Marvel’s Star Wars: Legacy of Vader series has been busy filling in the yearlong gap between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Past issues have revealed what the Knights of Ren were up to during this period and even chronicled a surprise reunion between Kylo Ren and the ghost of Luke Skywalker. Now, as the series reaches its conclusion, we learn what happens when Ben Solo enters his grandfather’s secret vault in Fortress Vader and actually battles Darth Vader himself.
What ultimate prize lies within the vault? How does this issue set up Ben Solo’s redemption in Episode IX? Read on to learn more, but beware of full spoilers for Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #12 ahead!
From the start, this series has followed Kylo Ren as he assumes control of the First Order and attempts to kill his past and become the all-powerful ruler he believes he’s destined to be. That quest has taken Ben to Mustafar and the abandoned halls of Fortress Vader, where only Vader’s former manservant Vaneé remains to carry a torch for the former Dark Lord of the Sith.
Now, even Vaneé is dead, and nothing is stopping Ben from entering the mysterious vault at the heart of Fortress Vader. When he does, he finds not some terrible Sith artifact or ancient power source, but Darth Vader himself. Echoing Luke’s journey into the cave in The Empire Strikes Back, Vader tells Ben that the only voices he’ll hear in the vault are those he brings with him.
Ben reiterates his desire for power, to which Vader reminds him that power is never willingly given by those who hold it. It can only be taken. Grandfather and grandson begin to duel, though Ben quickly begins to despair at the thought that the Skywalker line is doomed to keep fighting and struggling from generation to generation.
Again, Vader proclaims that there is only power and the will to use it. But then he makes an observation. Vader was always at his most powerful when he was true to himself, whether it was marrying Padmé in defiance of Jedi law or breaking free and killing Emperor Palpatine. When Vader acted for himself – not others – he was at his strongest.
Vader then removes his helmet to reveal his true face as Ben Solo. This is a version of Ben free from the corrutpive influence of the Dark Side. He tells his other self that Kylo Ren has always been weak because he acts without purpose. Everything he does is motivated by fear and a desire to run from a past he can never actually escape. Then he makes the most brutal observation of all:
The Ben ghost urges Kylo Ren to leave and to understand that he can never escape his past. All he can do is accept who he is and make choices based on what he wants, not what he thinks others expect of him. This self-realization is the ultimate prize hidden in the bowels of Fortress Vader.
Before, Kylo Ren is ejected from the fortress, his other half promises that there will be “a real enemy” for him to fight. Whether he’s referring to current Knights of Ren leader Tava Ren, the resurrected Emperor Palpatine on Exegol, or someone else entirely is unclear. But what’s most interesting is that this Ben Solo ghost doesn’t appear to be a mere hallucination or figment of Kylo Ren’s imagination. Rather, he seems to be interacting with his own Force ghost, with Ben breaching the boundaries of time following his sacrifice in The Rise of Skywalker. Ben Solo is not only redeemed, he’s laying the foundation of his own redemption in the past.
This issue ends with a tease proclaiming “The reign ends. The fall begins. Kylo Ren… will return.” That certainly suggests that, while Legacy of Vader #12 marks the end of the current series, writer Charles Soule and artist Luke Ross have a follow-up project in the works. All of Marvel’s current, ongoing Star Wars titles will end by March 2026, leaving only Star Wars: Shadow of Maul (a prequel to the animated series Star Wars: Shadow of Maul). We assume Marvel will be announcing a new line of Star Wars comics soon, likely in time for Star Wars Day in May.
Check out what to expect from Star Wars in 2026 for more on the current state of the franchise. And let us know in the comments what you think of Kylo Ren’s big battle with Darth Vader.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
