Star Wars: The Force Awakens left fans with a long list of unanswered questions, and filmmaker Rian Johnson's decision to turn many of J.J. Abrams' ideas on their head led to a lot of unhappiness.
Abrams' attempt to course correct The Last Jedi with The Rise of Skywalker - Rey's parents went from somebodies to nobodies to...Emperor Palpatine?! - also didn't stick the landing.
The closest we've come to filling in the gaps between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, meanwhile, are Disney+ TV shows like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. Even then, they're sticking closer to Episode VI than Episode VII.
Well, we'll finally learn more about some of the gaps in Kylo Ren's past (and how Darth Vader connects to his transformation into Supreme Leader) with a new Star Wars: Legacy of Vader comic book from Marvel.
Written by Charles Soule, who previously penned Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren and Star Wars: Darth Vader - Dark Lord of the Sith, the story begins with a journey to Mustafar, where Ren will descend into Vader’s castle. Later issues promise to take Kylo to the familiar sands of Tatooine as he tries to unlock the secrets of his family's past.
"When fans talk to me about my Star Wars work, two of my Marvel comic runs come up more than almost anything else: my 2017 run on Darth Vader with Giuseppe Camuncoli and my 2019 series The Rise of Kylo Ren with Will Sliney," Soule tells StarWars.com. "I think both of those worked so well in part because they were set in parts of the Star Wars timeline full of unanswered questions about characters the audience really loves."
"This new series is not just a combination of those two books, but also a chance to explore an extremely rich section of the timeline that's almost entirely open: Kylo Ren's time as Supreme Leader of the First Order."
The comic will beet between the events of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, revisiting Kylo's connection to his maternal grandfather, Darth Vader, and promises to better explore how the events of Vader's past guide Kylo's choices as he leads the First Order.
"Kylo is truly lost at this particular moment. In a very short span of time, he's faced two of his most significant mentors in combat (one of whom is his uncle), killed his own father, almost killed his mother, stolen control of a galaxy-level military that he has no idea how he'll use, and of course, found a deep connection with another Force-user named Rey," Soule adds.
"All of that is swirling around in his emotional matrix, making him deeply unstable, angry, frustrated... dangerous. He's looking for any form of guidance he can get — even if he won't admit it — and so he turns to just about the only thing he's got left, the legacy of his grandfather, the Sith Lord Darth Vader."
Check out the cover for Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #1 below and stay tuned for updates.
Darth Vader’s shadow extends into the rise of the First Order!
- The reign of Supreme Leader Kylo Ren begins!
- Kylo’s dark obsession leads him to Mustafar!
- What secrets does Fortress Vader hold for the young tyrant?
- And what face from the past will guide him on his quest?
STAR WARS: LEGACY OF VADER #1
Written by CHARLES SOULE
Art by LUKE ROSS
Cover by DERRICK CHEW
On Sale 2/5/25