Is Ben Solo Based On This Star Wars Legend?
Ben Solo (aka Kylo Ren) had one of the most complex character arcs since the release of the original trilogy, helped along by the incomparable acting talents of Adam Driver. Ben Solo is often compared to the Legends characters Jacen Solo or Ben Skywalker, but take a closer at the original books, in particular, the Jedi Academy Trilogy by Kevin J Anderson and the New Republic Order Series. Once you see it, it’s hard to miss. It’s so blatant it could be argued they cut and paste the character directly from the books and put him straight into the movies.
Kyp Durron is Kylo Ren, don’t believe me? Read on.
An Overview.
Han Solo met Kyp on Kessel as a child, and during their escape, the pair formed a strong bond that lasted a lifetime. Although not officially a Solo, he certainly is an honorary member of the family. Both Ben/Kylo and Kyp Durron fall to the dark side and are ultimately redeemed, although Kyp gets to live on in the Legends universe, tip-toeing back and forth over the line, and Kylo is written out by Disney in favor of Rey. Force power-wise, they have the same strengths, both being strong with telekinesis, and mind control, as well as good pilots and lightsabre duellists.
Also, the resemblance of Kyp Durron to Adam Driver is striking, to the point where it looks like Disney did it on purpose. Do a quick google search readers. Personality-wise both are strong-willed, quick to anger, and stubborn. Until Kyp is humbled in The New Jedi Order Series, he, just like Ben is an angry man on a mission to correct mistakes from his past, only trusting himself.
But this is just the beginning.
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Worst Teacher Ever.
Strong in the Force (arguably more so than the Skywalkers) Kyp Durron was taken to the newly formed Jedi Academy, and yes, you guessed it, like Ben Solo Luke messed up his training. Out of all millions of planets in the galaxy, he decided to base his academy on Yavin 4, a world with A LOT of Sith temples.
Luke was an awful teacher, as soon as Kyp arrived he pretty much ignored all his other students and left them to train each other, so the dark energy on the planet was able to do just about whatever it wanted with the cohort. It became so powerful that one of the Jedi burst into flames and died, but it didn’t even occur to Luke to move the academy away from Yavin, so the onslaught continued. Just like Ben Solo, Luke did not realize until it was too late that the spirit of a dead Sith had latched onto his most powerful apprentice. Canon or Legends, teaching isn’t Luke’s forte. Many fans believe Luke’s actions towards Ben were completely out of character in The Last Jedi. Kevin J Anderson’s book says they were on brand. #PrayForGrogu.
Why Blow Up One Planet When You Can Nuke The Whole Solar System?
Both Kylo Ren and Kyp Durron had evil Sith Lord spirit interlopers messing with their minds, attempting to turn them to the Darkside. Kyp Durron had Exar Kun and Ben had Snoke/Palpatine. What shenanigans did these two young wide-eyed boys and their Sith imaginary best buddies get up to? How did they want to conquer the galaxy? Disney must have changed up their end game. Not really.
Guess what the superweapon of choice was for both these Sith wannabees? I’ll give you a clue, it wipes out a whole solar system by destroying the sun. Kylo Ren had Starkiller base, and Kyp Durron had Sun Crusher. The names are (pretty much) the same, same outcome, they just looked a little different. It would have been nice to keep Sun Crusher canon and save Ilum.
According to Legends, the Sun Crusher came from the same crack team that created the Death Star and was simply a starfighter with eleven nifty missiles. Kyp under the Sith Lord’s influence went on a star-destroying rampage around the universe, one of which was the Imperial Academy at Carida before Han finally talked him down. Doesn’t this all sound a little bit like the plot of Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Although in Legends Han didn’t need to take a lightsabre to the chest to get the job done, Kyp still loses a family member by accidentally killing the brother he didn’t know was alive.
Follow Me or I’ll Force You.
Kyp did not have the Knights of Ren, but he was never without a following, he formed A Dozen and Two Avengers. An X-wing team with two Jedi, who policed the Outer Rim’s smuggling activities and played a crucial role in the Yuuzhan Vong War. Kyp Durron also caused a schism in the New Order Jedi, with his proactive stance on what a Jedi should be in contrast to Luke’s pacifist take on galactic affairs. Several Jedi preferred his leadership over Skywalker's.
Both Kylo and Kyp had a problematic relationship with women. Kylo used the Force to get inside Rey’s head to turn her to the Darkside. Kyp develops a weird crush on Han’s daughter who is around fifteen years his junior and uses another Force manipulation tactic to get her to blow up a Yuuzhan Vong ship. Unlike Rey, Jaina is smart enough to (eventually) see through his mess but becomes his apprentice in later books. Someone should show them how to use Tinder. It might have saved the galaxy.
Read The Books.
If you need further proof, go and read The Jedi Academy Series by Kevin J. Anderson or Vector Prime by R. A Salvatore (make sure you have tissues on standby for this one) and you’ll be in no doubt that Kylo and Kyp are one and the same. Not that this is a bad thing. Kyp Durron absolutely deserved to be rescued from Legends and restored to canon. However, with the death of Kylo Ren, we will miss the development that Kyp went through in his redemption, that continual dance with the darkness and growth, and as he is humbled by loss. We can only hope that we see parts of this emergence in other characters, perhaps in the new Star Wars: The Acolyte series, Disney?
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