Ben Solo

Kylo Ren, born Ben Solo, was a male and the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa.

Early life
Born to Han Solo and Leia Organa, Ben was part of a true family for a brief time following the war, during a golden age shared with his parents. Leia nursed Ben while surrounded by her friends in what R2-D2 would later recall as a happy occasion before the dark times. However, his parents lived apart more than together, and he grew up with a lack of family life. C-3PO acted more like a present parent at times, enthralling Ben with stories of the Mud Moon of Panna, the Lost Prince of Tammuz-an, and the exploits of Kybo Ren of Tarnooga&mdash;the latter Ben's personal favorite.

Ben seemed destined to become a Jedi as the descendant of the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker, and his father told him he had literally been born to be a great Jedi with powers beyond what anyone else was capable of. However, when he was little he wasn't sure if he wanted to become a Jedi despite his future in the Jedi Order seeming assured.

Jedi training
"We all know why you're so skilled with your saber, Kira, you came here already knowing how to fit your hand around wide-girthed grips, huh? Poor Ben, no wonder why he gets so angry every time you beat him sparring, I bet he's just imagining how you got those skills in the first place, and how he'll never compete with your first 'sparring partners'."

- Nellis, to Kira

Ben proved powerful in the Force, but lacked control, skill, and patience. His parents sent him to his uncle, Luke Skywalker, for training. Ben was tearful during his departure, and appreciated his father's parting words and fond farewell to the point of almost forgiving his parents.

Ben became one of the Jedi students studying under Skywalker at his temple, and training alongside colleagues including Kira, Nellis, and Nashira. He grew jealous of Skywalker's affection for Nellis, further stoking the alienation he felt from his family, and was often beaten by Kira in sparring matches. While meditating, he had Force visions of a girl similar to Kira, confronted by himself and six black-clad figures on an island, though he dismissed it as a paranoid response to his low standing in the temple, and considered the dark wraiths to be personifications of the seven deadly sins&mdash;himself as envy. He had many humiliating days in the temple.

The fall of Ben Solo
"Luke was training a new Jedi Order. A young Jedi named Kylo Ren, who was a pupil of Luke's until he turned to evil, helped the First Order hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. Ren was seduced by the dark side of the Force...."

- The spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Rey

At the age of twenty-three in 28 ABY, Ben engaged in practice sparring with Nellis while his uncle was otherwise engaged with Farnay and the Teyan Apologia, and became frustrated when the girl not only bested him in combat but made lewd accusations about his mother's sexual history. Angered, Ben pressed the attack with furious slashes and strikes, and realized that the dark side of the Force was fueling his newfound strength. Though Ben briefly considered giving in to his dark feelings to conquer Nellis&mdash;both in combat and carnally&mdash;he recoiled and let go of his anger, only for Nellis to knock him down. She continued taunting him over his loss, causing Ben to flee the temple and storm into the woods in a rage.

Tempted by the same passions as Darth Vader and ensnared by Snoke, Ben fell to the dark side of the Force, becoming Kylo Ren. He killed his fellow Jedi students in the destruction of Luke Skywalker's Jedi Temple. Rumors surrounded Kylo, with some suggesting that either he or Luke Skywalker was responsible for the massacre, while others suggested Ren was actually Skywalker himself in disguise. These ideas were perpetuated by First Order propaganda that claimed Skywalker was behind Ren's mask. Snoke dictated that Kylo Ren's birth name was forbidden to be uttered in the First Order. Ren was said to eat sun matter, absorbing the light to cast the galaxy into literal and spiritual darkness. He was also said to have a familial connection with Han Solo, either as his son, brother-in-law, or even his resurrected father-in-law. He joined the First Order and helped hunt down and destroy the remaining Jedi, and learned the legends of Darth Plagueis and the Wise Master from Snoke, who believed Kylo was his heir as Supreme Leader.

The rise of Kylo Ren
"If I fight Ben or Snoke myself, I will give in to the hate I avoided over Endor. If I train another, I will be setting them up to me massacred like my earlier padawans."

- Luke Skywalker

Kylo conducted further atrocities after the massacre, taking more victims. Leia continued to feel the conflict within her son, and blamed his actions on the influence of Snoke. His parents parted ways after his fall, and would not reunite again until an encounter on Takodana shortly before Han's death at his son's hands.

Kylo was Master of the Knights of Ren, and participated in the search for the last Jedi on behalf of Supreme Leader Snoke as part of the First Order. He utilized his superior skill with the mind probe to assist him. Kirana Promenti served as one of the Knights of Ren who sought Skywalker for her Master. Ren joined the battle on Takodana alongside a First Order strike force seeking Han Solo, and though it destroyed Maz Kanata's castle, the force was driven off by a Resistance squadron. Kylo captured the Force-sensitive scavenger Rey and subjected her to an invasive mind probe, performing mental rape on her with mind-constructs akin to dark tendrils that entered her most private areas.

Kylo was confronted by his father on the Precinct 47 bridge in Starkiller Base. Han called out to his son, though in the confrontation that followed Kylo killed his father. At this final reunion, Kylo no longer registered in the Force to Leia, replaced only by empty darkness. He fought Rey on the surface of Starkiller Base, driving her to the edge of a cliff, but was defeated in combat by her despite the girl's lack of training as the surface was wrought apart around them.

After Starkiller
"It seems like everyone has their idea what the Force is. Han, Maz, General Organa, even Ren. But why is it calling to me?"

- Rey, to the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi

Rey ruminated on her interactions with Ren while aboard the Millennium Falcon en route to Ahch-To, recalling his invasive mind probe and their duel on Starkiller Base. She spoke with the Force ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi over Ren's fall, and expressed her worries over succumbing to the same passions that ensnared him.

On Ahch-To, Luke Skywalker mused on his failings with Ben after facing mimoids of some of his past lovers. He communed with the spirit of Anakin Skywalker, watching a twisted phantom of Ben appear before them briefly. Skywalker worried over helping Rey to confront Ren, his Knights, and their Supreme Leader.

Physical appearance and biology
Ben had black hair.

Personality and traits
"I know what is coming. What will be expected of me, of my loved ones and my loyal allies. But with Ben, I face a new challenge unlike any before. And I'm not sure if this time I can win. He has so thoroughly turned against himself, so thoroughly cut himself off from the light, so thoroughly turned order to chaos...how can I not succumb if faced with him again?"

- Luke Skywalker, to the spirit of Anakin Skywalker

Ben was the child of Leia and Han in more ways than one, inheriting their precociousness and rebelliousness, but also their lack of family life, growing up in an environment where his parents often lived apart more than they did together. While Ben understood Leia's absence to be a side-effect of her political career, but felt alienated by a father who seemed to prefer a life of racing to child-raising, though Ben nonetheless loved Han as only a son could. In his parents' absence, he found C-3PO's storytelling enthralling, particularly concerning the exploits of the pirate Kybo Ren.

With his parents' lack of interest and Ben's need for parental attention, it seemed inevitable that he would train as a Jedi under his uncle, Luke Skywalker, in order to realize his full potential and to keep the youth occupied. Ben struggled as a Padawan despite his potential, and though he wasn't the worst in his clan he was far from the best, and wasn't treated like the best either. He lacked control and patience, and though he saw himself as the heir to the Jedi he remained a troubled student who was often behind in his studies and aptitude. His failings made him angry towards his fellow students, seeing them as two-faced or attempting to take his place, at times when he was meant to clear his mind of negative feelings and fixations.

Ben was tempted by his passions when he fell to the dark side. He remained conflicted after his fall, flickering with light in the Force, though as Kylo Ren he began the slow process of killing his previous persona. Once he killed Han Solo, Ren's presence in the Force only registered as empty darkness to his mother. Rey considered him to be a child despite his age, believing he was a flawed person stuck in a state of arrested development thanks to a fixation on parental abandonment. Luke worried that he had cut himself off from the light, turned order to chaos, and had turned against himself.

Skills and abilities
As a young man Ben was powerful in the Force but lacked control, skill and patience without training. He used Vaapad strikes in practice sparring sessions, but resorted to uncoordinated strikes and slashes when angered, ignoring the structured forms of lightsaber combat.

Ben learned parables of the Wise Master from Luke, and Sith legends of Darth Plagueis from Snoke. Considered a Master by his Knights of Ren, Kylo Ren earned a dangerous reputation and was capable of using a mind probe with superior skill to perform mental rape on his victims. He committed many atrocities and claimed numerous victims, including his own father.

Leia Organa
Leia felt she had a missing connection with her son that, had she forged it by following her brother down the Jedi path, could have saved him from his fall. Following the Jedi massacre Leia continued to feel the flickering conflict in Kylo, though sensed only empty darkness after his murder of Han Solo and feared he was lost to her completely.

Han Solo
Although Ben loved his father like only a son could, he felt alienated by Han's preference for space racing than child-raising, and his parents' lack of interest created a need for parental attention in the youth. Ben believed that Han's claim of Ben's great powers was a tactic to protect Ben's ego either through ignorance or by outright lying, and assumed his father would brag about him to fellow racers. Despite his inattention, Han's fond parting words to Ben upon his departure for Jedi training were almost enough for the boy to forgive him. Ultimately, Ben&mdash;as Kylo Ren&mdash;murdered his father.

Luke Skywalker
As a diametric opposite to his parents, Luke seemed attentive and loving to Ben during his Jedi training. Ben considered him a great mentor, both wise and powerful.

Nellis
Ben likened Nellis to Han Solo, resorting to dirty tricks instead of fighting fairly, and grew frustrated by her taunts and accusations over his mother's sexual proclivities. He believed that Luke saw her as a surrogate for Leia, angering and confusing him further. However, Ben was also physically attracted to Nellis, which distracted him during training sessions.

Appearances

 * SB 9667 (SBTFA09 - Lowering Rey)
 * SB 9667 (SBTFA09 - Lowering Rey)
 * SB 9667 (SBTFA09 - Lowering Rey)
 * SB 9667 (SBTFA09 - Lowering Rey)
 * SB 9667 (SBTFA09 - Lowering Rey)