Kylo Ren

"Forgive me. I feel it again...the call from the light. Supreme Leader senses it. Show me again, the power of the darkness, and I'll let nothing stand in our way. Show me, grandfather, and I will finish what you started."

- Kylo Ren to Darth Vader's melted mask. Kylo Ren (real name Ben Solo) is a member of the First Order and the Knights of Ren and the main antagonist of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

He is the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, the nephew of Luke Skywalker, the grandson of Anakin Skywalker (by extension, his alter-ego, Darth Vader) and Padmé Amidala, and the apprentice of Supreme Leader Snoke. He wields a unique crossguard lightsaber that he constructed himself.

Background
Born as Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, Ben was sent to study alongside other Jedi students at a young age, being instructed and led by his maternal uncle and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Like his maternal grandfather Anakin Skywalker, he struggled with the Dark side of the Force.

An enigmatic individual name Snoke, the Supreme Leader of the First Order, preyed on Ben's internal conflict, and he fell to the Dark side of the Force. He took on the name Kylo Ren, and aided by the Knights of Ren, he killed several of Luke's apprentices. This act greatly delayed his uncle's plan to restore the Jedi Order to it's former glory and left his uncle despondent while Kylo went on to terrorize the galaxy as a leader of the First Order.

Ben's uncle was one of the few who managed to survive and escape the Jedi massacre.

Personality
In his youth, as Ben Solo, he admired the power of his maternal grandfather Anakin Skywalker, particularly in his Darth Vader incarnation. However, Ben also struggled with the Dark side of the Force due to this obsession.

As Kylo Ren, he is ruthless and brutal, but appears to carry at least some guilt and remorse for his actions. Like Anakin, he is short-tempered, hot-headed and emotionally unstable. However, unlike his maternal grandfather, Kylo is far less able to control his temper and emotions, as well as the fact that he is far less level-headed and far more prone to bouts of rage. To establish his rejection of his past life, Kylo serves the First Order with great passion towards it's leader and his master Snoke. He carries on his attachment to Vader into adulthood, where he desires to uphold the Sith Lord's legacy by destroying all the Jedi.

Kylo is not without fear; he is afraid that he will never become as powerful as his maternal grandfather. Whereas Vader was very patient and honorable, Kylo, on the other hand, finds conflict with these traits of the Light side of the Force, especially towards the idea of his family. Feeling this care is what holds him back, Kylo believes that to fully be as great as Vader - to embrace the Dark side - is to finally abandon these traits.

Powers

 * The Force: As the grandson of the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker, Kylo is immensely powerful, and has an amazingly strong connection to the Force.
 * Telekinesis: Kylo is extremely proficient in telekinesis, capable of stopping a blaster bolt in mid-flight.
 * Mind probe: Kylo utilizes mind probe to sift through the thoughts of a sentient being, for the purpose of interrogation or torture.
 * Force sense: Kylo utilizes Force sense, to sense another sentient being's emotions, the future, ripples in the Force caused by momentous or traumatic events, or impending danger and the presence of the light side.

Abilities

 * Lightsaber Skills: Kylo is highly skilled in lightsaber combat and a highly gifted duelist. He is one of the greatest lightsaber duelists alive. Despite this, however, he was unable to defeat Rey, despite being far more skilled and experience in lightsaber combat then the latter. However, it should be noted that he had already been wounded by Chewbacca and Finn, and thus Kylo was not at the peak of his strength.
 * High Tolerance For Pain: Kylo has a high tolerance for pain, as he was able to continue fighting despite being shot in the side by Chewbacca, and slashed on the shoulder by Finn.

Lightsaber
Kylo's valued weapon and possession is his red lightsaber.
 * Crossguard lightsaber: Kylo had built a red crossguard lightsaber.

The Force Awakens
Kylo first appears on Jakku searching for a map leading to the missing legendary Jedi, Luke Skywalker. After failing to recover anything from the planet, Kylo and his forces capture the Resistance pilot Poe Dameron, where Kylo interrogates Poe by mentally torturing him with the Force. Poe escapes with the aid of AWOL storm trooper FN-2187, nicknamed Finn, and Kylo is outraged. He implores on his maternal grandfather, Darth Vader, to help him. Eventually, the First Order figures out that Poe's droid, BB-8, is on Takodana, and with it a map to the location of Luke Skywalker. On Takodana, Kylo leads the ransack for the droid. Encountering the Force-sensitive Rey, he takes her to Starkiller Base to discover the Resistance Base. To gain her trust, he tries to read her thoughts, discovering that she has seen his father, Han Solo. Intent on gaining information from Rey, Kylo is ordered by Snoke to bring her to him for interrogation. However, Rey manages to tap into the Force and escape her bindings by using Jedi mind-control on a guard, leading Kylo to chase her with stormtroopers.

In the reactor shaft of the base, Kylo is discovered by his father, Chewbacca, Finn, and Rey. When Han confronts his son and offers to help him with his emotional pain, Kylo briefly thinks of his father's words before giving in fully to the dark side and stabbing him through the chest with his lightsaber; Han then falls into the shaft below them. An enraged Chewbacca shoots Kylo in his side, leaving him severely weakened. Finn and Rey flee. Before he can react, the wounded Kylo is briefly caught in the explosion caused by the detonations that his father and Chewbacca had planted around the area prior.

He finds Finn and Rey in the woods of the base and engages in battle with Finn, who is using Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber against him, much to Kylo's anger. Due to Finn's lack of Force-sensitivity, Kylo defeats and grievously injures him, but not without receiving a minor wound to the shoulder. Afterwards, he tries to claim his grandfather's lightsaber, but Rey uses the Force to claim it as her own and fights him. Kylo tempts Rey to join him, but she refuses and, giving herself over to the full power of the Force, overpowers Kylo, knocking away his lightsaber and slashing him across face. With the planet collapsing with the destruction of the weapon, Rey abandons Kylo and escapes. Before the planet implodes, Snoke instructs General Hux to retrieve Kylo before departing to complete his apprentice's training.

Disney Parks
Kylo Ren will be a live character at Disneyland in California, as well as Walt Disney World in Florida, starting in February, 2016. The Disney Parks blog has stated that he will temporarily replace the Darth Vader meet-and-greet.

Trivia

 * Prior to the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, many fans questioned if Kylo Ren and Darth Vader were related due to their similarities, which turned out to be true.

Kylo Ren