The concluding chapter of the four-part Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren prequel comic, which explored Ben Solo’s descent into the dark side, came out this week and, just as promised, it revealed how Darth Vader’s grandson completed his journey away from the light. Just as we’ve already witnessed him do twice before in the Sequel Trilogy (three, if you count Luke), the climactic issue sees him murder another of his mentors.
Rise of Kylo Ren #4 sends Kylo out on a mission with the Knights of Ren. However, his former fellow students at Luke’s Jedi Academy manage to track him down. Tai, the more forgiving of the two and once Ben’s close friend, pleads with him to give up the dark path he’s on. The shared sensitivity the pair have within the Force helps reach some part of Ben who hesitates. The trouble is, however, that Ren, the master of the Knights of Ren, does not. He arrives on the scene and snaps Tai’s neck.
This sends Ben into one of his patented violent rages and he turns on Ren for murdering his friend, ramming his lightsaber through the villain’s chest. See for yourself in the pages in the gallery below:
Ren’s murder is a big deal for Ben as this is the first time he’s intentionally killed. His “here’s your good death” line is a reference to how he accidentally caused the death of Hennix, another former Padawan, in a previous issue and Ren berated him for it, calling it “not a good death” as it wasn’t in cold blood. Well, Ren got what he wished for in the end.
Following his first kill, Ben has now fully turned to the dark side. As you can see in the second of these pages, he then accepts that he’s “a murderer” and kills Voe with Ren’s saber – which we know he’ll go on to wield until Rise of Skywalker. It’s official, Kylo Ren has risen and Ben Solo is no more – at least, until the last day of his life.
Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #4, from Charles Soule and Will Sliney, is available now.
