Kylo Ren is one of those characters in the Star Wars franchise that has fans divided. Some see him as the bratty, whiney teenager of the Solo family, but others see him as one of the biggest threats in the Galaxy since Darth Maul and Count Dooku.
Of course, that does not mean he is all-powerful. In fact, given the right circumstances, several of his peers would be sure to take him down a peg—or, at the very least, give him a worthy dueling adversary. With that in mind, there is little debate that Ren is perhaps the most dangerous Sith Lord to ever grace the screen.
Ren Is Dangerous: He’s Reckless
While many Sith Lords have their own deadly fighting style, Kylo Ren relies on a very wild and almost unflattering style of lightsaber combat. His form leaves much to be desired, but his power and fatal strikes are what gives him such a combat advantage.
Not only that, but Ren can take as much brutality as he can dish out. If the battle in the forest at Starkiller Base was any indication, Ren can certainly hold his own even when critically injured.
Could Be Beaten By: Emperor Palpatine
The main reason Darth Sidious himself gets a mention on the list is due to his “unlimited power” and because he overpowered Ren in The Rise of Skywalker. Still, even if Palpatine were in his traditional Sith Lord form, Ren would be struck down with the right amount of Force Lightning.
Ren is certainly well-endowed in the ways of the Force, but Palpatine has had decades of exposure. Given the right playing field, he’d get fried like a fly in a bug-zapper.
Ren Is Dangerous: He’s Wrathful
If there’s one thing Kylo Ren will forever be known for, it’s that seething temper of his. Fear leads to anger, anger then leads to hate, and Ren has a short fuse that would explode a hundred Death Stars.
His temper tantrums might be infamous, but it’s this undying blinding rage and fury that makes him a powerhouse of dark side energy. Get this guy angry enough, and he’s practically invincable.
Could Be Beaten By: Darth Maul
This is more of an honorable mention, seeing as the two have been compared to one another before. Darth Maul might not have a winning horse in the race, but a fight between the two would be extremely entertaining.
Maul definitely has an edge with his predatory nature, acrobatic style, and dual-bladed lightsaber. But, with Kylo Ren sacrificing agility for powerful strikes, it could really be any man’s game. Still, all Ren has to do is knock Maul off balance, and the duel is essentially his.
Ren Is Dangerous: He’s Ruthless
Ren will stop at nothing to achieve whatever endgame he’s after, whether that’s finding a droid or pulling information from a prisoner. He will do whatever it takes to come out on top, even if that means taking out members of his own crew.
He will find new and creative ways to get what he wants, no matter who he has to cut down, impale, or destroy. This tenacity and hateful power only grew as the films went on. This isn’t just a Sith Lord, this is a man with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Could Be Beaten By: Count Dooku
Where Ren is wreckless, Dooku is precise. Where Ren is cruel, Dooku is calculating. Where Ren is wild, Dooku is completely and totally in control. This is why the Count would have a decided advantage over the face of the First Order.
Dooku is one of the galaxy’s best duelists, and, while his strikes won’t be fatal unless he deems necessary, his attention to disabling strikes would prevail over Ren’s blind fury. It’s a matter of efficiency over raw power.
Ren Is Dangerous: He’s Power-Hungry
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and Ren is practically the poster boy for this maxim. Not only does he destroy countless people on his way to the top, but his own mentor wasn’t even safe from his appetite for control.
By the third act of The Last Jedi, Ren goes from being Snoke’s lapdog and enforcer to a man who is tired of being someone’s puppet. Just as he cuts the Supreme Leader in half, he also cuts his strings.
Could Be Beaten By: The Inquisitor
The Inquisitor has the same stylings and technique as Count Dooku, but, throw in an extra dash of malice, aggressiveness, and the most overpowered lightsaber ever created, and Kylo Ren doesn’t have a prayer against those odds.
The Jedi hunter from the Rebels series is certainly one tough customer, and Ren would have to be extremely focused to lay in a killing blow. But, with that spinning saber, it would be like walking right into a Kyber-powered blender.
Ren Is Dangerous: He’s Unpredictable
He’s driven, he’s reckless, he’s prone to deadly outbursts, and he’s well-versed in the ways of the dark side. All of these factors culminate together to form one unshakable advantage Ren has over any other Sith. He’s unpredictable.
Because Kylo is a loose cannon with a lightsaber, there’s no telling how he will react to even the slightest inconvenience. One thing that can be counted on is that people will get hurt, one way or another.
Could Be Beaten By: Darth Vader
He might be the guy’s role model, but Vader would tolerate none of his grandson’s reckless behavior. Kylo has power, but Vader commands power, and his skills with both the Force and a lightsaber would cut Ren down to size.
Kylo is a force to be reckoned with, but the original Dark Lord of the Sith would have him laid prone before him before he even had a chance to ignite that claymore-like saber. He would truly show Ren the true power of the dark side.
