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 primary antagonist of Star Wars: The Force Awakens alongside Supreme Leader Snoke.

He is the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, the nephew of Luke Skywalker, the grandson of Anakin Skywalker/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. He reveared his maternal grandfather and feared he would never be as powerful as the Chosen One.

An enigmatic individual named 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 Ren went on to terrorize the galaxy as a leader of the First Order.

Ben's uncle Luke 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. Because of this, Ben struggled with the Dark side of the Force due to this obsession.

As Kylo Ren, he is ruthless, brutal and emotionally unstable, but appears to carry at least some guilt and remorse for his actions. Like Anakin, he is short-tempered, hot-headed, and is torn by internal conflict. However, unlike his maternal grandfather, Ren 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, Ren 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.

Ren 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, Ren, 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, Ren 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/Darth Vader, Ren has a very strong connection to the Force. Though Ren is not quite as powerful as his maternal grandfather, he is still an exceptionally powerful Force user.
 * Telekinesis: Ren is extremely proficient in telekinesis, capable of stopping a blaster bolt in mid-flight.
 * Mind probe: Ren utilizes mind probe to sift through the thoughts of a sentient being, for the purpose of interrogation or torture.
 * Force sense: Ren utilizes Force sense, to sense another sentient being's emotions, the future, ripples in the Force caused by momentous or traumatic events, impending danger and the presence of the light side.

Abilities

 * Lightsaber Skills: Ren is highly skilled in lightsaber combat and a highly gifted duelist. He is one of the greatest lightsaber duelists alive; it was his exceptional skill with a lightsaber that ultimately greatly delayed the art of lightsaber combat from rising back to prominence with his massacre of the new, fledgling Jedi Order. His destruction of this new generation of Jedi Knights also earned him the nickname of "Jedi Killer" among the members of the First Order. Despite this, however, he was defeated by Rey in a duel, despite being far more skilled and experienced in lightsaber combat then the latter. However, it should be noted that Ren had already been wounded by Chewbacca and Finn, and thus was not at the peak of his strength.
 * Form V: Ren is skilled in Shien/Djem So.
 * Expert Engineer: Ren is amazingly skilled in engineering. He was able to successfully construct his own red bladed crossguard lightsaber in his first try.
 * High-Level Intellect/Expert Tactician/Leader: Ren is amazingly intelligent. As a Field Commander of the First Order, Ren is a highly skilled tactician and a very capable leader.
 * High Tolerance For Pain: Ren 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. In his battle with Finn, he was also seen beating the wound inflicted by Chewbacca, using his pain and anguish to fuel his connection to the Dark side of the Force.

Lightsaber
Ren's valued weapon and possession is his red-bladed lightsaber.
 * Crossguard lightsaber: Ren had built a red-bladed crossguard lightsaber. Ren's lightsaber was crudely built off an ancient design dating back to an event known as The Scourge of Malachor and operated using a cracked Kyber crystal. It thus had an unstable blade, necessitating the use of exhaust ports to channel and vent the weapon's excess energy so that it would not overload. The excess energy served as the lightsaber's quillons (crossguards). The weapon's blades also crackled and arced like electricity and funneled like fire, giving the weapon a ragged, menacing appearance and a deep, growling hum. It is unknown if this is the same lightsaber he possessed, when he was still a member of the New Jedi Order.

The Force Awakens
Kylo Ren first appears on Jakku searching for a map leading to the missing legendary Jedi, Luke Skywalker. After failing to recover anything from the planet, Ren and his forces capture the Resistance pilot Poe Dameron, where Ren interrogates Poe by mentally torturing him with the Force. Poe escapes with the aid of AWOL storm trooper FN-2187, nicknamed Finn, and Ren 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, Ren 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, Ren 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 Ren to chase her with stormtroopers. In the reactor shaft of the base, Ren is discovered by his father, Chewbacca, Finn, and Rey. When Han confronts his son and offers to help him with his emotional pain, Ren 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 Ren in his side, leaving him severely weakened. Finn and Rey flee. Before he can react, the wounded Ren 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 Ren's anger. Due to Finn's lack of Force-sensitivity, Ren 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. Ren tempts Rey to join him, but she refuses and, giving herself over to the full power of the Force, overpowers Ren, knocking away his lightsaber and slashing him across face. With the planet collapsing with the destruction of the weapon, Rey abandons Ren and escapes. Before the planet implodes, Snoke instructs General Hux to retrieve Ren 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.

Leia Organa
Not much is known about his relationship with his mother; however, Ben likely had a loving relationship with Leia. Prior to his fall to the dark side - when he started to struggle with the Dark side of the Force - Leia was terrified that he might end up like his maternal grandfather Anakin Skywalker and so - sent him to study under the tutelage of her brother, Luke.

Unfortunately, Luke was not able to prevent Ben from falling to the Dark side of the Force, as Snoke preyed on Ben's internal conflict. Ben, upon conversion to the Dark side, became known as Kylo Ren. Leia was heartbroken that her son had become evil and mourned his fate bitterly. Yet, despite all the atrocities that Kylo had committed over the years, Leia still believed that Ben could come back to the light and be redeemed.

Han Solo
Kylo apparently had a poor relationship with his father, calling him a disappointment. He rejected Han and brutally murdered him, though he deeply regretted this almost immediately after it occurred, showing that he did at least had some love for him prior to turning to the dark side.

Luke Skywalker
When Ben started to struggled with the Dark side of the Force, he was to sent to study under Luke's tutelage at the request of his mother, Leia, in the hope of preventing him from ending up like his maternal grandfather, Anakin Skywalker. Luke taught Ben of the ways of the Light side of the Force and lightsaber combat.

Unfortunately, he was not able to prevent Ben from falling to Dark side of the Force, as Snoke preyed on Ben's internal conflict. Ben then became known as Kylo Ren, and aided by the Knights of Ren, he killed Luke's other 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.

Luke was one of the few who managed to survive and escape the Jedi massacre. In the aftermath of the Jedi massacre, Luke was deeply grieved and racked with guilt, blaming himself for his students' deaths and Ben's turn to the dark side.

Luke then mysteriously disappeared; as he embarked on a quest to seek out the First Jedi Temple. Kylo, under the orders of Snoke, is instructed to find and kill Luke. Snoke knows that as long as Luke is alive, a new generation of Jedi Knights can rise once again. Ben probably had a good relationship with his maternal uncle; prior to his fall to the dark side.

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
Anakin died before Ben was born. However, Ben come to greatly admire and revere his maternal grandfather's power, but, also came to fear that he may never be as powerful as the Chosen One. He admired and revered his maternal grandfather's dark aspects, rather than his light aspects, believing that his grandfather's love and sentimentality for his family were weaknesses.

Like his maternal grandfather before him, Ben fell to the Dark side of the Force, becoming known as Kylo Ren. Kylo has seemingly become far worse then his grandfather; although Vader was brutal and ruthless, he did genuinely care about his family, as he never killed a member of his own family in cold blood, not even for power, ultimately leading to his redemption. Kylo Ren on the other hand was willing to kill his father to keep from feeling such feelings as love and compassion from making him feel weak and pull him back to the Light side of the Force.

Supreme Leader Snoke
Snoke met Ben by unknown means, and was deeply interested in him due to his embodiment as a focal point of both light and darkness (which was unusual for a Knight of Ren or any Dark Side master to be attracted to). He eventually turned him to the dark side, and anointed him with the name of Kylo Ren. Kylo still serves him loyally, believing that the Supreme Leader was wise and right to overthrow the New Republic.

Kylo is currently unaware that Snoke does not truly care about him, he is only using Kylo for him power.

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.
 * In the Movie Novelization of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren is revealed to believe that the reason the Galactic Empire lost to the Rebellion was because of sentiment, and that Darth Vader's feeling for Luke were what caused the Empire to collapse.
 * In the Movie Novelization, Snoke is also revealed to have chosen Kylo Ren as his apprentice because the former believes the latter to be a focal point in the Force; a perfect blending blending of light and dark due to his heritage as Darth Vader's grandson.

Kylo Ren