Star Wars: Legacy of Vader: The Reign of Kylo Ren, Vol. 2

Star Wars: Legacy of Vader

by Charles Soule, Luke Ross (Illustrator), Stefano Raffaele (Illustrator)

Darth Vader still casts a long shadow upon the galaxy!

On a distant, snow-covered planet, Kylo Ren has met his match against former Jedi Grandea, a survivor of Order 66! Flashbacks to the Clone Wars era reveal Grandea’s daring use of the Force in the face of ultimate betrayal! But will a living testament to the worst tragedy to ever befall the Jedi be able to change Kylo’s evil ways?

COLLECTING: Star Wars: Legacy of Vader (2025) #7-12

Genres: Star Wars, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Science Fiction

136 pages, Paperback

Published March 31, 2026

About the author

Charles Soule is a #1 New York Times-bestselling novelist, comics author, screenwriter, musician, and lapsed attorney. He has written some of the most prominent stories of the last decade for Marvel, DC and Lucasfilm in addition to his own work, such as his comics Curse Words, Letter 44 and Undiscovered Country, and his original novels Light of the Jedi, The Endless Vessel, The Oracle Year and Anyone. He lives in New York.

Reviews

[Jesús De la Jara]

Luego de la conquista de Corellia. Se encuentra con Grandea, una jedi que sobrevivió a la orden 66. Durante la batalla se entera que Luke ha muerto
Mientras, los caballeros de Ren han hecho sus correrías ahora bajo el mandato de una nueva líder: Tava Ren. Ahí entendemos cómo Snoke quizo deshacerse de ellos y quedarse solo con Kylo Ren. Vendrá un enfrentamiento con ella.
Finalmente, Kylo vuelve con Vanée quien lo introduce a lo más profundo del castillo de Vader donde Kylo tendrá varias visiones muy interesantes. No sé hasta qué punto es real pero dos de sus mentores aparecen y lo hacen reflexionar. El final es abierto, no sé a dónde irá.
El volumen es un poco menos interesante que el anterior, pero es imposible para mí no tener gusto por el cómic ya que da mucha más información de lo que le pasó a Kylo antes de la última película. Los flashbacks son como siempre gratificantes.

[Declan O'Keeffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Charles Soule at his best. volume 1 was a bit slow to begin with, but having just read the final issue, it was necessary for understanding what the author was trying to say about the wannabe villain.

Volume 2 showed me why Charles Soule is still my favourite Star Wars comic writer. He understands the universe and characters so well. He is so good at taking them on new journeys, even between 2 points we already know, and still giving surprises and exciting moments. This volume is up there with some of Charles best, and gives so much more value to Kylo Rens character.

edit: just got and read the tpb. while not a perfect volume, I love the final couple issues and am desperate to find out what the plan is for the sequel and whatever is going on with Marvel Star Wars right now in general.

[Sarah Goode · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please tell me we’re getting a volume 3.

[Jess H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally a piece of media that does justice by the complexity that is Kylo Ren. I can only hope that Charles Soule decides to do more with the character.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Beautiful emo homunculus

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

34-35 ABY

This graphic novel collects issues 7-12 of Star Wars: Legacy of Vader (2025). The story seems to take place between the events of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. After seeking a Jedi for some answers about Skywalker, the answers he seeks seemingly leave him in denial. When a new leader takes up the Knights of Ren, Kylo is challenged, but of course he will never let anyone take him down. This encounter leads him back to Mustafar to gain what he can from Vanee, Vader's former associate and caretaker. Kylo bites off more than he can chew, and Vanee helps him recover, but also induces him to face some ghosts within his subconcious that need to be addressed.

Some of the art throws me off a bit, but it is also styalized in a way that really shows the hatred Kylo is capable of. Yet, the story also shows how there's this underside to Kylo that he never, NEVER, lets anyone see. I do enjoy seeing some of the in-bewteen story of what he is up to before The Rise of Skywalker, as a villain always has an agenda.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down to 3⭐️

Star Wars: Legacy of Vader - The Rise of Kylo Ren Vol. 2 collects issues 7-12 of the Marvel Comics series written by by Charles Soule, art by Luke Ross and Stefano Raffaele, and colors by Nolan Woodard.

Kylo Ren continues his journey of learning his grandfather’s past in order to make him own connection to the Dark Side even more powerful.

I’m torn on my thoughts of this volume. While this one volume showed more character for Kylo Ren than all the movies combined, I thought the first volume was actually more interesting and fun. There were also some developments that seemed to raise more questions than answers involving the Knights of Ren and how Kylo regained control of the group between Episodes VIII and IX but the series ends somewhat abruptly.

[Chandler Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

An even greater follow-up to an already good first volume. This volume really tells 3 distinct stories that overlap in Kylo Ren’s character development. The first story recounts a very cool story about a Jedi’s unique way of surviving Order 66. The second story follows Kylo Ren’s relationship to the Knights of Ren, and may also provide some clarity as to why the Knights are absent for the most part from the sequel trilogy. But honestly, it just feels like damage control for a directionless trilogy. The final story sees Kylo Ren going back to Castle Vader to learn more about Darth Vader’s own power. Great artwork too.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

enjoyed this similarly to volume 1. tava ren im all about.
Knights of ren are pretty crap once we learn about them rather than just see them innflashes in films. I guess episode 9 they weren't that compelling with more screen time either. I dont see why they'd be a threat to kylo when he fights them in 9.

im not sure this explains why kylo goes back to wearing his helmet , it seems like he'd double down on not wearing it although in the first volume vanee does say that your past is part of who you are.

hopefully this and the rise of kylo are combined into an ohc/omnibus.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t know why I keep reading new Star Wars canon since it continues to disappoint. Volume 2 of the Kylo Ren story is no different, except it’s actually even worse than anticipated. The first volume wasn’t great but any means but at least there was something there, some kind of story to follow. Here it’s just 5 random issues, all mashed together in yet another attempt to try and explain a totally uninteresting and wasted character from the Disney sequels. This is boring and does nothing for Star Wars.

[Javier X · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fine although a little light in the story, I really like the introduction of some ideas and the additional context for Kylo to understand maybe a little bit more of him.

The action scenes were cool and the locations too.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4
Consistently good. The latter issues were a bit weaker. But good enough. Definitely the best current Star Wars comic. But I think a good ending point for the series. The story has played out. But this does show Kylo can carry a series. But his character is ruined. Who haven't they ruined?

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

One good story out of six issues is a terrible ratio, but the good one is very good.

[Raul Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, not quite as good as Vol. 1. Still essential readin.

My rating: 4 Stars

[Martijn Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kylo Ren is by far the most interesting character of the sequel Trilogy and this comic arc uses and builds on that in a terrific way.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, Soule has me caring about Kylo Ren, in a cool "between movie scenes" story that feels exciting and fun.

[Bella ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whoever wrote this seems like they really hate Kylo or Reylo or both

[Connor Stompanato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn, this is a really good comic series. I already thought volume one was excellent but volume two is next level. I actually don't think I can ship Kylo Ren and Rey anymore after reading this series, it truly highlights how far he is willing to go for the dark side. I never found him particuarly intimidating in the films but here, Kylo is intense.

I want to stay spoiler free so I'm just going to be vague. The events with Grandea were thrilling and I really enjoyed her character and her backstory. Getting some proper flashbacks to her past was brilliant and I hope this isn't the last time we see her. I also appreciated spending time with the Knights of Ren as in the films you think they are going to be an extremely important part of the plot, and then they were dropped. This might be the first time that I have understood their role properly.

We get another new wonderful character at the same time: Tava Ren. She is so dynamic and exciting, again I hope that we see her again. She is a great foil for Kylo Ren but in a completely different way than Rey is. They are like opposite sides of the same coin and I enjoyed it a lot. Later on, we get some cameos that I just loved. I honestly feel like this comic is giving me almost everything that I could ever want as a Kylo fan. Issue 12 was the perfect ending that played around beautifully with weird Force stuff (my favourite) and dug deep into Kylo's soul. Sad to see this finished to be honest, but glad that it ended up such a high.

You can find all of my 'Star Wars' reviews here.