Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #10
42 years after the release of Return of the Jedi, a brand-new Star Wars story has helped confirm a major Force theory. As seen between the events of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, it’s been revealed that Kylo Ren surprisingly achieved something thought by many to have been impossible for a wielder of the dark side.
In Marvel’s new and canonical Legacy of Vader #10, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren is encouraged by Darth Vader’s old servant Vaneé to meditate within his grandfather’s old meditation chamber, located in the bowels of the Sith Lord’s fortress on Mustafar.
Seeking to find and kill the Force ghost of his uncle, a major vision surprisingly allows Kylo Ren to enter a Force nexus once believed impossible for the dark side to touch.
Star Wars Reveals Kylo Ren Entered The Netherworld of the Force (Before Rise of Skywalker)
While his vision began in darkness with Kylo Ren haunted by multiple skeletal representations of various Star Wars characters, the Supreme Leader cut them all down with two metaphysical lightsabers, rejecting their words meant to break him down. While one of these lightsabers was red, the other was notably blue.
Kylo Ren then focused his mind on Luke, remembering the Jedi Master his uncle once was. This brought Kylo Ren to none other than the Netherworld of the Force, a realm beyond the physical plane, and our first ever look at the afterlife home for various Jedi Force ghosts.
Reuniting with Luke’s Force Ghost, Skywalker confirms that Ben would not be able to kill him, nor any of the other present Force ghosts, including Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Qui-Gon Jinn. However, there’s also a degree of surprise held by these spirits as to how Kylo Ren was able to reach them in the first place.
After all, the ability to retain one’s consciousness and identity after death typically requires unique training known only to a few Jedi. Likewise, those who wield the dark side are unable to accomplish this supernatural feat, hence the Sith’s obsession with immortality to indefinitely hold their power.
As such, it does beg the question as to how Kylo Ren in particular succeeded, given his current corruption to the dark side during this period of the Star Wars timeline.
Kylo Ren’s Visit Was A Major Feat (Further Confirming A Major Force Ghost Theory)
Keeping Luke’s words in mind, Ben wielding both a red and blue lightsaber at the beginning of this vision is far more significant, as does the emergence of Palpatine at the vision’s end, telling Kylo Ren that he must be reminded of his destiny in the dark after he attempted to reach back for the light.
This all serves to confirm that Ben Solo temporarily turned away from the dark side in his desire to find his uncle, while also rejecting the darkness that first plagued his vision (however briefly).
Firstly, this supports the end of Rise of Skywalker where Ben was redeemed, having sacrificed himself to save Rey before disappearing into the cosmic Force, presumably to become a Force ghost despite not having the special training learned by the Jedi Force ghosts that came before.
However, Anakin Skywalker’s situation was very much the same at the end of Return of the Jedi, having become a Force ghost via redemption despite not having any kind of official training either. It’s believed that Anakin was a rare Force ghost exception due to his power as the Chosen One and/or that Obi-Wan helped bring his apprentice into the Netherworld.
However, Ben Solo’s new experience here supports the new idea that both he and his grandfather were able to enter the Netherworld as they were powerful enough to reach out to the light while uniquely turning away from the dark after years of corruption.
While something along those lines had been widely assumed and teased, it’s pretty exciting to see Ben Solo’s new experience here laying it out in such stark terms (alongside our first look at the Netherworld itself).
Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #10 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.
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Created By
J.J. Abrams, Michael Arndt, Lawrence Kasdan
Franchise
Star Wars
Died
Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise Of Skywalker
Race
Human
Movies
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker
TV Shows
Star Wars: Resistance
The son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, Ben was manipulated by Palpatine through the Force for most of his life, influenced toward the dark side of the Force. A misstep by Luke Skywalker ultimately left Ben feeling he had no choice but to embrace the dark side, and he became Kylo Ren, a key figure in the First Order. Kylo Ren’s heart remained deeply divided, however, even after he ascended to become Supreme Leader of the First Order. He was ultimately redeemed by Rey, with whom he shared a remarkable Force bond, and by the love of his parents.
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Created By
George Lucas
Franchise
Star Wars
Died
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return Of The Jedi
Race
Human
Movies
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
TV Shows
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, Ahsoka
Conceived by the will of the Force itself, Anakin Skywalker was the prophesied Chosen One, destined to bring the Force into balance. Anakin struggled to balance competing attachments to the Jedi Order and his wife Padmé Amidala, and ultimately fell to the dark side, becoming Darth Vader. For years he served as Palpatine’s right hand man, but he was ultimately redeemed by the faith of his son, Luke Skywalker. Now a Force Ghost, Anakin continues to act as an agent of balance.
