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Kylo Ren was a Force-sensitive human male who trained as a Jedi pupil under Jedi Master Luke Skywalker before turning to the dark side of the Force and joining the Knights of Ren. He was born with the name Ben to Princess Leia Organa and the smuggler Han Solo. In his youth, he displayed traits similar to that of his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker, who had turned to the dark side and became the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Ben, who was sent by Organa to be trained by his uncle, fell under the influence of Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order, and destroyed the new generation of Jedi that Luke Skywalker was training. Skywalker vanished, while Ben took the name Kylo Ren and joined the First Order. His goal was to complete what Darth Vader once started and destroy the Jedi.

Years later, Ren sought the remaining fragment he needed to build a map that would lead to Skywalker's location, so the last Jedi could be destroyed. Ren hunted the astromech droid, BB-8, who carried the map and tracked the droid to Takodana after learning that the droid was in the possession of Han Solo. There, Ren also discovered Rey, a Force-sensitive who had seen the map and was helping BB-8 bring the map to the Resistance. Ren brought Rey to Starkiller Base, a First Order stronghold and superweapon, and attempted to probe her mind for the map information, but she resisted and escaped. The Resistance soon attacked the Starkiller weapon to destroy it, and Ren encountered Solo once again during the battle. He killed his father, hoping to eliminate the light that Ren struggled with inside himself, and tracked Rey and the fugitive stormtrooper Finn to a forest as the Starkiller was under siege. He engaged both in a lightsaber duel, besting Finn before being beaten and injured by Rey. As the Starkiller began to implode from the Resistance attack, Supreme Leader Snoke ordered General Hux, the base's commander, to bring Ren before him so his training could be completed.

Early life
"I know where you come from, before you called yourself Kylo Ren."

- Lor San Tekka

Kylo Ren was born approximately one year after the Battle of Endor, in which his parents, Princess Leia Organa and General Han Solo, led the Alliance to Restore the Republic in a decisive victory over the Galactic Empire. Their victory resulted in the deaths of the Emperor, Darth Sidious, and Organa's father, the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Soon thereafter, Kylo was born with the first name of Ben, a name he shared with the fallen Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, who went by the name of Ben Kenobi while in exile on Tatooine after the fall of the Jedi Order. In his youth, Ben's parents had a tumultuous relationship. Solo, a smuggler before joining the Rebellion, was unable to stay in one place for long. Organa, meanwhile, became a respected senator in the New Republic, the government that arose after the Battle of Endor and that had served the Empire a final defeat during the Battle of Jakku around the time of Ben's birth. Organa and Solo's natures clashed, causing friction in their marriage.

Against the backdrop of his parents' relationship, Ben had feelings of abandonment and was targeted by a powerful individual named Snoke, who recognized the inherent Force potential within Ben, as Ben was a member of the powerful Skywalker family through his mother. Snoke, the Supreme Leader of the First Order that arose from the ashes of the Imperial remnants that had retreated into the Unknown Regions at the end of the Galactic Civil War, saw Ben as the balance between the light side and the dark side of the Force and wanted to take him as an apprentice of his own. Organa discovered Snoke's seduction, so she sent Ben to be trained by her twin brother, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, who was training a new generation of Jedi in the hopes of restoring the Jedi Order.

Fall to the dark side
"There was nothing we could've done. There was too much Vader in him.''" "''That's why I wanted him to train with Luke. I just never should have sent him away. That's when I lost him. That's when I lost you both."

- Han Solo and Leia Organa

Ben ultimately betrayed his uncle and embraced the dark side of the Force. He destroyed everything that Skywalker tried to build, leaving his Jedi temple in ashes. Ben took on the name Kylo Ren, becoming an apprentice of Supreme Leader Snoke and a member of the Knights of Ren. He came to idolize Darth Vader and kept his burned helmet as a shrine to the legacy of the Dark Lord of the Sith, hoping to destroy the last Jedi as Vader once intended to do. Though Vader had been redeemed by his son, Luke, during the Battle of Endor and was once again the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker in the moments before his death, Ren and Snoke both believed that Darth Vader was his true self and that his redemption was simply a single yet fatal error in an otherwise important life.

Ren's betrayal sent shockwaves through his family. With his Jedi destroyed, Skywalker vanished into exile. Those closest to him believed that he went in search of the first Jedi Temple, which he eventually discovered on the planet Ahch-To. Organa and Solo separated, with Solo returning to smuggling with his best friend and first mate, the Wookiee warrior Chewbacca. Organa returned to a life of war, forming a band of soldiers known as the Resistance when the New Republic Senate refused to take the emerging threat of the First Order seriously. Though Solo believed there was too much of Darth Vader in Ben and that they lost their son forever, Organa never gave up hope that there was still good in him.

At some point, Ren built his own custom lightsaber. The crude design was an ancient one, dating back thousands of years to an event known as the Great Scourge of Malachor. It was built with a cracked kyber crystal, one that could barely contain the weapon's power. As a result of the broken crystal, the lightsaber required vents on either side to divert the excess heat, necessitating its crossguard design. It also gave the red blade an unstable and fiery appearance.

Raid on Jakku
"The map to Skywalker. We know you've found it, and now you're going to give it to the First Order.''" "The First Order rose from the dark side. You did not." "I'll show you the dark side." "You may try, but you cannot deny the truth that is your family." "''You're so right."

- Kylo Ren and Lor San Tekka, moment's before the latter's death

Locating BB-8
"The droid we seek is aboard the Millennium Falcon. In the hands of your father, Han Solo.''" "He means nothing to me." "Even you, master of the Knights of Ren, have never faced such a test." "By the grace of your training, I will not be seduced." "''We shall see. We shall see."

- Kylo Ren and Supreme Leader Snoke

Appearances

 * Before the Awakening
 * Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
 * Star Wars: The Force Awakens novelization
 * Star Wars: The Force Awakens junior novelization
 * The Force Awakens: Rey's Story
 * The Force Awakens storybook
 * The Force Awakens Golden Book
 * Finn & the First Order
 * Lightsaber Rescue
 * Star Wars: Episode VIII

Non-canon appearances

 * Disney Infinity 3.0
 * Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Resistance Rises