Luke Skywalker admits he’s training Kylo Ren to lead his new Jedi Order (and it helped Snoke corrupt him)

Like Marvel’s current era of Star Wars Story comes to an end, fans see a previously unknown moment in between Luke Skywalker and Ben Solo, before the latter’s transformation into kilo rn. as of Star Wars #50Marvel is transitioning out of the era between Empire strikes back And Return of the JediSwitching its attention to the time between the original and sequel trilogies, beginning with the Battle of Jakku. But before that, there are some loose ends to tie up, as Luke teaches Ben Solo a vital lesson.

In a preview of the fifty page Star Wars #50Luke tells Ben Solo the story of his return to the Living Sea of ​​Gazian – a living reliquary that retains an imprint of the mind of every Force user who has ever visited it, both light side and dark. Luke prepares Ben for the story by admitting that As one of his first Jedi students, he expects Leia and Han’s son to take a leadership position in his new Jedi Order. – an admission that makes Ben’s fall into darkness as Kylo Ren even more tragic.

Fans know that by the time of the sequel era, Ben will have turned against Luke, destroying his Jedi school and killing his other students. It is therefore especially tragic to know that – although there was a single moment in his life where Luke considered killing Ben – his grander plan was that Ben would help form the new Jedi Order as one of its leading lights. However, this is not just a case of dark irony – There is a degree to which Luke’s plans for Ben Solo contributed to his turn to the dark side.

Star Wars #50
	Writer: Charles Sole Artist: Madibek Musabekov Colorist: Rachel Rosenberg Writer: Clayton Cowles Cover artist: Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Luke Skywalker believed that Ben Solo would be a leading figure in his Jedi order

Star Wars loves the theme of human intention vs cosmic destiny

Although the movies make it seem like Kylo Ren killed Luke’s students out of loyalty to Supreme Leader Snoke, that’s not quite what happened. Charles Soule and Will Sliney’s miniseries The rise of Kylo Ren Strongly suggesting that it was actually Palpatine who destroyed Luke’s school and killed the vast majority of his Padawans, sends a powerful bolt of Force lightning to destroy the building shortly after Ben Solo fights Luke. Ben’s shame and arrogance convinced him that he had provoked the flash.

Ben is then pursued by Luke’s surviving students, whom he ends up killing to protect his own life, sealing his shift to the Dark Side. Confronted by them at the site of Luke’s burning school, Kylo blurts out that, “I’m stronger than all three of you combined. Skywalker made us think we were all equal, but you all know the truth. I was the prize student of the temple.” While Snoke/Palpatine has been whispering in Ben Solo’s ear for years to corrupt him, it is now clear that he was working with emotions that Luke Skywalker seeded in his student.

By telling Ben he was expected to lead the Jedi Order, Luke encouraged his arrogance and added weight to the legacy that Ben had inherited from his parents. The child of rebel heroes who saved the galaxy and the last of the Skywalker line, Ben grew up with the expectation that he would do something really great, and it seems Luke didn’t or couldn’t convince him that he wasn’t better. Or worse than any other Jedi.

Kylo Ren’s iconic demand to “Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to.” is even darker in the context of how much is demanded of him (deliberately or not) by the heroes of the original trilogy. Ben Solo can’t take the weight of that expectation, and Snoke uses that to corrupt him, and also presents a new way where he can fulfill a twisted vision of success by mirroring his grandfather’s evil – becoming as powerful and influential as he has is Promised, but in a way that would let him escape from the expectations of his parents and master.

Star Wars Likes to twist prophecy and expectation – most famously with Anakin Skywalker’s destiny to bring balance to the Force. In this universe, if someone is expected to become one thing, it is almost guaranteed that they will become the opposite, or at least reach the prophetic point through the last route anyone expected.

Kylo Ren ended up playing a huge part in the New Jedi Order

…but neither Ben nor Luke are destined to lead it

Ultimately, while Ben Solo fell to the dark side, he ended up helping a new Jedi order to flourish – but not as its leader. Palpatine’s return and his machinations by Snoke cost both Luke Skywalker and Ben Solo their lives, leaving Rey Skywalker to actually found the new Jedi Order that Luke had worked so hard for. Luke saw Ben Solo as someone who could lead the Jedi Order after his death, and he was technically right, but only for a short time. Ben Solo sacrificing himself to save Rey and defeating Palpatine created a new future for the Jedi.

Of course, even as Rey Skywalker steps into the future as the leader of a new Jedi Order, Luke’s efforts to shape it are still in play. It was Luke who taught Rey and shaped her understanding of the Force, and crucially Rey also kept Luke’s Jedi texts for future use. Marvel’s Empire strikes back/Return of the Jedi Era has a lot of focus to Luke gathering the texts, and even Issue 50 will see him risk his mind and life on Gazian to acquire the knowledge of past Force users.

While Luke believed that these discoveries would make Kylo Ren one of the leaders of the new Jedi Order, his efforts were not in vain, as the leader of the order. Does Have all the knowledge that Luke worked to collect in her property. as always, Star Wars‘ Twisting depiction of cosmic destiny means that neither Luke Skywalker nor kilo rns life went as they had planned, but both still contributed to a new Jedi Order – one with a worthy leader who could use all the ancient knowledge Luke Skywalker Fought so hard to collect.

Star Wars #50 Coming from Marvel Comics September 10th.