REVIEW: 'Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #3': Kylo Ren Is All Alone
- Sarah Angelo-Haight
- Apr 16
- 3 min read
Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for ‘Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #3’.
Tatooine is not a planet for the weak.
Every progeny of Anakin Skywalker returns to the desert eventually, and now it is Kylo Ren’s turn. It is not going well for him, stuck in the clutches of Gardulla the Hutt. His captors turn a deaf ear to his protestations and threats, his “do you know who I am?” blustering serving him no good in a place the First Order, like the Empire before it, does not exist.
Kylo Ren is demonstrating a keen part of Vader’s legacy without even realizing it. Anakin Skywalker struggled in bondage his entire life, and in his own fight against Gardulla - the very creature who owned Anakin before the Dark Side did - Kylo Ren exhibits that drive to be free that was, ultimately, much of Anakin’s downfall.
Writer Charles Soule spends a great deal of time in this issue focusing on the ultimate helplessness of Kylo Ren’s situation. Not simply being held captive and tortured, but the undeniable reality that giving oneself over to the Dark Side is ultimately a solitary pursuit. Even Vader himself hammers this home in Kylo Ren’s vision, reminding his grandson that all of his “magnificence” was achieved alone. Like his grandfather, however, Kylo Ren is not the kind of man to obey simply because he is told to, and seeing Vader is what gives him that final burst of rage that frees him.
Gardulla the Hutt has long represented the chains of slavery that are an undeniably important part of Vader’s history and legacy. Kylo Ren is finally able to close a particularly painful chapter of the Skywalker saga, albeit through the violence he has been struggling to connect with.
Star Wars: Legacy of Vader is a story that has been a long time coming. The sequel trilogy exists in the shadow of Darth Vader’s legacy, and Kylo Ren’s journey as first a Knight of Ren, then Supreme Leader and finally one half of a Force Dyad all hinge on his view of his grandfather. This is reflected in the artwork of Luke Ross and Nolan Woodard, where Kylo Ren’s expression of awestruck hero worship at the sight of Vader’s swathe of violence demonstrates just how much the young man’s identity is shaped by those who came before him.
Kylo Ren takes the lesson he learns from Gardulla’s torture chamber and manages to free himself. He does this the way he thinks he must: alone, with nothing but his own power and tenacity. He cannot rely on a team, the Dark Side is too isolating. He tells himself there is “power” and “purity” in being alone, but the tragedy of Kylo Ren is that his true power comes from his connections with others.
Kylo Ren’s connection with Vaneè is another part of Vader’s legacy. The former servant’s horrifying body modifications mirror Vader’s own, and his eagerness to share the ins and outs of Vader’s real existence is somewhat suspect. There may be an ulterior motive, a trap Kylo Ren has yet to discover, but in the meantime he will continue down the path of the Dark in his pursuit of Vader’s truths. What he will discover in issue 4 when he travels to Naboo remains to be seen, but if it is anything like his experience on Tatooine, there are still lessons to learn from the ghosts of Darth Vader’s past.
Rating: ★★★★☆
About Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #3
Release Date: April 16, 2025
Written by: Charles Soule
Art by: Luke Ross
Cover by: Derrick Chew
Page Count: 22
Synopsis: KYLO REN - PRISONER ON TATOOINE! KYLO REN has been imprisoned by the ruthless GARDULLA THE HUTT! The young tyrant must survive the harsh conditions of his grandfather DARTH VADER'S homeworld! And who is the mysterious FORCE USER in Gardulla's employ?
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