Warning: Contains spoilers for Star Wars #50! Since Star Wars Fans first saw the infamous scene in The Last Jedi of Luke Skywalker When they consider killing Ben Solo, they have been left in a state of frustrated confusion, because it seems like the opposite of what Luke would do considering that he spent the entire original trilogy trying to save Darth Vader. But, how Star Wars Delving deeper into Luke’s pre-sequel trilogy past, fans get one old quote that actually explains why he considered killing Ben (despite sparing Vader).
in Star Wars #50 by Charles Soule and Madibek Musabekov Luke Skywalker sat with his young Padawan, Ben Solo, many years after the fall of the Empire (and of course before Ben fell to the dark side and became Kylo Ren). Luke tells Ben a story about the closest he, Leia, Lando, and Chewie ever came to assassinating the Emperor between the events of Episode V And VIWhen they used a mystical weapon with the power to kill anyone from across the galaxy: the Grim Rose.
While Luke told this story to Ben, they began to discuss Darth Vader, and how he, too, would be affected by the Grim Rose if Luke’s mission was brought to its terrible conclusion. Luke admits that he didn’t want Vader to die, as he wanted the chance to redeem his father. But now that Luke was an older man, he had a very different opinion. “Looking back, I had no real reason to believe that. The confidence of youth, the inevitability of happy endings. I wanted it to be true, so it had to be true“.
Post-Original Trilogy Luke Skywalker would not have tried to redeem Darth Vader
Luke’s newfound pessimism is why he even considers killing Ben Solo
This revelation makes it much easier to accept that Luke Skywalker would consider killing Ben Solo the moment he senses the darkness brewing in him, because he would have done the same thing to Darth Vader if Luke faced his father as an adult. Luke admits that he didn’t really feel the goodness in Vader, even when he was a child. It was all just naive optimism (and perhaps Jedi hubris) that drove Luke’s insistence that Darth Vader could be saved.
While Vader chose the Light in the end, he had absolutely no indication that he would try to find redemption—and, frankly, he didn’t deserve it. Darth Vader committed heinous atrocities on a cosmic scale. He slaughtered innocents outside, he kept the galaxy in line through fear and sheer brute force, and—as every Star Wars fan remembers—he killed children before even donning the iconic suit. Only a dumb, optimistic kid could look at that person and think they could be saved, and in this issue, Luke isn’t that kid anymore.
If Luke Skywalker had confronted Darth Vader as an adult, the Star Wars issue indicates that he would have killed him without a second thought. He saw Vader for the villain he was, not the Jedi Luke wished he could be. Sure, it all worked out in the end, but it was a major gamble. One that Luke wouldn’t have made later in life, and one he wasn’t ready to make again with Ben Solo.
Star Wars must explain Luke Skywalker’s breaking point in future comics
Now that fans know why Luke Skywalker was so willing to kill Ben Solo, it’s time for Star Wars To explain exactly what happened to Luke to make him lose his optimism. Mere life experience during an era of peace in the galaxy should not be enough to break such an optimistic spirit as Luke Skywalker’s, especially when his optimism actually paid off in the original trilogy. Luke saw the goodness in Vader, and that’s exactly what saved him and the entire galaxy.
So, why would he lose this optimism? How did he get to the point of raising a blade against his own nephew at the mere feeling of darkness within him? That’s why Star Wars Now needs to explain how it’s coming into his next comic book era. The Star Wars Comics are about to detail the battle of Jakku, all while publishing an ongoing Thrawn comic series, as well as stories in the ‘Mandoverse’ era of Star Wars Canon. Therefore, Star Wars needs to make room to tell the story of how Luke lost his optimism.
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There are any number of events that could happen between Episode VI And VII (What is the next era of Star Wars comics) which could explain how Luke has become a pessimistic shell of his former self. But, no matter what happened, this Star Wars Comic explains that Luke Skywalker saw Darth Vader as someone not worth saving while he was training Ben Solo, which perfectly explains why he was so willing to kill Ben in the Star Wars Sequel trilogy.
Star Wars #50 by Marvel Comics is now available.