Kylo Ren returns in STAR WARS: LEGACY OF VADER

Marvel Comics has unveiled Star Wars: Legacy of Vader, a new ongoing series by writer Charles Soule and artist Luke Ross. Set after 2017’s The Last Jedi, the comic will follow Adam Driver‘s villain Kylo Ren, as he distracts himself from his newfound sense of loneliness after the film’s events, by heading on a pilgrimage to learn more about (you guessed it) his grandfather Darth Vader’s legacy.

After slaying his master, Supreme Leader Snoke, Kylo Ren is now the leader of the First Order, but recent events including his murder of his father, defeat at the hands of Luke Skywalker, and a surprising connection with the mysterious Rey force him to reckon with what it truly means to be Vader’s heir. As he pursues his dark mission to bring order to the galaxy, Kylo’s madness takes him down a deadly path to discover the truth about his grandfather’s life. From Mustafar to Tattooine, these are the thrilling adventures that enabled Kylo to confront his inner turmoil and meet his destiny!

Soule describes the series as a must-read for fans of his previous Star Wars work, saying, “When fans talk to me about [it], 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. 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.”

Elaborating on the premise, he explains, “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. 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.”

Editor Mark Paniccia adds, “Charles has wanted to tell these stories for a while and we finally have the perfect opportunity. You’ll be shocked at the revelations he has in store… things you never thought you’d see from Kylo’s AND Vader’s past. And Luke Ross has taken his visual storytelling to a new level. The page designs are incredible and flow hand-in-hand with Kylo’s dark and tortured story.”

Legacy of Vader #1 will be released on February 5, a month before the start of Marvel’s other newly announced Star Wars ongoing, the prequel era Jedi Knights. Its debut will come five years after the release of The Rise of Skywalker, which concluded the sequel trilogy and Kylo Ren/Ben Solo’s story. The first issue will have a main cover by Derrick Chew, and variants by E.M. Gist, Karen S. Darboe, Ramon Rosanas, Annie Wu, and John Giang. You can check out Wu’s cover, and an interior preview below.