Luke Skywalker’s Very First Student Was a Sith (Long Before Kylo Ren)

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Star Wars #43!Star Wars fans know that Luke Skywalker – following the events of the original trilogy – goes on to open his own Jedi Academy where he teaches Force-sensitives the ways of the light side of the Force, with one of his more famous students being Ben Solo aka Kylo Ren. However, long before Luke became a teacher (while he was still battling the Empire, in fact), Luke took on his very first student: a Sith.

In Star Wars #43 by Charles Soule, Steven Cummings, and Jethro Morales, Luke Skywalker’s metaphysical form is inside a red kyber crystal along with the essence of the mysterious Sith who bled the crystal to begin with. When a Sith ‘bleeds’ a kyber crystal, they flood it with their own pain and suffering, trapping a portion of themselves within an endless, timeless hell. However, Luke Skywalker wasn’t going to allow it to continue, as he was hellbent on redeeming this Sith and purifying the kyber crystal.

Given the dream-like nature of existence within a kyber crystal, Luke Skywalker was able to travel through this Sith’s life, pinpointing moments in their past that led them to the dark side. The kyber was flooded with the original Sith’s pain, after all, which meant Luke had full access to everything that resided in the crystal. While the Sith tried to stop him, Luke had already made an impact on their younger self. Luke taught the younger versions of this Sith that the dark side wasn’t the answer, and that there were better ways to help them through their pain.

Luke Skywalker’s First Student was a Prediction of How He’d Save Darth Vader

Luke redeemed his first student, proving he could do the same for Vader.

Luke Skywalker’s first student was a Sith who he wanted to redeem with every fiber of his being, and he did just that through his immense strength in the light side of the Force. The original trilogy already confirmed that Luke would be successful in redeeming Darth Vader as well, but this comic doesn’t shy away from that detail either. Luke entered the red kyber to find out how to defeat the Sith, and what he found was a Sith that needed his help, which immediately translated to his own conflict with Vader.

While inside the crystal, Luke faced off against a vision of Darth Vader, and rather than defeating him in combat, the fight ended with Luke turning his father away from the dark side. The symbolism here wasn’t subtle, as Luke’s ability to heal his first student was, in fact, the training he needed to redeem Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi.

Luke Skywalker’s First Student was ALSO the Dark Reverse of Kylo Ren

Luke successfully redeemed a full-fledged Sith within the metaphysical plane of a red kyber crystal that had been stewing in darkness for an untold number of years, and while that was the experience he needed to redeem Vader, it’s also a tragic reminder of how much he failed Kylo Ren. Just the mere possibility that Ben Solo would fall to the dark side was enough to make Luke want to kill him, which was the final step towards Ben’s ultimate corruption and transformation into Kylo Ren.

Luke Skywalker found great success with his first student, proving that even someone totally consumed by the dark side could be redeemed, and he took that lesson and applied it to Darth Vader. Unfortunately, Luke didn’t see it that way when it came to Kylo Ren, which ultimately makes the legacy of Luke Skywalker’s first student a tragic one in Star Wars canon.

Star Wars #43 by Marvel Comics is available now.