From the moment we first met Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it’s been clear he was obsessed with Darth Vader. The Chosen One‘s grandson, Ben Solo grew up not knowing the truth of his heritage. He only learned that his grandfather was Darth Vader when the news went public in Claudia Gray’s novel Bloodline, bringing an end to his mother’s political career. Ben had already sensed the pull of the dark side on his heart, and he came to believe he was destined to tread in Darth Vader’s footsteps.
Charles Soule’s Star Wars: Legacy of Vader series continues that quest in a story set between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Now Supreme Leader of the First Order, Kylo Ren has begun to explore Darth Vader’s life; he’s traveled to Tatooine, Naboo, and now to Mustafar. There, meditating deep in the Force, Kylo Ren finally accomplishes a Force feat even his grandfather never managed.
Kylo Ren Is Able To Enter the Netherworld of the Force at Last
Like all Sith Lords, Darth Vader was always fascinated with the conquest of death. His focus changed in the aftermath of Revenge of the Sith, because he longed either to resurrect his lost love Padmé Amidala or somehow commune with her through the Force. For all his best efforts, though, Darth Vader only ever experienced fragmented visions – unsatisfying and ambiguous ones at that. Padmé was lost to him.
Charles Soule and Luke Ross’ Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #10 sees Kylo Ren repeat Darth Vader’s quest to enter the afterlife. In his case, he’s not looking for Padmé; no, Kylo Ren is frustrated because of Luke Skywalker’s death. He can sense Luke’s Force Ghost watching him, and he resents it; seeking revenge on Luke, he somehow manages to project himself into the Netherworld of the Force. The afterlife where all who are light dwell, this is supposed to be inaccessible to anyone with darkness within them.
It’s far from the cathartic moment Kylo Ren longed for, of course. Kylo Ren confronts Luke Skywalker in the Netherworld of the Force, and is left frustrated because the Jedi Master insists on trying to teach him. Luke’s last words to Kylo are radiant with hope, hinting that he believes his nephew is not beyond salvation. He senses Ben Solo is still alive, still seeking life and light, and hopes to encourage him.
Why Kylo Ren Succeeded Where Darth Vader Failed
Though Kylo Ren does not know it, he has finally accomplished something his grandfather could not; he has entered the Netherworld of the Force, coming face-to-face with those who have died. There’s a reason he is able to do this; it’s because he is torn between darkness and light, aware of the pull of both, whereas Darth Vader tried to claim the darkness for himself and kill off the light within him. It is the light within Kylo Ren that draws him to the Netherworld, a light that Darth Vader would have denied.
The experience is evocative of Matt Stover’s novelization of Revenge of the Sith, which features an expanded conversation between Qui-Gon’s Force Ghost and Yoda. There, he describes immortality in the Netherworld as something no Sith can ever truly accomplish.”It comes only by the release of self,” Qui-Gon explains, “not the exaltation of self. It comes through compassion, not greed. Love is the answer to the darkness.” These things still burn brightly within Kylo Ren, leaving him torn and conflicted; they were still present in Darth Vader, but suppressed more effectively.
Luke was the only one who believed Darth Vader could be redeemed. Even Yoda and Obi-Wan thought he was foolish for this, because they accepted Vader’s claim that he had killed all that was Anakin within him. In Contrast, Kylo Ren never came anywhere close to believing he had killed Ben Solo. He tried to do so when he murdered his own father, Han Solo, in The Force Awakens; that was a twisted version of a Sith initiation ritual. But Han’s acceptance of his own death, his continued love for his son, stripped it of its power. Ben Solo endured.
It’s no surprise, then, that seeing Kylo Ren in the Netherworld of the Force clearly gives Luke Skywalker hope. He knows that only those with light within them can access this mystical afterlife; he knows that even Darth Vader could never have gotten there. For Luke, this is the proof that redemption is possible, and that his nephew is not lost to the dark side.
You can read the full discussion in Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #10 by Charles Soule and Luke Ross, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
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