for Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #12 ahead!

From the start, this bid has followed Kylo Ren arsenic helium assumes power of the First Order and attempts to termination his past and go the all-powerful ruler helium believes he's destined to be. That quest has taken Ben to Mustafar and the abandoned halls of Fortress Vader, wherever lone Vader's erstwhile manservant Vaneé remains to transportation a torch for the erstwhile Dark Lord of the Sith.

Now, adjacent Vaneé is dead, and thing is stopping Ben from entering the mysterious vault astatine the bosom of Fortress Vader. When helium does, helium finds not immoderate unspeakable Sith artifact oregon past powerfulness source, but Darth Vader himself. Echoing Luke's travel into the cave successful The Empire Strikes Back, Vader tells Ben that the lone voices he'll perceive successful the vault are those helium brings with him.

Art by Derrick Chew. (Image Credit: Marvel/Lucasfilm)

Ben reiterates his tendency for power, to which Vader reminds him that powerfulness is ne'er willingly fixed by those who clasp it. It tin lone beryllium taken. Grandfather and grandson statesman to duel, though Ben rapidly begins to despair astatine the thought that the Skywalker enactment is doomed to support warring and struggling from procreation to generation.

Again, Vader proclaims that determination is lone powerfulness and the volition to usage it. But past helium makes an observation. Vader was ever astatine his astir almighty erstwhile helium was existent to himself, whether it was marrying Padmé successful defiance of Jedi instrumentality oregon breaking escaped and sidesplitting Emperor Palpatine. When Vader acted for himself - not others - helium was astatine his strongest.

Vader past removes his helmet to uncover his existent look arsenic Ben Solo. This is simply a mentation of Ben escaped from the corrutpive power of the Dark Side. He tells his different aforesaid that Kylo Ren has ever been anemic due to the fact that helium acts without purpose. Everything helium does is motivated by fearfulness and a tendency to tally from a past helium tin ne'er really escape. Then helium makes the astir brutal reflection of all:

Art by Luke Ross. (Image Credit: Marvel/Lucasfilm)

The Ben shade urges Kylo Ren to permission and to recognize that helium tin ne'er flight his past. All helium tin bash is judge who helium is and marque choices based connected what helium wants, not what helium thinks others expect of him. This self-realization is the eventual prize hidden successful the bowels of Fortress Vader.

Before, Kylo Ren is ejected from the fortress, his different fractional promises that determination volition beryllium "a existent enemy" for him to fight. Whether he's referring to existent Knights of Ren person Tava Ren, the resurrected Emperor Palpatine connected Exegol, oregon idiosyncratic other wholly is unclear. But what's astir absorbing is that this Ben Solo shade doesn't look to beryllium a specified hallucination oregon figment of Kylo Ren's imagination. Rather, helium seems to beryllium interacting with his ain Force ghost, with Ben breaching the boundaries of clip pursuing his sacrifice successful The Rise of Skywalker. Ben Solo is not lone redeemed, he's laying the instauration of his ain redemption successful the past.

This contented ends with a tease proclaiming "The reign ends. The autumn begins. Kylo Ren... volition return." That surely suggests that, portion Legacy of Vader #12 marks the extremity of the existent series, writer Charles Soule and creator Luke Ross person a follow-up task successful the works. All of Marvel's current, ongoing Star Wars titles volition extremity by March 2026, leaving lone Star Wars: Shadow of Maul (a prequel to the animated bid Star Wars: Shadow of Maul). We presume Marvel volition beryllium announcing a caller enactment of Star Wars comics soon, apt successful clip for Star Wars Day successful May.

Check retired what to expect from Star Wars successful 2026 for much connected the existent authorities of the franchise. And fto america cognize successful the comments what you deliberation of Kylo Ren's large conflict with Darth Vader.

Jesse is simply a mild-mannered unit writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intelligence thicket by following @jschedeen connected BlueSky.