How Darth Vader Met The Knights Of Ren
"Few people have the honor of seeing Lord Vader in his sanctum." This is what Vaneé told Director Orson Krennic when he arrived at Fortress Vader in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Since its introduction in said film, Darth Vader's castle on Mustafar has been fleshed out throughout current Star Wars comics, allowing the foreboding structure to take on a life of its own. Our first major dive into the history of Fortress Vader came in the final arc of Charles Soule's Darth Vader comic series. In this arc, we saw the Dark Lord travel to the volcanic planet to establish a personal base of operations. In his creation of the castle, he was guided by a mask possessed by Darth Momin; an ancient Sith who made disturbing works of art through the dark side of the Force. Possessing multiple people in order to convey his instructions, Momin eventually helped Vader to construct Fortress Vader as well as a Force-powered device he could use to resurrect his late wife Padmé Amidala. However, Momin ultimately betrayed Vader and used the device to resurrect his original body, placing his possessed mask onto it and dueling Vader before finally being destroyed. Despite being unable to resurrect his wife, Vader kept the fortress as a reminder of his failure and fealty to the Sith.
Needless to say, Fortress Vader is a very important place for the Dark Lord. As we see in Rogue One, it is not only a place for him to recover between missions for the Emperor, but an all-encompassing monument to his suffering and devotion to the dark side. Filled with Sith artifacts, guards and acolytes, Darth Vader's castle is a gothic reflection of the being that Anakin Skywalker has become. So what kind of people would be bold, defiant or ignorant enough to break into Fortress Vader? Look no further than the Knights of Ren.
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Originally established in the sequel trilogy, the Knights of Ren have gone on to become a major staple of the current Star Wars comics. Charles Soule initially expanded upon the knights in his miniseries The Rise of Kylo Ren, which showed how Ben Solo was seduced to the dark side by Snoke and eventually became the knights's new leader. The Knights of Ren are a group of dark side wielders who use their power to raid and pillage in their pursuit of riches and renown. Essentially a group of dark side vikings, the Knights of Ren have carved out their own space in the Star Wars galaxy far from the reaches of the Sith. Though that quickly changed when the knights were met by Qi'ra, the current leader of Crimson Dawn. At some point during the original trilogy, Qi'ra met with the knights and their original leader, Ren to offer them a job in the near future; to steal a device called the Screaming Key from Fortress Vader. The knights accepted the offer and would soon be called upon by Qi'ra to complete their assignment.
As part of Crimson Dawn's plan to assassinate the Emperor, the Knights of Ren infiltrated Fortress Vader and began their search for the Screaming Key. While inside, they came across the apparitional remains of Darth Momin and an enormous storage of bacta fluid. Upon reaching the very platform where Vader met with Krennic years before, the knights were discovered by Vaneé, Vader's disciple from Rogue One, who sounded the alarm and put the knights in the crosshairs of the castle's security. As they fought their way through the castle guards, Ren finally located the Screaming Key and pocketed it before returning to aid his knights. However, the guards then retreated as the Knights of Ren were confronted by none other than Darth Vader.
Enraged at the intrusion, Vader used the Force to choke one of the knights and snap his neck. Ren then had the rest of the knights retreat while he engaged Vader in a duel. The duel was brief as Vader overwhelmed Ren within seconds, forcing Ren to retreat along with the rest of the knights. Vader then used the Force to call the Screaming Key back to his hand, only for Ren to take it back from him and retreat with his knights on speeders.
Crimson Reign 4 is a landmark moment in Star Wars comics, giving us a satisfying confrontation between Darth Vader and the Knights of Ren, bridging the gap between the original and sequel trilogies and further heightening the stakes of the miniseries itself. With Vader now on the hunt for the Knights of Ren, it's very possible that we'll see Vader play a role in the final issue of Crimson Reign. How this will end up factoring into Crimson Dawn's plan to assassinate the Emperor has yet to be revealed. We've also yet to discover the purpose of the Screaming Key and what Qi'ra plans to unlock with it. Crimson Reign is building towards a spectacular climax that is sure to reshape the Star Wars galaxy and its future stories. It could also show us how the knights ultimately ended up serving the Emperor and helping with Ben Solo's fall to the dark side. The Knights of Ren have proven themselves to be a formidable challenge for Darth Vader. Let's just hope they don't choke on their aspirations.
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