– Spoiler Review –
In its penultimate issue, The Rise of Kylo Ren #3 adds even more emotional stakes to the events which see Ben Solo become Kylo Ren, setting up what is sure to a memorable finale, both in terms of what transpires and the emotional responses.
Even as the series plows forward, it slows down just enough to let us know a little more about the Jedi following Ben Solo, and what they mean to him. The Knights of Ren, or at the very least “Ren” himself, might be happy to see Solo, but he’s not ready to let the young man in, first wanting to know if he’s caused any good deaths, their price of entry. Rather than let Ben get away with telling the tale of his battle with the other students, Ren wants Ben to relive what they mean to him, so Ben knows how far he’s gone and for Ren to know if it was far enough. We’ve needed to learn more about the other students for this story to really work and this felt like an organic way to slow things down enough for some backstory. Thus, we see Voe, Hennix, and Tai from Ben’s point of view, a distinction I feel important to make.
Voe, always trying to be better than him, or be him, as his connection to the Force comes easier than hers, Ben sees as failure for not trying to be herself. Ben, as we know him from the sequel trilogy films and the last two issues of this story, has always been concerned with the expectations others have for him, rather than be curious to learn and nurture what he wants to be, so to have someone so obsessed, from what he believes, with being him, it only feeds into his desire to buck all expectations rather than conform. Where he’s trying to be himself, she’s trying to be who everyone thinks he is, and her inability to measure up to that ghost only causes her frustration. Her feelings are ones he doesn’t believe belong to a Jedi, which is curious to hear from him, on the path he’s heading down, but we’ll cover that in a little bit. Luke does impart some wonderfully sage wisdom about the Force in general, as it might come easier to others, but one can match that if they open themselves up to it, though it seems Voe doesn’t quite take the lesson to heart.
Hennix believes the Force is a puzzle to solve, as we flashback to Luke helping talk him through opening a holocron, though I could hear Ben’s disdain for Hennix’s seeming inaction to engaging with and learning about the Force, but I might be projecting. And then there’s Tai, whose abilities with the Force seem to focus on empathy, and what he tells Ben while at Luke’s academy feels too little too late. He tells Ben something he’s needed to hear far earlier in his life and constantly, that while Ben might be the Ben Solo, he can still be whoever he wants to be, as everyone, like his parents and the galaxy at large, will accept whomever he decides to become while carrying his famous name around. When Tai tells Ben this, it’s already too late, he’s begun to make up his mind, but it does highlight how Ben has a support structure and actively rejects their help, so it’s clear no one’s making these decisions for him, he’s making them for himself.
As Ben tells Ren, and by extension us, how he views his three pursuing Jedi, we see how they are projecting their own expectations onto him during their battle on Elphrona. Ben once again tells them to leave him be, that he doesn’t want to harm them, but they attempt to bring him in, to help him in their own way. Voe accuses him of being a murderer, and he shouts, “Is that what you want me to be?” pushing her off a ledge with the Force. Hennix only sees her fall, not Ben’s efforts to save her, and accuses him of murder, throwing his saber at Ben. With Voe, she might be frustrated the person she wanted to be has attacked Luke and his Order, but her words only heighten how Ben feels everyone has their own expectations for him. And Hennix, normally taking his time, rushes to conclusions, and his spinning saber distracts Ben, and while Tai catches her, Hennix is unable to save himself from his returning blade. The shock on Ben’s face is palpable, and his expression of regret mixed with commitment seen in the issue’s opening segment now makes sense. Ignoring his pleas to leave him alone and stop following him, Tai and Voe now believe him lost, making the same mistake Luke did in the hut, assuming his choice was already made (as Rey put it in The Last Jedi). By the end of their confrontation, Ben might finally be in a place where he’s committed to his current path, his mind finally made up, but it’s both through his own choices and the actions of those around him, assuming for him. And if it’s not fully made up, I’m sure it’ll be by the end of the next issue.
Will Sliney, with Guru-eFX on colors, continues to impress in the emotional range he’s putting into Ben Solo’s face, aping actor Adam Driver to dramatic effect. Even though Ben talks plenty, most of Driver’s performance of the character came from his expressions, and the collaboration between Sliney and writer Charles Soule to show and not always tell Ben’s reactions to events recalls any writer and artist pair who’ve worked on a Vader series, like Soule and Guiseppe Camuncoli on Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith, as a lot more needs to be said in his stance and how he’s framed since he doesn’t speak much/no facial expressions; another connection between Ben and his grandfather!
Here are a few other things:
- Soule’s next big Star Wars content, Project Luminous, will have an announcement on February 24. If it really does take place in the High Republic era, even more recently teased in Soule’s Star Wars #2 (Vol. 2), maybe we’ll see Elphrona at its height.
- The final issue of TRoKR comes out March 11, a week before The Rise of Skywalker novelization hits, while the art book drops the 31, and I imagine the home release of the film (and eventual Disney+ addition) not too far behind.
- Entertainment writer, and Star Wars Blog contributor, Alex Kane pointed out the cinematic connection between the reveal of “Ren’s” face and Ben’s reaction (issue #2) to that of young Indiana Jones seeing the face the leader of the robbers in the opening sequence to Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. Soule confirmed it’s exactly what he was going for!
- It’s easy to assume Voe and Tai will be dead by the end of the final issue, but what if things don’t go that way, that Ben saves them from Ren, but killing him is the final step to make him Kylo Ren? I can see him wanting to kill Ren for hurting/injuring/or putting his former friends in danger
What role do Voe and Tai play in the final steps of Ben’s journey to Ren? And when/why does Ben kill Ren and take his role? Who will he kill that he actually wants to kill, thus sending him further down the dark path he takes? We’ll find out next month in The Rise of Kylo Ren’s final issue!
+ Going down memory lane with Ben’s Jedi friends
+ Art providing plenty of nuance
+ Seeing Ben’s support structure, their problems, and his denial of their support
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
THE RISE OF KYLO REN
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