Written by Charles Soule
Art by Will Sliney
Published by Marvel Comics
Ben Solo walks into a bar, meets the Knights of Ren, and tries to impress them enough to gain membership.
That’s it.
That’s what we got from the penultimate chapter of Kylo Ren’s origin story. It’s important to point out Ben hasn’t fully embraced the dark side, yet. However, it’s hard to picture what he saw in the Knights except for a place to belong.
That’s the point as Will Sliney does a great job of illustrating a Ben Solo who is unsure of himself until he displays short moments of anger.
Ben is desperate to earn the approval of Ren, as he lists his Jedi kills. Ren wants to know what made them “good kills” and Ben kind of fell short of that endeavor.
Ren decides it’s good enough, considered how powerful the young Solo is, and took him along for the ride.
Supreme Leader Snoke cited Kylo as “Master of the Knight’s of Ren” in The Force Awakens. Some felt it was Snoke’s way of pumping up Kylo, while others believe he was mocking his pupil.
Soule’s portrayal of the group in this issue made them come across as a drunken fraternity instead of an elite fighting force, which lends credence to the later of Snoke’s intent in the film.
There are some pleasant flashbacks of Luke Skywalker training Ben and the other children at his academy. The wisdom Luke imparts on his young padawans made me yearn even more stories of the famed Jedi at this stage of his life and genuinely learn how wise he became.
While this issue didn’t nail the landing as a set up for the final chapter, I’m still curious to see what will unfold.
Some of Luke’s former students try to bring Ben to justice, only to fail spectacularly. We all know Ben survives this mini-series; however, the students have done nothing to suggest they even have a slight chance to stop Ben. It’s not about the destination but the journey in storytelling. This dull installment has put some pressure on Soule to deliver a memorable final chapter that connects all the dots.
Rating: C
