Kylo Ren is a pretty unique villain in the landscape of the “Star Wars” galaxy. As the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, he was in touch with the Force but also felt a pull to the dark side, given his familial connection to Darth Vader. The dark side won, which then led to him becoming a crucial member of the First Order before ultimately seizing the position of Supreme Leader in “The Last Jedi.” He is a petulant man, and that petulance led to him claiming a wild title for himself along the way.
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In the latest issue of the comic “Star Wars: Legacy of Vader,” which is filling in the gaps between “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker,” Kylo Ren journeys to Naboo as he further explores Darth Vader’s past. Naturally, this eventually leads him to both the birthplace of Anakin Skywalker and the planet Naboo. There, Kylo is exploring Anakin and Padmé’s past when his guide, Vanee, reveals a little more to him about Naboo’s history, explaining that it’s no longer the planet it once was:
“There is much to be learned from here, my prince. This place was not always this way. Once, it was glorious. For centuries, Naboo was a center of culture and power for this part of the galaxy. It operated as a Democratic Monarchy, if you can imagine such a thing.”
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Indeed, Naboo is in rough shape by the looks of things and hardly resembles the planet from where we first met Padmé’ and Jar Jar Binks in “The Phantom Menace.”
Indeed, Naboo is in rough shape by the look of things, hardly resembling the planet where we first met Padmé’ and Jar Jar Binks in “The Phantom Menace.” The comic also has Kylo battling Storg Veruna and his raiders, in addition to taking it upon himself to let the planet of Naboo know that he is the ruler of this domain (what with him being the self-appointed Supreme Leader now).
Kylo Ren declares himself King of Naboo in the new issue of LEGACY OF VADER pic.twitter.com/2J5Hfagg2V
— Star Wars Holocron (@sw_holocron) May 22, 2025
“I am your king,” Kylo says at one point, which you can see in the above panels from the issue. In essence, Kylo Ren names himself the King of Naboo, causing a once mighty haven for democracy to fall under the might of his thumb before Rey and the Resistance can triumph over the First Order in “The Rise of Skywalker.”
Naboo fell on hard times during the Star Wars sequel trilogy
In some ways, this makes sense. Kylo Ren, being the Supreme Leader of the First Order in the aftermath of Snoke’s death, sees himself as the ruler of the galaxy. That also means any planet within the galaxy is part of his domain. What does that make him if not a king? He probably considers himself the King of Tatooine and Mustafar just as much as the King of Naboo or any other “Star Wars” planet one wants to name. It goes hand in hand with his whole M.O. at this point in time.
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Like many Sith before him, Kylo is on a desperate quest for power. Even a planet that he implies is “infested with rot” in this very same issue is a place he wants to make clear he’s ruling over. It’s little of him but he’s also coming off of being embarrassed by Luke Skywalker and wants to assert himself more than ever now that Snoke is out of the way. Yes, he eventually finds redemption in “The Rise of Skywalker,” giving himself over to the light. But at this point in time, he’s about as far away from that as one could imagine.
More than that, this offers us a window into the fall of Naboo during the events of the sequel trilogy. Sometime, after the conclusion of “Return of the Jedi” and before “The Force Awakens” takes place, Naboo stopped being a beautiful haven for democratic ideals in the galaxy and became, well, something else. Something less beautiful. Something, for a time, ruled by Kylo Ren. That’s pretty bleak.
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“Star Wars: Legacy of Vader” is available now.
