These Three Star Wars Scenes Prove We’re Completely Underestimating Kylo Ren As A Villain

Three scenes in Star Wars canon prove that Kylo Ren was a more formidable villain than anyone originally believed. As the Star Wars sequel trilogy’s primary antagonist, there was a lot of pressure on the character both within the story and outside of it to live up to the legacy set forth by his grandfather, Darth Vader, one of the most iconic villains in cinematic history. Though Kylo Ren was certainly wild, unpredictable, and powerful in his own right, the narrative’s need to link his ambitions to his grandfather’s watered his villainy down to an extent, forcing comparisons between him and his family for years to come.

When Kylo Ren’s story became further intertwined with Rey’s, his need to fulfill his grandfather’s abandoned destiny seemed to wane, and it made the character all the more interesting. Finally, he was going after something for himself, not because others expected him to follow in someone else’s footsteps. Unfortunately, however, the sequel movies never did a great job of showing us how Kylo Ren came to be, what truly pulled him over to the dark side, or the extent of his Force-related knowledge. Thankfully, though, supplemental materials (and one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) have proven Kylo’s true potential as a villain and dark sider.

Kylo Ren Knew How To Bleed Kyber… Without Any Guidance

Charles Soule and Will Sliney’s Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren comic series fills in the blanks of Kylo Ren’s history with Luke, Snoke and Palpatine, and the Knights of Ren. Crucially, it shows parts of his gradual descent into the dark side, egged on by Snoke in his mind and by the former leader of the Knights of Ren, as well. After several precarious confrontations with Luke, his fellow Jedi learners, and the Knights, Kylo eventually begins to construct his trademark volatile red-bladed crossguard lightsaber, bleeding a kyber crystal, and forcing it to turn from blue to red.

Bleeding a kyber crystal is the process that dark side Force-wielders use to corrupt a pure kyber crystal and infuse it with pain, anger, hatred, and the power of the dark side. These crystals are usually stolen from a Jedi that the bleeder has bested and killed in combat, or, in Kylo Ren’s case, it was Ben Solo’s old crystal. In Star Wars canon, however, bleeding a kyber crystal is no mean feat – some crystals refuse to be bled, as they are naturally associated with the light, and some crystals crack under the pressure, which is, incidentally, what made Kylo’s lightsaber so unstable.

What’s important here, though, is that Kylo was able to accomplish this process with no formal instruction or training. Not only does this prove that he was, to some extent, naturally attuned to the dark side, but that he also likely took the time to research the dark side of the Force long before that fateful night at the Jedi Temple. Snoke and Palpatine might have incited his downfall, but there was clearly more to Ben Solo than first believed.

Kylo Ren Instinctively Unlocked A Powerful Dark Side Ability

The Rise of Kylo Ren is truly a treasure trove of information about this unpredictable character. Bleeding his kyber crystal with no prior knowledge wasn’t the only dark side trick he accomplished all on his own. In that same comic, there’s a moment when Kylo effortlessly uses the difficult dark side Mind Probe, an invasive and violent ability. He admits that Snoke told him about it once, but he’d never been taught how to use it. The Mind Probe is a dangerous yet powerful weapon, and in that scene, Kylo demonstrates just how naturally intuitive his grasp of the dark side truly was. He would later go on to use it against Rey, too.

Kylo Ren Was Almost As Familiar With Sith Lore As Palpatine

There’s a moment in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that proves the true extent of Kylo Ren’s power, too. One scene in the movie demonstrates, beyond a doubt, that Kylo Ren was aware of his and Rey’s bond as part of a Force Dyad before Palpatine was. Palpatine, whose knowledge of the dark side surpassed everyone else’s, hadn’t been able to figure out the truth. Perhaps more astonishing, however, is the fact that Kylo was able to conceal this knowledge from Palpatine before the events of The Rise of Skywalker.

After all, Palpatine had been invading Kylo’s mind from the moment he was born. They were inextricably linked, and yet Palpatine had not been able to see into Kylo’s mind and use the knowledge of the Force Dyad against him. To resist Palpatine to such an extent would have taken a lot of power and effort, and Kylo Ren clearly had it in spades. Though Ben Solo’s fall to the dark side was tragic, and his trademark Star Wars redemption arc was arguably rushed, it’s hard to deny that Kylo Ren truly was a formidable dark side adept after all.