Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren

Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #1-4

by Charles Soule, Will Sliney (Illustrations)

With Ben Solo’s fall comes Kylo Ren’s rise! As the son of Rebel Alliance heroes Leia Organa and Han Solo, and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker’s nephew and protégé, Ben Solo has the potential to be a great force for light in the galaxy. But the Skywalker legacy casts a long shadow, the currents of the dark side run deep and Ben has Darth Vader’s blood in his veins. Voices from both his past and future tell him who he must be. He will shatter, he will be reforged and his destiny will be revealed. Snoke awaits. The Knights of Ren await. Ben Solo’s path to his true self begins here.

COLLECTING: STAR WARS: THE RISE OF KYLO REN #1-4

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

112 pages, Paperback

First published August 11, 2020

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

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the hell out of this graphic novel! As soon as I saw it, I bought it with no questions asked! The storyline is amazing and the art is fantastic







Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾😘

BLOG: https://melissa413readsalot.blogspot....

[Lucie · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I never... I didn’t want this.”

Ben, I am so, so sorry. 😭

Reading about people assuming the worst from him from the very beginning truly breaks my heart, he was so alone. That aside, I really like the art so far and I’m so glad we’re learning more about the Knights of Ren, I really need more answers!! I can’t wait for the next issue. ❤️

[Tiag⊗ the Mutant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, a Star Wars graphic novel that actually tells a story that matters to the canon, but only four issues long, really? I honestly don't understand Marvel/Disney's editorial, this limited series was actually pretty good, but could be so much better with a couple more issues, or even an ongoing series, it felt like a preview, there's way too much holes in the new trilogy that needs to be filled.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the first time, Disney has allowed Marvel to fill in one of the gaps between the trilogies. This takes place immediately after Luke and Ben Solo's confrontation at the Jedi Temple. Ben runs off to meet up with the Knights of Ren. It's a cool story that could have used 2 more issues to flesh out fully. I'd really like to see a whole book on Kylo Ren's rise.

[A.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking place the night Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Temple was destroyed, which we saw glimpses of depicted in The Last Jedi, the Rise of Kylo Ren details Ben Solo’s journey that fateful night and how Luke Skywalker’s moment of weakness led to the fall of his Jedi Order and the rise of Kylo Ren. The story follows Voe, Hennix, and Tai, three Jedi padawans who survived the temple’s destruction since they were on a mission off-world, as they track down and try to stop their former ally before he is truly lost forever.

Ben Solo is probably the most interesting character from the Star Wars sequel trilogy, so it’s really awesome being able to read a comic that does a fantastic job at showing how exactly Ben fell to the dark side. We also get a flashback with Luke Skywalker taking on the Knights of Ren at an old Jedi temple, and that was easily one of my favorite Star Wars sequences ever. I always love seeing Luke Skywalker kick ass at the height of this power, and this book has a glimpse at that, even if it is a bit too brief. Luke himself isn't shown too much, but he is written exceptionally well when he does show up.

There isn’t a whole lot more I can say without spoiling the whole thing, but I really wish we had gotten more comics covering both Kylo Ren and/or the Knights of Ren in general, since they were by far two of the most interesting aspects of the sequel trilogy. There just feels like a lot of stories that could be told during this time period, so it’s a little weird how we’ve only gotten a single 4 issue mini covering it. This honestly could have been bumped into a 12-issue maxi or even an ongoing showing the full extent of Kylo Ren’s rise to power. Besides being a bit too short for my liking, this is an incredible Star Wars comic that explores one of the most interesting time periods in this galaxy far, far away. Charles Soule & Will Sliney did a fantastic job working together on this one, and I hope they are able to do more with the sequel trilogy characters in the future. Give us more of this!

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh no, this is bad, this is very very bad...


Why is Adam Driver's face so hard to draw?

Otherwise, this was a great comic that filled in a raging huge hole in what happened next, and made me even more sympathetic (and empathetic) towards Ben Solo, if that's possible!


Edit: *8 months later* Guys I found it I'm not the only one who thought this exact same thing!



Whoever made this I will find you and I will high-five you

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now THIS was the in-Canon series I was waiting for. And, for what it's worth, I liked Snoke's hat, OK?



OK, not that one but still.

Not much else I can say here without pretty massive spoilers, but if you enjoyed Soule's masterful take on Darth Vader in his run I think you will enjoy getting to know Ren and his Galactic Good Ole Boys.

[Books with Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Need the next one now!

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este cómic estoy seguro fue un consuelo para muchos de nosotros que queríamos saber mucho más de Kylo Ren, el personaje para mí que realmente fue el principal en esta última trilogía y del cual quedó muchos cabos sueltos que no fueron resueltos en estas películas. El cómic me gustó mucho aunque le pongo 4 estrellas debido a que los dibujos no fueron los mejores y sobre todo me pareció que 4 cómics para la historia de origen de Kylo fue muy poco, en otras palabras hicieron lo de siempre infravalorar al personaje. La historia es de la conversión de Ben Solo a Kylo Ren aunque igual es escueta y ya lo presenta avanzado. Sobre todo se centra en el conflicto contra dos de sus compañeros jedi y contra los propios caballeros de Ren. Esa parte me gustó. El micro cameo de Rey también agrada pues como otras cosas unifica toda la historia en redondo.

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Actually I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. The story is great, and the artwork is awesome. It definitely filled in some blanks.

Start rant. The one thing that is my personal prejudice is Luke. I grew up on the Expanded Universe where Luke was much more of a warrior. It was great to actually see him in action, but I will never belive one Force push would have been enough to take Luke (any universe's Luke) out whilst they had brought time to destroy the Jedi Order he built. Also what happens to the other students there? End rant.

Though some of the blanks that were filled in here was, the difference between the Knights of Ren and the Sith, also Ben's journey towards the Dark. Killing did not come naturally. There was a lot of coaching. Also how long did voices had been in his head poisoning him. Each chapter starts with the issue cover, the cover gallery contains the varient cover of each issue.

[Elaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoilers for TROS!!!






Issue #1

Really wish this was in the movie...would've been nice to see this on screen...excited to read the other parts as they come out though. Just wish Ben Solo didn't die 😭😢 Hoping they will do a prequel with him or something ❤💙

[Beta_Critic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this was in the movie

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be my favourite comic of the new canon so far. It gives more explanation than The Rise of Skywalker does and shows that Ben Solo, was in fact, good at heart. Somehow he just stumbled from one mess into the next. Charles Soule and Will Sliney really exceeded my expectation with this one and although TROS ruined my hype a bit, I look forward to issue #2.

[madison (masquerade) ♫ · Rating 5 out of 5]

*5 out of 5 stars*
Apparently drawing Adam Driver is more difficult than we assumed??? *sigh* I guess beauty at his level just can't be recreated on paper...

But no seriously though, at certain points in this comic I was like "This looks like Adam Driver's distant, distant, distant .... distant cousin." However, I wasn't flocking to this comic just to gaze at off-brand Adam Driver. This story line is incredible and blows up every theory you had about what happened the night the Jedi Temple burned. This comic series also adds new characters and details that I have been praying for since The Last Jedi. Oh, and praise the lamb, this series is CANON. THANK YOU Marvel and Disney!! I can't wait to start #2 and I recommend this comic to any Kylo fan, Reylo fan or just in-general fan of the newest SW trilogy.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprised so many people love this. Was good but not amazing.

Basically this picks up after Luke and Ben go head to head and Ben unleashes his super evil force powers. He is confronted by three of his Jedi friends and they begin to fight, and Ben smacks them away and leaves. Of course those dumbasses go ahead and chase him. Ben goes to Snoke for some advice, heads over to the Ren people, and then figures out who he really is.

I think I hated the art sometimes. The emotional faces look weird and the body movement as well. I thought the dialogue was fine most of the time, and Kylo Ren being born was pretty cool. The fill in for the backstory and the story of Luke and Ben as a kid was great.

Overall, decent, even good at points but not the best. A 3 out of 5.

[♠ TABI⁷ ♠]

you know what kinda sucks?? that you have to turn to lesser known sources for canonical facts about a very pivotal character instead of finding it out in the theater-release everyone-and-their-thrice-removed-cousin will see and know . . .

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This four-part story-arc explores the origin of Kylo Ren and his venture to the dark side of the force. It not only bridges the gap between who he was and who he becomes in the infamous movie trilogy, but it also presents his relationship with Snoke and other apprentice Jedis who unfortunately helped him become who he is.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Billy Jepma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever since The Force Awakens, everyone has wanted to know how Kylo Ren was born and Ben Solo fell. But, in classic Star Wars fashion, the answers prove to be less interesting than the unanswered question was.

Charles Soule is one of the best writers Star Wars has right now—if you haven’t read his Lando miniseries or his run on Vader you’re missing out *big time*—so I’m glad they tapped him for this pivotal story. But...meh. It feels like he didn’t have the freedom to really explore Ben’s struggle with the dark side (his Shadow, as he calls it), skips to the end of it all and then wraps up with him becoming Kylo Ren without it feeling earned. It’s like Soule is trying to please everyone with this (much like a certain recent film did...) and ultimately doesn’t please anyone.

The story is fine, but like I said, it feels rushed. Just four issues is short anyway, but for a story that feels this important? Four issues is nothing. The bits of backstory we get are cool and I liked seeing just how long Snoke was manipulating Ben, but his actual “turn” feels very sudden and almost...accidental? I needed more time to see Ben struggle with things, to see him really decide on his path, but we didn’t get that, not really, anyway.

Kylo Ren was a captivating villain in TFA and TLJ because he seemed like he knew exactly what he was doing and repeatedly *chose* to be the “villain.” This story shows us a Ben who kind of stumbles around and ends up going bad for reasons that are predictable at best and muddled at worst. We get answers, sure, but they’re not satisfying and feel so far removed from the character we see in the films that it’s all too easy to disregard them entirely.

That all sounds very harsh, and it is, but I still enjoyed this. Again, the bits of backstory on Luke’s Jedi Temple are very cool, and Soule’s writing is strong, as usual. His dialogue hits, and even the moments of levity he introduces don’t fall entirely flat. He also does a pretty good job at capturing Adam Driver’s unique voice, which is key. And Sliney’s art is pretty strong throughout. Some of his facial features are a bit off and can feel slightly manicured, but his layouts are great and I loved the staging of a lot of the scenes he curated. The final issue especially is a visual marvel, which helped my opinion of the comic end on a more positive note than it would’ve otherwise.

I didn’t think I would love this, so I’m not surprised that I don’t. I was afraid that I would hate it, but I’m glad that I don’t. I’m just...meh. Which is a bummer.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent. But was expecting more. Didn't feel my understanding of the character changed.

[Elaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread 2023:
This was just as good as I remembered, and I even caught more things in it now than I did before. I really like that they gave us this backstory, definitely felt like it was needed! Still would've loved to have seen some of this on screen, whether it have been in flashbacks in the main movies, or a story and movie of its own. Maybe they will still do something in the future...I'm not giving up hope no matter how crazy I might look to some xD
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2021 Review:
Finally got around to finishing the rest of the issues in this graphic novel :) It was a highly anticipated read for me, but things kept getting in the way haha

Would've been great to see some of this in The Rise of Skywalker, but I'm still hopeful that they'll make a show with Ben Solo/Kylo Ren at some point in the future lol Would be so amazing to see and even if it was just animated I would still be excited.

[Gabriel Salvo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This insight into Ben Solo's backstory and growth into Kylo Ren and the leader of the Knights of Ren is highly needed and very much appreciated. I really enjoyed reading this, and it has improved my perception of the sequels and Kylo's character immensely. Super recommend this to anyone who thinks Kylo Ren is the best part of the Sequel trilogy and wants more of him.

Oh and we get some peak Luke Skywalker fight scene moments in here too, wish this is what we got in the movies but oh well.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story we’ve been waiting for since we were first introduced to Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens. How he went from a student of Luke Skywalker to the leader of The Knights of Ren and a pawn of Snoke.

Now, this probably could have gone deeper. It’s a very good read and we see the conflict with Ben that we see throughout the sequel trilogy.

But could there not have been more of him and Snoke? When did Snoke first get into Young Ben Solos head? Maybe these are things to be explored for another time (in a novel perhaps)

Some of the Marvel Star Wars minis feel a bit disposable when you’re done with them. Like they’re fine reads but you don’t feel like they’ve added much to the Star Wars mythos and you can’t see yourself rereading them. I think The Rise of Kylo Ren is the opposite of that. It feels like a significant book to a really great character.

[Marina Vidal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kylo es mi personaje favorito de la nueva trilogía. Así que todo sobre Kylo en vena por favor. En esta serie de 4 números veremos como pasa de Ben Solo a Kylo Ren. De momento ya me rompe el corazón.

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so uninterested in the sequel trilogy era.

But I am curious about Ben Solo's background, so I wanted to see what story they'd come up with. This book only covers the very moment of his "rise," with (surprise!) very little information given about anything earlier that would have made him want to start killing everyone around him and burning stuff down. That's a pretty big shift, even for a moody adolescent in a monastery. Why does Ben hate his family and heritage so much? Who knows. How does Snoke (Palpatine, I guess) first start communicating with him in his mind? Who knows. Why wouldn't he make sure Luke was actually dead before leaving the planet? Who knows. What do the Knights of Ren do besides randomly flying around the galaxy, pillaging, killing, and burning? Who knows. What does the name "Kylo" mean? Who knows.

And really—he turns to the dark side before he even knows there's a First Order?

Because the actual "becoming the bad guy" scenes are so related to imagery and actions in Revenge of the Sith, this story feels a little bland. I'd prefer something really original, surprising, weird. But...it's Disney-era Star Wars.

Snoke's outfit... :( I never imagined that the gold robe was an improvement over anything that he'd worn before, but now I know.

[Christina Vourcos · Rating 5 out of 5]

The creators say this issue will enhance the experience watching ‘The Rise of Skywalker.’ This explains so much about Ben Solo as he becomes Kylo Ren, and adds more to what we learned in ‘The Last Jedi.’ I look forward to seeing ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ and the next issues in this mini comic series, ‘The Rise of Kylo Ren.’

[Megara Ryan]

On the one hand: YES! I've been waiting for this for forever I'm so excited!!!
But on the other hand: AHHH I'm not prepared!!!!

[DancingMarshmallow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall: 3 stars

Okay, listen. This is a good comic in that it functions as a prequel to The Force Awakens and builds upon a character’s backstory. The story is pretty much exactly what you’d think it would be for Kylo Ren, but there’s some nice character moments and action sequences, and a predictable story isn't necessarily a bad one.

The art is overall well done as well, and I enjoyed some of the pops of color, since a lot of Star Wars is shades of brown and black.

However.

HOWEVER.

The artist's seeming inability to draw Adam Driver's face knocks off a few stars from my rating. They do fine in some panels and do just dandy drawing other characters based on actors, like Luke, but hoooooooooo boy are the Kylo faces in this just bad. They're just bad. Scary bad.

Goodreads hates me adding images, so just google it and see the strange melting clay face of Kylo for yourself.

So yeah. The story for this comic is fine and all but be prepared for some uncanny valley moments with our main character’s face. Yikes.

[Jay DeMoir · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this graphic novel! The storyline was pretty amazing and the art was fantastic. I could feel the turmoil rise off the pages and enjoyed the backstory. It really filled in some holes for me.

[Daria Fujino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Цікаво, особливо про knights of Ren, красиво намальовано. Я прям уявляла як це все б виглядало, якби було екранізовано. Але хочеться ще. Мені треба ще Кайло Рена, його історії. Хочу його зрозуміти😅

[Jeff Sitko · Rating 5 out of 5]

As expected, this book shines a light on the darker aspects of the new trilogy... on several levels. Learning more about the more cryptic elements (specifically regarding the mysterious antagonists) of Episodes VII-IX is incredibly welcome. The destruction of Luke’s temple, the Knights of Ren, and Snoke shown as we’ve never seen him before... what a blockbuster start to what I’m certain will be a fascinating yarn of those who touch the shadow in a galaxy far, far away.