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Legacy of Vader: Reign of Kylo Ren: Part 1

What is it ? : After the battle of Crait, Kylo Ren stands before the forces of the First Order on the Star Destroyer Finalizer, he uses the force to display the severed halves of Snokes body, declaring that Rey killed him and Kylo is now supreme leader of the First Order.
Afterwards he is plagued by visions of his family, and meets with General Hux, telling him he is a trusted advisor. But as Hux plans for the future of the First Order, building on the work of their forebears, Kylo insults him, telling him the Empire was build by Ren's forebears, whereas Hux's were lieutenants and lickspittles. Hux takes this in his stride telling Kylo that they need to rebuild from the destruction of Starkiller base and the Supremacy, but fortunately their enemy is in disarray after Krait and the destruction of the Hosnian system.
But Kylo tells him he has not been ordered to do any of that, instead he is to build Kylo a throne, which leaves Hux angry.
Afterwards, Kylo speaks to the burned helmet of Vader, asking how he dealt with the weak, but deciding that he doesn't actually want Vaders legacy, or his fathers, mothers, or uncles. He told Rey that she should let the past die, and he has done that, but there is more to be done, more that should die, and he decides to start with Vader, taking his Tie Silencer and heading for Mustafar.
He heads for Vaders Castle, but is met by Alazmec natives who fire arrows at him, but he stops them with the Force. He battles his way through them, calling them cowards, but they tell him they are not, they are warriors. Inside the castle he is met by a severed head kept alive in a droid body (similar to the Bomarr Monks) called Vanee, who claims to have been a servant of Vader. Kylo tells him that he is here to destroy all his connections to the past, that only by destroying them all can he free himself from their entanglement.
Vanee tells him he is a foolish child, that Vader's power came from his past, from the hatred and anger it caused him, and offers to show Kylo this, which Kylo accepts, wanting to know the source of Vaders power. . . .

High Points : It's nice to see how Kylo Ren presents the fall of Snoke to the First Order, I'd kind of assumed that he was just so feared for his rages that the First Order just accepted that he'd killed Snoke and taken over. The fact that we knew that most of their forces were made up from slaves meant I never considered that he would have to lie and build their morale, as I just thought they would obey. But this is a nice little spin on it, and I think he partially believes it himself, putting the blame onto Rey, rather than accept his own actions.
And once again it's shown why Jedi and Sith make poor leaders, he takes the extremely competent General Hux and all his plans and strategies, and just puts him onto making a Throne for Kylo. Just taking Snoke's throne isn't good enough for him, he needs one of his own for his weak ego, so he can claim some ownership over the First Order.

Low Points : I would have liked to have seen more of what was going on around Kylo, more of Hux and the First Order, but this is the first issue so it's only right it focuses on Kylo as the protagonist and setting up his journey exploring Vader's Legacy as the title suggests.

So what do you really think ? : It's an interesting look at Kylo Ren, as the authors don't seem to be wanting to make him a great villain, like they do with Vader or Maul, instead they seem only too happy to show off his weakness, his reliance on the past. During the fight against the Alazmec for example, he rants about his ascent to power, something Vader would never have done, because that wasn't important to him, and we see how he is keen to rise above the legends of his family, Luke, Anakin, Leia, and even his Father Han. All of what he's doing just seems to be about proving himself worthy of his family name, while trying to drag them down to make himself more important.
It's a really interesting tone for a story, for it to feel like the writers don't respect Kylo or even like him very much. While this personalises him somewhat, we can empathise a little with being raised by legends and expected to stand among them, it does allow us to look down on him, for all the slaughter he does, for all the fear he causes, he is a pitiable character.

Final Words : An interesting start to this 12 part series, the artwork is lovely, the dialog well written, but I wonder how well Kylo can carry the story if we don't respect him, if we continue to look down and actively dislike him. Perhaps the series will lean more heavily on the supporting cast, and it remains to be seen the truth of what Vanee is saying, and I suspect he is another Snoke-like character looking for an apprentice.

Score : 8/10

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