Legacy of Vader 1

Legacy of Vader 1 is the first issue of the 2025 canon comic book series Star Wars: Legacy of Vader. The issue was written by Charles Soule, illustrated by Luke Ross and Nolan Woodard, and published by Marvel Comics on February 5, 2025.

Publisher's summary[]

DARTH VADER'S SHADOW EXTENDS INTO…THE RISE OF THE FIRST ORDER! The reign of SUPREME LEADER KYLO REN begins! Kylo's dark obsession leads him to MUSTAFAR! What secrets does FORTRESS VADER hold for the young tyrant? And what face from the past will guide him on his quest?

Opening crawl[]

REIGN OF KYLO REN
PART 1

Han Solo and Leia Organa's son, Ben Solo, was once a promising young student to his
uncle Luke Skywalker. But Ben's resentment of his family's legacy made him susceptible
to the pull of the dark side, transforming him into Kylo Ren, First Order tyrant and master
of the Knights of Ren.

Kylo's desire to finish what his grandfather Darth Vader started has led him down sinister
paths: murdering his father, slaying his former master to supplant him as Supreme
Leader and attempting to decimate the remaining Resistance forces on Crait.

Now a volatile Kylo vows to continue to destroy the past at all costs. But in the process,
he might discover that some parts of the past are not so easily killed….

Plot summary[]

Supreme Leader ascends[]

SnokeCorpse-LegacyOfVader1 — Kylo shows Snoke's corpse.

Following the death of Snoke and the events on Crait, Kylo Ren asserts his position as Supreme Leader of the First Order. Aboard the Finalizer, he presents the bisected corpse of Snoke to the assembled officers, blaming the death on Rey and using the moment to demand loyalty from his subordinates. The officers comply, but beneath Kylo’s commanding presence is a storm of conflicting emotions. Despite outward authority, he is consumed by inner unrest. In private, he is plagued by visions of his past—his parents, his former master, and the Jedi who refused to join him. These images drift through his consciousness unbidden, weakening the image of the unshakable leader he wishes to project.

General Hux delivers a report on fleet readiness and strategic operations. Kylo dismisses the practical concerns with growing impatience. He demands the immediate construction of a throne, placing symbolic power above military needs. Hux obeys, though frustration simmers beneath his composure. The exchange highlights the shifting dynamics within the First Order’s command—Kylo holds power, but the structure beneath him strains under the weight of his volatility.

Journey to Mustafar[]

KyloAgainstCultists-LegacyOfVader1 — Kylo strikes through cultists.

Unsettled and seeking clarity, Kylo Ren departs for Mustafar. His intention is to confront and destroy the legacy of Darth Vader. As the Kylo Ren's TIE silencer descends through the scorched atmosphere, Kylo prepares for battle. On the planet’s surface, he is met by the Alazmec of Winsit, a cult that venerates Vader’s memory and guards the fortress. Kylo fights his way through them without hesitation. The rain pours and fire glows as he cuts down his enemies with precise, brutal strikes. His power is undeniable, but the battle reveals more than aggression—it shows his desire to dominate symbols of the past and prove his separation from the figure whose shadow still looms over him.

Inside the fortress, Kylo finds not peace or resolution, but a voice from within the structure. He follows it deeper and encounters Vaneé, the former attendant of Darth Vader. Vaneé now exists as a preserved head sustained by a mechanical frame. Rather than confront Kylo with hostility, Vaneé welcomes him. He offers knowledge, not resistance. He proposes to show Kylo the methods by which Vader channeled pain into strength. This moment becomes a turning point—not an erasure of Vader’s memory, but a deeper entanglement with it. Rather than severing ties with the past, Kylo finds himself pulled toward it. The confrontation he imagined as destructive becomes transformative. The past he wished to destroy becomes, instead, a source of promised power.