Having just teased fans at NYCC, Charles Soule’s next Marvel comic for Star Wars has been announced: a Kylo Ren focused on-going series named Legacy of Vader. Set in the year between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, the series looks to explore the fallout of all his actions so far, something the films didn’t have as much time to digest (nor did fans due to little tie-in media). With art by the talented Luke Ross, which some preview pages were also revealed, Legacy of Vader starts February 2025 so head below now for all the details and first look.
If this isn’t your first Star Wars comics article on the Manor, then you’d likely not be surprised to know I’ve been hoping and praying, as the main comics go past Return of the Jedi, Marvel would finally, finally let Darth Vader comics rest. With Legacy of Vader, they found a way to do a Vader comic without doing one, so bravo for being sneaky even if it made me roll my eyes, but at least they are doing it in the most potentially interesting way possible: by exploring his legacy and what it meant for his grandson, Ben Solo. Kylo Ren’s journey between the two films is ripe for exploration, as he’s going through a ton, be it killing his dad, almost his mom, Rey’s impact on his life, killing Snoke, and taking over as Supreme Leader of the First Order… to name a few things. How does he unpack that all? How does he try to be a leader? What are his hopes and plans for what’s next? Given the fluid nature of the sequel trilogy, a lot of the tie-in media set during the year between TLJ and TROS was not only limited, but didn’t explore much of anything about the time frame beyond checking in with our characters. Given we had almost 5 real word years worth of comics explore between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and TROS is 5 years old itself, it was about time a layer or two was peeled back for the sequel trilogy.
Given Soule’s pedigree so far, I’m pretty hyped for the series, especially since his Vader comic had a plan in mind, showing Vader’s journey from “No” to “Yes” and I feel like he has a similar trajectory for Kylo Ren as well. Another bonus would be a limited issue count, 25 or a few more, so this is a concise and to the point story, but thankfully this series will have more issues than Soule’s first crack at the character in The Rise of Kylo Ren. Luke Ross was one of my Top 3 Artists in 2023 and it’s about time he got an on-going series, and you can already how impactful his work will be for this emotionally charged story.
There were some additional teases about the series since the announcement: first, Marvel editor Mark Paniccia revealed a spoiler-free sneak peek at issue #1’s script; while Soule answered a question about Kylo having his helmet on the cover despite when this takes place, saying there’s a reason for it, though initially I chalked it up to it being the artist going with his most familiar look/the connection between Vader and Kylo so I’m glad someone asked.
Legacy of Vader drops February 5, 2025, joining other new series next year from Marvel like The High Republic: Fear of the Jedi and the recently announced Jedi Knights.
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.