Kylo Ren, born Ben Solo was a dark, powerful, as well as an extremely obsessive Master of the Knights of Ren, and leader of the Empire Remnant known as the First Order, formerly the right-hand and a dark side apprentice of late Supreme Leader Snoke. As an son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, Solo was the nephew of Jedi Luke Skywalker, and a grandson of the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker later known as the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader. A warrior strong with the Dark Side of the Force as well as an champion of the First Order, Kylo Ren leads the First Order as a Supreme Leader, with a temper as fiery as an unconventional lightsaber. After taking control from Snoke by assassinating his master, Kylo continued their plans of destroying the New Republic, Resistance and the legacy of the Jedi. Though a warrior of the dark side, Solo still struggles against the pull of the light, growing darker and more extreme.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Born into Peace[]
Ben Solo, was born in Hanna City, the capital of Chandrila on the day when the Galactic Concordance had been signed by the New Republic and the Galactic Empire; ending the conflict known as the Galactic Civil War. This was roughly a year after the Battle of Endor, in which his parents, Leia Organa and Han Solo, had led the Alliance to Restore the Republic in the great victory over the Empire. The great victory at Endor ended with the demise of Darth Sidious, and Organa's biological father, the Sith-Lord Darth Vader. While Ben was still in his mother's womb, she could feel her son through the Force. After he was born, there were contradictory rumors that Ben's birth took a total of three days. Another tale claimed that it was a fast and painless birth. There were also rumors that said Ben Solo was born with a shock of black hair and had a full set of teeth.
Jedi Training[]
Family Revelations[]
Though Han lacked the same Force bond that Leia had with her son, he comforted himself with the fact that he had a fatherly bond with Ben. Ben Solo's namesake was that of the late Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, who went by the name of Ben Kenobi while in exile on Tatooine after the fall of the Jedi Order. In his youth, Ben's parents had active lives in their respective professions. Han Solo, a smuggler before joining the rebellion, was unable to stay in one place for long. Organa, meanwhile, became a respected senator in the New Republic, the government that arose after the Battle of Endor and that had served the Empire a final defeat during the Battle of Jakku around the time of Ben's birth. Organa and Solo's natures clashed, and their busy lives left Ben with feelings of abandonment. He proved to be connected to the Force, taking after his mother, as well as his grandfather. Leia chose to keep the truth of Ben's lineage from him at least until he was old enough, but Leia still had not told him by the age of twenty-three. She nonetheless hoped that she could tell her son the truth, and that Skywalker could explain that, Anakin Skywalker returned and redeemed himself. He eventually trained with Luke when he was ten years old.
Fall of Ben Solo[]
Reasons why Ben gave into evil was not simply because of Snoke's corruption, but also due to his mother and father having a tumultuous relationship, given Han Solo's career as a smuggler and Leia's role as a political figure. Six years prior to events of the Assault on Starkiller Base, Leia's political enemies exposed her parentage to the public, which is how Ben discovered he was the grandson of Darth Vader. After succumbing to the darkness, Kylo Ren went on to lead the Knights of Ren in a large scale attack on Luke's New Jedi Order, exterminating the recruits and in some cases recruit them to the Dark Side. He would don a uniform modeled after the Sith, with a black cloak and a mask inspired by various Sith Lords such as Darth Revan and his own grandfather Darth Vader.
The First Order[]
After Ren's fall, his uncle Luke Skywalker vanished into exile to search for the first Jedi temple. Years after the fall of the New Jedi Order, the First Order had recovered a part of the map to the temple in the archives of the Galactic Empire. They learned that Lor San Tekka, a member of the Church of the Force on the planet Jakku, had the rest of the map fragment, so Ren commanded the First Order forces in search of the map. The map fell into the hands of the Resistance, as Organa, the leader of the small military opposition to the First Order, hoped to find her brother and bring him back into the fight against the Dark Side.
Ren hunted the map across the galaxy and eventually learned that it and the droid who carried it, BB-8, had come into Solo's possession. He tracked them to Takodana, where Ren discovered Rey, a Force-sensitive who had seen the map and was helping BB-8. Ren brought Rey to Starkiller Base, a First Order-controlled planet with a built-in superweapon, and attempted to probe her mind for the map's information, but she resisted and eventually managed to escape. Shortly after, the Resistance attacked Starkiller Base in the hopes of destroying it, and Ren encountered Solo once again.
After a brief confrontation, he killed his father, hoping to eliminate the light that Ren struggled with inside himself. Ren then pursued Rey and the fugitive stormtrooper Finn into a forest as the battle raged on above. He engaged both in a lightsaber duel, besting Finn before being beaten and injured by Rey. As Starkiller Base began to implode from the attack, the Supreme Leader ordered General Hux to bring Ren before him so his training could be completed.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- The Force: As the grandson of the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Ren is very powerful and has a very strong connection to the Force. Although Ren is not quite as powerful as his maternal grandfather at his peak, he is still an exceptionally powerful light and dark side Force-user. Ren's Force potential is rivaled only by Rey, and surpassed only by his maternal uncle, Luke Skywalker at the two latters' peaks.
- Telekinesis: Ren is extremely proficient in telekinesis, capable of freezing and influencing the movement of a person or even stop a blaster bolt and keep it suspended until he leaves. His power is shown to be weaker than Rey's, as he could not pry Luke's lightsaber out of his own telekinetic grip when he tried to summon it to his hand, causing it to fly past Ren and into Rey's hand instead.
- Force Push: Ren utilizes Force push to send his opponents flying through the air, causing them serious injury or temporarily incapacitating them/knocked them unconscious. He notably was able to knock Rey out by flinging her off the ground and into a tree as she was drawing a weapon on him, presumably since he may have been too injured to focus his power to restrain her instead
- Force Pull: Ren utilizes Force pull to pull his opponents or objects towards him, enough that he can hold people up with one hand while still pulling them with the Force. He notably dragged Dopheld Mitaka by the neck to his hand, as well as to hold him up with one hand while still pulling him with the force.
- Force Throw: Ben utilizes Force Throw to cause objects, and even individuals, to be hurled toward a target at an astounding velocity. While being confronted by Jedi apprentices in the ruins of his uncle's temple, he used his power to levitate multiple pieces of debris and hurling them at the three students, injuring one of them in the process.
- Force Choke: Like Ben's grandfather, Anakin, who was one of the most powerful dark side Force-user's in the history of the galaxy, Ben has the power to use the Force to constrict the organs of living organisms in order to suffocate and kill them. By the time of his ascension to Supreme Leader, he was able to throttle his target through a hologram from several planets away, a feat similar to the capabilities of Darth Vader. He demonstrated this with Agent Tierny due to her failures, fatally throttling her.
- Force Grip: Ben utilizes Force Grip to lift his opponents off the ground and into the air, sometimes by the neck, to immobilize them. His telekinetic grip also allowed him to pull individuals by the neck towards him without otherwise harming them. His abilities also allowed him to influence the movements of people, as he demonstrated on the like of Agent Tierny and Commander Pyre, but also on Rey, forcing her to aim her weapon at the ground while also freezing her in place. Additionally, after making an alliance with the Sith Eternal, Ben telekinetically grabbed the officer Domaric Quinn by the throat and violently pinned him to the ceiling.
- Force Stasis: Ben utilizes Force Stasis to slow down or completely halt the motion of a target, holding them in place with a paralyzing grip. This notably allowed him to suspend a blaster bolt that was fired at him in mid-air for over a minute and then release it after aiming it at a wall, while also being able to simultaneously immobilize Poe Dameron. He also used this ability to paralyze Rey when she was trying to shoot him at the first time they met in Takodana.
- Force Repulse: Ben utilizes Force Repulse to generate a telekinetic explosion that would blast away anything within the power's blast radius, allowing it to repel opponents and destroy obstacles. This power allowed him to destroy the dark side cave on Dagobah while inside it, specifically causing it to burst apart and almost explode, leaving a crater in its place.
- Force Barrier: Ben utilizes Force Barrier to create a barrier or wall of Force energy in front of or surrounding himself or his allies. He managed to protect himself, an unintentionally General Hux with a telekinetic barrier as the shuttle they were crashed on a planet due to sabotage.
- Force Deflection: Ben utilizes Force Deflection to redirect incoming attacks, such as blaster bolts, with or without her lightsaber, though it was difficult to do so. After catching Poe Dameron's blasterfire, he subtly turned the bolt at a wall before releasing it.
- Telepathy: Ben utilizes Telepathy to mentally communicate over small or vast distances with other individuals, especially with Rey due to their force bond. His mental abilities also allowed him to induce sleep with as little as a wave of his hand; as he did to sedate Rey on Takodana.
- Mind Probe: Ren utilizes mind probe to sift through the thoughts of a sentient being, for the purpose of interrogation or torture. However, Rey was able to turn it back on him to scan his mind to discover his fear of inadequacy in comparison to Vader.
- Mind Trick: Ben utilizes Mind Trick to control the minds of other sentient beings, with the exception of individuals with stronger minds and wills. He attempted to force Rey to bring Luke to him the first time they experienced a Force bond connection, but he was unable to affect her due to the strength of her mind.
- Induced sleep: Ben can use his mental powers to induce someone to sleep with as little as a wave of his hand. He used this power to sedate Rey on Takodana, abducting the unconscious girl and carrying her in his arms to his shuttle, and she only woke up sometime later inside the Finalizer's interrogation room.
- Force Lightning: Ben utilized Force Lightning to torture or kill his opponents. In The Rise of Kylo Ren #4 comic book, Ben used Force Lightning to kill the former Leader of the Knights of Ren, Ren. Ben also managed to implement Force Lightning into his lightsaber to unleash attack on his opponents. However, Ben's use suggests that the ability may be more about emotion than control, as well as the fact that Snoke and Palpatine were influencing his rage during the battle, meaning he did not conjure the ability on his own.
- Force Sense: Ren utilizes Force sense to sense another sentient being's emotions, the future, ripples in the Force caused by momentous or traumatic events, impending danger and the presence of the Light side.
- Force Vision: Ben utilizes Force Vision, to have visions of the past, the present, and the future; however, like all Force-users, his visions are not always clear or sometimes has visions even when he is not utilizing this power at will. Due to his force bond with Rey, he foresaw Rey fighting alongside him, as well as discovering that Rey's parents were mere junkers on Jakku who abandoned her.
- Focused (Force) Rage: Ben utilizes Focused Rage to channel his anger to increase his speed, strength, endurance, and ferocity. This allowed him to fight on as despite being heavily weakened by the wounds he sustained from Chewbacca's bowcaster, though he struggled to maintain it effectively due to his weakened connection to his own power caused by his regret over killing his father. Despite this, he still managed to toy with, and incapacitate a trained former stormtrooper, Finn, at the cost of further slight injury to his shoulder. He also nearly defeated the newly emerged Force-user, Rey, before her growing power allowed her to overcome him in his weakened state.
- Force Dash: Ben utilizes Force Dash to move at amazing speeds.
- Force Jump: Ben utilizes Force Jump to jump or leap at great distances. He performed this ability while fighting Rey in the Death Star ruins.
- Force Healing: Ben utilizes Force Healing to heal Rey from physical injuries, bringing her back to life after she was killed by Sheev Palpatine, though this drained him of his own life force to do so. However, it should be noted that at the time, Ben was in an extremely weakened state, as he didn't have enough time to completely recover, after Palpatine drained most of his life-force energy.
- Force Bond Connection: As a consequence of them being a Force Dyad, Rey and Kylo have a Force bond that connects them at random moments. During the connection, they are able to see, talk and touch each other through spaces.
- Fold Space: Ben utilizes Fold Space to bend space to instantly transport an object between places during a Force bond connection. He used this ability to grab Rey's necklace from her with the intent to figure out where she was, and later to receive his grandfather's lightsaber from Rey to confront the Knights of Ren.
- Immense Strength: Ben utilizes his Force powers to amplify his physical strength; this made him physically stronger then most, if not all other sentient beings. He was notably strong enough to crush a Sith wayfinder in his hand whilst confronting Rey in the remnants of the second Death Star.
- Immense Reflexes: Ben has impressive reflexes that are above of normal Force-users, his reflexes were superior to most members of the New Jedi Order. During Ben and Rey's last duel in the Death Star ruins, he was able to dodge several of her lightsaber strikes.
- Telekinesis: Ren is extremely proficient in telekinesis, capable of freezing and influencing the movement of a person or even stop a blaster bolt and keep it suspended until he leaves. His power is shown to be weaker than Rey's, as he could not pry Luke's lightsaber out of his own telekinetic grip when he tried to summon it to his hand, causing it to fly past Ren and into Rey's hand instead.
Abilities[]
- Lightsaber Skills: Ren is highly skilled in lightsaber combat and a highly gifted duelist. He is one of the greatest lightsaber duelists currently alive; it was his exceptional skill with a lightsaber that ultimately greatly delayed the art of lightsaber combat from rising back to prominence with his massacre of most of the new, fledgling Jedi Order. His destruction of this new generation of Jedi Knights also earned him the nickname of "Jedi Killer" among the members of the First Order. Despite this, however, he was defeated by Rey in a duel, despite being far more skilled and experienced in lightsaber combat then the latter. Although, it should be noted that Kylo had already been wounded by Chewbacca and Finn respectively, thus was not at the peak of his strength. In addition, Rey's new-found abilities allowed her to meditate on the Force to gain enough strength to physically overpower him. In Star Wars The Last Jedi, Ben at the peak of his strength; was able to fight Snoke's Praetorian Guards on even terms alongside Rey and eventually with her aid, overpower and kill the eight deadly warriors; despite the two lightsaber duelists being outnumbered. As of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Ben's lightsaber combat skills had greatly improved to the point, that he could fight on par against Rey and ultimately overpowered her; which was demonstrated during their last confrontation on the ruins of the second Death Star. During the Battle of Exegol, Ben was able to overpower and kill all the members of the Knights of Ren relatively easily; despite being outnumbered, this time without Rey's aid.
- Form I: Ben is very skilled in Shii-Cho.
- Form II: Ben is very skilled in Makashi.
- Form III: Ben is very skilled in Soresu.
- Form IV: Ben is very skilled in Ataru.
- Form V: Ren is highly skilled in Shien/Djem So.
- Form VI: Ben is highly skilled in Niman.
- Form VII: Ben is highly skilled in Juyo/Vaapad.
- Jar'Kai: Ben is highly skilled in Jar'Kai.
- Master Pilot: Like his father and grandfather, Ben is highly skilled in piloting all types of flying crafts.
- High-Level Intellect/Expert Tactician/Leader: Ren is amazingly intelligent and wise. As a Field Commander of the First Order, Ren is a highly skilled tactician and a very capable leader.
- Indomitable Will/High Tolerance For Pain/Expert Survivalist: Ren has an indomitable will and a high tolerance for pain; as he was able to continue fighting despite being shot in the side by Chewbacca, and slashed on the shoulder by Finn. In his battle with Finn, he was also seen beating the wound inflicted by Chewbacca, using his pain and anguish to fuel his connection to the dark side of the Force. Furthermore, while armored Stormtroopers were violently blasted through the air and killed instantly by the bowcaster's explosive blast, Ren has no armor, but only doubled over in pain when shot.
Weapons and Equipment[]
- Crossguard Lightsaber: Kylo had built a red-bladed crossguard lightsaber. Ren's lightsaber was crudely built off an ancient design dating back to an event known as the Great Scourge of Malachor and operated using a cracked Kyber crystal. It thus had an unstable blade, necessitating the use of exhaust ports and focusing crystal activators to channel and vent the weapon's excess energy so that it would not overload. The excess energy served as the lightsaber's quillons (crossguards). The weapon's blades also crackled and arced like electricity and funneled like fire, giving the weapon a ragged, menacing appearance and a deep, growling hum. It is unknown if this is the same lightsaber he possessed when he was still a member of the New Jedi Order.
- Blaster: Ben utilized an unspecified type of blaster as a weapon of choice after he turned back to the light side and decided to help Rey on Exegol. He later was disarmed of this weapon when he was surrounded and overwhelmed in combat by the Knights of Ren, before Rey giving him the lightsaber through the bond.
- Knights of Ren Armor: Ben utilizes combat armor to protect himself from his enemies in battle; it is based on the battle gear worn by the other Knights of Ren. It is also based on his grandfather's armor, particularly the helmet, which he wore to conceal his identity and voice as he delved further and further into the dark side. As The Last Jedi, Ben destroyed the helmet; after being berated by his master and realizing that he is only copying Darth Vader, as he will never be able to reach his full potential that way. He later rebuilt his helmet to show himself off as being the rightful leader of the First Order. After coming back to the light side, Ben completely abandoned his armor and helmet.
- Skywalker's lightsaber: Rejecting the dark side, the former Kylo Ren returned to Exegol to fight the Emperor at Rey's side. Having discarded his Sith lightsaber on Kef Bir, he was armed with only a blaster and his strength with the Force. He charged into the depths of Sidious' lair, killing several Sovereign Protectors with haste until he found his path blocked by the Knights of Ren. They surrounded their former master, attacking him with their weapons until Solo unveiled the Skywalker lightsaber in his hand. Rey gave the lightsaber to Solo upon sensing his presence, which no longer reflected the dark side but only pure light. Solo spared a moment to relish the feel of the lightsaber in his palm, instantly recognizing it as his own weapon. Once more, a Skywalker wielded the lightsaber built by Anakin Skywalker.