Kylo Ren's Ultimate Test: A Duel with Darth Vader

The yearlong gap between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker has been a landscape of isolation and introspection for Kylo Ren. As the Supreme Leader of the First Order, he has aggressively sought to sever all ties to his past, believing that absolute power lies in the total destruction of Ben Solo. This solitary quest has led him to the scorched plains of Mustafar, the resting place of his grandfather's legacy.

Marvel's Star Wars: Legacy of Vader series has meticulously chronicled this journey, from encounters with the Knights of Ren to a haunting reunion with the ghost of Luke Skywalker. Now, the series reaches its stunning conclusion with issue #12, delivering a confrontation that has been simmering since the character's inception. The question is no longer just about ruling the galaxy, but about the cost of that rule on the soul.

What ultimate prize lies within the vault? How does this issue set up Ben Solo's redemption in Episode IX?

The stage is set within the abandoned halls of Fortress Vader, a gothic monument to Sith ambition. With the death of Vaneé, the former Dark Lord's manservant, nothing stands between Kylo Ren and the secret vault at the fortress's heart. What awaits inside is not a weapon, but a mirror.

Stepping into the darkness, Kylo Ren expects to find a terrible Sith artifact or an ancient source of power. Instead, he finds Darth Vader. The encounter immediately echoes Luke Skywalker's vision in the cave on Dagobah, where the only danger is what one brings with them. Vader's opening words set the tone for the entire duel, stripping away the mysticism of the Dark Side to reveal a stark reality.

The only voices he'll hear in the vault are those he brings with him.

The two engage in a lightsaber duel, but the physical struggle is secondary to the psychological warfare. Kylo Ren expresses his despair at the cyclical nature of the Skywalker lineage, a family doomed to generations of struggle. Vader counters this fatalism with his core philosophy: power is never willingly given by those who hold it; it can only be taken. The battle serves as a crucible, testing the Supreme Leader's resolve against the unyielding will of the most infamous Sith Lord.

As the fight progresses, Vader makes a critical observation about the nature of strength. He notes that he was always at his most powerful when he acted in defiance of established orders—whether by marrying Padmé in secret or by ultimately destroying Emperor Palpatine. Strength, he argues, comes from acting for oneself, not for others. This revelation sets the stage for the ultimate unmasking.

The climax of the confrontation arrives not with a killing blow, but with a revelation. Vader removes his helmet, but beneath it is not the scarred visage of Anakin Skywalker. Instead, Kylo Ren sees the face of Ben Solo. This is not the conflicted boy who died on Exegol, but a version of Ben free from the corrupting influence of the Dark Side—a pure manifestation of the Light.

This spectral Ben Solo delivers a brutal assessment of Kylo Ren's entire existence. He asserts that Kylo has always been weak because he acts without true purpose. Every action taken as Supreme Leader is rooted not in ambition, but in fear—a desperate, frantic desire to run from a past that can never be truly escaped. The ghost forces Kylo to face the truth that his rage is a shield, not a weapon.

Kylo Ren has always been weak because he acts without purpose. Everything he does is motivated by fear and a desire to run from a past he can never actually escape.

The ultimate prize hidden in the vault is this moment of clarity. Ben Solo tells his other self that he can never escape who he is. The only path forward is to accept his identity and make choices based on what he truly wants, not on the expectations of others. It is a direct challenge to the philosophy of the Sith, suggesting that true power lies in self-acceptance, not domination.

The nature of this Ben Solo entity is perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the issue. He does not appear to be a mere hallucination or a figment of Kylo Ren's fractured psyche. The text implies a genuine interaction with his own Force ghost, a phenomenon that breaches the boundaries of time itself. This suggests that the redeemed Ben Solo of the future is actively intervening in his own past.

This creates a fascinating temporal paradox. Ben Solo, having sacrificed himself in The Rise of Skywalker, is now laying the very foundation for that redemption to occur. He is not just observing history; he is shaping it from beyond the grave. This intervention provides the spark of introspection that Kylo Ren needs to begin questioning his path, planting the seed that will eventually bloom into his final act of heroism.

The issue concludes with a cryptic tease for the future, promising that "The reign ends. The fall begins. Kylo Ren... will return." This suggests that while this specific series is ending, the story of the Supreme Leader is far from over. It leaves the door open for further exploration of this unique Force connection and the battles still to come.

• Tava Ren, the current leader of the Knights of Ren
• The resurrected Emperor Palpatine on Exegol
• An entirely new threat emerging from the Unknown Regions

Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #12 transcends a simple villain-centric story to become a profound exploration of identity. By forcing Kylo Ren to battle his grandfather only to find himself, the narrative deconstructs the allure of the Dark Side. It posits that the pursuit of power for its own sake is a hollow endeavor, driven by fear rather than strength.

The revelation that Ben Solo's future self is the architect of his own redemption is a masterstroke of storytelling. It reinforces the central theme of the Skywalker saga: that no one is ever truly lost, and that the capacity for change exists within everyone, regardless of the darkness they have embraced. The vault on Mustafar contained no Sith magic, only the truth.

As Marvel's current era of Star Wars comics draws to a close in early 2026, this issue serves as a powerful capstone. It deepens the lore of the Sequel Trilogy and provides a satisfying, if complex, resolution to Kylo Ren's internal war. The fall of Kylo Ren is not just a political or military event; it is a deeply personal journey that began in a dark vault, facing the only enemy he could never defeat: himself.